Posted on 12/27/2011 4:11:38 PM PST by Brandonmark
Cheetah the chimpanzee, who acted in classic Tarzan movies in the early 1930s, died of kidney failure Saturday at Suncoast Primate Sanctuary in Palm Harbor, a sanctuary spokeswoman said.
Cheetah was roughly 80 years old, loved fingerpainting and football and was soothed by nondenominational Christian music, said Debbie Cobb, the sanctuary's outreach director.
He was an outgoing chimp who was exposed to the public his whole life, Cobb said today.
"He wasn't a chimp that caused a lot of problems," she said.
Cheetah acted in the 1932-34 Tarzan movies, Cobb said. Movies filmed during that timeframe starred Johnny Weissmuller and include "Tarzan and His Mate" and "Tarzan the Ape Man," according to the Internet Movie Database.
Sometime around 1960, Cheetah came to the sanctuary from Weissmuller's estate in Ocala, Cobb said.
In the wild, the average chimp survives 25 to 35 years and at zoos chimps typically live 35 to 45 years, she said.
Cheetah, the most famous of the sanctuary's 15 chimpanzees, liked to see people laugh.
"He was very compassionate," Cobb said. "He could tell if I was having a good day or a bad day. He was always trying to get me to laugh if he thought I was having a bad day. He was very in tune to human feelings."
Ron Priest, a sanctuary volunteer for seven years, said Cheetah stood out because of his ability to stand up – shoulders tall, back straight – and walk like a person.
Cheetah also stood out for another reason, Priest said: "When he didn't like somebody or something that was going on, he would pick up some poop and throw it at them. He could get you at 30 feet with bars in between."
It doesn't appear Cheetah had any children, Cobb said.
(Excerpt) Read more at 2.tbo.com ...
If Tarzan and Jane are Chinese, what is Cheetah?
An only child.
Not believable.
Me like Jane!
I remember when I was a little kid some times on a Saturday night I would be allowed to stay up and watch a Tarzan movie. I don’t think I ever made it to the end awake.
There were many Cheetas over the years. This was Cheeta-Mike. Mr. Jiggs was another of the more famous Cheetas.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cheeta
Ok I’m puzzled. Unless there are 2 Cheetah the Chimps who acted in a dozen Tarzan movies, Cheetah couldn’t have possibly been there since 1960. I grew up in Palm Springs, knew his ‘caretaker’ Dan Westfall (google it) personally and met Cheetah on more than one occasion.
That makes a little more sense, then.
Have heard different stories on this over the years. There is quite a bit of doubt that this is the same chimp
“Mr. Jiggs”
Sounds like the type to maybe run a little gambling operation on the side.
I concur with the Dentist. I worked with (and knew) Cheetah’s caretaker Dan Westfall and they lived in Palm Springs in the early 1990’s. I met Cheetah 2 or 3 times in the early 90’s.
I wonder if he’s a veteran? He would have been old enough to serve in WWII.
Man oh man, did I have a crush on Jane (Maureen O’Sullivan) when I was a kid. By then, of course, the Tarzan movies were already more than 30 years old...
Amazing. I had no idea he was still around. Good on you, old fella.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.