In Remembrance: Gordon Scott

     Gordon Scott, the Las Vegas lifeguard turned cinematic Tarzan, has passed away on April 30, 2007 in Baltimore, MD. He was 80.
 

     Born Gordon Werschkul on August 3, 1926 in Portland Oregon, Scott took up bodybuilding as a teenager. He attended the University of Oregon where he studied bodybuilding for a semester before being drafted into the military. While in the military he served as a drill instructor and military policeman before being honorably discharged in 1947. After working through a series of jobs, including firefighter and farm machinery salesman, Scott found himself in Las Vegas working as a lifeguard at the Sahara Hotel.

     It was in 1953 in as Vegas that Scott was spotted by producer Sol Lesser, who cast him as the new Tarzan in the long running series after changing his last name to the more marquee friendly Scott. Replacing the outgoing Lex Barker, Scott made his screen debut in 1955’s Tarzan’s Hidden Jungle opposite Vera Miles. Scott fell hard for his leading lady and the two were married before the end of the film’s production.

     Scott played Tarzan for additional three installments until Lesser decided to sell the rights to the character to producer Sy Weintraub. Weintraub retained Scott as the Lord of the Jungle for 1959’s Tarzan’s Greatest Adventure with a young Sean Connery in a supporting role, and 1960’s Tarzan The Magnificent with John Carradine and Jock Mahoney. Reportedly, Scott and Weintraub did not get along and the producer let him go.

     Looking for work, Scott was approached by his friend, muscle-bound actor Steve Reeves to come to Italy and co-star opposite him in Dual Of The Titans (1961). Written by future spaghetti western director Sergio Leone, the pair starred as the legendary founders of Rome, Romulus and Remus.

     The film was enough of a success that Gordon stayed in Europe for the remainder of his career, working on historical fantasy and adventure films including Goliath And The Vampires (1961), Samson And The 7 Miracles Of The World (1961), Zorro And The Three Musketeers (1963) and Hero Of Rome (1964).

     As the decade drew to a close, historical adventure films gave way to spy movies and Scott went with the flow, starring as a secret agent in 1967’s Danger!! Death Ray. Scott’s final film was the crime drama Segretissimo (1967).