János "Johnny" Weissmüller Jr. (September 23, 1940 – July 27, 2006) was an American actor and longshoreman. He also authored a book about his father, the five-time

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games (Olympics; ) are the world's preeminent international Olympic sports, sporting events. They feature summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a Multi-s ...

gold medalist Johnny Weissmuller.

Biography

Weissmuller was born in

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

, where his father was performing at the Golden Gate International Exposition in a water ballet show called ''Billy Rose's Aquacade''. His mother was Beryl Scott, the third of his father's five wives. The younger Weissmuller graduated from the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

, where he was on the swim team. He joined the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

, using his swimming acumen to specialize in underwater demolition. In 1958, Weissmuller Jr. got his first screen role in the

Mickey Rooney Mickey Rooney (born Ninnian Joseph Yule Jr.; other pseudonym Mickey Maguire; September 23, 1920 – April 6, 2014) was an American actor. In a career spanning nearly nine decades, he appeared in more than 300 films and was among the last survivi ...

film '' Andy Hardy Comes Home''. In 1961, he appeared in the episode "The Four" with Jack Elam in the western series, '' Lawman'', starring John Russell. He also worked as a stuntman before moving to San Francisco where he worked as a longshoreman. His subsequent credits include parts in '' THX 1138'' (1971) and the 1973 hit '' American Graffiti'' (as one of two car thieves who fight Charles Martin Smith and

Paul Le Mat Paul Le Mat (born September 22, 1945) is an American actor. He first came to prominence with his role in ''American Graffiti'' (1973); his performance was met with critical acclaim and earned him the Golden Globe Award for New Star of the Year - ...

). He also provided the voice of Shame in the English language version of the X-rated cartoon '' Tarzoon: Shame of the Jungle'' (1975). Weissmuller Jr. also appeared as a guest star in two episodes of '' The Streets of San Francisco''. His last movie role was as a bounty hunter in the 1988 release ''

Wildfire A wildfire, forest fire, or a bushfire is an unplanned and uncontrolled fire in an area of Combustibility and flammability, combustible vegetation. Depending on the type of vegetation present, a wildfire may be more specifically identified as a ...

''. He also appeared in Bay Area stage productions. His longest-running stage role was as Chief Bromden in '' One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest'' at the Little Fox Theater in San Francisco. Weissmuller Jr. also belonged to

yacht clubs A yacht club is a boat club specifically related to yachting. Description Yacht clubs are mostly located by the sea, although there some that have been established at a lake or riverside locations. Yacht or sailing clubs have either a marin ...

in San Francisco,

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...

and

Acapulco Acapulco de Juárez (), commonly called Acapulco ( , ; ), is a city and Port of Acapulco, major seaport in the Political divisions of Mexico, state of Guerrero on the Pacific Coast of Mexico, south of Mexico City. Located on a deep, semicirc ...

, taking part in several Transpac yacht races from

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

to Hawaii. Weissmuller Jr.'s memoir, ''Tarzan, My Father'', was published in 2002 by ECW Press in

Toronto, Ontario Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

. In 2005, he retired from the docks to begin writing a book about work as a longshoreman. He died from liver cancer on July 27, 2006, aged 65. He was married to Diane Weissmuller and had a daughter, Heidi Medsker, and a stepson.

Filmography

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Weissmuller, Johnny Jr. 1940 births 2006 deaths American male film actors Deaths from liver cancer in California Male actors from San Francisco University of Southern California alumni United States Navy officers Writers from San Francisco 20th-century American male actors