Tarzan
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- For other uses, see Tarzan (disambiguation).
Tarzan, a character created by Edgar Rice Burroughs, first appeared in the 1912 novel Tarzan of the Apes, and then in twenty-three sequels. He is the son of a British Lord and Lady, marooned on the coast of Africa by mutineers. His parents died when he was an infant, and he was raised by Great Apes of a species unknown to science. Kala is his ape mother. Tarzan (White-skin) is his ape name; his English name is John Clayton, Lord Greystoke (per Burroughs; Earl of Greystoke per later, non-canonical sources, notably the 1984 movie Greystoke). As a young adult, he meets Jane, and when she returns to America he leaves the jungle in search of his true love. Tarzan and Jane marry, and he lives with her for a time in England. They have one son, Jack, who takes the ape name Korak. Tarzan is contemptuous of the hypocrisy of civilization, and he and Jane return to Africa where, both being immortal, they still live. Along with Doc Savage and Sherlock Holmes, Tarzan is one of the cornerstones of the Wold Newton family created by Philip José Farmer.
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[edit] Literature
Tarzan has been called one of the best-known literary characters in the world. In addition to more than two dozen books by Burroughs and a handful more by authors with the blessing of Burroughs' estate, the character has appeared in films, radio, television programs, comic strips, and comic books. Numerous parodies and pirated works have also appeared.
Science fiction author Philip José Farmer wrote Tarzan Alive!, a biography of Tarzan utilizing the frame device that he was a real person. See also Wold Newton family.
Even though the copyright on Tarzan of the Apes has expired in the United States of America, all of Burroughs's works will remain under copyright in the European Union until 2021, and the name TARZAN is a trademark.
[edit] Critical reception
While Tarzan of the Apes met with some critical success, subsequent books in the series received a cooler reception. They have been criticized for being derivative and formulaic. The characters are often said to be two-dimensional, the dialogue wooden, and the storytelling devices (such as excessive reliance on coincidence) strain credibility. While Burroughs is a vivid storyteller, he is not considered a polished novelist.
Despite critical panning, the Tarzan stories have been amazingly popular. Fans love his melodramatic situations and the elaborate details he works into his fictional world. His construction of a partial language for his great apes is an example of the sort of detail that fans love.
Since the beginning of the 1970s, Tarzan books and movies have often been criticized as being blatantly racist. This comes from an overwhelmingly negative and stereotypical portrayal of Blacks and Africans. While there are positive characters, such as the Waziri tribe, they are always shown as subservient to the white characters. The fact that the character of Tarzan (whose name translates as "white-skin") is better adapted to life in Africa than the Black African characters is also seen as a sign of racism.
Burroughs' opinions, made known mainly through the narrative voice in the stories, do reflect racist and sexist themes widely held in his time. The author is not especially mean-spirited about his attitudes. His heroes do not engage in violence against non-submissive women or in racially motivated violence. Still, the attitudes of a superior-inferior relationship are plain and occasionally even made explicit; according to James Loewen's Sundown Towns, this may be a vestige of Burroughs having been from Oak Park, Illinois, a Sundown town or a town that forbids non-whites from living within it.
When Burroughs moved to Hollywood, his attitudes became much more liberal, and the later Tarzan books include heavy-handed satires of sexism and racism.
Nwachukwu Frank Ukadike, Black African Cinema, University of California Press 1994, p. 40
In Nazi Germany, Tarzan books were condemned as degenerate.
[edit] The Tarzan Character
Burroughs has created in Tarzan an extreme example of a hero figure unalloyed with character flaws or faults. Tarzan is described by Burroughs as being Caucasian, extremely athletic, tall, handsome, and tanned. He has gray eyes. Emotionally, he is courageous, loyal and steady. He is intelligent and learns new languages easily. He is presented as always behaving ethically in all situations, according to Burroughs' definitions. He is deeply in love with his wife and totally devoted to her. Always the gentleman, in numerous situations where other women express their attraction to Tarzan, he politely and as kindly as possible declines their attentions. If presented with a situation where a weaker individual or party is being preyed upon by a stronger foe, Tarzan will invariably take the part of the weaker party (and invariable, if eventually, win). In dealing with other men Tarzan is firm and forceful. With male friends he is reserved but deeply loyal and generous. As a host he is likewise generous and gracious. As a leader he commands devoted loyalty.
