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).
Known For | Acting |
---|---|
Most Rating | 4.895 |
Birthday | 1926-08-03 |
Place of Birth | Portland, Oregon, USA |
Also Known As | Gordon Merrill Werschkul, |
1959
Tarzan's Greatest Adventure
5.279/43
The greatest adventure of jungle king Tarzan. Four British villains raid a settlement to obtain explosives for use in a diamond mine. In doing so they...
Watch Now
Tarzan's Greatest Adventure
1957
Tarzan and the Lost Safari
4.7/15
Tarzan leads five passengers from a downed airplane out of the jungle. En route white hunter Hawkins tries to sell them to the Oparian chief.
Watch Now
Tarzan and the Lost Safari
1960
Tarzan the Magnificent
5.6/15
After the Banton family rob a store is a small village and kill the local police constable, Tarzan captures one of them, Coy Banton. He decides to ret...
Watch Now
Tarzan the Magnificent
1967
Danger!! Death Ray
2.9/14
Secret Agent Bart Fargo chases the kidnappers of the inventor of a death ray.
Watch Now
Danger!! Death Ray
1958
Tarzan's Fight for Life
4.6/9
Dr. Sturdy is trying to establish a modern hospital in the jungle. His efforts are strongly opposed by Futa, the witch doctor, and Ramo, a native warr...
Watch Now
Tarzan's Fight for Life
1958
Tarzan and the Trappers
3.9/21
Tarzan goes up against a baddie by the name of Schroeder, who is trapping animals and selling them illegally to zoos. A twist is thrown into the plot...
Watch Now
Tarzan and the Trappers
1955
Tarzan's Hidden Jungle
4.8/9
Hunters trespass into Sukulu country, where animals are sacred, posing as photographers.
Watch Now
Tarzan's Hidden Jungle
1961
Duel of the Titans
5.1/21
Twin brothers were raised by wolves, revolt against tyranny in pre-Roman Italy and then come to a parting of the ways as they lead their people toward...
Watch Now
Duel of the Titans
1961
Goliath and the Vampires
5.2/4
Maciste's village is attacked by pirates. The women, including Maciste's fiancee Guja, are carried off to Salmanak, where dwells the lair of the blood...
Watch Now
Goliath and the Vampires
1961
Samson and the 7 Miracles of the World
5.8/6
Samson must rescue a beautiful Chinese princess from a marauding horde of warriors.
Watch Now
Samson and the 7 Miracles of the World
1962
Gladiator of Rome
6/3
A warrior protecting a slave girl, who is really a princess, winds up as a gladiator in the Roman arenas.
Watch Now
Gladiator of Rome
1965
The Tramplers
6/6
After the war of secession, the aging Cordeen, who owns thousands of acres in Texas, rules his numerous and quarrelsome sons with an iron hand. He sen...
Watch Now
The Tramplers
1962
Kerim, Son of the Sheik
5/1
In the Middle East, circa 1860s, the evil Omar seeks to become Khadive by killing off his adversaries and by marrying the reluctant Fawzia, favorite n...
Watch Now
Kerim, Son of the Sheik
1963
The Conquest of Mycenae
3.6/11
Gordon Scott plays Glaucus, the prince of Tiryns, a powerful warrior who goes undercover in Mycenae to infiltrate the evil cult of Moloch, which is ex...
Watch Now
The Conquest of Mycenae
1964
Hero of Rome
3.9/7
In ancient Rome, the people finally oust their despised king, Tarquinius, and declare the city a republic. Tarquinius makes an alliance with the Etrus...
Watch Now
Hero of Rome
1965
Hercules and the Princess of Troy
6.2/6
Hercules (Gordon Scott) sets out to save the city of Troy from a horrible sea monster. Meanwhile, the city is threatened by a different kind of monste...
Watch Now
Hercules and the Princess of Troy
1963
Zorro and the Three Musketeers
3.5/2
In the first half of the 1600's, France is at war with Spain. The cousin of the king of Spain, Isabella, is held captive in the French castle, and the...
Watch Now
Zorro and the Three Musketeers
1963
The Lion of St. Mark
3.6/4
In 1620 pirates are terrorizing the Adriatic coast. Our hero sets out to defeat them.
Watch Now
The Lion of St. Mark
1964
Buffalo Bill, Hero of the Far West
4.9/5
Colonel William Cody, alias Buffalo Bill, intends to put an end to the dishonest relations between a gang of white swindlers and the Indian, Yellow Ha...
Watch Now
Buffalo Bill, Hero of the Far West
1967
Top Secret
7/1
A man escapes from a Russian prison and then from a United States embassy, taking with him some very important top secret information from both sides.
Watch Now
Top Secret
1998
In Search of Tarzan with Jonathan Ross
0/0
A look at Tarzan on the big and small screen with interviews with some of those who have played him.
Watch Now
In Search of Tarzan with Jonathan Ross
1963
Hero of Babylon
3/2
The rightful heir to the throne of Babylon leads a slave revolt against an evil ruler.
Watch Now
Hero of Babylon
1964
Thunder of Battle
3/1
Coriolanus leads the plebians in a revolt against Roman oppression.
Watch Now
Thunder of Battle
1973
Women in Cell Block 7
4.9/6
A woman goes behind bars in order to save her father's life.
Watch Now
Women in Cell Block 7
1963
The Tyrant of Lydia Against the Son of Hercules
2/1
Italian sword & sandal thrills as the son of Hercules is pitted against an evil king and his wretched followers.
Watch Now
The Tyrant of Lydia Against the Son of Hercules
1997
Investigating Tarzan
0/0
A look at the history and cultural impact of Tarzan.
Watch Now
Investigating Tarzan
1962
A Queen for Caesar
5.222/9
Story of the power struggle between Egyptian queen Cleopatra and her brother Ptolemy, and how a common soldier risks his life to serve her.
Watch Now
A Queen for Caesar
1963
The Shortest Day
5.8/22
Two jerks are enlisted in the Italian army during W.W.1 and by pure luck manage to help win an important battle.
Watch Now
The Shortest Day
1968
The Movie Orgy
6.222/9
Clips from assorted television programs, B-movies, commercials, music performances, newsreels, bloopers, satirical short films and promotional and gov...
Watch Now
The Movie Orgy
1965
L'Attaque de Fort Adams (Une aventure de Buffalo Bill)
0/0
Watch Now
L'Attaque de Fort Adams (Une aventure de Buffalo Bill)
2017
Tarzan: Lord of the Movies
0/0
The history of the Tarzan films is presented through behind-the-scenes footage and scenes from the Jungle King’s many classic movies.
Watch Now