At the end of each year, many programs dedicate time to famous figures who died that year. 2011 now has a late entry to those montages: Cheetah, the chimpanzee in the "Tarzan" films with Johnny Weissmuller and Maureen O'Sullivan, has died.
Didn't know that Cheetah was still alive? I was surprised, too. Most chimpanzees live to between ages 35 and 45 in captivity...Cheetah was about 80.
Recalling the cinematic work of Cheetah brought back a fond memory of my childhood. Most Saturdays, I would ride my bike to my grandma's house located just a few blocks from my parents' home. A local TV station, unaffiliated with any network, always showed classic films on Saturdays--and grandma inevitably had the television tuned to that channel all day long.
I got to enjoy Abbott and Costello, the Bowery Boys, and Tarzan on those Saturday afternoons.
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