In contrast to all these urbane and sophisticated capabilities and characteristics, Tarzan's philosophy embraces an extreme form of "return to nature". His preferred dress is a knife and a loin cloth made from uncured animal hide. His preferred abode is a convenient tree branch which happens to be nearby when he desires to sleep. His preferred food is raw meat, killed by himself; even better if he is able to bury it a week so that putrefaction has had a chance to tenderize it a bit. Although Tarzan is able to pass within society as a civilized individual, he prefers to, as Burroughs often puts it "strip off the thin veneer of civilization".
This philosophy was absorbed by countless fans, amongst whom was Jane Goodall, who describes the Tarzan series as having a major influence on her childhood. She states that she felt she would be a much better spouse for Tarzan than his fictional wife, Jane, and that when she first began to live among and study the chimpanzees she was fulfilling her childhood dream of living among the great apes just as Tarzan did.[1]
[edit] Reoccurring Themes
Besides the philosophy mentioned above that Burroughs expounds through Tarzan, there are several reoccurring themes or situations. Frequently Tarzan will come upon a large cat (lion, tiger, panther, etc.) menacing someone. Tarzan will leap upon the beast, lock his legs around the beast's loin, lock his arm around his throat, and stab it with his knife. Tarzan's growls will mingle with that of the cat, startling and horrifying the people he is rescuing. Tarzan will kill the cat, then perform his victory scream, which will reverberate through the jungle.
[edit] Pirated works
After Burroughs' death a number of writers produced new Tarzan stories without the permission of his estate. In some instances, the estate managed to prevent publication of such unauthorized pastiches. The most notable exception in the United States was a series of five novels by the pseudonymous "Barton Werper" that appeared in the mid-1960s. As a result of legal action by Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc., they were taken off the market and remaining copies destroyed.
Similar series appeared in other countries, notably Argentina, Israel, and some Arab countries.
[edit] Pirated Tarzan brochures in Israel
In Israel in the 1950's and early 1960's there was a thriving industry of locally-produced Tarzan adventures published weekly in 24-page brochures by several competing publishing houses, none of which bothered to get any authorization from the Burroughs estate. The stories featured Tarzan in contemporary Africa, a popular theme being his fighting against the Mau Mau in 1950s Kenya and single-handedly crushing their revolt several times over. He also fought a great variety of monsters, vampires and invaders from outer space infesting the African jungles, and discovered several more lost cities and cultures in addition to the ones depicted in the Burroughs canon. Some brochures had him meet with Israelis and take Israel's side against her Arab enemies, especially Nasser's Egypt.
None of the brochures ever bore a writer's name, and the various publishers - "Elephant Publishing" (Hebrew: הוצאת הפיל), "Rhino Publishing" (Hebrew: הוצאת הקרנף) and several similar names - provided no more of an address than POB numbers in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. Unconfirmed rumor has it that some later well-known Israeli writers began their careers with writing pirated Tarzan stories. These Tarzan brochures were extremely popular among Israeli youths of the time, successfully competing with the numerous Hebrew translations of the original Tarzan novels, and are recalled with nostalgia by many Israelis now in their fifties. The Tarzan brochures faded out by the middle 1960s, surviving copies at present fetching high prizes as collectors' items in the Israeli used-book market. Researcher Eli Eshed has spent considerable time and effort on the Tarzan brochures and other Israeli pulp magazines and paperbacks. See: [2], [3] - and [4] (Hebrew website with cover of "Tarzan's War Against the Germans").
The popularity of Tarzan in Israel had some effect on the spoken Hebrew language. As it happens, "tarzan" (Hebrew: טרזן) is a long-established Hebrew word, translatable as "dandy, fop, coxcomb" (according to R. Alcalay's Complete Hebrew-English Dictionary of 1990). However, a word could not survive with that meaning while being identical with the name of a popular fictional character usually depicted as wearing a loincloth and jumping from tree to tree in the jungle. Since the 1950s the word in its original meaning has completely disappeared from the spoken language, and is virtually unknown to Hebrew speakers at present - though still duly appearing in dictionaries.
