While inextricably associated in the public mind with Tarzan, Cheeta as a character was a product of the movies, never appearing in any of the original Tarzan novels by Edgar Rice Burroughs. Cheeta (probably born in 1932) appeared in numerous movies and television shows, most famously in the many Hollywood Tarzan films of the 1930s and 1940s, in which he portrayed a fictional chimpanzee of the same name.
In retirement Cheeta lives at a primate sanctuary called Creative Habitats and Enrichment for Endangered and Threatened Apes (CHEETA) in Palm Springs, California. He watches television and makes abstract paintings which are sold to benefit primate-related charities. He often watches his old films with his grandson, Jeeter. He also enjoys leafing through books and 'plays' the piano.