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{{about|the chimpanzee film character|the species of big cat|Cheetah}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2025}}
{{Infobox character
| name      = Cheeta
| image     = [[File:Cheeta.jpg|220px]]
| caption   = Portrait of "Cheeta" (Jiggs IV), long alleged to be the principal animal performer of the Cheeta role
| first     = ''[[Tarzan the Ape Man (1932 film)|Tarzan the Ape Man]]''
| portrayer = [[Jiggs (chimpanzee)|Jiggs]] and other animals
| alias     = Cheetah, Cheta, Chita
| species   = [[Common chimpanzee|Chimpanzee]]
| gender    = Male
}}
'''Cheeta''' (sometimes billed as ''Cheetah'', ''Cheta'', or ''Chita'') is a [[Common chimpanzee|chimpanzee]] character that appeared in numerous [[Hollywood (film industry)|Hollywood]] [[Tarzan]] [[film]]s of the 1930s–1960s, as well as the 1966–1968 [[Tarzan (1966 TV series)|television series]], as the ape sidekick of the title character, Tarzan. Cheeta has usually been characterized as male, but sometimes as female, and has been portrayed by chimpanzees of both sexes.

While the character of Cheeta is inextricably associated in the public mind with Tarzan, no chimpanzees appear in the original Tarzan novels by [[Edgar Rice Burroughs]] that inspired the films. The closest analog to Cheeta in the Burroughs novels is Tarzan's monkey companion [[Nkima]], who appears in several of the later books in the series.

==Role==
Cheeta's role in the Tarzan films and TV series is to provide comic relief, convey messages between Tarzan and his allies, and occasionally lead Tarzan's other animal friends to the ape-man's rescue.<ref name="ASR">Paietta, Ann C., and Kauppila, Jean L. ''Animals on Screen and Radio: an Annotated Sourcebook''. Metuchen, N.J., Scarecrow Press, 1994, p. 258.</ref>

==Portrayers of the character==
The character of Cheeta  was a composite role created through the use of numerous animal actors,<ref name="washpost">{{cite news |last=Rosen |first=R. D. |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/11/25/AR2008112500939.html |title=Lie of the Jungle: The Truth About Cheeta the Chimpanzee |work=The Washington Post Magazine |date=7 December 2008 |access-date=8 December 2008}}</ref> over a dozen according to one source.<ref name="ASR"/> According to journalist R. D. Rosen, "In each Tarzan movie, the Cheeta role [was] played by more than one chimp, depending on what talents the scene called for."<ref name="washpost"/> Known and alleged performers of the role are given in the following table (see the comments following the table for the sources of the data).