[edit] Pirated Tarzan in Arab Countries
In the 1950's Syria and Lebanon also saw the flourishing of pirated Tarzan stories. As could be expected, Tarzan in this version was a staunch supporter of the Arab cause and helped his Arab friends foil various fiendish Israeli plots. (James R. Nesteby,'Tarzan of Arabia', in the Journal of Popular Culture, volume 15, number 1, 1981.)
[edit] Film
The Internet Movie Database lists 88 movies with Tarzan in the title between 1918 and 1999. The first Tarzan movies were silent pictures adapted from the original Tarzan novels which appeared within a few years of the character's creation. With the advent of talking pictures, a popular Tarzan movie franchise was developed, anchored at first by actor Johnny Weissmuller in the title role, which lasted from the 1930s through the 1960s. Tarzan films from the 1930s on often featured Tarzan's chimpanzee companion Cheeta. Later Tarzan films have been occasional and somewhat idiosyncratic.
[edit] Silent film
The first Tarzan movies were five silent films released from 1918 to 1921, most based on the original novels. Elmo Lincoln starred in several. A handful of additional silents in the late 1920s continued the pattern without Lincoln. The first Tarzan sound film was Tarzan the Tiger (1929), featuring Frank Merrill as the Ape Man, shot as a silent but partially dubbed for release. It was Merrill’s second Tarzan movie, and it cost him the role, as his voice was deemed unsuitable for the part.
[edit] The Weissmuller era
The most popular series of Tarzan films began with Tarzan the Ape Man (1932), starring Johnny Weissmuller and Maureen O'Sullivan. Starting afresh with an extremely free adaptation of Tarzan of the Apes which threw out everything that had gone before, it was a boon to the franchise if not to the character, who was recast as a natural hero with a limited vocabulary. Weissmuller continued to star as the Ape Man in eleven sequels, through 1948, and the series continued on a solid basis into the 1960s.
During the Weissmuller period a number of competing films were made starring other actors, including Tarzan the Fearless (1933), featuring Buster Crabbe. The New Adventures of Tarzan (1935), hearkening back to the original concept of the character as an intelligent Englishman, was a serial featuring Herman Brix that was reedited into two feature films, the first (confusingly) released in the same year and with the same title as the serial, and the second, Tarzan and the Green Goddess released in 1938. Tarzan’s Revenge, also released in 1938, starred Glenn Morris.
[edit] The franchise after Weissmuller
Following the Weissmuller films, Lex Barker portrayed Tarzan in five films (1949-1953). Next came six films starring Gordon Scott (1955-1960), of which the best received were Tarzan's Greatest Adventure (1959) and Tarzan the Magnificent (1960).
Then there were two films featuring Jock Mahoney (1962-1963), three with Mike Henry (1966-1968), and two (adaptations of television episodes) with Ron Ely (1970). These later Tarzan films saw the character evolve from Weissmuller’s simple family man who lived in a tree house with Jane and Boy into an intelligent but apparently rootless adventurer. Tarzan, the Ape Man was remade in 1959 in a poorly-received version starring Denny Miller.
[edit] Later films
After the Ely films, the movie Tarzan went on hiatus until another remake of Tarzan, the Ape Man in 1981, a disastrous flop with Miles O'Keeffe in the title role, whose sole reason for existence seemed to be to exhibit co-star Bo Derek as Jane in various states of undress.
The better received Greystoke - The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes followed in 1984, starring Christopher Lambert. Returning to the source material, it updated Burroughs’ original novel in the light of 1980s sensibilities and science, utilizing a number of corrective ideas first put forth by science fiction author Philip José Farmer in his mock-biography Tarzan Alive. While restoring Tarzan’s identity as an intelligent human being, Greystoke portrayed his adaptation to civilization as a failure, and his return to the wild as a matter of necessity rather than choice.
