Elmo Lincoln facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Elmo Lincoln
Lincoln in 1923
Born	Otto Elmo Linkenhelt (1889-02-06)February 6, 1889 Rochester, Indiana, U.S.
Died	June 27, 1952(1952-06-27) (aged 63) Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Resting place	Hollywood Forever Cemetery
Occupation	Film actor
Years active	1913–1952
Spouse(s)	Sadie Whited (1913–1921) Ida Lee Tanchick (1935–?)

Elmo Lincoln was an American actor. He was born Otto Elmo Linkenhelt on February 6, 1889, and passed away on June 27, 1952. He acted in movies for many years, from 1913 to 1952, during both the silent film era and when movies started having sound. Elmo Lincoln is famous for being the very first actor to play the jungle hero Tarzan in a movie! He first played Tarzan in the 1918 film Tarzan of the Apes.

Early Life and Adventures

Elmo Lincoln was born Otto Elmo Linkenhelt in Rochester, Indiana. He grew up with six brothers and sisters. When he was 18, he left home to start a career working on railroads as a brakeman. Before becoming an actor, he also worked as a boxer, a sailor, and a stevedore (someone who loads and unloads ships).

Starting His Acting Career

Elmo Lincoln began his acting journey with a famous director named D. W. Griffith. Griffith was the one who suggested Elmo change his name for his acting career.

Elmo's first movie role was in The Battle at Elderbush Gulch in 1914. He then appeared in other important early films like Judith of Bethulia (1914), The Birth of a Nation (1915), and Intolerance (1916).

Becoming Tarzan

Elmo Lincoln became most famous for playing Tarzan. The first actor chosen for the 1918 movie Tarzan of the Apes, Stellan Windrow, had to leave to join the military. Elmo Lincoln took over the role, even though the author of Tarzan, Edgar Rice Burroughs, wasn't sure about the choice at first.

Elmo Lincoln played Tarzan two more times. He starred in The Romance of Tarzan (also in 1918) and in the 1921 movie series The Adventures of Tarzan. In the same 1918 film, a young actor named Gordon Griffith played Tarzan as a child.

After the silent movie era ended, Elmo Lincoln left Hollywood for a while. He tried working in mining and also ran a business that salvaged (rescued) old materials in Salt Lake City.

In the late 1930s, Elmo returned to the film industry. He often worked as an extra, meaning he appeared in movies without a main role. He even appeared without credit in two later Tarzan films in the 1940s. He was a circus worker in Tarzan's New York Adventure (1942) and a fisherman fixing his net in Tarzan's Magic Fountain (1949).

Final Role and Legacy

Elmo Lincoln's very last movie role was a small, uncredited part in the 1952 film Carrie. This movie starred the famous actor Laurence Olivier. Elmo was very proud of his work in Carrie because he admired Olivier greatly.

Elmo Lincoln passed away from a heart attack on June 27, 1952, when he was 63 years old. He is buried at Hollywood Forever Cemetery in California.

For his important contributions to the movie industry, Elmo Lincoln has a star on the famous Hollywood Walk of Fame. You can find it at 7042 Hollywood Boulevard.

Biography

Elmo Lincoln's daughter, Marci'a Lincoln Rudolph, wrote a book about his life. It's called My Father, Elmo Lincoln: The Original Tarzan and was published in 2001.

Images for kids

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  Tarzan of the Apes (1918)

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  The Romance of Tarzan (1918)

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  Tarzan's agility, speed, and strength allow him to kill a Leopard in 1921's The Adventures of Tarzan.

See also

In Spanish: Elmo Lincoln para niños