About
American decathlon champion at the 1936 Olympics in Berlin who later came to play Tarzan in Hollywood.
Before Fame
A superb athlete in high school, his performance at the 1936 games mesmerized German chancellor Adolf Hitler and Germany's propagandist filmmaker Leni Riefenstahl.
Trivia
His Olympic success got him a ticker-tape-parade welcoming back to the U.S., a movie offer from Twentieth Century Fox, and an invitation to play football for the Detroit Lions.
Family Life
He grew up in Denver, Colorado.
Associated With
Leni Riefenstahl apparently became so enamored with him that she claimed an affair developed between them, and featured him on the second part of her Olympia film.