In Asia, Philippine Cinema's inclination in satirizing western entertainment produced Starzan, a comedy film loosely based on the original Tarzan franchise. It stars Filipino comedic actor Joey De Leon as Starzan, Rene Requiestas as "Chitae", and Zsa Zsa Padilla as Jane. The last live-action Tarzan movie to date was Tarzan and the Lost City (1998).
[edit] The Disney Tarzan
Disney’s animated Tarzan (1999) marked a new beginning for the ape man, taking its inspiration equally from Burroughs and Greystoke. Its major innovations were recasting the original fictitious ape species that adopted Tarzan with gorillas and turning Clayton, his unworthy cousin and rival for the affections of Jane in the early novels, into a brawny out-and-out villain.
Two direct to video sequels followed, Tarzan and Jane (2002), which isn't so much a movie as three episodes of the TV series, and Tarzan II (2005), a re-exploration of the ape man’s childhood.
[edit] Other
The film Tarzan corpus also includes a number of documentaries, most of them either made for television or to accompany video sets of Tarzan movies, a number of derivative foreign-language productions from China, India, and Turkey, and various spoofs and parodies.
[edit] Television
Meanwhile, series television had emerged as the primary vehicle bringing the character to the public. Ron Ely’s live action Tarzan series ran on NBC from 1966-1968, where Tarzan was accompanied by Cheeta the chimpanzee from the movies and a child sidekick, the orphan boy Jai (Manuel Padilla, Jr., who also played the similar roles of Ramel and Pepe in Tarzan and the Valley of Gold (1966) and Tarzan and the Great River (1967)). The character Jai first appeared in the film Tarzan Goes to India, played by a young actor of the same name.
An animated series from Filmation, Tarzan, Lord of the Jungle, aired from 1976–1977, with new and repeat episodes in the anthology programs Batman/Tarzan Adventure Hour (1977–1978), Tarzan and the Super 7 (1978–1980), The Tarzan/Lone Ranger Adventure Hour (1980–1981), and Tarzan/Lone Ranger/Zorro Adventure Hour) (1981–1982).
Following were Tarzan in Manhattan (1989), an offbeat TV movie, and Tarzan: The Epic Adventures (1996), a new live-action series. Disney’s animated series The Legend of Tarzan (2001-2003) was a spin-off from its animated film. The latest television series was the live-action Tarzan (2003), which updated the setting to contemporary New York City, with Jane as a police detective. The series failed to meet studio expectations and was cancelled after only eight episodes.
[edit] Anime and Manga
In Japan there was also an anime and manga series loosely based on Tarzan. "Jungle no Ouja Ta-chan" (King of the Jungle Ta-chan) was originally a manga by Tokuhiro Masaya, which was later made into an anime series. It featured the characters of Tarzan and his wife Jane, who had become obese after settling down with Tarzan. The series begins as a comical parody of Tarzan, but later expands to other settings, such as a martial arts tournament in China, professional wrestling in America, and even a fight with vampires. [5]
[edit] Comics
[edit] Comic strips
Tarzan of the Apes was the first novel to be adapted in newspaper strip form, in early 1929, with illustrations by Hal Foster. A full page Sunday strip began March 15, 1931 by Rex Maxon.
Over the years, many artists have drawn the Tarzan comic strip, notably Burne Hogarth, Russ Manning, and Mike Grell. The daily strip began to reprint old dailies after the last Russ Manning daily (#10,308, which ran on 29 July 1972). The Sunday strip also turned to reprints circa 2000. Both strips continue as reprints today in a few newspapers and in Comics Revue magazine.
The comic strip has often borrowed plots and characters from the Burroughs books. Writer Don Kraar, who wrote the strip from 1982 to 1995, included in his scripts David Innes and John Carter of Mars.
[edit] Comic books
Tarzan has appeared in many comic books from many publishers over the years.
- Comic strip reprints were published in several titles, such as Sparkler, Tip Top Comics and Single Series.