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Name
! Sex
! Species
! Born
! Died
! Owner(s)
! Trainer(s)
! Period as Cheeta
|-
| '''[[Jiggs (chimpanzee)|Jiggs]]''' || M || Chimpanzee
| ca.1929 || 1938-02-28 or 1938-03-01 || Tony & Jacqueline Gentry ||Tony & Jacqueline Gentry || 1932–1934
|-
| '''Jacky I''' || M || Chimpanzee
| ca.1930 || Unknown || Gertrude Davies Lintz ||Gertrude Davies Lintz || 1932
|-
| '''[[David Holt (American actor)|David Holt]]''' || M || Human
| 1927-08-14 || 2003-11-15 || Inapplicable || Inapplicable || 1933
|-
| '''Cheetah-Mike''' {{nowrap|(a.k.a. Org)}} || M || Chimpanzee
| Unknown; ca.1931 claimed || 2011-12-24 || See comments || Unknown || Possibly never; 1930s–1940s claimed
|-
| '''Jiggs, Jr.''' {{nowrap|(a.k.a. Jiggs II)}} || M || Chimpanzee
| ca.1935 || Unknown || Tony & Jacqueline Gentry || Tony & Jacqueline Gentry || 1930s–1940s?
|-
| '''Unknown 1''' || ? || Chimpanzee || 1930s || Unknown || Unknown || Unknown || 1930s
|-
| '''Skippy''' || M || Chimpanzee || 1930s ||  || Erna Sinclair || Erna Sinclair ||1940-1960
|-
| '''Unknown 2''' || ? || Chimpanzee || 1930s || Unknown || Unknown || Unknown || ca.1933–1943
|-
| '''Jacky III''' || M || Chimpanzee
| Unknown || Unknown || Gertrude Davies Lintz ||Gertrude Davies Lintz || 1942
|-
| '''Cheta''' || ? || Chimpanzee || ca.1937 || Unknown || Unknown || George Emerson || 1943
|-
| '''Unknown 3''' || ? || Chimpanzee || 1940s || Unknown || Unknown || See comments || 1944–1945?
|-
| '''Unknown 4''' || ? || Chimpanzee || 1940s || Unknown || Unknown || Albert Antonucci || 1946–1949?
|-
| '''Harry''' || M || Chimpanzee || ca.1944 || Unknown || Unknown || Unknown || 1948
|-
| '''Cheeta''' || ? || Chimpanzee || 1940s || Unknown || Pinky Jackson || Pinky Jackson || 1950
|-
| '''Cheeta''' || F || Chimpanzee || ca.1948 || 1957-09-06 || Ed Rogers || Unknown || 1950s
|-
| '''Zippy''' || M || Chimpanzee || ca.1951 || Unknown || Ralph Quinlan || Ralph Quinlan || 1950s
|-
| '''Dinky''' || F || Chimpanzee || Unknown || 1965 || Unknown || Unknown || 1965
|-
| '''Cheetah''' || ? || Chimpanzee || 1960s? || Unknown || Unknown || Unknown || 1966–1968?
|-
| '''C.J.''' || M || Orangutan || 1970s? || Unknown || Unknown || Unknown || 1981
|-
| '''Cheeta''' {{nowrap|(a.k.a. Jiggs IV)}} || M || Chimpanzee
| ca.1960; ca.1932 claimed || 2022-05-05<ref name="DesertSun">{{cite news |last=Makinen |first=Julia |url=https://www.desertsun.com/story/news/2022/05/09/palm-springs-chimp-cheeta-billed-hollywood-tarzan-star-dies/9706019002/ |title=Cheeta, a celebrated Palm Springs chimp with Hollywood origins, dies |work=[[The Desert Sun]] |date=May 9, 2022 |access-date=May 10, 2022}}</ref> || Tony Gentry<br />Dan Westfall || Tony Gentry || 2007, 2014; 1930s–1950s claimed
|}

More details about these performers:

