After winning five Olympic gold medals, German-born American swimmer Johnny Weissmuller began an acting career. Films about Tarzan with his participation were popular not only in the West, but also on the other side of the Iron Curtain. As some say, so much so that on the day of his death, Tarzan’s signature cry was heard on Red Square for 24 hours. Let's find out how it really happened.

From 1932 to 1948 Weissmuller starred in 12 films about a young man who grew up among monkeys and his adventures. The first films became popular in Europe, and after the war the films came to the USSR. In the early 50s, trophy films were shown throughout the country, including films about Tarzan. A half-naked, athletic man traveling through the jungle with his beloved Jane and chimpanzee Chita shocked the public, who were not accustomed to such films, and at the same time made thousands of Soviet viewers fall in love with him. But was this enough to organize such a brilliant “tribute” to the deceased idol 30 years later?

The story of Tarzan's scream, which sounded on Red Square for 24 hours in January 1984, was told by the actor's son Johnny Weissmuller Jr. In his book of memoirs, Tarzan, My Father, published in 2002, he writes: “Erline Mueller, who worked in Moscow on an article for Sports Illustrated"When he [the father] died, she said that the Russians played a recording of Tarzan's cry in Red Square for 24 hours without interruption." Subsequently, the journalist published article about Weissmuller in one of the August issues of the publication. Surprisingly, the article says nothing about the action in memory of the deceased star.

Doubts about the authenticity of this story intensify if we turn to other sources. Explorer Frederick White writes, that in the 1970s and especially in the 1980s, the popularity of Tarzan films in the Soviet Union dropped significantly. Weissmuller died in Mexico on January 20, 1984 - accordingly, the USSR learned about this on the morning of January 21, the day of the 60th anniversary of Lenin’s death. It is not surprising that a queue formed on Red Square of those wishing to visit the Leader’s Mausoleum in connection with the anniversary. This queue captured photographer Boris Kaufman.

Most likely, Weissmuller Jr. invented the story from start to finish. Even if it were real, at least two factors would prevent one from believing this, of course, a beautiful story: the peak of popularity of films about Tarzan that passed more than 20 years ago and the secret service officers who guarded the square on such a crucial day from an ideological point of view.