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Gordon Scott (August 3, 1926 - April 30, 2007) was born
Gordon Merrill Werschkul in Portland, Oregon. He was the youngest of nine children, all of whom emulated their father, who was a strong man and all-around athlete. Stanley Werschkul taught Gordon and his brothers and sisters the secrets of physical fitness and strength and spurred them to proficiency in all sports.
Gordon left the University of Oregon in 1944, after one term in physical education, to join the Army. Because of his great size, his uniforms had to be special ordered and tailored for him, which delayed his moving with his unit. Most of the recruits from Scott's boot camp class wound up in battle in the South Pacific, and Scott felt guilty that he was not there with them for the rest of his life. It didn't take him long to earn his sergeant's stripes and he became a drill instructor (specializing in close order drill, use of the rifle, bayonet and pistol, judo and hand-to-hand combat). Before receiving his honorable discharge in 1947, Gordon became an M.P. (Military Police) and transported dangerous prisoners.
He then took a variety of jobs as a fireman, a cowboy on his brother's ranch, a soda pop deliveryman for another brother's beverage bottling facility, a farm machinery salesman and then a lifeguard.
Film career
It was while he was a lifeguard (in Las Vegas in 1953 at the Sahara Hotel) that he was discovered by two Hollywood agents, Ed and Walter Mayers. Since Lex Barker had decided not to renew his contract and continue on as Tarzan, Sol Lesser was looking for a replacement. Over 200 candidates were tested before 27 year old Gordon Scott won the role.
"The six-hour screen test consisted of running, jumping, climbing trees, diving into the water and swinging on vines," Gordon would remember of his own screen test, "as well as helping five girls test for the female lead." None of these girls ended up a winner, the role going to Vera Miles, but Gordon was signed to a seven year contract by producer Sol Lesser and became the eleventh actor to play Tarzan.
An interesting sidenote is that while he was a lifeguard, Scott had posed along with Eleanor Holm, Olympic swimming champion and former co-star with Glenn Morris in "Tarzan's Revenge", for a newsreel taken at the Sahara pool. The six-foot-three 218 pound new Tarzan, who had nineteen inch biceps, had his name changed to Gordon Scott. Soon he was the star of his first movie, "Tarzan's Hidden Jungle." He also ended up marrying Vera Miles after the movie was completed, but the two were divorced a few years later.
Gordon made five Tarzan movies ("Tarzan and the Lost Safari was the first Tarzan movie released in color in 1957); "Tarzan's Fight For Life" featured Eve Brent as a blonde Jane) and a few pilots for a proposed television series, but because of a question of who owned the rights to do a TV series, the three pilots were shelved until 1966, when they were edited together as a TV movie named "Tarzan And The Trappers." Sy Weintraub had bought the Tarzan rights from Sol Lesser and was changing the image of the 'Lord of the jungle' away from the more simplistic way Johnny Weissmuller had played him for MGM since 1932. Gordon had made two excellent films for Weintraub and partner Harvey Hayutin, "Tarzan's Greatest Adventure" and "Tarzan The Magnificent." They had revitalized the Tarzan franchise, but Weintraub wasn't done yet. He bought out his partner Hayutin and then, after coming to an agreement with Gordon Scott, hired Jock Mahoney, the villain in "Magnificent", to became the next Tarzan.
Gordon Scott went to Europe and appeared in Italian muscleman epics like "Duel Of The Titans" with friend Steve Reeves, "Samson and the Seven Miracles Of the World" and "Goliath And The Vampires." He also made a few spaghetti westerns, including "Zorro and the Three Musketeers", "Buffalo Bill" and "The Tramplers." He would go on to star in all kinds of films before retiring.
During the last two decades of his life, he could be found at the occasional collector's show or film festival, along with other former stars, signing autographs for his many fans. Gordon Scott enjoyed playing Tarzan and is certainly one of the best to play the role.
Death
During the last seven years of his life, Scott lived in Baltimore with Roger and Betty Thomas, two fans who gave him a home as he had no place else to turn. In early 2007, he underwent a series of major heart operations. He died of lingering complications from those surgeries. He was survived by an older brother, Rafield Werschkul, two sisters, two sons (one by actress Vera Miles) and one daughter, none of whom had seen him in years.
External Links
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