# Chimpanzee "Cheetah" (old Tarzan flicks) Still Alive? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 11, 2008, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chimpanzee-cheetah-old-tarzan-flicks-still-alive/444964 "2008-04-11T23:10:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2008, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chimpanzee-cheetah-old-tarzan-flicks-still-alive/444964/1 "2008-04-11T23:10:19Z")
I heard this on a local radio station-the chimpanzee that played alongside Maureen O’Sullivan and Johnny Weismuller is STILL alive?? That would make the chimp something like 75 years old! Is this true? I thought that chimps lived about 40 years. Speaking of those old Tarzan movies-is “Boy” still alive? ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2008, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chimpanzee-cheetah-old-tarzan-flicks-still-alive/444964/2 "2008-04-11T23:13:27Z")
He’s still alive. Last I heard he has his own house in Palm Springs and sells his paintings on ebay. No, seriously. ---
**Author:** ![Governor\_Quinn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/d26b3c/32.png) [@Governor\_Quinn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Governor_Quinn)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2008, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chimpanzee-cheetah-old-tarzan-flicks-still-alive/444964/3 "2008-04-11T23:18:07Z")
[QUOTE=ralph124c] Speaking of those old Tarzan movies-is “Boy” still alive? [/QUOTE] [Johnny Sheffield](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0790788/) is still around, and [fairly recent interviews of him are floating around the Internet](http://www.tarzanmovieguide.com/sheffint.htm) ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2008, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chimpanzee-cheetah-old-tarzan-flicks-still-alive/444964/4 "2008-04-11T23:32:23Z")
[QUOTE=Cisco] He’s still alive. Last I heard he has his own house in Palm Springs and sells his paintings on ebay. No, seriously. [/QUOTE] Damn! I thought you meant “Cheetah” was still alive and doing quite well for a chimp. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Icarus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icarus/32/72_2.png) [@Icarus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icarus)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2008, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chimpanzee-cheetah-old-tarzan-flicks-still-alive/444964/5 "2008-04-12T00:00:54Z")
[QUOTE=samclem] Damn! I thought you meant “Cheetah” was still alive and doing quite well for a chimp. 🙂 [/QUOTE] That is what they meant. Cheeta is alive at 76 years old, living in Palm Springs, and selling paintings. [Here](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cheeta) ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2008, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chimpanzee-cheetah-old-tarzan-flicks-still-alive/444964/6 "2008-04-12T00:38:31Z")
[QUOTE=Icarus] That is what they meant. Cheeta is alive at 76 years old, living in Palm Springs, and selling paintings. [Here](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cheeta) [/QUOTE] Well, I"ll be a “monkey’s uncle.” ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2008, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chimpanzee-cheetah-old-tarzan-flicks-still-alive/444964/7 "2008-04-12T00:54:09Z")
[QUOTE=Icarus] That is what they meant. Cheeta is alive at 76 years old, living in Palm Springs, and selling paintings. [Here](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cheeta) [/QUOTE] Of course, what he _really_ wants to do is direct. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2008, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chimpanzee-cheetah-old-tarzan-flicks-still-alive/444964/8 "2008-04-12T00:55:35Z")
[QUOTE=Governor Quinn] [Johnny Sheffield](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0790788/) is still around, and [fairly recent interviews of him are floating around the Internet](http://www.tarzanmovieguide.com/sheffint.htm) [/QUOTE] Jai (Manuel Padilla Jr) is dead though. ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2008, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chimpanzee-cheetah-old-tarzan-flicks-still-alive/444964/9 "2008-04-12T01:00:43Z")
Yep, Cheetah is living the high life, alright. Most of his fellow animal actors end up in far less posh surroundings. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2008, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chimpanzee-cheetah-old-tarzan-flicks-still-alive/444964/10 "2008-04-12T01:01:40Z")
[QUOTE=ralph124c] I heard this on a local radio station-the chimpanzee that played alongside Maureen O’Sullivan and Johnny Weismuller is STILL alive?? That would make the chimp something like 75 years old! Is this true? I thought that chimps lived about 40 years. Speaking of those old Tarzan movies-is “Boy” still alive? [/QUOTE] According to [Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chimpanzee#Lifespan), chimpanzees do indeed live only 40 years in the wild. But captive chimps (i.e. those which have access to veterinary care, and don’t compete with other chimpanzees for food or status) have been known to live for 60 years or longer. ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2008, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chimpanzee-cheetah-old-tarzan-flicks-still-alive/444964/11 "2008-04-12T03:10:52Z")
[QUOTE=cochrane] According to [Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chimpanzee#Lifespan), chimpanzees do indeed live only 40 years in the wild. But captive chimps (i.e. those which have access to veterinary care, and don’t compete with other chimpanzees for food or status) have been known to live for 60 years or longer. [/QUOTE] Still - he broke the record 12 years ago. He is anomalous as far as our knowledge of non-human primates goes. ---
