DIRTY APE:

Cheeta, Tarzan star and world's oldest chimpanzee, hopes for Hollywood recognition (Rupert Neate, 08/07/2008, Daily Telegraph)

Cheeta, the chimp star of 12 Tarzan films in the 30s and 40s, could soon get the recognition he deserves - a star on Holywood's Walk of Fame.

The 76-year-old chimpanzee has been snubbed for the honour seven times in the last 20 years, but a video to go with the re-release of country hit Convoy could see him strike lucky at last.

Ana Martinez-Holler, of the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce, said fans are campaigning for him to be awarded a Hollywood star.

"I will tell you I got a lot of emails. Fans were upset," she said. "This is not a Pulitzer Prize. This is a tourist attraction. The least favourite part of my job is telling these people that they aren't selected. I get called all kinds of things, and I don't even vote."

After Syracuse lost the 1987 NCAA title game, I straggled back to our New Orleans hotel room in time to see Maureen O'Sullivan on Letterman. She was in her '70s by then, seemingly prim and proper. But then she started talking about how Cheeta had a psychotic gay crush on Johnny Weismuller and had to be ankle-chained during shoots of publicity stills or he'd try raping his co-star. The host sat there gape-mouthed as did his audience.

Posted by Orrin Judd at July 9, 2008 10:04 AM