Jiggs (chimpanzee) facts for kids
Jiggs was a famous chimpanzee who starred in many Hollywood movies in the 1930s. He was especially known for playing the character of Cheeta in the early Tarzan films. Jiggs was owned and trained by Tony and Jacqueline Gentry.
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Early Life
Jiggs was a very special chimpanzee. His trainer, Jacqueline Gentry, said she raised him from when he was a baby. He grew up with a friendly dog named Spanky, a collie. Jiggs loved Spanky so much that he sometimes wouldn't work on a movie set unless Spanky was there with him! Spanky also helped the trainers keep Jiggs calm during filming.
Movie Career
Jiggs had a busy movie career that lasted for seven years. He played the role of Cheeta in the first two Johnny Weissmuller Tarzan movies: Tarzan the Ape Man (1932) and Tarzan and His Mate (1934). It seems he was also in the third movie of that series, Tarzan Escapes (1936).
Jiggs also appeared in other Tarzan movies. He was in the Buster Crabbe serial Tarzan the Fearless (1933). He also played a different chimpanzee character, Nkima, in the Herman Brix serial The New Adventures of Tarzan (1935). This serial was later made into a movie called Tarzan and the Green Goddess (1938).
Besides Tarzan films, Jiggs was in at least three other movies:
- The Laurel and Hardy short film Dirty Work (1933).
- The Our Gang short film Divot Diggers (1936).
- The Dorothy Lamour film Her Jungle Love (1938), which was his last movie.
Fun Stories from Filming
On the set of Tarzan the Fearless, the main actress, Jacqueline Wells, got a thorn stuck in her hand. Both she and the main actor, Buster Crabbe, tried to get it out but couldn't. Jiggs, the chimpanzee, was able to pull the thorn out for her!
In July 1936, while filming Her Jungle Love, Jiggs got very excited and playful with the main actress, Dorothy Lamour. A film helper quickly stepped in to help. Jiggs was then calmed down by his trainers and his dog friend, Spanky.
In December 1936, Jiggs met actress Martha Raye on a movie set. They made funny faces at each other, and Martha Raye even pretended to light a cigarette for him!
Death
Jiggs passed away on February 28 or March 1, 1938, when he was about 9 years old. He died from pneumonia. His funeral was planned for March 2, 1938, at the Los Angeles Pet Cemetery. However, because of a big flood in Los Angeles in 1938, Jiggs was finally laid to rest on March 4.
Filmography
- Tarzan the Ape Man (1932) - Cheeta
- Dirty Work (1933) - The Chimpanzee
- Tarzan the Fearless (1933) - Cheeta
- Tarzan and His Mate (1934) - Cheeta
- The New Adventures of Tarzan (1935) - Nkima
- Tarzan Escapes (1936) - Cheeta
- Divot Diggers (1936) - Chimpanzee
- Tarzan and the Green Goddess (1938) - Nkima
- Her Jungle Love (1938) - Gaga
Other Chimpanzees Named Jiggs
Tony Gentry, Jiggs' trainer, owned many apes over the years. Some other chimpanzees he owned were also named Jiggs.
- Jiggs, Jr. (also called Jiggs II) was a male chimpanzee born around 1935. He went to the Baltimore Zoo during World War II.
- Cheeta (also called Jiggs IV) is a male chimpanzee born around 1960. He lives at a special sanctuary for apes in Palm Springs, California. For many years, Tony Gentry said that Jiggs IV was the original Cheeta, but this was not true. The original Cheeta was the Jiggs we learned about in this article!
