Making my case for who’s the best Ape Man ever

Johnny Weissmüller says he was born in Windber, PA, where I graduated from high school. I’ll take that any day of the week — and twice on Sundays. Why? Because, apart from coal mining, it’s our main claim to fame. (Some fussy historians assert Weissmüller was born in Romania — but, as Mark Twain once said, “Never let truth stand in the way of a good story.”)

Here goes . . .

There was a time when Tarzan “The Ape Man” was a big deal, and the best Tarzan ever was Johnny Weissmüller. It’s not just me who says that. Here’s a link to IMDB’s “Top Ten Actors who played Tarzan.” Weissmüller (of course) is Number One.

I bring this up because there’s a new jungle sheriff coming to town: Alexander Skarsgård, a Swedish guy who plays the Ape Man in “The Legend of Tarzan.” Here’s the premise:

“Tarzan, having acclimated to life in London, is called back to his former home in the jungle to investigate the activities at a mining encampment.”

The movie also features Margot Robbie, Christoph Waltz, Samuel L. Jackson and John Hurt. David Yates of “Harry Potter” fame directs. (Click here for a sneak peek.)

You may recall that Edgar Rice Burroughs launched Tarzan in 1912. A movie was released six years later. Elmo Lincoln played the ruggedly jungle-savvy action hero in that first flick. Weissmüller took over the role in 1932.

He looked the part. And why not?

WIKI describes Weissmüller as an acclaimed swimmer who’d won five Olympic gold medals, 52 U.S. National Championships and a ton of world records. After retiring from competition, he became Tarzan.

Growing up in and around Windber, it was a thrill being able to claim an Olympic gold medal winner and matinee movie idol as my own. (Adding to the legend was the fact that Weissmüller reportedly had contracted polio at age 9. His doctor suggested he take up swimming.)

For the record, my second favorite Tarzan was Buster Crabbe — he of “Flash Gordon” and “Buck Rogers” fame. Interestingly, he also competed in the Olympics as a swimmer, winning a bronze in 1928 and gold in 1932.

I checked out Alexander Skarsgård’s bio. Near as I can tell, he never competed in the Olympics, though he did win “Sexiest Man in Sweden” five times. He also appeared as Meekus in the 2001 film “Zoolander,” a movie I’m pretty sure had nothing to do with zoos — and even less to do with jungles.