Tarzan in film and other non-print media
Encyclopedia
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
created by Edgar Rice Burroughs
Edgar Rice Burroughs
Edgar Rice Burroughs was an American author, best known for his creation of the jungle hero Tarzan and the heroic Mars adventurer John Carter, although he produced works in many genres.-Biography:...
, first appeared in the 1912
1912 in literature
The year 1912 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:*Virginia Stephen marries Leonard Woolf.*Frieda von Richthofen meets D. H. Lawrence.-New books:*Mary Antin - The Promised Land*L...
novel
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
Tarzan of the Apes
Tarzan of the Apes
Tarzan of the Apes is a novel written by Edgar Rice Burroughs, the first in a series of books about the title character Tarzan. It was first published in the pulp magazine All-Story Magazine in October, 1912; the first book edition was published in 1914. The character was so popular that Burroughs...
, and then in twenty-three sequels. The character proved immensely popular and quickly made the jump to other media, first and most notably to comics
Comics
Comics denotes a hybrid medium having verbal side of its vocabulary tightly tied to its visual side in order to convey narrative or information only, the latter in case of non-fiction comics, seeking synergy by using both visual and verbal side in...
and film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
. This article concerns Tarzan's appearance in film and other non-print media.
Film
Internet Movie Database
Internet Movie Database is an online database of information related to movies, television shows, actors, production crew personnel, video games and fictional characters featured in visual entertainment media. It is one of the most popular online entertainment destinations, with over 100 million...
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 Weissmüller
Johnny Weissmuller
Johnny Weissmuller was an Austro-Hungarian-born American swimmer and actor best known for playing Tarzan in movies. Weissmuller was one of the world's best swimmers in the 1920s, winning five Olympic gold medals and one bronze medal. He won fifty-two US National Championships and set sixty-seven...
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
Cheeta
Cheeta is a chimpanzee character appearing in numerous Hollywood Tarzan movies of the 1930s–1960s as well as the 1966–1968 television series, as the ape sidekick of the title character, Tarzan...
. Later Tarzan films have been occasional and somewhat idiosyncratic.
Silent film
Elmo Lincoln
Elmo Lincoln was an American film actor.Born Otto Elmo Linkenhelt, the barrel-chested actor is best known in his silent movie role as the first Tarzan in 1918's Tarzan of the Apes as an adult --...
starred in the first Tarzan feature, Tarzan of the Apes
Tarzan of the Apes (film)
Tarzan of the Apes is a 1918 American action/adventure silent film directed by Scott Sidney starring Elmo Lincoln, Enid Markey, George B. French and Gordon Griffith. The movie was the first Tarzan movie ever made, and is based on Edgar Rice Burroughs' original novel Tarzan of the Apes...
(1918), which may be the most faithful cinematic rendering of Burroughs' first Tarzan novel to date. The first portion of the film featured Gordon Griffith
Gordon Griffith
Gordon S. Griffith was an American assistant director, film producer, and one of the first child actors in the American movie industry. Griffith worked in the film industry for five decades, acting in over 60 films, and surviving the transition from silent films to talkies—films with...
as the young Tarzan, so Griffith could technically be considered the first screen Tarzan. (Early in the film, Tarzan is also shown as a baby played by at least two different uncredited children.) Elmo Lincoln returned for two sequels. Additional silents were produced in the 1920s with other actors (three of these films — The Romance of Tarzan
The Romance of Tarzan
The Romance of Tarzan is a silent, black and white action adventure film directed by Wilfred Lucas starring Elmo Lincoln, Enid Markey, Thomas Jefferson and Cleo Madison. The movie was the second Tarzan movie ever made, and is based on Edgar Rice Burroughs' original novel Tarzan of the Apes...
(1918, Elmo Lincoln), The Revenge of Tarzan
The Revenge of Tarzan
The Revenge of Tarzan is a silent adventure film, and the third Tarzan film produced. The film was produced by the Great Western Film Producing Company, a subsidiary of Numa Pictures Corporation. It was sold to Goldwyn Distributing Company before release...
(1920, Gene Pollar), and Tarzan the Mighty
Tarzan the Mighty
Tarzan the Mighty is a 1928 action film serial directed by Jack Nelson and Ray Taylor. It was nominally based on the collection Jungle Tales of Tarzan by Edgar Rice Burroughs. The film is now considered to be lost.-Cast:* Frank Merrill as Tarzan...
(1928, Frank Merrill) — have been lost
Lost film
A lost film is a feature film or short film that is no longer known to exist in studio archives, private collections or public archives such as the Library of Congress, where at least one copy of all American films are deposited and catalogued for copyright reasons...
). One of the silents, Tarzan and the Golden Lion
Tarzan and the Golden Lion (film)
Tarzan and the Golden Lion is a Tarzan film based on the 1923 novel of the same title written by Edgar Rice Burroughs, creator of the Tarzan character. The film starred James Pierce as Tarzan, Frederick Peters as Esteban Miranda, Dorothy Dunbar as Jane, and Edna Murphy as Betty Greystoke. The film...
(1927), featured the then-unknown Boris Karloff
Boris Karloff
William Henry Pratt , better known by his stage name Boris Karloff, was an English actor.Karloff is best remembered for his roles in horror films and his portrayal of Frankenstein's monster in Frankenstein , Bride of Frankenstein , and Son of Frankenstein...
as a villainous native chieftain. Other actors who portrayed the character in 1920's films were P. Dempsey Tabler and James Pierce (who married the daughter of Edgar Rice Burroughs). The first Tarzan sound film was Tarzan the Tiger
Tarzan the Tiger
Tarzan the Tiger is a Universal movie serial based on the novel Tarzan and the Jewels of Opar by Edgar Rice Burroughs. It stars Frank Merrill as Tarzan, Natalie Kingston as Jane, and Al Ferguson. It was written by Ian McClosky Heath and directed by Henry MacRae.It was considered lost at one time...
(1929), featuring Frank Merrill
Frank Merrill
Frank Dow Merrill is best remembered for his command of Merrill's Marauders, officially the 5307th Composite Unit , in the Burma Campaign of World War II. Merrill's Marauders came under General Joseph Stilwell's Northern Combat Area Command...
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.
The Weissmüller era
The most popular series of Tarzan films began with Tarzan the Ape Man (1932), starring Johnny WeissmüllerJohnny Weissmuller
Johnny Weissmuller was an Austro-Hungarian-born American swimmer and actor best known for playing Tarzan in movies. Weissmuller was one of the world's best swimmers in the 1920s, winning five Olympic gold medals and one bronze medal. He won fifty-two US National Championships and set sixty-seven...
and Maureen O'Sullivan
Maureen O'Sullivan
Maureen Paula O’Sullivan was an Irish actress.-Early life:O'Sullivan was born in Boyle, County Roscommon, Ireland, the daughter of Roman Catholic parents Mary Lovatt and Charles Joseph O'Sullivan, an officer in The Connaught Rangers who served in The Great War...
. Weissmüller, the son of ethnic-German immigrants from Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
, was already well known as a five-time Olympic
Olympic Games
The Olympic Games is a major international event featuring summer and winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games have come to be regarded as the world’s foremost sports competition where more than 200 nations participate...
gold medalist in swimming. He became the most famous and longest-lasting screen Tarzan, starring as the Ape Man in a total of twelve films, through 1948, the first six with MGM and the last six with RKO. The beauteous and scantily-clad O'Sullivan was a major factor in the early popularity of the series. The role of Jane in the films was reduced after O'Sullivan departed in 1942 following the sixth film in the series (and the last for MGM), Tarzan's New York Adventure
Tarzan's New York Adventure
Tarzan's New York Adventure is a 1942 film, the sixth Tarzan film to feature actors Johnny Weissmuller and Maureen O'Sullivan. This film was the sixth and final film in MGM's Tarzan series and was the studio's last Tarzan film until their 1958 release, Tarzan's Fight for Life, directed by H. Bruce...
. Two Jane-less films followed before Brenda Joyce
Brenda Joyce (actress)
Brenda Joyce was an American film actress. She was born as Betty Graftina Leabo in Excelsior Springs, Missouri, although family and friends referred to her as Graftina....
took over the role for the last four Weissmüller Tarzan films.
Starting afresh with an extremely free adaptation of Tarzan of the Apes
Tarzan of the Apes
Tarzan of the Apes is a novel written by Edgar Rice Burroughs, the first in a series of books about the title character Tarzan. It was first published in the pulp magazine All-Story Magazine in October, 1912; the first book edition was published in 1914. The character was so popular that Burroughs...
which threw out everything that had gone before, the Weissmüller series was a boon to the franchise if not to the character. In contrast to the articulate nobleman of Burroughs's novels, Weissmuller's Tarzan was a natural hero with a limited vocabulary. The ersatz
Ersatz
Ersatz means 'substituting for, and typically inferior in quality to', e.g. 'chicory is ersatz coffee'. It is a German word literally meaning substitute or replacement...
pidgin
Pidgin
A pidgin , or pidgin language, is a simplified language that develops as a means of communication between two or more groups that do not have a language in common. It is most commonly employed in situations such as trade, or where both groups speak languages different from the language of the...
of his dialogue has often been mocked as "Me Tarzan, you Jane," although that particular line was never spoken in any of the films (see insert).
Tarzan and Jane were clearly married in the novels, but their legal status was left a bit ambiguous in the Weissmuller films, even though they shared a jungle treehouse and (particularly in the second film of the series, Tarzan and His Mate
Tarzan and His Mate
Tarzan and His Mate is a Tarzan film based on the character created by Edgar Rice Burroughs. It was the second in the Tarzan film series to star Johnny Weissmuller....
) a strong sexual chemistry. In keeping with production code requirements, their son "Boy" was found and adopted rather than born to Jane. Weissmüller's yodel-like "Tarzan yell" became so associated with the character that it was sometimes dubbed into later films featuring different actors. Cheeta
Cheeta
Cheeta is a chimpanzee character appearing in numerous Hollywood Tarzan movies of the 1930s–1960s as well as the 1966–1968 television series, as the ape sidekick of the title character, Tarzan...
the chimpanzee provided comic relief through the series.
Due to complex licensing issues relating to Tarzan, a number of competing films starring other actors were made during the Weissmüller period. The first of these was Tarzan the Fearless (1933), featuring Buster Crabbe
Buster Crabbe
Clarence Linden "Buster" Crabbe was an American athlete and actor, who starred in a number of popular serials in the 1930s and 1940s.-Birth:...
. The New Adventures of Tarzan
The New Adventures of Tarzan
The New Adventures of Tarzan is a 1935 American film serial in 12 chapters. It is a more authentic version of the character than most other adaptations, with Tarzan as a cultured and well educated gentleman as in the original Edgar Rice Burroughs novels. It was filmed during the same period as the...
(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
Tarzan's Revenge
Tarzan's Revenge is an adventure film starring Glenn Morris in his only outing as Tarzan. Eleanor Holm, a popular swimming star, co-starred as Eleanor Reed. The movie was produced by Sol Lesser, written by R. Lee Johnson and Jay Vann and directed by D. Ross Lederman...
, also released in 1938, starred Glenn Morris
Glenn Morris
Glenn Edgar Morris was a U.S. track and field athlete. He won a gold medal in the Olympic decathlon in 1936, setting new world and Olympic records....
.
With the exception of The New Adventures of Tarzan
The New Adventures of Tarzan
The New Adventures of Tarzan is a 1935 American film serial in 12 chapters. It is a more authentic version of the character than most other adaptations, with Tarzan as a cultured and well educated gentleman as in the original Edgar Rice Burroughs novels. It was filmed during the same period as the...
, which was partially filmed in Guatemala, the Tarzan movies of this period were mostly filmed on Hollywood sound stages, with stock jungle and wildlife footage edited into the final product.
The franchise after Weissmüller
Following the Weissmüller films, Lex BarkerLex Barker
Lex Barker was an American actor best known for playing Tarzan of the Apes and leading characters from Karl May's novels.-Early life:...
portrayed Tarzan in five low-budget RKO films (1949-1953), each with a different actress portraying Jane (the first one being Brenda Joyce
Brenda Joyce (actress)
Brenda Joyce was an American film actress. She was born as Betty Graftina Leabo in Excelsior Springs, Missouri, although family and friends referred to her as Graftina....
, a carry-over from the Weissmüller series). Although Barker had been expensively educated (his father was a wealthy New York banker) and had good acting credentials, producer Sol Lesser insisted that he emulate Weissmüller's "Me Tarzan, you Jane" characterization.
Next came six films starring Gordon Scott
Gordon Scott
Gordon Scott was an American film and television actor known for his portrayal of the fictional character Tarzan in five films of the Tarzan film series from 1955 to 1960.-Early life, education and military service:He was born Gordon Merrill Werschkul in Portland,...
(1955-1960), a bodybuilder who was discovered while lifeguarding at a hotel in Las Vegas
Las Vegas metropolitan area
The Las Vegas Valley is the heart of the Las Vegas-Paradise, NV MSA also known as the Las Vegas–Paradise–Henderson MSA which includes all of Clark County, Nevada, and is a metropolitan area in the southern part of the U.S. state of Nevada. The Valley is defined by the Las Vegas Valley landform, a ...
. His first four Tarzan films, produced by Sol Lesser, continued in the Weissmüller formula. Then the series was taken over by producer Sy Weintraub
Sy Weintraub
Sy Weintraub was a movie and television producer best known for his series of Tarzan films and television episodes between 1959 and 1968. Weintraub broke with the Johnny Weissmuller formula of portraying Tarzan as a pidgin-speaking noble savage who lives in a treehouse with Jane and Boy...
, who wanted to move the character closer to Burroughs's original conception. The result was two of the best received entries in the entire franchise, Tarzan's Greatest Adventure
Tarzan's Greatest Adventure
Tarzan's Greatest Adventure is a 1959 adventure film directed by John Guillermin, produced by Sy Weintraub and Harvey Hayutin, and written by Les Crutchfield . The film features a literate Tarzan portrayed by Gordon Scott. The character of Jane does not appear. Cheeta only appears a few times...
(1959) and Tarzan the Magnificent
Tarzan the Magnificent
Tarzan the Magnificent is a 1960 British film, the follow-up to Tarzan's Greatest Adventure . It was directed by Robert Day and produced by Sy Weintraub. Gordon Scott makes his last appearance as Tarzan while Jock Mahoney appeared as villain Coy Banton...
(1960). Independent producers remade Tarzan, the Ape Man in 1959 in a poorly-received version starring Denny Miller
Denny Miller
Denny Scott Miller is an American actor, perhaps best known for his guest-starring roles on Gilligan's Island and as Tarzan in the late 1950s....
. The Weintraub series continued in two films featuring veteran stuntman Jock Mahoney
Jock Mahoney
Jock Mahoney was an American actor and stuntman of Irish, French, and Cherokee ancestry. Born Jacques O'Mahoney, he was credited variously as Jock Mahoney, Jack O'Mahoney or Jock O'Mahoney. He starred in two television series, both westerns...
(1962-1963), three with former pro-football player Mike Henry (1966-1968), and two (feature versions of television episodes) with Ron Ely (1970). The Mike Henry films were filmed before the Ron Ely TV series, but were released to theatres after the TV series debuted. Weintraub had intended Henry to star in the TV series, but Henry declined because of the injuries and illnesses he had suffered during location filming.
The Weintraub productions, including the Ron Ely television series (see below), dropped the character of Jane and portrayed Tarzan as an intelligent but apparently rootless adventurer. The Mike Henry entries, starting with Tarzan and the Valley of Gold
Tarzan and the Valley of Gold (film)
Tarzan and the Valley of Gold is an adventure film starring Mike Henry in his debut as Tarzan. The movie, produced by Sy Weintraub, written by Clair Huffaker, and directed by Robert Day, is remembered for its very James Bond-like portrayal of a tropical suited, globetrotting Tarzan...
(1966), were produced at the height of the James Bond
James Bond
James Bond, code name 007, is a fictional character created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short story collections. There have been a six other authors who wrote authorised Bond novels or novelizations after Fleming's death in 1964: Kingsley Amis,...
craze, and had Tarzan jetting around the world to fight international criminals. In contrast to most earlier Tarzan films, the Weintraub productions were in color and were shot in exotic locations such as Kenya, India, Thailand, Malaysia, Mexico, and Brazil.
Non-U.S. Productions
Steve SipekSteve Sipek
Steve Sipek also known as Steve Hawkes was born in Croatia and emigrated to Canada in 1959.He gained recognition by playing Tarzan in a Spanish-made film Tarzán en la gruta del oro/King of the Jungle/Tarzan in the Golden Grotto alongside Kitty Swan, filmed in Suriname, South America, Florida,...
also known as Steve Hawkes played Tarzan in two films produced by a Spanish company and intended for world markets. The first was variously titled Tarzán en la gruta del oro/King of the Jungle/Tarzan in the Golden Grotto (1969) and portions were filmed in Suriname
Suriname
Suriname , officially the Republic of Suriname , is a country in northern South America. It borders French Guiana to the east, Guyana to the west, Brazil to the south, and on the north by the Atlantic Ocean. Suriname was a former colony of the British and of the Dutch, and was previously known as...
, Florida, Africa, Spain and Italy, with interruptions when the producers ran out of money. Sipek claimed the film company couldn't pay the huge licensing fees from Edgar Rice Burroughs
Edgar Rice Burroughs
Edgar Rice Burroughs was an American author, best known for his creation of the jungle hero Tarzan and the heroic Mars adventurer John Carter, although he produced works in many genres.-Biography:...
' estate and settled for the name "Zan" or "Karzan" for the character.
A 1972 sequel, Tarzan and the Brown Prince
Tarzan and the Brown Prince
Tarzan and the Brown Prince is a 1972 Spanish/Italian co-production Tarzan film with Steve Hawkes and Kitty Swan repeating their roles from 1968's King of the Jungle. The film became a serialised Filipino graphic novel written in Tagalog and illustrated by Franc Reyeswho acted as an illustator on...
(1972), had portions filmed in Rainbow Springs, Florida.where Sipek was burned in a fire that got out of control.
Later films
The movie Tarzan went on hiatus until another remake of Tarzan, the Ape Man in 1981 with Miles O'KeeffeMiles O'Keeffe
Miles O'Keeffe is a television and movie actor. O'Keeffe got his first big break playing the title role in the 1981 version of Tarzan, the Ape Man.-Early life:...
in the title role; a disastrous flop whose sole reason for existence seemed to be to exhibit co-star Bo Derek
Bo Derek
Mary Cathleen Collins , better known as Bo Derek, is an American film and television actress, model, and sex symbol, known for her role as Jenny Hanley in the 1979 comedy film 10. However, Derek's film career soon faltered; her later films, including, Bolero and Ghosts Can't Do It , were poorly...
as Jane in various states of undress.
The better received Greystoke - The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes
Greystoke - The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes
Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes is a 1984 British film directed by Hugh Hudson and based on Edgar Rice Burroughs' novel Tarzan of the Apes...
followed in 1984, starring Christopher Lambert
Christopher Lambert
Christophe Guy Denis "Christopher" Lambert is an American-born French actor who has appeared in French, European and American productions. He is best known for his role as Connor MacLeod, or simply "The Highlander", from the movie and subsequent movie franchise series of the same name...
. 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
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
author Philip José Farmer
Philip José Farmer
Philip José Farmer was an American author, principally known for his award-winning science fiction and fantasy novels and short stories....
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.
The last live-action Tarzan movie to date was Tarzan and the Lost City
Tarzan and the Lost City (film)
Tarzan and the Lost City is a 1998 American action-adventure film directed by Carl Schenkel, and starring Casper Van Dien, Jane March and Steven Waddington....
(1998) which starred Casper Van Dien
Casper Van Dien
-Early life:Van Dien was born and grew up in Milton, Florida, the son of Diane , a retired nursery school teacher, and Casper Robert Van Dien, Sr., a retired U.S. Navy Commander and fighter pilot. There is a long military tradition in Van Dien's family. Aside from his father, his grandfather was a...
. Essentially a follow-on to Greystoke, this film was set in the 1920s and attempted to capture the flavor of some of the later novels in the Tarzan series, in which the ape-man encountered increasingly fantastic civilizations hidden in the deep jungles.
Warner Brothers and producer Jerry Weintraub
Jerry Weintraub
Jerry Weintraub is an American film producer and former chairman and CEO of United Artists. He now lives in Palm Desert, California.-Life and career:...
have reportedly had a new Tarzan live-action film in development since around 2003, but the project has so far failed to materialize. In 2011, it was reported that writer/director Craig Brewer
Craig Brewer
Craig Brewer is an American film director and screenwriter. His 2005 movie Hustle & Flow won the Audience Award at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival and achieved commercial success, along with an Academy Award for Best Original Song, "It's Hard Out Here for a Pimp".- Life and career :Hustle & Flow...
had been engaged to develop the project as a potential trilogy.
Animated Films
Disney’sWalt Disney Pictures
Walt Disney Pictures is an American film studio owned by The Walt Disney Company. Walt Disney Pictures and Television, a subsidiary of the Walt Disney Studios and the main production company for live-action feature films within the Walt Disney Motion Pictures Group, based at the Walt Disney...
animated Tarzan
Tarzan (1999 film)
Tarzan is a 1999 American animated feature film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released by Walt Disney Pictures on June 18, 1999...
(1999) marked a new beginning for the ape man, taking its inspiration equally from Burroughs and Greystoke
Greystoke - The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes
Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes is a 1984 British film directed by Hugh Hudson and based on Edgar Rice Burroughs' novel Tarzan of the Apes...
. Its major innovations were recasting the original fictitious ape species that adopted Tarzan with gorillas and turning Clayton, his cousin and rival for the affections of Jane in the early novels, into a brawny out-and-out villain. Tarzan was voiced by actor Tony Goldwyn
Tony Goldwyn
Anthony Howard "Tony" Goldwyn is an American actor and director. He portrayed the villain Carl Bruner in Ghost, Colonel Bagley in The Last Samurai, and the voice of the title character of the Disney animated Tarzan.-Early life:...
. To date, this film is the last installment in the Tarzan genre to be released theatrically.
Two direct to video sequels followed, Tarzan & Jane
Tarzan & Jane
Tarzan & Jane is a Disney direct-to-video film released on July 23, 2002, sequel to the 1999 animated feature Tarzan, and uses three unaired episodes of the film's corresponding television series, The Legend of Tarzan. Tarzan II, a midquel to the original film, was released in 2005...
(2002), and Tarzan II
Tarzan II
Tarzan II is a 2005 direct-to-video midquel to the 1999 Walt Disney Feature Animation film Tarzan. It was released on June 14, 2005....
(2005), a re-exploration of the ape man’s childhood. In Tarzan & Jane, Goldwyn
Tony Goldwyn
Anthony Howard "Tony" Goldwyn is an American actor and director. He portrayed the villain Carl Bruner in Ghost, Colonel Bagley in The Last Samurai, and the voice of the title character of the Disney animated Tarzan.-Early life:...
was replaced by Michael T. Weiss
Michael T. Weiss
Michael Terry Weiss is an American actor best known for playing the title role in The Pretender.-Early life:Weiss was born in Chicago, Illinois. His father was a steel-industry executive and his mother was a homemaker. He has a sister, Jamie Sue Weiss, who became a make-up artist for television...
.
Also in 1999, a direct-to-video animated version of Tarzan of the Apes
Tarzan of the Apes (1999 film)
Tarzan of the Apes is an animated musical adventure film produced by Diane Eskenazi and Darcy Wright and written by Mark Young . Richard Wagner's Ride of the Valkyries was used as the score during the opening scenes of the film...
aimed at younger children was released by Sony Wonder
Sony Wonder
Sony Wonder is a children and family's music and home video arm of Sony Music Entertainment, founded in 1991. The division once distributed material from Sesame Workshop and Classic Media...
.
In 2009, Germany's Constantin Film
Constantin Film
- History :Constantin Film Distribution GmbH was founded by Waldfried Barthel and Preben Philipsen on April 1, 1950 in Frankfurt, Germany. On December 21, 1964, the name of the company was changed to Constantin Film GmbH....
announced the development of a Tarzan 3D
3-D film
A 3-D film or S3D film is a motion picture that enhances the illusion of depth perception...
animated feature with Summit Entertainment
Summit Entertainment
Summit Entertainment LLC is an independent film studio headquartered in Santa Monica, California with international offices in London.-History:...
. Robert Kulzer and Reinhard Klooss are producing the film, with Klooss directing. Martin Moszkowicz will be the executive producer.
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 ChinaChina
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, and Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
, and various spoofs and parodies. Among the latter is Starzan, a Philippine Cinema comedy film loosely based on the original Tarzan franchise satirizing western entertainment. It stars Filipino comedic actor Joey De Leon
Joey de Leon
José María Ramos de León, better known as Joey de Leon is a Filipino comedian, actor, and television presenter. He hosts the noontime variety show Eat Bulaga!. He is a member of the comedy trio Tito, Vic and Joey that has made several comedy movies and TV shows...
as Starzan, Rene Requiestas
Rene Requiestas
Renato "Rene" Requiestas was one of the top Filipino comedians of the late 1980s up to the early 1990s.Requiestas was known for his sidekick roles alongside other comedy actors such as Joey de Leon and his pairing with Kris Aquino in romantic comedies, as well as his distinctive gaunt, toothless...
as "Chitae", and Zsa Zsa Padilla
Zsa Zsa Padilla
Zsa Zsa Padilla is a Filipina singer and actress. She is currently part of ABS-CBN contract actresses.-Biography:Padilla was born as Esperanza Padilla in 1964, the daughter of actor and sportsman Carlos “Sonny” Padilla, Jr. who served as the referee in the Ali-Frazier world heavyweight boxing...
as Jane.
Stage
A 1921 Broadway production of Tarzan of The Apes starred Ronald Adair as Tarzan and Ethel Dwyer as Jane Porter.In 1976, Richard O'Brien
Richard O'Brien
Richard Timothy Smith , better known under his stage name Richard O'Brien, is an English writer, actor, television presenter and theatre performer. He is perhaps best known for writing the cult musical The Rocky Horror Show and for his role in presenting the popular TV show The Crystal Maze...
wrote a musical entitled T. Zee, loosely based on the idea of Tarzan but restyled in a rock idiom.
Tarzan
Tarzan (musical)
Tarzan: The Musical is based on the Disney film of the same name and the story by Edgar Rice Burroughs. Music and lyrics are written by Phil Collins, with a book by David Henry Hwang.-Production:...
, a musical stage adaptation of the 1999 animated feature, opened at the Richard Rodgers Theatre
Richard Rodgers Theatre
The Richard Rodgers Theatre, is a Broadway theater in New York City, built by Irwin Chanin in 1925. When it was first opened, it was called Chanin's 46th Street Theatre. Chanin almost immediately leased it to the Shuberts, who bought the building outright in 1931 and renamed it the 46th Street...
on Broadway on May 10, 2006. The show, a Disney Theatrical production, was directed and designed by Bob Crowley. The show played its final performance July 8, 2007. Tarzan was played by Josh Strickland
Josh Strickland
Joshua Strickland is an American singer and actor from Charleston, South Carolina. He attended high school at the Charleston County School of the Arts and graduated from Middleton High School in Charleston. He attended the College of Charleston, where he studied voice with Deanna McBroom...
. Jane was played by Jenn Gambatese. Terk, Tarzan's best friend, was played by Chester Gregory
Chester Gregory
Chester Gregory is an award-winning Broadway actor and musician.-Broadway roles:*Sister Act as Eddie*Dreamgirls as James "Thunder" Early *Hairspray as Seaweed*Tarzan as Terk*The Jackie Wilson Story as Jackie Wilson...
. Kerchak, Tarzan's ape father was played by Shuler Hensley
Shuler Hensley
-Early life:Hensley was born in Atlanta, Georgia. The youngest of three children, Hensley grew up in Marietta, Georgia. His father, Sam P. Hensley, Jr., is a former Georgia Tech football star, retired civil engineer and former state senator. His mother, Iris Antley Hensley, was a ballerina and the...
and Robert Evan. Kala, Tarzan's ape mother was played by Merle Dandridge
Merle Dandridge
Merle Dandridge is an American actress who was born in Okinawa, Japan. Her father was an African-American US serviceman from Memphis and her mother was a local Okinawan of Korean and Japanese descent. Dandridge is primarily a stage actress, but has had several roles in television...
. Professor Porter (Jane's father) was played by Tim Jerome. Mr. Clayton (Jane's "love interest") was played by Donnie Keshawarz
Donnie Keshawarz
Donnie Keshawarz is a Canadian film and television actor.He was born in Guelph, Ontario, Canada and is of Afghan and Lithuanian descent....
. And Young Tarzan was played by Daniel Manche
Daniel Manche
Daniel Manche is a child actor from Alabama who moved to New York City, and currently lives in North Jersey. He portrayed the role of J.J...
, Dylan Riley Snyder
Dylan Riley Snyder
Dylan Riley Snyder is an American film, television and musical theatre performer. Beginning his acting career in community theatre at the age of five, Snyder is known for his acting, singing, and dancing abilities, starring as "Young Tarzan" in the 2006 Broadway musical, Tarzan, as "Timmy" in the...
, J. Bradley Bowers, and Alex Rutherford.
The same version of Tarzan that was played at the Richard Rodgers Theatre
Richard Rodgers Theatre
The Richard Rodgers Theatre, is a Broadway theater in New York City, built by Irwin Chanin in 1925. When it was first opened, it was called Chanin's 46th Street Theatre. Chanin almost immediately leased it to the Shuberts, who bought the building outright in 1931 and renamed it the 46th Street...
played throughout Europe and was a success in Holland.
Tarzan also appeared in the Tarzan Rocks! show at the Theatre in the Wild at Walt Disney World Resort
Walt Disney World Resort
Walt Disney World Resort , is the world's most-visited entertaimental resort. Located in Lake Buena Vista, Florida ; approximately southwest of Orlando, Florida, United States, the resort covers an area of and includes four theme parks, two water parks, 23 on-site themed resort hotels Walt...
's Disney's Animal Kingdom
Disney's Animal Kingdom
Disney's Animal Kingdom is an animal theme park located at the Walt Disney World Resort. The fourth park built at the resort, it opened on April 22, 1998, and it is the largest single Disney theme park in the world, covering more than . It is also the first Disney theme park to be themed entirely...
. The show closed in 2006. The Tarzan Encounter currently plays in Disneyland Park (Paris)
Disneyland Park (Paris)
Disneyland Park is a theme park at Disneyland Paris, a resort complex just outside of Paris, in the new town of Marne-la-Vallée, France. The first of two parks built at the resort, it opened as Euro Disneyland on 12 April, 1992...
, similar to the show at Disney's Animal Kingdom.
Radio
The second Tarzan radio program began 1 November 1951 and ran for 75 half hour episodes, ending on 27 June 1953. Lamont Johnson played Tarzan.
Television
Meanwhile, television had emerged as a primary vehicle bringing the character to the public, as the corpus of Tarzan films, especially those of Johnny Weissmuller and Lex Barker, became staples on Saturday morning TV. In 1958, in the middle of his six film reign as Tarzan, Gordon ScottGordon Scott
Gordon Scott was an American film and television actor known for his portrayal of the fictional character Tarzan in five films of the Tarzan film series from 1955 to 1960.-Early life, education and military service:He was born Gordon Merrill Werschkul in Portland,...
filmed three episodes for a prospective television series. The program did not sell, and in 1966 the three pilots were edited into a 90-minute television feature entitled Tarzan and the Trappers
Tarzan and the Trappers
Tarzan and the Trappers is an action adventure film featuring Edgar Rice Burroughs' famous jungle hero Tarzan and starring Gordon Scott, Eve Brent, Rickie Sorensen and Lesley Bradley...
.
A live action Tarzan
Tarzan (NBC series)
Tarzan is a series that aired on NBC from 1966 – 1968. The series portrayed Tarzan as a well-educated character, one who, tired of civilization, had returned to the jungle where he had been raised...
series starring Ron Ely ran on NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
1966-1968 (57 episodes). The executive producer was Sy Weintraub
Sy Weintraub
Sy Weintraub was a movie and television producer best known for his series of Tarzan films and television episodes between 1959 and 1968. Weintraub broke with the Johnny Weissmuller formula of portraying Tarzan as a pidgin-speaking noble savage who lives in a treehouse with Jane and Boy...
, and the series was basically a follow-on to Weintraub's series of Tarzan films that began with Tarzan's Greatest Adventure
Tarzan's Greatest Adventure
Tarzan's Greatest Adventure is a 1959 adventure film directed by John Guillermin, produced by Sy Weintraub and Harvey Hayutin, and written by Les Crutchfield . The film features a literate Tarzan portrayed by Gordon Scott. The character of Jane does not appear. Cheeta only appears a few times...
in 1959. Weintraub had dispensed with Jane and portrayed his ape man as well-spoken and sophisticated. Though Ely's Tarzan had no Jane, he 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
Tarzan and the Valley of Gold (film)
Tarzan and the Valley of Gold is an adventure film starring Mike Henry in his debut as Tarzan. The movie, produced by Sy Weintraub, written by Clair Huffaker, and directed by Robert Day, is remembered for its very James Bond-like portrayal of a tropical suited, globetrotting Tarzan...
(1966) and Tarzan and the Great River
Tarzan and the Great River
Tarzan and the Great River is an adventure Eastmancolor film starring Mike Henry in his second outing as a James Bond-like globetrotting Tarzan of his three Tarzan movies. The movie was produced by Sy Weintraub and Steve Shagan, written by Bob Barbash , and directed by Robert Day...
(1967). The character Jai first appeared in the film Tarzan Goes to India
Tarzan Goes to India
Tarzan Goes to India is the first film featuring Jock Mahoney as Tarzan. It was written by Robert Hardy Andrews and directed by John Guillermin who also directed Tarzan's Greatest Adventure. It was one of two Mahoney films that took Tarzan out of Africa and sent him to the far east...
, played by a young actor of the same name.
An animated series from Filmation
Filmation
Filmation Associates was an American production company that produced animation and live action programming for television during the latter half of the 20th century. Located in Reseda, California, the animation studio was founded in 1963...
, Tarzan, Lord of the Jungle
Tarzan, Lord of the Jungle
Tarzan, Lord of the Jungle is an animated series created by the Filmation studio for CBS. There are a total of 36 episodes produced over the first four seasons....
, aired from 1976–1977, with new and repeat episodes in the anthology programs Batman/Tarzan Adventure Hour
Batman/Tarzan Adventure Hour
The Batman/Tarzan Adventure Hour is a Filmation series that ran on CBS during the 1977–1978 television season. It consisted of the second seasons of Tarzan, Lord of the Jungle and The New Adventures of Batman aired together....
(1977–1978), Tarzan and the Super 7
Tarzan and the Super 7
Tarzan and the Super 7, was a Saturday morning cartoon series, produced by Filmation and originally airing from 1978–1980 on CBS.The show consisted of separate installments featuring seven groups of adventurers;* Tarzan, Lord of the Jungle...
(1978–1980), The Tarzan/Lone Ranger Adventure Hour
The Tarzan/Lone Ranger Adventure Hour
The Tarzan / Lone Ranger adventure hour is an animated television series produced by Filmation that aired on CBS during the early 1980s....
(1980–1981), and The Tarzan/Lone Ranger/Zorro Adventure Hour) (1981–1982).
Following this Joe Lara
Joe Lara
William Joseph Lara is an American actor and musician, best known in the role of Tarzan in the American TV series Tarzan: The Epic Adventures.-Career:...
starred in the title role in Tarzan in Manhattan
Tarzan in Manhattan
Tarzan in Manhattan is an action adventure CBS television movie. Joe Lara portrays Tarzan, and Kim Crosby appears as Jane Porter. Tony Curtis and Jan Michael Vincent co-star. The telefilm was produced by Max A. