Acting
Gordon Scott
Gordon Scott was an American film and television actor known for his portrayal of the fictional character Tarzan in five films (and one compilation of three made-as-a-pilot television episodes) of the Tarzan film series from 1955 to 1960. Gordon Scott was the eleventh Tarzan, starting with Tarzan’s Hidden Jungle. He was "discovered" poolside, and offered "a seven-year contract, a loin cloth, and a new last name."
"Due in part to his muscular frame and 6-foot-3-inch [1.91-metre] height, he was quickly signed to replace Lex Barker as Tarzan" by producer Sol Lesser. Lesser had Gordon change his name because "Werschkul" sounded too much like "Weismueller".
Scott's Tarzan movies ranged from rather cheap re-edited television pilots to large-scale action films with high-production values shot on location in Africa. In his early Tarzan films, he played the character as unworldly and inarticulate, in the mold of Johnny Weissmuller, an earlier Tarzan portrayer. In Scott's later films, after a change in producers, he played a Tarzan who was educated and spoke perfect English, as in the original Edgar Rice Burroughs novels. Scott was the only actor to play Tarzan in both styles.
Fearing he would become typecast as Tarzan, Scott moved to Italy and became a popular star in epics of the péplum genre (known in the United States as sword-and-sandal), featuring handsome bodybuilders as various characters from Greek and Roman myth. Scott was a friend of Steve Reeves, and collaborated with him as Remus to Reeves's Romulus in Duel of the Titans. Scott also played Hercules in a couple of international co-productions during the mid-1960s. As the péplum genre faded, Scott starred in spaghetti westerns and Eurospy films. His final film appearance was in The Tramplers (filmed in 1966; released in the United States in 1968).
Filmography
Browse movies and TV shows featuring Gordon Scott
The Shortest Day
Two jerks are enlisted in the Italian army during W.W.1 and by pure luck manage to help win an important battle.
The Movie Orgy
Clips from assorted television programs, B-movies, commercials, music performances, newsreels, bloopers, satiri...
Romulus and Remus
Twin brothers were raised by wolves, revolt against tyranny in pre-Roman Italy and then come to a parting of th...
Tarzan's Greatest Adventure
The greatest adventure of jungle king Tarzan. Four British villains raid a settlement to obtain explosives for...
Women in Cell Block 7
A woman goes behind bars in order to save her father's life.
Goliath and the Vampires
Maciste's village is attacked by pirates. The women, including Maciste's fiancee Guja, are carried off to Salma...
Zorro and the Three Musketeers
In the first half of the 1600's, France is at war with Spain. The cousin of the king of Spain, Isabella, is hel...
The Lion of St. Mark
In 1620 pirates are terrorizing the Adriatic coast. Our hero sets out to defeat them.
The Tramplers
After the war of secession, the aging Cordeen, who owns thousands of acres in Texas, rules his numerous and qua...
Kolossal - The Magnificent Macisti
A documentary on the history of Italy's peplum genre.
Tarzan the Magnificent
After the Banton family rob a store is a small village and kill the local police constable, Tarzan captures one...
Danger!! Death Ray
Secret Agent Bart Fargo chases the kidnappers of the inventor of a death ray.
Top Secret
A man escapes from a Russian prison and then from a United States embassy, taking with him some very important...
Tarzan and the Trappers
Tarzan goes up against a baddie by the name of Schroeder, who is trapping animals and selling them illegally to...
Buffalo Bill, Hero of the Far West
Colonel William Cody, alias Buffalo Bill, intends to put an end to the dishonest relations between a gang of wh...
Tarzan's Hidden Jungle
Hunters trespass into Sukulu country, where animals are sacred, posing as photographers.
Samson and the 7 Miracles of the World
Samson must rescue a beautiful Chinese princess from a marauding horde of warriors.
Tarzan: Lord of the Movies
The history of the Tarzan films is presented through behind-the-scenes footage and scenes from the Jungle King’...
In Search of Tarzan with Jonathan Ross
A look at Tarzan on the big and small screen with interviews with some of those who have played him.
The Tyrant of Lydia Against the Son of Hercules
Italian sword & sandal thrills as the son of Hercules is pitted against an evil king and his wretched followers.
Tarzan's Fight for Life
Dr. Sturdy is trying to establish a modern hospital in the jungle. His efforts are strongly opposed by Futa, th...
Hercules and the Princess of Troy
Hercules (Gordon Scott) sets out to save the city of Troy from a horrible sea monster. Meanwhile, the city is t...
The Conquest of Mycenae
Gordon Scott plays Glaucus, the prince of Tiryns, a powerful warrior who goes undercover in Mycenae to infiltra...
Thunder of Battle
Coriolanus leads the plebians in a revolt against Roman oppression.
Kerim, Son of the Sheik
In the Middle East, circa 1860s, the evil Omar seeks to become Khadive by killing off his adversaries and by ma...
Tarzan and the Lost Safari
Tarzan leads five passengers from a downed airplane out of the jungle. En route white hunter Hawkins tries to s...
Hero of Rome
In ancient Rome, the people finally oust their despised king, Tarquinius, and declare the city a republic. Tarq...
A Queen for Caesar
Story of the power struggle between Egyptian queen Cleopatra and her brother Ptolemy, and how a common soldier...
Tarzan at the Movies, Part 2: The Many Faces of Tarzan
Hollywood remembers the other Tarzans. A history of Hollywood Tarzans featuring profiles of the many actors who...
Gladiator of Rome
A warrior protecting a slave girl, who is really a princess, winds up as a gladiator in the Roman arenas.
Investigating Tarzan
A look at the history and cultural impact of Tarzan.
L'Attaque de Fort Adams (Une aventure de Buffalo Bill)
Hero of Babylon
The rightful heir to the throne of Babylon leads a slave revolt against an evil ruler.