Johnny Weissmuller, Jr. (1940-2006)

Obituary for Johnny Weissmuller, Jr.

The only son of Johnny Weissmuller, Sr. died on July 28, 2006 in San Francisco. In 2002 he published Tarzan, My Father, the story of both his father and his own life as the son of “Tarzan.” The following Johnny Weissmuller, Jr. obituary was provided by his family.

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Obituary

Johnny Weissmulller Jr., son of the legendary Olympic swimmer who gained screen fame as the best-known “Tarzan” actor, died at 65 of liver cancer July 28 at California Pacific Medical Center — where he was born on September 23, 1940.

He was the son of Johnny Weissmuller Sr. and Beryl Scott, the third of Weissmuller’s five wives (1939-1948). The Weissmullers lived in San Francisco while he appeared in Billy Rose’s Aquacade, but soon moved back to Hollywood; they separated in 1943, and Weissmuller Jr. was raised by his mother in Santa Monica during the tumultuous years of his parents’ separation and divorce. For many years he rarely saw his father, but they reunited when he was a teenager, and often traveled together to various homes in California and Mexico. Weissmuller Sr. died in 1984 and is buried in Acapulco.

Weissmuller Jr. was educated in Los Angeles at the Harvard Military Academy and University High School and graduated from Hamilton High. He attended both UCLA and USC on swimming scholarships, having inherited his father’s love and talent for swimming. In 1958 he joined the Navy, specializing in underwater demolition.

During his school and Navy years, he appeared in a number of supporting roles in movies (THX 138, Magnum Force, American Graffiti), television (Wagon Train, Gunsmoke, Streets of San Francisco) and on stage (We’re No Angels, Bus Stop, The Hairy Ape, Mr. Roberts).

He moved to the Bay Area in 1973 where he became a longshoreman and continued acting; his most memorable role was as Chief Bromden in “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest,” which he played for three and a half years at the Little Fox Theater in San Francisco. He also met Diane Jones, “the love of my life,” whom he married in 1979 aboard the yacht Santana; they have lived in San Francisco for 30 years.

An accomplished sailor, he often crewed on yacht races, including the TransPac from San Francisco to Hawaii.

In 2002 he wrote Tarzan, My Father (ECW Press), a memoir of life with his father and their Hollywood days. He retired as a longshoreman in 2005, and was working on a book about his dockworking days when he was diagnosed with cancer. Although he underwent cancer treatments, he still managed to take some memorable trips, including one to Germany and Romania in 2005 for festivals celebrating his father’s 100th birthday; he also participated in the Gumball Auto Rally in May. He and wife Diane recently appeared in the award-winning documentary, “G. I. Jesus.”

Always involved with his father’s legacy, he was working on the recovery of some lost Olympic swimming medals for the Swimming Hall of Fame, as well as trying to get a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for their old pal Cheeta — the remarkable 74-year-old chimpanzee, who starred in a dozen “Tarzan” movies (one of Weissmuller’s recent get-well cards was an abstract oil painting from Cheeta).

He is survived by his wife Diane of San Francisco; his daughter Heidi Medsker of Denver and four grandchildren; his sister Wendy Weissmuller of Scotts Valley; his nephews Adam and Nathan Penniman of Santa Cruz, and Allene Weissmuller McClelland of Lake Arrowhead.

At his request, there will be no service; his ashes will be scattered in Acapulco. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to the California Pacific Medical Center, Department of Transplantation (Attn: Jeffrey Miller, Director), 2351 Clay Street, San Francisco 94115.

B A C K > Interview with Johnny Weissmuller, Jr.

N E X T > Review: TARZAN, MY FATHER

More Tarzan and Weissmuller

Weissmuller 1 > Weissmuller 2 > Trivia > Films > Links > Acapulco > More Books

Also see: Film Book of the Month

M O R E > Tarzan - Part 1

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