Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1932-05-28
SWIMMING CHAMpj
SCARED BY LIONS
In Face of Success, Ayers
He'll Never Be an Actor.
0IymricS Worry Him.
BY r. ID. THOMAS,

TINE curtain glided down on
applause that might have
i pleased a Barrymore. Bat
Tarzan Johnny Weissmuller,
the worlds Swiftest swimmer
exit.
1T may sound like a weak at
tempt to be funny" he declared
In his dressing room, "but you
asked me how I felt about this
job. Well, out there on the stage
I feel like a fish out of water"
We1ssmuller grinned, but waved his
upper hns-theyre huge-in a gesture
Of disgust.
HIS fire!" he exclaimed, I'll
never make an actor"
Show folk, and particularly those at
hollywood, are Of different mind, and
Edgar Rice Burroughs, gathering shekels
by the banNul from Johnny's efforts in
"Tarzan Of the Apes" is inscribing an
other series Of jungle adventures for
him.
And does he like that!
RUT just moment-Johnny Weiss
~ muller, the swimmer, has a word
m ciaSSed as q pro now and,
OF course, it's out of the question, but
boy. how I'd go for this Olympic meet!p
The giant Chicagoan, believed to be the
fastest swimmer in history. for discount
ing known records his physical makeup
alone is convincing, has had no close
rival.
ModeSty blends with frankness when
Welssmuller speaks of his swimming
proves. An event or two in the COM
ing world meet he'd relish winning. for
the fields will be brilliant. The big
races will be the 100, 400 and 500 meter
Tree style, and in these the United
States may need a close second to
WelssmuDer to win. 1t worries him.
Johnny has kept close tab on the
swimming situation. even while in
something of a daze over his SEN
satlonal debut as a screen hero.
hungary. France, Germany and
Japan will send some swimmers to the
Clymp1cs who'll take a lot of beating''
ne said, but we'll clean up in most OF
the events"
The record book Of swimming is a
sort OF Weissmuller biography, but none
OF ms notable victories afforded him
a kick comparable to that Of his ex-
perlences in the filming of "Tarzan
a
demi-god to Weissmuller.
Those TarZan stories used to fas-
cnate me-" he said, 80 much so I
read some of them several times. And
what a trick of fortune when suddenly
l become Tarzan himself
1T all seems like a dream" he said
worce-ingly. but don't get me wrong
on the success end Of it. 1 was the
most surprised person in the world
when that picture went over big. It
didn't seem Ike much when the scenes
were nelng shot. 1 simply did what 7
was told to do.
How'd I get the job? Simply took
a test for 1t like number of others.
1t counted lot in my favor when
was able to run barefoot without falling
all over myself. I was pretty good, too.
at climbing trees" -
ON the screen, Johnny was chased
~ across a river by crocodiles. This
IVES a camera trick, but the Iohs
he "battied'' left their marks on him..
He displayed several wicked scars.
Il got those from being knocked
down By lions" he explained.
They're tame" he laughed. "and
their claws have been removed. but boy.
they go for you like foot ball tackler--
and they have teeth. 1 held a piece
OF meat in the hand with the dagger,
and the lion, of course, vent for the
beef. And got it. They simply knock
one down and take it, It's like playing
rough with big dog.
But every now and then lion gets
mad and that's no fun. I was told
never to run when cat got peeyed,
but to give him as tough a look as he
sent. I managed somehow to follow
instructions, but to tell the truth, there
were moments in those scenes with the
lions when my legs quivered. Maybe I
was too scared to run.
".NfISS O'SULLIVAN, the little
W heroine of the picture. got her
scary moments in the trees.
Heights make her dizzy. The monkey
who played the part of my pal nearly
knocked me out of tree several times
by jumping on my back Remember
the tree scene where I rip some of the
girls clothing? Well, it wasn't all act
ing when Miss O'Sullivan threw her
arms around mel'' Ia
Miss O'Sullivan could have used to
advantage a peculiar quality of pres
ent fair assistant of WeiSsmuller, Miss
Berlo, high diver. On the way out Of
the theater, the reporter halted behind
stage to watch Miss Berlo do a bit Of
practicing.
She dove from a trapeze so feet up.
Il can do this a lot better" she
complained to stage hand, If youu
put that trapeze little higher
In Weissmuller's physique largely
lies the secret, perhaps, of his success
as swimmer. He is feet 3 inches
tall, weighs close to 200 pounds and IS
V-modeled. His breadth of shoulder
is striking. 1t makes him appear mas
sive
That wide chest acts much in the
manner of a surf board. And, in
truth, Weissmuller glides over the wa
ter rather than through it.
His feet are used remarkably ike
propellers. The kick is from the hips.
with knees practically stiff, and the
feet swish around on rubbery ankles.
Practice has made those ankles as pill
able as Johnny's wrists. And on the
ends of them are a pair Of feet, which
are, brother, FEET