Cheeta, meanwhile, like Garbo in her last days, is in seclusion. His modest, single-story sanctuary is tucked away in a quiet residential enclave in Palm Springs, a neighborhood of palm trees and ...

Cheeta's "birthday" has been celebrated, not on the anniversary of his birth, but on April 9, the anniversary of the day he supposedly landed in the United States.

Cheeta was one of several chimps to play Tarzan's sidekick in the Tarzan movies of the 1930s and '40s. Today, Cheeta is being looked after by Dan Westfall, his caretaker of 18 years.

How Cheeta came to Palm Springs According to Westfall, he became Cheeta’s guardian after his uncle, Tony Gentry, a Hollywood animal trainer, became unable to care for him and died in 1991.

1. The media recalled another fake “Cheeta” After initial reports of Cheetah’s death, many pointed to the 2008 incident of a purportedly 75-year-old retired “Cheeta” living in Palm Springs.

Cheeta — famed as Johnny Weissmuller’s second banana in the 1930s “Tarzan” films — was said to have lived to an incredible 80 years old at the Suncoast Primate sanctuary in Florida.

Cheeta is one of the most famous residents of Desert Springs, an oasis 100 miles west of Los Angeles. Tour guides say there is almost as much interest in him as in the old homes of local icons Bob ...

This Cheetah is not first of the Tarzan chimps to raise eyebrows. In 2008, a purportedly 75-year-old retired “Cheeta” living in Palm Springs was proven to be a fake.

Cheeta claims the chapter about him and Esther Williams is the best thing in the book, but we’ll never know. When you turn to it, you find this: “Chapter 8 has been removed on legal advice.” ...

Cheeta climbed onto the plastic chair at the table and squatted there. When Westfall immediately reminded him to “Stop monkeying around,” Cheeta sat properly, letting his withered-looking feet ...

Cheeta -- Tarzan's swinging friend from the black-and-white film era -- lives in Palm Springs, Calif., at the C.H.E.E.T.A. Primate Sanctuary. Dan Westfall, who runs the sanctuary, has seen to ...

By Cheeta (James Lever)Chapter 1 Inimitable Rex! On my last day in motion pictures I found myself at the top of a monkey-puzzle tree in England, helping to settle a wager between that marvelous ...