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Johnny Weissmuller (born Johann Peter Weißmüller; June 2, 1904 – January 20, 1984) was an American competition swimmer and actor best known for playing Tarzan in films of the 1930s and 1940s and for having one of the best competitive swimming records of the 20th century. Weissmuller was one of the world's fastest swimmers in the 1920s, winning five Olympic gold medals for swimming and one bronze medal for water polo. He won fifty-two U.S. National Championships, set more than fifty world records (spread over both freestyle and backstroke),〔 and was purportedly undefeated in official competition for the entirety of his competitive career. After retiring from competitions, he became the sixth actor to portray Edgar Rice Burroughs's ape man, Tarzan, a role he played in twelve motion pictures. Dozens of other actors have also played Tarzan, but Weissmuller is by far the best known. His character's distinctive Tarzan yell is still often used in films. ==Early life== Johann Peter Weißmüller was an ethnic German, the elder son of Peter Weissmüller and his wife Elisabeth (née Kersch), both Banat Swabians, an ethnic German population in southeast Europe. Johann Peter had one sibling, a younger brother, Peter. His generally accepted birthplace was in Freidorf, Austro-Hungarian Empire (present-day Timișoara, Romania) (German: Temeschwar). The records of St Rochus Church in Freidorf show that Johann, son of Peter and Elizabeth (née Kersch) Weissmüller, was baptized there on June 5, 1904, three days after his birth.〔(Profile ), genealogy.ro; accessed November 12, 2015.〕 However, the ship's roster from his family's arrival at Ellis Island lists his birthplace as Párdány, Kingdom of Hungary, in present-day Serbia, not far from the Romanian border.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Interview with Johnny Weissmuller, Jr. )〕〔(Johnny Weissmuller profile ), ''Britannica Online Encyclopedia''; accessed November 12, 2015.〕〔Bjelogrlic, Aleksandar (March 28, 2007) (Rocky Inspires Success in Serbia ). ''Businessweek''〕 The passenger manifest of the S.S. ''Rotterdam'', which left Rotterdam on January 14, 1905, and arrived at Ellis Island in New York on January 26, 1905, lists Peter Weissmüller, a 29-year-old laborer, his 24-year-old wife Elisabeth, and seven-month-old Johann as steerage passengers. The family is listed as Germans, last residence Timișoara. After a brief stay in Chicago visiting relatives, they moved to the coal mining town of Windber, Pennsylvania, where they intended to join their brother-in-law, Johann Ott. On November 5, 1905, Peter Johann Weissmüller was baptized at St. John Cantius Catholic Church in Windber. Peter Weissmuller worked as a miner, and his younger son, Peter Weissmüller, Jr., was born in Windber on September 3, 1905. In the 1910 census, Peter and Elizabeth Weisenmüller as well as John and Eva Ott were living at 1521 Cleveland Ave in the 22nd Ward of Chicago, with sons John, age six, born in Timisoara and Peter Jr., age five, erroneously entered as born in Illinois. Peter Weissmüller and John Ott were both brewers, Ott emigrating in 1902, Weissmüller in 1904. At age nine, young John Weissmüller contracted polio. At the suggestion of his doctor, he took up swimming to help battle the disease. After the family moved from western Pennsylvania to Chicago, he continued swimming and eventually earned a spot on the YMCA swim team. According to military draft registration records for World War I, Peter and Elizabeth were apparently still together as late as 1917. On his paperwork, Peter was listed as a brewer, working for the Elston and Fullerton Brewery. He and his family were living at 226 West North Avenue in Chicago. In his book, ''Tarzan, My Father'', Johnny Weissmuller Jr. stated that although rumors of Peter Weissmüller living to "a ripe old age, remarrying along the way and spawning a large brood of little Weissmüllers" were reported, no one in the family was aware of his ultimate fate.〔 Peter signed his consent for 19-year-old John "Weissmuller"'s passport application in 1924, preceding Johnny's Olympic competition in France. In the 1930 federal census, Elizabeth Weissmüller, age 49, has listed with her, sons John P. and Peter J., and Peter's wife Dorothy. Elizabeth is listed as a widow. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Johnny Weissmuller」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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