- Western Publishing published Tarzan in Dell Comics's Four Color Comics #134 & 161 in 1947, before giving him his own series, Tarzan #1-131 (Jan-Feb 1948 to July-August 1962), through Dell Comics (as well as in some Dell Giants and March of Comics giveaways), then continued the series with #132-206 (November, 1962 to February, 1972) through their own Gold Key Comics. This series featured artwork by Jesse Marsh, Russ Manning, and Doug Wildey, and included adaptions of most Tarzan novels through Tarzan and the Lion Men, as well as original stories and other features. Almost all of the Dell Comics Tarzan stories were written by Gaylord DuBois.
- Charlton Comics briefly published a Tarzan comic, on the mistaken belief that the character was in the public domain.
- DC published Tarzan #207-258 from April 1972 to February 1977, showcasing artist Joe Kubert's depiction of the character. The series included adaptions of other Burroughs creations, and had companion books Korak (later renamed Tarzan Family) and Weird Worlds.
- Marvel Comics published Tarzan #1-27 (as well as three Annuals), from June 1977 to October 1979, featuring artwork by John Buscema.
- Blackthorne Comics published Tarzan in 1986.
- Malibu Comics published Tarzan comics in 1992.
- Dark Horse Comics has published various Tarzan series from 1996 to the present, including reprints of works from previous publishers like Gold Key and DC.
- Dark Horse and DC published two crossover titles teaming Tarzan with Batman and Superman. Batman/Tarzan: Claws of the Cat-Woman is a "straight" team-up between Tarzan and the 1930s Batman, while Superman/Tarzan: Sons of the Jungle is a revisionist version in which Lord Greystoke grows up in England, while Kal-El is raised by the apes as "Argozan".
- Though not mentioned by name, Tarzan is referenced in Alan Moore's The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. Places and people from the original Tarzan novels are referred to, suggesting that Tarzan does or did exist in that universe.
[edit] Stage
Tarzan, a musical stage adaptation of the 1999 animated feature, opened at the Richard Rodgers Theatre on Broadway in 2006. The show, a Disney Theatrical production, was directed and designed by Bob Crowley.
Tarzan also appeared in the Tarzan Rocks! show at the Theatre in the Wild at Walt Disney World Resort's Disney's Animal Kingdom. The show closed in 2006.
[edit] Computer games
A computer game by Michael Archer was produced by Martech. For more information see Tarzan (computer game).
Disney's Tarzan had seen video games released for the PlayStation and Game Boy Color.
Tarzan also appeared in the PS2 game Kingdom Hearts. Sora, Donald Duck, and Goofy had to work with Tarzan to save his home from the heartless.
[edit] Ephemera
There have been several Tarzan View-Master reels and packets, plus numerous Tarzan coloring books, children's books, follow-the-dots and activity books.
In the film Histoire de Pen there is a character named after Tarzan and another named after The Phantom.
Superman's Song by the Canadian rock band the Crash Test Dummies compares Tarzan unfavourably to Superman.
[edit] Trivia
- In a fictional 1999 comic book story featuring The Phantom, the hero meets Edgar Rice Burroughs, and inspires him to create Tarzan.
- Tarzana, California, where Burroughs made his home, was renamed in honor of Tarzan in 1927.
- Tarzan appears briefly as a character in the book Lust, by Geoff Ryman.
- Michael Heseltine, a former British MP and senior government minister, is nicknamed Tarzan in honour of his having once seized the ceremonial mace in the House of Commons and swung it about his head in the middle of a debate. This action, together with Heseltines flowing golden hair, was said to be distinctly in the style of Tarzan. The nickname has also been combined with his name into the portmanteau nickname Hezza.