* '''[[Jiggs (chimpanzee)|Jiggs]]''', a male chimpanzee born about 1929 owned and trained by Tony and Jacqueline Gentry,<ref name="kingsley2">{{cite news |last=Kingsley |first=Grace |title=Hobnobbing in Hollywood |work=Los Angeles Times |date=November 21, 1933 |page=11}}</ref><ref name="dies">"Chimpanzee Actor Dies; Funeral Planned for Today," in the ''Los Angeles Times'', March 2, 1938, page A3.</ref><ref name="famous">{{cite news |title=Famous Chimpanzee, Jiggs, Dies on Coast |work=The Atlanta Constitution |date=March 2, 1938 |page=2}}</ref><ref name="owner">{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1938/04/15/archives/owner-sues-for-jiggss-death.html |title=Owner Sues for 'Jigg's' Death |work=The New York Times |date=April 15, 1938 |page=22 |url-access=subscription}}</ref> originated the role and appeared in the first two [[Johnny Weissmuller]] Tarzan films, ''[[Tarzan the Ape Man (1932 film)|Tarzan the Ape Man]]'' (1932) and ''[[Tarzan and His Mate]]'' (1934),<ref name="jiggs1">{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1935/05/20/archives/movie-chimpanzee-receives-350-a-week-jiggs-is-animal-star-not.html |title=Movie Chimpanzee Receives $350 a week; Jiggs Is Animal Star, Not Camera Shy |work=The New York Times |date=May 20, 1935 |page=19}}</ref><ref name="dean">{{cite news |last=Dean |first=Paul |title=A Chimp Off the Old Black in Many a Tarzan Movie |work=Los Angeles Times |date=March 25, 1985 |page=OC-C1}}</ref> as well as the Tarzan serials ''[[Tarzan the Fearless]]'' (1933), starring [[Buster Crabbe]],<ref name="dean"/><ref name="kingsley1">{{cite news |last=Kingsley |first=Grace |title=Hobnobbing in Hollywood |work=Los Angeles Times |date=June 21, 1933 |page=A7}}</ref> and ''[[The New Adventures of Tarzan]]'' (1935), starring [[Herman Brix]], which was also released in feature-film form as ''Tarzan and the Green Goddess'' (1938).<ref name="dean"/><ref name="schallert35">{{cite news |last=Schallert |first=Edwin |title=Popularity of Tarzan Movies Results in Deluge of Ape-Man Hero Stories |work=Los Angeles Times |date=January 10, 1935 |page=19}}</ref> In the Brix films, which were more faithful to Edgar Rice Burroughs' original stories than the Weissmuller ones, Jiggs was cast as Nkima, not Cheeta. He also appeared in the [[Laurel and Hardy]] film ''[[Dirty Work (1933 film)|Dirty Work]]'' (1933),<ref>[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0023950/fullcredits#cast Internet Movie Database entry for ''Dirty Work'' (1933) - Full cast and crew.]</ref> and ''Her Jungle Love'' (1938), starring [[Dorothy Lamour]], his last film.<ref name="dies"/><ref name="famous"/><ref name="bell">{{cite news |last=Bell |first=Nelson B. |title='Her Jungle Love' Adds Prestige to Technicolor As Aid to Realistic and Beautiful Cinematic Effects |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=April 20, 1938 |page=X14}}</ref> Jiggs died on February 28, 1938<ref name="owner"/> or March 1, 1938 at age 9, of pneumonia, and was buried March 2, 1938, in the Los Angeles Pet Cemetery.<ref name="dies"/><ref name="famous"/> Not to be confused with Captain Jiggs, a well-known contemporary chimpanzee owned by [[Gertrude Lintz|Gertrude Davies Lintz]],<ref name="Lintz">{{Cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.221089|title=Animals Are My Hobby|last=Gertrude Davies Lintz|date=1945}}</ref> or with Mr. Jiggs, an orangutan who appeared in ''[[Jungle Book (1942 film)|The Jungle Book]]'' (1942) and numerous other films, that was retired in May, 1943.<ref name="noted">{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1943/05/16/archives/noted-actor-retires.html |title=Noted Actor Retires |work=The New York Times |date=May 16, 1943 |page=X3 |url-access=subscription}}</ref>
* '''Jacky I''', a male chimpanzee owned by [[Gertrude Lintz|Gertrude Davies Lintz]] for two years before appearing with Johnny Weissmuller in the latter's first Tarzan film<ref name="Lintz"/>
* '''[[David Holt (American actor)|David Holt]]''', who as a six-year-old child actor appeared uncredited as a human double for the role in ''Tarzan the Fearless'' (1933).<ref name="holt">{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2003/11/22/arts/david-holt-76-once-seen-as-a-rival-to-shirley-temple.html |title=David Holt, 76, Once Seen As a Rival to Shirley Temple |work=The New York Times |date=November 22, 2003 |page=B7}}</ref>
* '''Cheetah-Mike''' (also known as Org) was a male chimpanzee owned by Suncoast Primate Sanctuary after being donated from Noell's Chimp Farm in Palm Harbor, Florida.<ref name="suncoast"/> Alleged to have been born about 1931 (claimed age in February 2008 was 77),<ref name="shapiro">[http://www.thepokerforum.com/wsopccb086.htm Shapiro, Max. "Retired Florida Developer Nick Bickey Wins $1,000 No-Limit After Even Chop,"] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091020132302/http://www.thepokerforum.com/wsopccb086.htm |date=October 20, 2009 }} February 2008. Accessed 2 July 2009.</ref> to have been acquired from the estate of [[Johnny Weissmuller]] in 1957, and to have been "one of the original 'Cheetahs' from Johnny Weissmuller's ''Tarzan'' movies."<ref name="washpost"/><ref name="suncoast">[http://www.suncoastprimate.org Suncoast Primate Sanctuary website] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090713184128/http://www.suncoastprimate.org/ |date=2009-07-13 }} - pages titled [http://www.suncoastprimate.org/animals.html? "Sanctuary Foundation Animals...!"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090708112044/http://www.suncoastprimate.org/animals.html |date=2009-07-08 }} and [https://web.archive.org/web/20080130130342/http://www.suncoastprimate.org/cheetahbio.html "Cheetah from the Tarzan Movies!"]</ref> It has been speculated that this chimpanzee, if he indeed has any connection to Weissmuller, may actually have come from a Florida tourist attraction the actor once launched that included chimpanzees, rather than having appeared in any of his Tarzan films.<ref name="Ponick">{{cite news |last=Ponick |first=Terry |url=http://communities.washingtontimes.com/neighborhood/movies-toto/2011/dec/29/tarzan-pal-cheetah-dead-80/ |title=Tarzan's pal Cheetah dead at 80 |work=The Washington Times |date=December 29, 2011 |access-date=January 3, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120109073556/http://communities.washingtontimes.com/neighborhood/movies-toto/2011/dec/29/tarzan-pal-cheetah-dead-80 |archive-date=January 9, 2012 |url-status=dead}}</ref> According to journalist Andrew Woods, this Cheeta was also known as Org.<ref name="Woods">{{cite news |last=Woods |first=Andrew |url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2011/dec/28/cheeta-tarzan-chimp |title=Me Cheeta ... no, me Cheeta: the myth of Tarzan's favourite chimp |work=The Guardian |date=December 28, 2011 |access-date=January 3, 2012}}</ref> He died in Palm Harbor, Florida, of kidney failure on December 24, 2011.<ref name="Tampa Bay Online">{{cite news |first=John |last=Politilove |work=[[The Tampa Tribune]] |title=Tarzan co-star Cheetah dies at Palm Harbor sanctuary |url=http://www2.tbo.com/news/breaking-news/2011/dec/27/1/tarzan-co-star-cheetah-dies-at-palm-harbor-sanctua-ar-341123/ |date=December 27, 2011 |access-date=December 27, 2011}}</ref><ref>[http://www.abcactionnews.com/dpp/news/region_north_pinellas/palm_harbor/tarzans-cheetah-the-chimp-dies-after-kidney-failure Burrage, Gregg. "Tarzan's Cheetah the chimp dies after kidney failure,"] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120108011432/http://www.abcactionnews.com/dpp/news/region_north_pinellas/palm_harbor/tarzans-cheetah-the-chimp-dies-after-kidney-failure |date=January 8, 2012 }} on abcactionnews.com, December 27, 2011. Accessed 3 January 2012.</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/cheetah-tarzans-chimp-sidekick-dies-at-80/ |agency=Associated Press |title=Cheetah, Tarzan's chimp sidekick, dies at 80 |publisher=CBS News |date=December 28, 2011 |access-date=January 3, 2012}}</ref><ref>[https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=144357424 Associated Press. "Evidence Casts Doubt On Claimed 'Cheetah' Death,"] on npr.org, December 28, 2011. Accessed 3 January 2012.</ref>
* '''Jiggs, Jr.''' (also known as Jiggs II) was a male chimpanzee born about 1935 owned and trained by Tony and Jacqueline Gentry,<ref name="jiggs2">{{cite news |title=Fingerprint Chimpanzee |work=Los Angeles Times |date=May 30, 1937 |page=B7}}</ref> alleged to have appeared in a number of ''Tarzan'' films and possibly other movies.<ref name="dean"/> He was stated to have gone to the Baltimore Zoo when Gentry went into the service in World War II. His ultimate fate is unknown.<ref name="dean"/>
* '''Unknown 1''' was a chimpanzee stated to have been a juvenile understudy to Jiggs in one of the Weissmuller Tarzan films, that on one occasion accompanied Weissmuller and a 14-foot boa constrictor on a visit to newspaper columnist Nelson B. Bell.<ref name="bell"/>
* '''Skippy''' was a chimpanzee that reportedly "took over when Jiggs died in the late 1930s."<ref name="ASR"/>
* '''Unknown 2''' was a chimpanzee stated to have portrayed Cheeta for 10 years from around 1933 until retirement in 1943,<ref name="shearer">Shearer, Lloyd. "Tarzan and the Man Who Made Him." in ''Liberty Magazine'', July 14, 1945.</ref> possibly the same as the above. This Cheeta's last film was presumably ''[[Tarzan's Desert Mystery]]'' (1943), as the first film of its successor was ''[[Tarzan and the Amazons]]'' (1945).<ref name="hopper">{{cite news |last=Hopper |first=Hedda |title=Looking at Hollywood |work=Los Angeles Times |date=August 26, 1944 |page=4}}</ref>
* '''Jacky III''' was a male chimpanzee formerly owned by [[Gertrude Lintz|Gertrude Davies Lintz]], that appeared "in the 'Tarzan' film released in early 1942" (presumably ''Tarzan's Secret Treasure'', released December 1, 1941, or ''Tarzan's New York Adventure'', released in May 1942).<ref name="Lintz"/>
* '''Cheta''' was a chimpanzee of undetermined sex born about 1937 trained by George Emerson, stated to be the current chimpanzee under contract by Metro for the Tarzan films in March, 1943.<ref name="noted"/>
* '''Unknown 3''' was a chimpanzee stated to have replaced the 1933–1943 Cheeta, cast in 1944 with a trainer from the St. Louis Zoo hired as handler for ''Tarzan and the Amazons'' (1945).<ref name="shearer"/><ref name="hopper"/>
* '''Unknown 4''' was a chimpanzee trained by Albert Antonucci that had apparently played Cheeta for three years as of April, 1949; Antonucci is known to have been Cheeta's trainer for the films ''[[Tarzan and the Huntress]]'' (1947) and ''[[Tarzan's Magic Fountain]]'' (1949),<ref name="antonucci">[https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0031490/ Albert Antonucci filmography at Internet Movie Database]</ref> so presumably this Cheeta played in these films and the intervening ''[[Tarzan and the Mermaids]]'' (1948); Antonucci himself was stated to be slated for an acting role in the next Tarzan film, to be titled ''Tarzan and the Golden Lion'', presumably a working title for the actual next film in the series, ''[[Tarzan and the Slave Girl]]'' (1950), but if so, his role was uncredited or performed under a stage name. Whether he continued to serve as Cheeta's handler in that film, or indeed whether "his" Cheeta was the one who appeared in it, is unknown.<ref name="schallert49">{{cite news |last=Schallert |first=Edwin |title=Metro May Have Uncle Tom in Grooming Stage; Williams Bid for Italy |work=Los Angeles Times |date=April 22, 1949 |page=A7}}</ref>
