Tarzan is one of those timeless heroes, who continues to show up in pop culture in comic books, TV shows, movies, and in the case of the band Baltimora, songs. Even though he didn’t have super powers like Superman or Batman, he did share one trait with them: the actor portraying him could and would be replaced time and time again. In fact, roughly 20 actors have portrayed Tarzan as an adult. Miles O’Keeffe was one of them, and probably appeared in the most notorious Tarzan film – the revival attempt of 1981 in the form of Tarzan, the Ape Man.
Humorously, O’Keeffe actually was merely the stunt man for the original actor selected to play Tarzan, but when that actor left the production, O’Keeffe assumed the role. If you are wondering how that is even possible, please remember that the film contained nude scenes featuring Bo Derek. The role of Tarzan was almost incidental.
It is almost inconceivable that Miles O’Keeffe could star in some 40 films after Tarzan, and I have not heard of one single solitary one of them. But he did once have a guest spot on Murder She Wrote!
But because he had played the iconic role, I was happy to add him to my short list of encounters with actors who had played Tarzan (including Ron Ely and Denny Miller) when he appeared at the Hollywood Show on April 21, 2012. I guess it was worth the $25.
As Tarzan would say, “AHH – AHH – UGHM – MMMMM – AAAAAAAHH OOOO AHHH AAAAHHH AAAAHHH AAAAHHhh ahhhh… ah…. ah… oh… ahhh… “
Celebrity encounters of the Spring 2012 Hollywood Show will continue…
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