Foreword by Johnny Sheffield

A FOREWORD by JOHNNY SHEFFIELD
“Not Good for Man to Look at Sun”

FIRST THINGS FIRST... Before telling you about Johnny Weissmuller, my Tarzan father, and my “Jungle Family,” I want you to know a little about my real family. I was BLESSED with an extraordinary and wonderful childhood with caring, loving, teaching parents who were probably the most popular mother/father combo among all the children in the neighborhood. Quite aside from being GREAT parents, my father, Reginald, was a successful English stage and screen actor, director, and producer whose work you may have seen and my mother, Louise Van Loon, was a “Vassar Girl” with a liberal arts education who LOVED books and lectured.
Mother was my data bank and father taught me his profession. He had me “On the Boards” early and on Broadway in the starring role of “Pud” in On Borrowed Time at six-and-a-half years. I had a beautiful and charming older sister, Mary Alice, and still have my younger brother, William. They gave me some great nieces and nephews and we all are connected through the Internet. Patty, my cherished wife, and I have three treasured children, Patrick, Stewart, and Regina. No grandchildren, yet. So as a child growing up, I enjoyed the best of TWO family lives; one real and one fantasy. BOTH were, and still are, very near and dear to me.
NOW A REQUEST... I have wondered whether “Twice the Hero,” the title of this new book, is HERO enough when it comes to the GREATNESS of Johnny Weissmuller. TWICE may be a little conservative. Perhaps it should be THRICE or MORE. It’s MORE for me; I truly believe it’s a LOT MORE! You be the judge. After reading this biography, as carefully written by David Fury, please let me know how many heroes Johnny Weissmuller is for you.

    DAVID FURY — movie fan, collector, author, biographer, and publisher... Over the years I came to recognize David Fury as a fan/collector. He made his written requests on his personal letterhead which featured a rather distinctive profile of the bearded author wearing what I would describe as a Van Gogh hat. This pleasing profile caught my eye, so one day I gave David my Internet address. Through e-mail I came to know more about Dave and recognized him as a serious movie fan, historian, author, and publisher. Our friendship grew until 05:55:01 on January 8,1999, when I received the following request via “Electronic Drums.”
    “Would you consider writing a Foreword for Twice the Hero? I’d be greatly honored if you would; I think it would be appreciated by everyone who reads the book. I think you could say some things to honor Johnny that no one else on this planet could...”
    I knew David was working on this biography and have encouraged him along the way. I wanted to read it. So, when David dropped it on me to write the Foreword for Twice the Hero I was flattered! This request came as a surprise. I thought for a moment and wondered what Big John would want me to do. The answer came fast: “Umgawa, Boy, Umgawa!”
I quickly answered: “I would be honored to write the Foreword.” I always read the entire foreword in any book I start, but if you, the reader, feel I am “Padding the Part” too much, the option is wide open to skip on ahead and read this later.
    I am not a biographer nor a literary critic. Many biographers fail to research thoroughly their subject and fail to separate fact from fiction. They perpetuate stories and events that are untrue or just never happened. There are some “Tall Tales” included in this volume which are entertaining and to be expected in material dealing with “Show Business.” Enjoy them; we won’t blame you if you are suspicious. I know first hand only the small portion of Big John’s life covering the times we were together making Tarzan films. This is a faithful and accurate work with respect to our shared experience. The book speaks for itself. I am hopeful you will appreciate the thoroughness and skill that went into its making. The enlightening quotes and graphics that warm these pages remind me of the time I was an INSIDER, when I was actually involved in the Life Story of Johnny Weissmuller. Personally, I have learned from this biography much about Big John’s life I didn’t know before. I think you will too.
    I was seven-years-old when I first met Johnny Weissmuller and in the next nine years we made eight Tarzan pictures together. We were CLOSE. I knew he was an Olympic champion and ALL that, but I didn’t know a great deal about his life history as revealed in this wonderful book. It has taken 50+ years to fully understand how spending my formative years (seven years to l6 years) under the wing of a world champion has affected my life. I would like to share some of that with you here.