* '''Harry''' was a male chimpanzee born about 1944, possibly the same as the above, stated to be playing Cheeta in the Tarzan films in May, 1948.<ref name="fashion">{{cite news |title=Fashion Plate |work=Chicago Daily Tribune |date=May 16, 1948 |page=10}}</ref>
* '''Cheeta''' was a chimpanzee owned and trained by Pinky Jackson, who made personal appearances in promotion of the Tarzan films at six Sidney Lust theaters in Maryland in early December, 1950.<ref name="coe">{{cite news |last=Coe |first=Richard L. |title=One On the Aisle: Lloyd's Wild Fun Is a Bit Fitful |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=November 30, 1950 |page=14}}</ref> Possibly, he was the Cheeta that appeared in the then-current Tarzan film, ''Tarzan and the Slave Girl'' (1950), or may have been retained only for the promotional appearances.
* '''Cheeta''', a female chimpanzee born about 1948 owned by Ed Rogers, is stated to have appeared in 42 films, including Tarzan films as Cheeta and the television program ''[[Truth or Consequences]]'' as Beaulah. She died at age 9 on September 6, 1957, in Cypress, California, shot by deputy sheriffs after breaking out of her cage, attacking her owner, and charging at a group of children.<ref name="slain">{{cite news |title=TV Chimp Is Slain As It Runs at Children |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=September 8, 1957 |page=C9}}</ref>
* '''Zippy''' was a male chimpanzee born about 1951, owned and trained by Ralph Quinlan, and is stated to have appeared as Cheeta in Tarzan films of the mid-1950s,<ref name="painting">{{cite news |title=Painting Chimp Here With Smock and Smack |work=Los Angeles Times |date=April 16, 1957 |page=2}}</ref> including the [[Gordon Scott]] film ''[[Tarzan's Hidden Jungle]]'' (1955).<ref name="ASR"/>
* '''Dinky''' was a female chimpanzee that appeared under that name in ''[[Tarzan and the Valley of Gold]]'' (1966) and as Cheeta in the ''[[Tarzan and the Great River]]'' (1967);<ref>{{cite web |last=Allsup |first=Steve |url=http://www.erbzine.com/mag19/1962.html |title=Tarzan and the Great River (1967) |website=ERBzine}}</ref> both movies were filmed in 1965. She bit [[Mike Henry (American football)|Mike Henry]], the actor playing Tarzan, during the filming of the latter,<ref>{{cite news |last=Kent |first=Francis B. |title=Movie Producer in Brazil Finds It's Nutty but Nice |work=Los Angeles Times |date=October 25, 1965 |page=C19}}</ref> after which she was [[Animal euthanasia|put down]]; Henry later sued the producers for this accident and other unsafe working conditions on his three ''Tarzan'' films.<ref>{{cite book |last=Essoe |first=Gabe |url=https://archive.org/details/tarzanofmovies00esso |title=Tarzan of The Movies |location=New York |publisher=Citadel Press |year=1968 |page=[https://archive.org/details/tarzanofmovies00esso/page/182/mode/2up 182] |isbn=0682845418 |url-access=registration |via=[[Internet Archive]]}}</ref>
* '''Cheetah''' was the chimpanzee appearing with [[Ron Ely]] in the 1966–1968 ''[[Tarzan (1966 TV series)|Tarzan]]'' TV series, said to be the only trained animal on the show.<ref name="swing">{{cite news |last=MacMinn |first=Aleene |title=Tarzan: swing along with me |work=Los Angeles Times |date=August 28, 1966 |page=A4}}</ref>
* '''C.J.''', a male orangutan, is stated to have played Cheeta in the 1981 remake ''[[Tarzan, the Ape Man (1981 film)|Tarzan, the Ape Man]]'', and (more famously) Clyde in the 1978 [[Clint Eastwood]] film ''[[Every Which Way but Loose (film)|Every Which Way But Loose]]'';<ref name="ASR"/><ref>{{cite news |last=Harris |first=Scott |title=Famous Thespian Tests Zoo for an Escape Hatch |work=Los Angeles Times |date=September 15, 1982 |page=SD-A1}}</ref> however, the Clyde role has elsewhere been attributed to [[Manis (orangutan)|Manis]], a different orangutan.<ref name="EvenTime">{{cite news|url=http://www.eveningtimes.co.uk/petidol/2007/display.var.1645081.0.screen_pet_idol.php|title=Screen Pet Idol|date=2007-08-27|work=The Evening Times|publisher=Newsquest (Herald & Times) |access-date=2008-06-18}}</ref><ref name="Gleaner">{{cite news|url=http://www.newspaperarchive.com/newspapers1/na0021/2589323/14342846.html|title=The Daily Cleaner|date=1979-09-12|work=The Gleaner|publisher=Gleaner Company|page=5|access-date=2008-06-18}}</ref>
* '''Cheeta''' (also known as Jiggs IV) was a male chimpanzee born about 1960, formerly owned by Tony Gentry and had resided at the C.H.E.E.T.A. Primate Sanctuary (Creative Habitats and Enrichment for Endangered and Threatened Apes) in [[Palm Springs, California]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://cheetathechimp.org/ |title=C.H.E.E.T.A. Primate Sanctuary}}</ref> He was claimed by Gentry to have been born in 1932 or later in the 1930s, and to have portrayed Cheeta in most of the Johnny Weissmuller and Lex Barker ''Tarzan'' films, and for that reason long celebrated as the longest-lived chimpanzee on reaching the supposed age of 64 in 1996 (chimpanzees typically live to be 35 in the wild). Both claims were debunked by journalist R. D. Rosen in 2008 in an article that settled  the animal's true age and established that he had not appeared in any movies, let alone in the role of Cheeta.<ref name="washpost"/> However, he did appear as Cheeta in the TV movie ''07 Spaceys'' and a news segment featuring his "75th" birthday, both in 2007,<ref>[https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1426535/ Internet Movie Database entry for Cheeta.]</ref> and the documentary ''See No Evil'' in 2014. According to journalist Andrew Woods, who "interviewed" this Cheeta in 2008, his "offstage" name is Jiggs IV.<ref name="Woods"/> Following Gentry's death in 1991, Jiggs IV was adopted by his nephew Dan Westfall. On May 5, 2022, Jiggs IV died at the C.H.E.E.T.A. sanctuary in Palm Springs, California.<ref name="DesertSun" />