**Author:** ![Terrifel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c68b51/32.png) [@Terrifel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terrifel)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2008, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chimpanzee-cheetah-old-tarzan-flicks-still-alive/444964/12 "2008-04-12T03:19:34Z")
Interestingly, a primate sanctuary in Palm Harbor FL also claims to be caring for a “Cheetah” from Johnny Weissmuller’s Tarzan movies. [This one’s name is Mike](http://www.suncoastprimate.org/cheetahbio.html) and he is also supposed to be over 70. Were I a more cynical person, I might harbor suspicions that any sufficiently elderly chimpanzee eventually becomes “Cheetah” from Johnny Weissmuller’s Tarzan movies. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2008, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chimpanzee-cheetah-old-tarzan-flicks-still-alive/444964/13 "2008-04-12T03:56:22Z")
[QUOTE=Terrifel] Interestingly, a primate sanctuary in Palm Harbor FL also claims to be caring for a “Cheetah” from Johnny Weissmuller’s Tarzan movies. [This one’s name is Mike](http://www.suncoastprimate.org/cheetahbio.html) and he is also supposed to be over 70. Were I a more cynical person, I might harbor suspicions that any sufficiently elderly chimpanzee eventually becomes “Cheetah” from Johnny Weissmuller’s Tarzan movies. [/QUOTE] Since animal parts in TV and movies often had multiple “actors” this could actually be true if more than one chimp played Cheetah. ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2008, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chimpanzee-cheetah-old-tarzan-flicks-still-alive/444964/14 "2008-04-12T04:41:15Z")
“Now, Tarzan make war!” _Tarzan Triumphs (1943)_ The best Cheeta moment: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/yiQ-RKVp4Lo/hqdefault.jpg "Tarzan and the Nazis - 1942") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yiQ-RKVp4Lo) This bit of anachronism was the result of the WWII war effort, Tarzan fights against the Nazis (even Cheeta machine guns one Nazi!) and at the end of the movie Cheeta takes over the radio the Nazis were using and the Nazi HQ confuse him with the Führer. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2008, 7:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chimpanzee-cheetah-old-tarzan-flicks-still-alive/444964/15 "2008-04-12T07:57:21Z")
[QUOTE=astro] Since animal parts in TV and movies often had multiple “actors” this could actually be true if more than one chimp played Cheetah. [/QUOTE] That sounds as if it is likely. A near example might be with the two Clint Eastwood movies, “Every Which Way But Loose” and “Any Which Way You Can” in which a different orangutan played [“Clyde”](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0080377/trivia) in each movie. ---
**Author:** ![JThunder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e95f7d/32.png) [@JThunder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JThunder)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2008, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chimpanzee-cheetah-old-tarzan-flicks-still-alive/444964/16 "2008-04-12T14:40:49Z")
Bah. Orangutans. They all look alike. ---
**Author:** ![Lust4Life](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ecc23a/32.png) [@Lust4Life](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lust4Life)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2008, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chimpanzee-cheetah-old-tarzan-flicks-still-alive/444964/17 "2008-04-12T15:05:56Z")
[QUOTE=Icarus] That is what they meant. Cheeta is alive at 76 years old, living in Palm Springs, and selling paintings. [Here](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cheeta) [/QUOTE] Is he a Doper living in Orlando and claiming to be English? Just a thought. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2008, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chimpanzee-cheetah-old-tarzan-flicks-still-alive/444964/18 "2008-06-19T21:34:55Z")
Bumping this thread rather than starting another (since it’s not likely to start any arguments) for a MPTIMS that’s CS related: > [@](#): > > [Walk of Fame Says Chimp’s a Chump!](http://www.tmz.com/2008/06/19/walk-of-fame-says-the-chimps-a-chump/) > Posted Jun 19th 2008 1:30PM by TMZ Staff > > Legendary chimp thespian Cheeta’s chance to have his name permanently etched on the Walk of Fame has just been shot down. What a load of ape dump! > > The 76-year-old chimpanzee actor, who’s starred in flicks like “Tarzan” and “Bedtime for Bonzo,” didn’t receive enough votes from the Walk of Fame Committee to have a star placed in his honor in '09 C’mon people! Give him a star! While I doubt he’s exactly heartrboken over the honor, you can’t convince me a 76 year old chimp (the equivalent of being _well_ over 100 for a human) and one of the last recognizable bankable household-name movie stars from the 1930s doesn’t deserve a star when The Monkees and Jennifer Love Hewitt have one. Poor babe. (I love the reports that he actually watches his old movies with his grandchildren- true.) ---
**Author:** ![An\_Arky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/87869e/32.png) [@An\_Arky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Arky)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2008, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chimpanzee-cheetah-old-tarzan-flicks-still-alive/444964/19 "2008-06-19T22:48:18Z")
I did a [thread on his birthday](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=366805) a couple of years ago…I think it’s so cool! He should totally have a star on the walk of fame. ---
**Author:** ![mobo85](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mobo85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mobo85)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2008, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chimpanzee-cheetah-old-tarzan-flicks-still-alive/444964/20 "2008-06-19T23:19:06Z")
Tinker Bell over Cheeta? I know Disney has clout, but I don’t think she deserves a star as much as Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, or Kermit the Frog\*. Cheeta definitely does though. \*Kermit’s star was awarded in 2002, while the character was still owned by Jim Henson Productions. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chimpanzee-cheetah-old-tarzan-flicks-still-alive/444964.md?page=2)