Me, Cheeta: My Life in Hollywood

This pseudo-autobiography of Cheeta, Tarzan star and the world's oldest living chimp at 76, lacks the substance the chimp's unique life and career demand. Taken from a Liberian jungle in 1932, Cheeta—known as Jiggs prior to his Tarzan role—arrived in New York before eventually making his way to MGM Studios in Hollywood. Along with Johnny Weissmuller, who would become a lifelong friend, Cheeta starred in 11 Tarzan films, from 1934's Tarzan and His Mate to 1948's Tarzan and the Mermaids . After being branded “too old,” Cheeta retired until his role alongside Rex Harrison in 1967's Doctor Doolittle , his final film appearance. The chimp currently resides in Creative Habitats and Enrichment for Endangered and Threatened Apes (C.H.E.E.T.A.) in Palm Springs, Calif., where he is cared for by Dan Westfall, the nephew of one of his original trainers. Peppered with clichéd scenes of Old Hollywood—from the brash Dietrich to the hard-drinking Bogart—this fictionalized memoir misses an opportunity to educate readers on the history of Hollywood's animal performers. (Mar.)