[edit] Bibliography
[edit] by Edgar Rice Burroughs
- Tarzan of the Apes (1912) (Project Gutenberg Entry:[6])
- The Return of Tarzan (1913) (Project Gutenberg Entry:[7])
- The Beasts of Tarzan (1914) (Project Gutenberg Entry:[8])
- The Son of Tarzan (1914) (Project Gutenberg Entry:[9])
- Tarzan and the Jewels of Opar (1916) (Project Gutenberg Entry:[10])
- Jungle Tales of Tarzan (1916, 1917) (Project Gutenberg Entry:[11])
- Tarzan the Untamed (1919, 1921) (Project Gutenberg Entry:[12])
- Tarzan the Terrible (1921) (Project Gutenberg Entry:[13])
- Tarzan and the Golden Lion (1922, 1923)
- Tarzan and the Ant Men (1924)
- Tarzan, Lord of the Jungle (1927, 1928)
- Tarzan and the Lost Empire (1928)
- Tarzan at the Earth's Core (1929)
- Tarzan the Invincible (1930, 1931)
- Tarzan Triumphant (1931)
- Tarzan and the City of Gold (1932)
- Tarzan and the Lion Man (1933, 1934)
- Tarzan and the Leopard Men (1935)
- Tarzan's Quest (1935, 1936)
- Tarzan and the Forbidden City (1938)
- Tarzan the Magnificent (1936, 1937)
- Tarzan and the Foreign Legion (1947)
- Tarzan and the Madman (1964)
- Tarzan and the Castaways (1940, 1941, 1965)
- with Joe R. Lansdale
- Tarzan: the Lost Adventure (1995)
- for younger readers
- Tarzan and the Tarzan Twins (1927, 1936, 1963)
[edit] By other authors
- Barton Werper
- Tarzan and the Silver Globe (1964)
- Tarzan and the Cave City (1964)
- Tarzan and the Snake People (1964)
- Tarzan and the Abominable Snowmen (1965)
- Tarzan and the Winged Invaders (1965)
- note: the Werper novels were never authorized by ERB, Inc.; they were taken off the market and remaining copies destroyed.
- Fritz Leiber
- Tarzan and the Valley of Gold (1966)
- Philip José Farmer
- A character based on Tarzan (Lord Grandrith) appears in the Nine trilogy:
- A Feast Unknown (circa 1966)
- Lord of the Trees (circa 1966)
- The Mad Goblin
- Tarzan Alive (1972)--A fictional biography of Tarzan (here Lord Greystoke), which is one of the two foundational books (along with Doc Savage: His Apocalyptic Life) of the Wold Newton family.
- The Adventure of the Peerless Peer (1974)
- Time's Last Gift (1985)
- The Dark Heart of Time (1999)
- Hadon of Ancient Opar (1974)
- Flight to Opar (1976)
- Note: A secondary character of these novels is not referred to as "Tarzan", but was intended to be Tarzan by Farmer, and is included as such by most Wold Newton family scholars.
- A character based on Tarzan (Lord Grandrith) appears in the Nine trilogy:
-
- Farmer also wrote a novel based on his own fascination with Tarzan, entitled Lord Tyger, and translated the novel Tarzan of the Apes into Esperanto.
- R. A. Salvatore
- Tarzan: the Epic Adventures (1996)
- Nigel Cox
- Tarzan Presley (2004). This novel combines aspects of Tarzan and Elvis Presley into a single character named Ted Nugent, within New Zealand and American settings. Upon its release, it was subject to legal action in the United States, and has not been reprinted since its initial publication.
[edit] Filmography
[edit] Silents
- Tarzan of the Apes (1918) (Elmo Lincoln) – based on the first part of the novel Tarzan of the Apes
- The Romance of Tarzan (1918) (Elmo Lincoln) – based on the second part of the novel Tarzan of the Apes
- The Revenge of Tarzan (1920) (Gene Pollar) – based on the first part of the novel The Return of Tarzan
- Son of Tarzan (1920) (P. Demsey Tabler) – serial based on the novel The Son of Tarzan
- The Adventures of Tarzan (1921) (Elmo Lincoln) – based on the second part of the novel The Return of Tarzan
- Tarzan and the Golden Lion (1927) (James Pierce) – based on the novel Tarzan and the Golden Lion
- Tarzan the Mighty (1928) (Frank Merrill) – an original story; the working title was Jungle Tales of Tarzan but it is not based on the Burroughs novel of that name
