As Johnny Weissmuller got older and a bit flabbier the Tarzan loincloth didn't quite fit his figure any more. Still he was a box office draw, but he knew he couldn't continue in the series. In the late Forties he signed with Columbia Pictures to do a series of films based on the King Features Cartoon character Jungle Jim.
In the films Weissmuller's only friend was a chimpanzee named Tamba, shades of Chetah from Tarzan. But when the film series ended, Columbia which had by now gone into the television business, put Weissmuller in a half hour series as the intrepid jungle guide who got into all kinds of adventures.
In the Jungle Jim television series Jim got some human co-stars in the persons of Martin Huston as his son Skipper and Dean Fredericks as good friend and assistant Kaseem. Jim was not confined to Africa, some of the shows had Indian, South Sea, and even South American locations, depending on who wanted him to guide.
Weissmuller was real particular, no hunting expeditions, no shooting of animals except with a camera. Apparently he was that good a guide, because that sure cut his income considerably.
Though there were female guest stars, I never recall any romantic plots in any of the episodes. The show ran for one season, but it was in syndication for several years.
My guess is that with all of his marriages, Weissmuller had considerable alimony to pay out to his numerous ex-wives. It's why he took the series. After that he was in demand for a lot of personal appearances, he was still the most well known Tarzan of them all and set the standard for Olympic swimming champions down to today.
Jungle Jim was a good kid's show and even as got into his Fifties Weissmuller still looked better than most fifty somethings.
