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Gordon Scott

Gordon Scott

Actor · Died April 30, 2007, aged 80 · Portland, Oregon, USA

Gordon Scott was an American film and television actor known for his portrayal of the fictional character Tarzan in five films (and one compilation of three made-as-a-pilot television episodes) of the Tarzan film series from 1955 to 1960. Gordon Scott was the eleventh Tarzan, starting with Tarzan’s Hidden Jungle. He was "discovered" poolside, and offered "a seven-year contract, a loin cloth, and a new last name." "Due in part to his muscular frame and 6-foot-3-inch [1.91-metre] height, he was quickly signed to replace Lex Barker as Tarzan" by producer Sol Lesser. Lesser had Gordon change his name because "Werschkul" sounded too much like "Weismueller". Scott's Tarzan movies ranged from rather cheap re-edited television pilots to large-scale action films with high-production values shot on location in Africa. In his early Tarzan films, he played the character as unworldly and inarticulate, in the mold of Johnny Weissmuller, an earlier Tarzan portrayer. In Scott's later films, after a change in producers, he played a Tarzan who was educated and spoke perfect English, as in the original Edgar Rice Burroughs novels. Scott was the only actor to play Tarzan in both styles. Fearing he would become typecast as Tarzan, Scott moved to Italy and became a popular star in epics of the péplum genre (known in the United States as sword-and-sandal), featuring handsome bodybuilders as various characters from Greek and Roman myth. Scott was a friend of Steve Reeves, and collaborated with him as Remus to Reeves's Romulus in Duel of the Titans. Scott also played Hercules in a couple of international co-productions during the mid-1960s. As the péplum genre faded, Scott starred in spaghetti westerns and Eurospy films. His final film appearance was in The Tramplers (filmed in 1966; released in the United States in 1968).

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Biography from TMDB.

Born
August 3, 1926
Died
April 30, 2007 (aged 80)
From
Portland, Oregon, USA
Works as
Actor
Titles
12 on MovieCove · 32 credits in all
Links
IMDb (opens in a new tab)TMDB (opens in a new tab)Wikidata (opens in a new tab)

Known for

TMDB popularity, last 37 days to Oct 26Down 31% in 30 days

What are Gordon Scott's films like?

Across their 9 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Morality and Survival.

Genres

Action6 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 20th percentile, at or above their average across these genres
: browse their Action movies
Drama2 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 16th percentile
: browse their Drama movies

Their MovieCove films by primary genre. The badge is the typical Midcredits score of the genre's films, the median percentile; an up arrow marks a genre at or above their average across these genres.

Themes

share of theme weight
Morality
38%
Survival
22%
Power
17%
Bonds
9%
Self
7%
Society
7%
Justice4 titles, browse their movies with this themeSurvival3 titles, browse their movies with this themeFamily bonds2 titles, browse their movies with this themeGreed2 titles, browse their movies with this theme

What they feel like to watch

their average across 9 films
ToneFeelDemandtheir average · filled zone: the category
Serious: How heavy the subject matter and outlook get. Browse their serious movies.
Tone · Weight
lightdark

A split, not a type: Light 6 · Serious 2 · Dark 1

Stylized: How far its world departs from everyday reality. Browse their stylized movies.
Tone · Style
naturalisticheightened

Grounded 2 · Stylized 6 · Heightened 1

Charged: How hard the emotional peaks hit while you watch. Browse their charged movies.
Feel · Intensity
gentleintense

Gentle 0 · Charged 9 · Intense 0

Shifting: How much it swings between very different feelings. Browse their shifting movies.
Feel · Swings
steadyswings

Steady 4 · Shifting 5 · Whiplash 0

Straight-faced: How much of the runtime is played for laughs. Browse their straight-faced movies.
Feel · Humor
noneconstant

Straight-faced 6 · Some laughs 3 · Funny 0

Even-paced: How fast it moves from scene to scene. Browse their even-paced movies.
Demand · Pace
slowrelentless

Slow burn 1 · Even-paced 8 · Relentless 0

Casual: How much focus it asks of you — look away and lose the thread? Browse their casual movies.
Demand · Attention
casualfull focus

Casual 7 · Engaged 2 · Full focus 0

Resolved: How much is left for you to interpret. Browse their resolved movies.
Demand · Resolution
resolvedambiguous

Resolved 9 · Open-ended 0 · Ambiguous 0

Roles they play

9 analyzed roles

Usually the Hero: 8 of 9 analyzed roles.

Hero
8 of 9
Shadow
1 of 9
Show the 9 roles

Moods and endings

endings are an aggregate; no title is named

Dominant moods · mentions across their titles

Tense
7
Thrilling
7
Melancholic
2
Hopeful
2
Absurd
1
Other
3

How their films linger

Fun7 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteFeel-good4 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteRousing3 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteBittersweet2 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteHaunting2 titles, browse their movies with this aftertaste

How their films end

  • Happy7
  • Bittersweet2

AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.

Where can I watch Gordon Scott's films?