==Tony Gentry's Cheeta hoax==
Late in his life, Tony Gentry, who had been the co-owner and trainer of the original Cheeta ([[Jiggs (chimpanzee)|Jiggs]]), made extravagant claims in regard to another chimpanzee he owned and its connection with the Cheeta role. This animal, known as both Cheeta and Jiggs IV, was falsely alleged by Gentry to have been the primary animal actor portraying Cheeta in the Tarzan movies over the years. He also greatly exaggerated the age of the animal to support this claim. For a number of years both before and after Gentry's death this story passed unexamined and became a matter of general belief.

===Gentry's allegations===
Tony Gentry made various claims regarding Cheeta's (Jiggs IV) age, origins, and supposed movie roles. Some of these claims conflicted with each other.

In the usually related account, Gentry originally acquired the animal by purchase from [[Henry Trefflich]], a New York animal importer and dealer. Cheeta was supposedly born in the wild in [[Liberia]] some months prior to 9 April 1932, which is celebrated as his birthday because it is the date he is said to have arrived in the United States, in [[New York City]].<ref name="ricket">Ricket, Joel. [https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2008/jan/26/film.books "The new jungle book: ape reveals all about Tarzan and Jane"], ''The Guardian'', 26 January 2008. Retrieved 26 January 2008.</ref> Other accounts of Cheeta's origins from Gentry include having found the animal himself in the [[Democratic Republic of the Congo|Belgian Congo]] in 1932 or having bought him in [[Santa Monica]] about 1938 or in the late 1940s.<ref name="washpost"/>

