Cheeta the 1930s Tarzan chimp dies aged 80 after outliving both of his co-stars

The Suncoast Primate Sanctuary in Palm Harbor said he died on Saturday of kidney failure.

He had acted alongside Johnny Weissmuller and Maureen O’Sullivan in Tarzan films from 1932-34, it claimed.

One of Hollywood’s most famous animals, Cheeta the chimpanzee from the Tarzan movies of the early 1930s, has died aged 80.

The Suncoast Primate Sanctuary in Palm Harbor, Florida, revealed today the iconic simian star of the golden age of film died on Christmas Eve of kidney failure.

He outlived both of his co-stars Johnny Weissmuller, who died in 1984 aged 79, and Maureen O’Sullivan, who played Tarzan’s mate Jane and who died aged 87 in 1998.

The animal loved fingerpainting and watching football, and was “soothed by Christian music”.

Sanctuary spokeswoman Debbie Cobb told the Tampa Tribune that Cheetah came to live at Palm Harbor from Johnny Weissmuller’s estate in about 1960.

Chimpanzees in zoos typically live 35 to 45 years, she said.

It is not clear what lay behind Cheetah’s longevity, or what evidence there is for it.

A sanctuary volunteer told the paper that fingerpainting was not Cheetah’s only talent.

“When he didn’t like somebody or something that was going on, he would pick up some poop and throw it at them,” Ron Priest said. “He could get you at 30 feet [9m] with bars in between.”

BBC