Elmo Lincoln

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Elmo Lincoln (1923)

Elmo Lincoln , actually Otto Elmo Linkenhelt (born February 6, 1889 in Rochester , Indiana , † June 27, 1952 in Los Angeles , California ) was an American actor .

Life

The former policeman applied as an extra while filming a film and was discovered by David Wark Griffith . While filming a fight scene, Lincoln's shirt was torn and his huge, muscular torso was exposed. This had struck the director, who was so taken with the gigantic figure of the young man that he asked him to come over. He advised Lincoln to keep his rib cage with the film, but advised him to change his name so that Otto Elmo Linkenhelt would become Elmo Lincoln in the future. Over the next several years he appeared in several Griffith films.

However, he owed his real breakthrough to a coincidence. In 1916, the insurance salesman had William "Bill" Parson at Edgar Rice Burroughs , the film rights to his novel Tarzan of the Apes completed the filming should start 1917th The actor Winslow Wilson had been won over for the main role, Tarzan . When the United States entered World War I , however, Wilson volunteered as a soldier. When it came to finding a replacement, Parson's choice fell on the athletic Lincoln. On January 27, 1918, Tarzan of the Apes started in New York's "Broadway Theater" and was a huge success. Tarzan of the Apes became one of the few silent films that grossed over $ 1 million. Inspired by the success, the sequel Romance of Tarzan , again with Lincoln in the title role, was to be shot in the same year . Compared to the first film, the unmotivated sequel was not very successful.

After that, Lincoln turned to other projects, but slipped again in 1921 in Adventure of Tarzan in the role of the jungle hero. The film was a great success, but had the consequence that Lincoln was from now on with the image of the "ape man" and had little chance of other leading roles. He played almost only supporting roles and even appeared, in the role of Tarzan, as a circus sensation. In 1942 and 1949 Lincoln played again in small supporting roles in the Tarzan films Tarzan's Adventures in New York with Johnny Weissmüller and Tarzan and the blue valley with Lex Barker .

Filmography (selection)

Adventures of Tarzan , 1921, movie poster

Web links

Commons : Elmo Lincoln  - Collection of Images, Videos, and Audio Files
personal data
SURNAME Lincoln, Elmo
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Linkenhelt, Otto Elmo (real name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION US-American actor
DATE OF BIRTH February 6, 1889
PLACE OF BIRTH Rochester , Indiana, United States
DATE OF DEATH June 27, 1952
Place of death Los Angeles , California, United States