- Tarzan the Tiger (1929) (Frank Merrill) – based on the novel Tarzan and the Jewels of Opar; filmed as a silent but partially dubbed to become the first Tarzan sound film
[edit] Franchise films
[edit] With Johnny Weissmuller
- Tarzan the Ape Man (1932)
- Tarzan and His Mate (1934)
- Tarzan Escapes (1936)
- Tarzan Finds a Son! (1939)
- Tarzan's Secret Treasure (1941)
- Tarzan's New York Adventure (1942)
- Tarzan Triumphs (1943)
- Tarzan’s Desert Mystery (1943)
- Tarzan and the Amazons (1945)
- Tarzan and the Leopard Woman (1946)
- Tarzan and the Huntress (1947)
- Tarzan and the Mermaids (1948)
[edit] With Lex Barker
- Tarzan's Magic Fountain (1949)
- Tarzan and the Slave Girl (1950)
- Tarzan's Peril (1951)
- Tarzan's Savage Fury (1952)
- Tarzan and the She-Devil (1953)
[edit] With Gordon Scott
- Tarzan's Hidden Jungle (1955)
- Tarzan and the Lost Safari (1957)
- Tarzan and the Trappers (1958)
- Tarzan's Fight for Life (1958)
- Tarzan's Greatest Adventure (1959)
- Tarzan the Magnificent (1960) – not based on the Burroughs novel of that title
[edit] With other actors
- Tarzan Goes to India (1962) (Jock Mahoney)
- Tarzan's Three Challenges (1963) (Jock Mahoney)
- Tarzan and the Valley of Gold (1966) (Mike Henry) – novelization by Fritz Lieber
- Tarzan and the Great River (1967) (Mike Henry)
- Tarzan and the Jungle Boy (1968) (Mike Henry)
- Tarzan's Deadly Silence (1970) (Ron Ely)
[edit] Competing films
- Tarzan the Fearless (1933) (Buster Crabbe)
- The New Adventures of Tarzan (1935) (Herman Brix) – released in serial and feature film versions
- Tarzan and the Green Goddess (1938) (Herman Brix)
- Tarzan’s Revenge (1938) (Glen Morris)
- Tarzan, the Ape Man (1959) (Denny Miller)
[edit] Later films
- Tarzan, the Ape Man (1981) (Miles O’Keeffe)
- Greystoke - The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes (1984) (Christopher Lambert)
- Tarzan and the Lost City (1998) (Casper Van Dien)
- Tarzan (1999) – animated feature
- Tarzan & Jane (2002) – direct to video animated feature
- Tarzan II (2005) – direct to video animated feature
[edit] Television
- Tarzan (1966–1968) — NBC series starring Ron Ely
- Tarzan, Lord of the Jungle (1976–1977) — Filmation animated series (season one)
- Batman/Tarzan Adventure Hour (1977–1978) — (season two)
- Tarzan and the Super 7 (1978–1980) — (seasons three and four)
- Tarzan/Lone Ranger Adventure Hour (1980–1981) — (season five, repeats only)
- Tarzan/Lone Ranger/Zorro Adventure Hour (1981–1982) — (season six, repeats only)
- Tarzan in Manhattan (1989) — CBS TV movie starring Joe Lara
- Tarzán (1991–1994) — syndicated series starring Wolf Larson
- Tarzan: The Epic Adventures (1996) — syndicated series starring Joe Lara
- The Legend of Tarzan (2001–2003) — Disney animated series
- Tarzan (2003) — WB series
[edit] Documentaries
- Tarzan: The Legacy of Edgar Rice Burroughs (1996)
- Tarzan at the Movies, Part 1: Johnny Weissmuller (1996)
- Tarzan at the Movies, Part 2: The Many Faces of Tarzan (1996)
- Investigating Tarzan (1997)
- The One, the Only, the Real Tarzan (2004)
- Tarzan: Silver Screen King of the Jungle (2004)
- I,Tarzan (1996) * [14]
[edit] Actors portraying Tarzan
A number of actors have played Tarzan over the years, with the most famous and longest-lasting being Johnny Weissmuller, a Danube Swabian born in Austro-Hungary (in a town now in Romania), who came with his parents to the United States.
Due to complex licensing issues relating to Tarzan, several Tarzan movie series actually overlapped. For example, Buster Crabbe, Herman Brix and Glenn Morris all made Tarzan films concurrently with the 1932-1948 Weismuller series. Mike Henry played Tarzan in three theatrical releases that came out concurrently with Ron Ely's TV series, though all three had been filmed before the series debuted. (Henry had been approached to star in the TV series but had declined.)