Gentry's acquaintances and fellow animal trainers Hubert Wells, Stewart Raffill, and Cheryl Shawver have disputed all of these accounts, stating that "Tony got that chimp from Wally Ross ... one of the managers of [[Pacific Ocean Park]] on the pier in Santa Monica" when the park closed in 1967. According to them, Cheeta was only about 6 or 7 years old at that time, which would put his birthdate around 1960 or 1961 rather than 1932.<ref name="washpost"/>

Gentry claimed Cheeta/Jiggs IV was the primary animal actor used in the role of Cheeta in the Tarzan movies. His first appearance as Cheeta is usually stated to have been in the second [[Johnny Weissmuller]] Tarzan film, ''[[Tarzan and His Mate]]'' (1934), uncredited as a young chimpanzee riding on the back of the older chimp (Jiggs) who originated the role. He was then allegedly cast in the role himself in the other Weissmuller Tarzans that followed, as well as the succeeding [[Lex Barker]] Tarzan films.<ref name="natgeo">[https://web.archive.org/web/20030515050459/http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2003/05/0509_030509_cheeta.html Tarzan's Cheeta's Life as a Retired Movie Star] by John Roach for National Geographic News 9 May 2003</ref> Journalist R. D. Rosen, who investigated this story, counters that this animal in fact never appeared in any Tarzan film.<ref name="washpost"/>

Besides his supposed role as Cheeta in the Tarzan films, Cheeta/Jiggs IV reputedly appeared as other chimpanzee characters in unrelated films, including Ramona the Chimp in ''[[Bela Lugosi Meets a Brooklyn Gorilla]]'' (1952) and Chee-Chee in ''[[Doctor Dolittle (film)|Doctor Dolittle]]'' (1967) with [[Rex Harrison]], supposedly his last role before retirement. However, according to Wells, Raffill, and Shawver, as reported by R. D. Rosen, Cheeta never appeared in any movies; Rosen himself confirmed that the animal could not have been the Chee-Chee in the Dolittle film.<ref name="washpost"/>

===Later life of Cheeta/Jiggs IV as a celebrity===
In the mid-1980s, the myth of Tony Gentry's chimp Cheeta/Jiggs IV being the original Cheeta from the movies was unexpectedly perpetuated when a film studio employee, looking for an opportunity to make headlines, stumbled on the (false) story of this supposedly very long-lived chimp and decided to create an extravagant fundraiser, complete with amateur New Wave cover bands and cash bar, to pay for installation of a star on Hollywood's Walk of Fame for Cheeta. Unfortunately for the inexperienced organizers of this unofficial "charitable" event, the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce outright denied the application for the star (as well as many previous and subsequent applications), and eventually the funds from the 1985 marathon party were donated to Gentry, who then lived in the Los Angeles suburb of Thousand Oaks, for the care of Cheeta/Jiggs IV. The final result of the probably well-meaning efforts by this "useful idiot" was a party in Hollywood enjoyed by many, a good sum of money raised and donated to Gentry, and perpetuation of the dual myths that Cheeta/Jiggs IV was indeed the former movie star chimp, and was now in his mid-50s.<ref name="washpost"/>

In 1991, whatever the truth of his origins and prior life, Cheeta/Jiggs IV was given by Gentry to his distant cousin Dan Westfall, who served as the animal's caretaker for the remainder of its life. Gentry died two years later. In Westfall's care, Cheeta lived at a primate sanctuary called Creative Habitats and Enrichment for Endangered and Threatened Apes (or CHEETA) in [[Palm Springs, California]], where he reportedly watched [[television]], made abstract [[painting]]s which were sold to benefit [[primate]]-related [[Charitable organization|charities]], and often watched "his" old films with his grandson, Jeeter. He also leafed through books and "played" the [[piano]].<ref name="natgeo"/><ref name="natgeo2">{{cite web|url=http://gamma.fnphoto.com/stories/2366 |title=Pictures of Cheeta celebrating his 75th birthday by photographer Frederic Neema |publisher=Gamma.fnphoto.com |access-date=2009-07-30}}</ref>

His birthdays, calculated from the date of his supposed 1932 arrival in the United States, were regularly celebrated. In 2006, coinciding with his "74th" birthday, Cheeta received an award for his supposed film career from the International Film Festival of Peñíscola Comedy. Later that year, the 4 October 2006, edition of the Palm Springs newspaper, ''The Desert Sun'', reported that he had received his first-ever visit from famed primatologist [[Jane Goodall]] the previous day. His "75th" birthday was covered by ''[[National Geographic Society|National Geographic]]''.<ref name="natgeo"/><ref name="natgeo2"/> His "76th" birthday was celebrated on 9 April 2008, at his "Casa de Cheeta" in Palm Springs at an event hosted by Dan Westfall and Diane Weissmuller, ([[Johnny Weissmuller, Jr.]]'s widow). The press and many Palm Springs celebrities attended.

