TARZAN
THE KING OF THE JUNGLE
Edgar Rice Burroughs
arrived in Southern California
in his early twenties
and began what he thought
would be just a hobby
~ writing stories.
He became a resident of Tarzana,
which is named after
his unforgettable character
Tarzan Of The Apes
who is the personification of
the enchantment of adventure.
Tarzan�s parents die in the jungle
after which apes find him as a baby
and bring him up as one of their own.
He learns the skills of survival
in a hostile environment.
Tarzan has the physique of a man
and the brain of a man,
but he is essentially an ape
through training and environment.
His natural training teaches him
to imitate whatever is new and unusual
and to develop the natural curiosity,
which is as common to men as to apes,
prompting him to choose
wisely and instinctively
in all manner of circumstance.
Eventually Tarzan meets Jane
an English adventuress
and they fall in love.
Jane gives up her life
in civilization with all its luxury
to remain in the jungle
with Tarzan.
They later find a baby boy,
the sole survivor of a plane crash
and raise him as their son.
Tarzan names him Boy.
Tarzan is the great protector
of Jane and Boy,
of jungle wild life,
of those too weak to protect themselves
and feared by the savage aborigines
and the white hunters alike.
One of his famous lines in
TARZAN�S DESERT MYSTERY
comes after he has tricked
the bloodthirsty Nazi Commander
into falling into a lion pit
replete with trapped lion:
"In jungle, strong always win."
Many actors have played
the amazing ape man
in countless motion pictures.
Elmo Lincoln ~ 1918
P. Demsey Tabler ~ 1920
Gene Pollar ~ 1920
James Pierce ~ 1921
Frank Merrill ~ 1927
Johnny Weissmuller ~ 1932
Buster Crabbe ~ 1933
Herman Brix ~ 1935
Glen Morris ~ 1938
Lex Barker ~ 1949
Gordon Scott ~ 1953
Jock Mahoney ~ 1959
Denny Miller ~ 1960
Mike Henry ~ 1963
Ron Ely ~ 1968
Miles O'Keeffe ~ 1970
Christopher Lambert ~ 1981
Capser Van Dien ~ 1984
Johnny Weissmuller
is generally considered by critics
and movie audiences alike
the quintessential Tarzan
first seen in the 1932 production ~
TARZAN
THE APE MAN.
He developed and perfected
the very best Tarzan yell
and portrayed the ape man
more realistically than any other
actor before or after.
Johnny�s real name is
Peter John Jonas Weissmuller
and was born on 2 June 1904
in Freidorf, Romania.
Johnny was a famous athlete
and became a world
championship swimmer.
Johnny died at 80 years of age
on 20 January 1984
in Acapulco, Mexico
after a series of strokes.
Critics are equally convinced that
Maureen O'Sullivan is
the quintessential Jane
first seen in the 1932 production ~
TARZAN
THE APE MAN.
Maureen reprised her role several times
in the Weissmuller series of Tarzan films.
Maureen�s real name is
Maureen Paul O'Sullivan
and was born on 17 May 1911,
in Boyle, County Roscommon, Ireland.
Maureen died at 87 years of age
on 23 June 1998
in Scottsdale, Arizona
of a heart attack.
Johnny Sheffield was considered
the quintessential Boy
first seen in the 1939 production ~
TARZAN FINDS A SON.
Johnny was born on 11 April 1931
in Pasadena, California.