Glenn Morris

Glenn Edgar Morris (June 18, 1912 – January 31, 1974) was a U.S. track and field athlete. He won a gold medal in the Olympic decathlon in 1936. Morris, a southeastern Colorado farm boy, overcame genetic heart disease and was the classic "overcompensating athlete" who distinguished himself in track and field. He received the 1936 James E. Sullivan Award as the top amateur athlete in the United States.

German documenter Leni Riefenstahl claimed in her memoirs that during and after the 1936 Olympics, she had an affair with Morris, which she ended because of a very disparaging report about him that was given to her by a graphologist. [p.200, Riefenstahl] Riefenstahl also claimed that the affair began when, after winning the gold medal, he tore off her blouse and kissed her breasts, in front of the audience of 100,000 people. [p.196, Riefenstahl]

Morris was the fourth Olympic athlete to play Tarzan. He appeared in only one Tarzan film, "Tarzan's Revenge" (1938) for 20th Century Fox. It was a comical non-talking role that he was not suited for. Reviews for the film cited both the silliness of the production and the exaggerated acting of Morris, who had never prepared for an acting career.

He subsequently served in the Navy and was stationed in the Pacific during World War II.

Citations and notes

References

* Riefenstahl, Leni, "Leni Riefenstahl", Picador, 1995