Johnny Weissmuller (/ˈwaɪsmʌlər/ WYSSE-mul-ər; born Johann Peter Weißmüller, German: [ˈjoːhan ˈpeːtɐ ˈvaɪsmʏlɐ]; June 2, 1904 – January 20, 1984) was a Hungarian-born ethnic German American Olympic swimmer, water polo player and actor.

Weissmuller also won gold in the 400m freestyle, as well as a bronze medal in the water polo competition in Paris.

[6][7] Johann Peter Weißmüller was born on June 2, 1904, in Szabadfalva, in the Kingdom of Hungary, Austria-Hungary (now part of Romania, and called Freidorf) into an ethnically Banat Swabian family.

He left school to begin working in order to support his mother and younger brother.

[7] On July 9, 1922, Weissmuller broke Duke Kahanamoku's world record in the 100-meter freestyle, swimming it in 58.6 seconds.

[12] He won the title for that distance at the 1924 Summer Olympics, beating Kahanamoku for the gold medal.

[15][2] It was during this period that Weissmuller became an enthusiast for John Harvey Kellogg's holistic lifestyle views on nutrition, enemas and exercise.

He improved it to 48.5 seconds at Billy Rose World's Fair Aquacade in 1940, aged 36, but this result was discounted, as he was competing as a professional.

[17][2] As a member of the U.S. men's national water polo team, he won a bronze medal at the 1924 Summer Olympics.

He appeared wearing only a fig leaf while hoisting actress Mary Eaton on his shoulders.

One very notable instance was in 1927 during training for the Chicago Marathon, when Weissmuller saved 11 people from drowning after a boat accident.

[7] On July 28, 1927, 16 children, 10 women, and 1 man drowned when the Favorite, a small excursion boat cruising from Lincoln Park to Municipal Pier (Navy Pier), capsized half a mile off North Avenue in a sudden, heavy squall.

While hospitalized he learned that in spite of his strength and lifelong daily regimen of swimming and exercise, he had a serious heart condition.

As his coffin was lowered into the ground, a recording of the Tarzan yell he invented was played three times, at his request.

[23] He was honored with a 21-gun salute, befitting a head of state, which was arranged by Senator Ted Kennedy and President Ronald Reagan.

[7] For his contribution to the motion picture industry, Johnny Weissmuller has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

[7] His former co-star and movie son Johnny Sheffield wrote of him, "I can only say that working with Big John was one of the highlights of my life.

[27] Edgar Rice Burroughs himself paid tribute to Weissmuller's powerful screen persona in the last Tarzan novel that he completed But what seemed a long time to them was a matter of seconds only.

And the man rose and put a foot upon it and, raising his face to the heavens, voiced a horrid cry—the victory cry of the bull ape.