Johnny Weissmuller Biography - Born In Austria-hungary, Trains Under "big Bill", Chronology, Turns Pro, Selected Writings By Weissmuller:
americans swimmer
1904-1984
American swimmer
One of the most outstanding swimmers of all time, Johnny Weissmuller won five Olympic gold medals and set dozens of national and world records. His stellar performance as a competitive swimmer helped to focus the attention of Americans on the health benefits of the sport. However, he is perhaps best remembered by most Americans for his portrayals of author Edgar Rice Burroughs' Tarzan of the Apes and Jungle Jim on the screen from the early 1930s through the mid-1950s. After his retirement from work in motion pictures and television, Weissmuller lent his name to a swimming pool company and became a spokesman for the product.
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Not until after his death in 1984 did the full truth about Weissmuller's origins emerge. Throughout his lifetime, he claimed to have been born Peter John Weissmuller, the son of recent immigrants from Eastern Europe, on July 2, 1904, in the small Pennsylvania mining town of Windber, near Johnstown. Olympic historian David Wallechinsky uncovered credible evidence in the 1980s that Weissmulle…
Not long after the death of his father, Weissmuller came under the influence of a new father figure when he began to train at the Illinois Athletic Club under the guidance of William "Big Bill" Bachrach, already famous as the trainer of several Olympic swimming champions. According to Ralph Hickok, author of A Who's Who of Sports Champions, the red-mustachioed Bachrach, an imp…
Not long after the Amsterdam Olympics, Weissmuller turned professional. He toured Florida resort hotels, putting on exhibition swims in return for enough compensation to cover the costs of his travel expenses. He also signed a lucrative contract (paying $500 weekly) with B.V.D. to promote the company's swimwear. In 1929 he appeared in his first film, making a cameo appearance as himself in …
(With Clarence A. Bush) Swimming the American Crawl. Grosset & Dunlap, 1930.
(With Narda Onyx) Water, World, and Weissmuller. Vion Publishing, 1964. …
Encyclopedia of World Biography Supplement. Volume 21. Detroit: Gale Group, 2001. Fury, David A. Johnny Weissmuller: "Twice the Hero." Thorndike, ME: Thorndike Press, 2001. International Dictionary of Films and Filmmakers, Volume 3: Actors and Actresses. Detroit: St. James Press, 1996. St. James Encyclopedia of Popular Culture. five volumes. Detroit: St. James Press, 2000. Weissmulle…
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