As of October 24, 2026, 6 of their 12 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Tubi (5).

Also on these channels

Subscription and free streaming for Gordon Scott's titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.

Filmography

32 credits, 12 with a MovieCove page; 4 appearances as themselves are hidden until asked for.

  • Tarzan: Lord of the Movies (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2017)

    as Host / Tarzan (Archived Footage)

  • Tarzan at the Movies, Part 2: The Many Faces of Tarzan (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1996)

    as Tarzan (archive footage)

  • Kolossal - The Magnificent Macisti (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1977)

    Actor

  • Women in Cell Block 7(1973)

    as (Archive Footage)

    Midcredits score: 10th percentile of all films

  • Top Secret (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1967)

    as John Sutton

  • Danger!! Death Ray (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1967)

    as Bart Fargo

  • The Tramplers(1965)

    as Lon Cordeen

    Midcredits score: 28th percentile of all films

  • Hercules and the Princess of Troy(1965)

    as Hercules

    Midcredits score: 15th percentile of all films

  • L'Attaque de Fort Adams (Une aventure de Buffalo Bill) (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1965)

    as Buffalo Bill

  • Buffalo Bill(1964)

    as Buffalo Bill

    Midcredits score: 3rd percentile of all films

  • Thunder of Battle (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1964)

    as Coriolanus

  • Hero of Rome (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1964)

    as Mucius

  • The Lion of St. Mark (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1963)

    as Manrico Venier

  • The Tyrant of Lydia Against the Son of Hercules (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1963)

    as Goliath / Gordian

  • The Beast of Babylon Against the Son of Hercules (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1963)

    as Nippur

  • The Conquest of Mycenae (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1963)

    as Glauco / Hercules

  • The Shortest Day(1963)

    as Soldato (uncredited)

    Midcredits score: 29th percentile of all films

  • Zorro and the Three Musketeers (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1963)

    as Zorro

  • A Queen for Caesar (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1962)

    as Julius Caesar

  • Gladiator of Rome (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1962)

    as Marcus

  • Kerim, Son of the Sheik (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1962)

    as Kerim

  • The Pot Carriers (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1962)

    Producer

  • Duel of the Titans(1961)

    as Remus

    Midcredits score: 34th percentile of all films

  • Samson and the 7 Miracles of the World(1961)

    as Maciste / Samson

    Midcredits score: 13th percentile of all films

  • Goliath and the Vampires (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1961)

    as Maciste (Goliath)

  • Tarzan the Magnificent (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1960)

    as Tarzan

  • Tarzan and the Trappers(1960)

    as Tarzan

    Midcredits score: 12th percentile of all films

  • Look Back in Anger(1959)

    Producer

    Midcredits score: 81st percentile of all films

  • Tarzan's Greatest Adventure(1959)

    as Tarzan

    Midcredits score: 53rd percentile of all films

  • Tarzan's Fight for Life(1958)

    as Tarzan

    Midcredits score: 11th percentile of all films

  • Tarzan and the Lost Safari(1957)

    as Tarzan

    Midcredits score: 24th percentile of all films

  • Tarzan's Hidden Jungle (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1955)

    as Tarzan

Career shape

Star power in the 71st percentile of 239,109 people with a billed film role, over a full career of 32 titles from 1955 to 2017.

Biggest box office

Tarzan and the Lost Safari (1957)

$5M worldwide

Highest rated

Tarzan's Greatest Adventure (1959)

Midcredits 53rd

Film career

  • 1959Screen debut· Tarzan's Greatest Adventure
  • 1959First top-billed film· Tarzan's Greatest Adventure

By role

only this rolewith another role
Acting30 of 32: 30 only acting, 0 with another role · typical Midcredits score15thProducing2 of 32: 2 only producing, 0 with another role

By decade

1950s5 · 4 acting · 1 crew1960s23 · 22 acting · 1 crew1970s2 · acting1990s1 · acting2010s1 · acting

Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored.

How do Gordon Scott's films land?

Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 20th percentile, the median of all 12; across their 9 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 18th percentile for acclaim.

Acclaim · how much people like their films

18thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 9

Approval · how many liked their films

15thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 9

Reach · how many have seen their films

34thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 9

Midcredits score across 12 titles, by percentile

  • 75th and up1
  • 50th to 74th1
  • 25th to 49th3
  • Below 25th7

Shape of the crowd

7 of their 12 titles are Mixed.

  • Crowd Pleaser2
  • Broadly Agreed3
  • Mixed7

Most divisive · actor

Women in Cell Block 7 (1973)

60th percentile spread · 45% rated it 4 or lower

Most loved · producer

Look Back in Anger (1959)

Midcredits 81st · 70% liked

Reviewers score the acting 59/100 in their films, across 9 reviewed titles; fans 72, detractors 37. The element that speaks to their work as an actor.

Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.

Who does Gordon Scott work with?

People who share at least 2 of Gordon Scott's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Edgar Rice Burroughs shares the most, 4.

Directors

Writers

Actors

Cinematographers

Producers