On the basis of his fictitious history, Cheeta was cited by the ''[[Guinness Book of World Records]]'' as the world's oldest nonhuman primate.<ref name="natgeo"/> An equally fictitious<ref name="washpost"/> purported ghost-written "autobiography" of the chimp, ''Me Cheeta'', was published in the U.K. in October 2008.<ref name="ricket"/> The American edition was published on March 3, 2009.

On May 5, 2022, Cheeta/Jiggs IV died at the C.H.E.E.T.A. sanctuary in Palm Springs, California.<ref name="DesertSun" />

==Honors==

In March 1995, the character of Cheeta was honored with a [[Palm Springs Walk of Stars|Golden Palm Star]] on the [[Palm Springs, California]], Walk of Stars.<ref>{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20121013165655/http://www.palmspringswalkofstars.com/web-storage/Stars/Stars%20dedicated%20by%20date.pdf Palm Springs Walk of Stars by date dedicated]}}</ref><ref>The star is at 110 South Palm Canyon Drive. {{cite web |url=http://www.palmsprings.com/stars/cheeta.html |title=Cheeta's star on the Palm Springs Walk of Stars |publisher=Palmsprings.com |access-date=2009-07-30 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090316023825/http://www.palmsprings.com/stars/cheeta.html |archive-date=2009-03-16 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Since 2004, unsuccessful attempts have been made to secure a star for Cheeta on the [[Hollywood Walk of Fame]], and as of 2008, filmmaker Matt Devlen was continuing the effort.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://gocheeta.com/ |title=Go Cheeta |publisher=gocheeta.com |access-date=2009-07-30 |archive-date=2009-06-18 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090618132623/http://www.gocheeta.com/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> Attempting for the seventh time to get a sidewalk star, the handlers of Cheeta/Jiggs IV launched an online petition to get supporters to urge the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce to give a star in 2009. The petition was unsuccessful.

== Influences==

[[File:Bala tradicional no Brasil.jpg|thumb|Brazilian candy]]

The character of Chemistry, from the [[Doc Savage]] stories, is said to have been inspired by Cheeta.{{Citation needed|date=February 2017}}

== See also ==

*[[List of individual apes]]

==References==
{{Reflist|2}}

==Further reading==
* {{cite book|last=Lever|first=James|title=Me Cheeta: My Life in Hollywood|year=c. 2009|publisher=Ecco|location=New York, NY|isbn=978-0061647420|pages=[https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780061647420/page/320 320]|quote=Parody of a Hollywood "tell-all" biography purported to be written by the chimpanzee animal star, Cheeta, who supposedly played opposite [[Johnny Weissmuller]] in ''[[Tarzan]]'' films, Ronald Reagan in ''[[Bedtime for Bonzo]]'', and [[Rex Harrison]] in ''[[Doctor Dolittle (film)|Dr. Dolittle]]'', and survives to paint in retirement in [[Palm Springs, California|Palm Springs]]. (Research has established that the chimp's first owner was known to be a teller of tall tales and that this chimp was not one of the many different chimps that were used in those films.) [From Library of Congress listing.]|lccn=2010284910|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780061647420/page/320}}

==External links==
* {{IMDb name|1426535|Cheeta}}
* "Jesse" http://www.northernrhodesia.org/boma/Jesse
* "Cheetah dead at 80, but was chimp really Tarzan's sidekick?" https://web.archive.org/web/20120107225927/http://www.vancouversun.com/health/Cheetah%2Bdead%2Bchimp%2Breally%2BTarzan%2Bsidekick/5922661/story.html

{{Tarzan}}
{{Notable apes}}
{{Animal actors}}

{{authority control}}

[[Category:Tarzan characters]]
[[Category:Fictional chimpanzees]]
[[Category:Literary characters introduced in 1932]]
[[Category:2011 animal deaths]]
[[Category:Chimpanzee actors]]