See what I did there? News reaches me via Papa J that the chimp who played Cheeta alongside Johnny Weismuller has now become the oldest chimp in captivity, at the grand old age of 74. He hasn’t been resting on his laurels since the glory days either:

He’s been busy in his post-film life, producing colorful paintings that have been shown in the National Museum of London, among other locations.

The National what? I must look it up next time I’m in Paris, Scotland. (In the accompanying audio stream, Cheeta’s “companion” Dan Westfall comments: “Well, it’s abstract, obviously, although we like to call it ape-stract.”)

Later on, Dan is asked about the secret of Cheeta’s longevity:

Being in captivity and, er, having all the good food and all the love and everything, y’know. I guess it’s like an old person – why do they live so long?

I’ve often asked myself the same question, but I never put it down to them living in captivity. You can tell Dan has thought this through, and he puts up a compelling argument. Also in common with lots of old people, Cheeta is diabetic and spends all day watching Tarzan repeats on TV. The only parallel Dan fails to mention is that they both drink a lot of PG Tips.