
a book
Me Cheeta
James Lever · 2009 · 320 pages
“A dazzling performance….An incisive, hilarious study of Hollywood folkways.”
—Wall Street Journal
The tell-all memoir of all tell-all memoirs, Me Cheeta is the unexpurgated true life story of the granddaddy of all Hollywood animals, Cheeta the Chimp, star of the Tarzan films. The Washington Post calls this insider’s tale from the Golden Age of the Silver Screen, “Hilarious, catty, melancholy and, occasionally, deep,” and it was nominated for Great Britain’s prestigious Man Booker Prize (though Chimp Booker Prize would be more appropriate). As told to James Lever, Me Cheeta is one ape’s story of his on-and-off screen interactions with the likes of Johnny Weissmuller, Maureen O’Sullivan, Rex Harrison, and Bela Lugosi. Tinkerbell, Paris Hilton’s dog, had her literary day, as did Socks the First Cat. Now it’s Cheeta’s turn!
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Chrissie Hynde
“This surprising spoof autobiography is not only hilarious, but also tender and insightful. Cheeta recounts his days working with Johnny Weissmuller as Tarzan’s chimpanzee sidekick, but it’s more than that. He also recalls his capture from the jungle and arrival in America. I can honestly say that I laughed, I cried, and I learned a lot. Why this baby has not seen a movie screen yet is a mystery. It’s another that I read and reread.”↗