Gordon Scott, the 6′ 3″ bodybuilder and actor with the 19″ biceps who was the 11th screen Tarzan and starred in six “King of the Jungle” movies from 1955 to 1960, died Monday at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore of complications from heart surgeries. He was 80. “He was an absolutely wonderful Tarzan, who played the character as an intelligent and nice man who carried himself well, much as my grandfather [Edgar Rice Burroughts] had originally written it,” said Danton Burroughs. “He also gave a wonderful rendition of Tarzan’s call.” Gordon M Werschkull, as the Oregon native was originally named, was discovered by a talent scout while on duty as a lifeguard at the Sahara Hotel in Las Vegas. He changed his name to Scott after he won the Tarzan roll over 200 other musclemen from around the world who’d auditioned for the part by climbing trees, jumping into pools, and swinging from fake vines for six hours. In his Hollywood career, which also included westerns and sword-and-sandal epics, he costarred with the likes of Sean Connery, Joseph Cotton, and Vera Lynn, whom he married in 1954 and divorced in ’59.. “He was always a big spender and loved to party,” said his brother, Rayfield Werschkull. “If he had one weakness, it was women. They were always hitting on him.” In fact, as far as survivors are concerned, the family can say only that Scott had at least three marriages, and is believed to have had at least three children. (via LA Times)