#berlin olympics

[hvislysettaross777]

1936

[tradlads]

"Harmony, balance, and rhythm. That's what life is all about.”

George Pocock

George Pocock (far left) and the University of Washington rowing team before they represented the United States at the 1936 Berlin Olympics.

[deutschland-im-krieg]

The LZ 129 Hindenburg glides over the Olympic Stadium, Berlin, 1936

[blondebrainpowered]

Iris C. Cummings Critchell in WASP (Women Airforce Service Pilots) uniform in 1944. A former Olympic swimmer in the 1936 Berlin Olympics, she also worked as a flight instructor before joining the WAFS and then the WASP. She raced airplanes competitively in the 1950’s, then with her husband helped found the Bates Aeronautics program at Harvey Mudd College in 1962.

RIP January 31, 2024 at 104 years old.

[tarzanwriter]

Remembering “Tarzan’s Revenge” star and 1936 Olympic decathlon gold medalist Glenn Morris on the 114th Anniversary of his birth.

Born June 18, 1912, Glenn Morris was a Simla, Colorado farmboy, a high-school standout in football, basketball, and track who enrolled in Colorado State College (now Colorado State University) to play all three sports, eventually serving as the student body president.

A hurdler, he targeted the Olympic decathlon after his 1934 graduation, setting a national record in the 10-event competition at the Kansas Relays, a world record at the U.S. Olympic trials, and another world record at the 1936 Berlin Olympics.

Returning home, Morris was feted with a tickertape parade, and married his college sweetheart Charlotte Edwards (who monitored the stopwatch and his diet during his years of training).

Riding the wave of fame, he moved to Hollywood to appear in small roles in the films “She Married an Artist” (1937) and “Hold That Co-Ed” (1938). Sol Lesser cast him as the fourth Olympic medalist Tarzan in “Tarzan’s Revenge” (1938) opposite the first Olympic female Tarzan lead, swimmer Eleanor Holm—who was named Eleanor in the film, because Lesser claimed her fame superseded the role.

Unfortunately, “Revenge” was panned by critics and audiences alike, and was unable to meet the high expectations generated by the big-budget films of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer that starred Olympic swimmer Johnny Weissmuller. Morris was drafted by the Detroit Lions football team in 1940, but broke his leg in the first game and retired from the gridiron.

In 1942, Morris enlisted in the U.S. navy for World War II and was commissioned as a lieutenant. He served aboard the “U.S.S. Banner” as an amphibious assault craft beach landing master, retaking Pacific Islands from the Japanese under heavy fire.

Morris earned numerous medals and ribbons, but suffered severe post-traumatic stress disorder, and struggled through life afterward, working a variety of professions including steelwork, construction, security guard, and parking lot attendant.

Morris died of heart failure on January 31, 1974, in the Palo Alto, California Veterans Administration hospital. His athletic memorabilia was donated to Simla High School, which instituted an annual Glenn Morris Award, given to a student who excels athletically and academically.

For more information, see "Tarzan on Film"

[seventh-victim]

aged only 16 years old, Betty Robinson was the first woman to win an Olympic gold medal in track and field, in the 100-meter race at the 1928 games. She was severely injured in a plane crash, but came back to win another gold in the 4x100 meter relay at the Berlin Olympics in 1936.

[stone-cold-groove]

Vintage poster from 1936 - XI Olympiade, Berlin u. Garmisch-Partenkirchen.

[frank-o-meter]

Cornelius Johnson, First Black Athlete to Win a Gold Medal at the 1936 Berlin Olympics, Photo by Margaret Bourke-White, 1936