Joe Martin the Movie Star Orangutan!

Imagine an orangutan who loved making movies! That was Joe Martin. He was born a long, long time ago, between 1911 and 1913.

He was so clever that people thought he was almost like a human. He appeared in over 50 silent movies, which means there was no talking in them, just music and pictures! He was in funny comedies and even some exciting adventure movies.

He was a real star of the silent film era, showing off his amazing orangutan talents to audiences everywhere.

Even though Joe was a movie star, he had a wild side! When he got older, he sometimes got a bit grumpy. He once got so upset that he escaped from his zoo enclosure not once, but twice!

The first time, he even let out the wolves and an elephant! Another time, he took a police officer's hat right off his head and even grabbed his gun! It shows that even though he was smart and famous, he was still a powerful orangutan who needed to be handled with care.

Joe Martin was in some really famous movies! He was in two Tarzan movies, where Tarzan is a hero who lives in the jungle. He also acted in movies with funny actors like Max Linder.

People loved watching Joe because he was so different from other actors. He was an orangutan doing human-like things on screen, which was super exciting for people back then. He was a big part of making those old movies so much fun to watch.

After being a movie star, Joe Martin was sold to a circus around 1924 because he was getting a bit too strong and unpredictable. He lived at the circus until about 1931. We don't know exactly when or how Joe Martin passed away, but he lived a pretty long life for an orangutan back then. He was a truly unique orangutan who lived an extraordinary life, from movie sets to the circus ring!