[edit] In the movies (adult)
- Elmo Lincoln 1918, 1918, 1921
- Gene Pollar 1920
- P. Dempsey Tabler 1920
- James Pierce 1927
- Frank Merrill 1928, 1929
- Johnny Weissmuller 1932, 1934, 1936, 1939, 1941, 1942, 1943, 1943, 1945, 1946, 1947, 1948
- Buster Crabbe 1933
- Herman Brix later billed as Bruce Bennett 1935, 1938
- Glenn Morris 1938
- Lex Barker 1949, 1950, 1951, 1952, 1953
- Gordon Scott 1955, 1957, 1958, 1958, 1959, 1960
- Denny Miller 1959
- Jock Mahoney 1962, 1963
- Ron Ely 1966, 1967, 1968, 1970
- Mike Henry 1966, 1967, 1968
- Miles O'Keeffe 1981
- Christopher Lambert 1984
- Casper Van Dien 1998
- Tony Goldwyn 1999 (voice of animated Tarzan)
[edit] In the movies (youth)
- Gordon Griffith (1918, 1918)
- Tali McGregor (1984)
- Peter Kyriakous (1984)
- Danny Potts (1984)
- Eric Langlois (1984)
- Alex D. Linz 1999 (voice of young animated Tarzan)
- Harrison Chad (2005)
[edit] On radio
- James Pierce 1932-1934
- Carlton KaDell 1934-1936
- Lamont Johnson 1950-1951
[edit] On TV
- Gordon Scott 1958
- Ron Ely 1966
- Robert Ridgely 1976 (voice, Filmation series)
- Joe Lara 1989, 1996
- Wolf Larson 1991
- Michael T. Weiss 2001 (voice, Disney series)
- Travis Fimmel 2003
[edit] On stage
- Ronald Adair 1921 (Broadway)
- Josh Strickland 2006 (Original Broadway Cast - New York, NY.)
[edit] In video games
- Tony Goldwyn, Kingdom Hearts, 2002
- Jūrōta Kosugi, Kingdom Hearts, Japanese
[edit] Primal Skills and Abilities
His abilities gained from a jungle upbringing include being capable of climbing, clinging and leaping as well as any great ape, as well as walking on all fours exceptionally well, despite his human-type, opposite body proportion. His senses are enhanced above human level, having been able to smell food or would-be poachers at least two thirds of a mile away, and hear approaching stampedes from two. His physically close and intimately affectionate life around his loving Gorilla family has given him an astounding ability to read body language as well and clearly as though it were an excellently detailed comic book. He is also a great judge of character, having alerted Jane to dangerous people that she hasn't seen, even if they're right in front of her, more than once. The constant challenge of having to go to extreme lengths to obtain food or protect his family from danger, natural or predatory, has enhanced his strength, speed, agility, reflexes, balance, flexibility, reaction time and his ability to multi-task and swim to at least ten times normal human level. He has wrestled full grown bull elephants, rhinos, crocodiles, anacondas, sharks, big cats and even dinosaurs, when he visited the mysterious dinosaur world in a Disney series episode. Whenever he has thrown a projectile at something or someone, he has never missed, due to his excellent aim. His feet are just as useful to him as his hands, having clung to trees just by his toes. In the Disney series he has constantly surfed along branches, like a modern-day skateboarder, as well as swing between the dense gathering of vines in the trees, which are his trademark. He is also more than capable of communicating with every single species of animal in the jungle, short of predators.
[edit] See also
[edit] Footnotes
[edit] External links
- Official Tarzan and Edgar Rice Burroughs Web Site
- Worlds of Edgar Rice Burroughs
- Edgar Rice Burroughs Tribute and Weekly Webzine Site
- The Tarzan Implications
- Tarzan comic strip
- Tarzan at Brian's Drive-In Theater
- Free Tarzan eBooks by Project Gutenberg
- The Official Johnny Weissmuller Web Site
- Documentary 52': I, Tarzan
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