The closest analog to Cheeta in the Burroughs novels is Tarzan's monkey companion Nkima, who appears in several of the later books in the series.

Tony Gentry made various claims regarding Cheeta's (Jiggs IV) age, origins, and supposed movie roles.

Cheeta was supposedly born in the wild in Liberia some months prior to 9 April 1932, which is celebrated as his birthday because it is the date he is said to have arrived in the United States, in New York City.

[43] Other accounts of Cheeta's origins from Gentry include having found the animal himself in the Belgian Congo in 1932 or having bought him in Santa Monica about 1938 or in the late 1940s.

[2] In the mid-1980s, the myth of Tony Gentry's chimp Cheeta/Jiggs IV being the original Cheeta from the movies was unexpectedly perpetuated when a film studio employee, looking for an opportunity to make headlines, stumbled on the (false) story of this supposedly very long-lived chimp and decided to create an extravagant fundraiser, complete with amateur New Wave cover bands and cash bar, to pay for installation of a star on Hollywood's Walk of Fame for Cheeta.

The final result of the probably well-meaning efforts by this "useful idiot" was a party in Hollywood enjoyed by many, a good sum of money raised and donated to Gentry, and perpetuation of the dual myths that Cheeta/Jiggs IV was indeed the former movie star chimp, and was now in his mid-50s.

In Westfall's care, Cheeta lived at a primate sanctuary called Creative Habitats and Enrichment for Endangered and Threatened Apes (or CHEETA) in Palm Springs, California, where he reportedly watched television, made abstract paintings which were sold to benefit primate-related charities, and often watched "his" old films with his grandson, Jeeter.

Later that year, the 4 October 2006, edition of the Palm Springs newspaper, The Desert Sun, reported that he had received his first-ever visit from famed primatologist Jane Goodall the previous day.

[46][47] Since 2004, unsuccessful attempts have been made to secure a star for Cheeta on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and as of 2008, filmmaker Matt Devlen was continuing the effort.