Glenn Morris

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Glenn Morris and Leni Riefenstahl 1936

Glenn Edward Morris (born June 18, 1912 in Denver , Colorado , † January 31, 1974 in Palo Alto , California ) was an American athlete and actor .

Life

Glenn Morris won the gold medal in the decathlon at the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin with a world record of 7900 points, which corresponds to 7254 points based on today's scoring. In total, Morris completed exactly three decathlons, all in 1936. Morris was also seen in Leni Riefenstahl's propaganda film Olympia , the two also had a brief affair during the Games.

Morris then spent two years as an actor with 20th Century Fox and has appeared in three films. After a small role in the comedy She Married an Artist (1937), he played - like Olympic gold medalist Johnny Weissmüller - the leading role in the Tarzan film Tarzan's Revenge (1938), to which Hugo Riesenfeld contributed the soundtrack . The role of Jane was taken on by the Olympic swimming champion Eleanor Holm . The bad reviews for Morris, however, prevented another Hollywood career, it only followed a supporting role in the comedy Hold That Co-ed (1938) at the side of John Barrymore . Morris then briefly played American football for the Detroit Lions , then worked as an insurance agent.

When the USA entered the war , he was drafted into the US Navy and had to be treated for a long time for psychological trauma. He died in a war veterans hospital after years of health problems.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ The shameful legacy of the Olympic Games , The Guardian
personal data
SURNAME Morris, Glenn
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Morris, Glenn Edward (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American athlete
DATE OF BIRTH June 18, 1912
PLACE OF BIRTH Denver
DATE OF DEATH January 31, 1974
Place of death Palo Alto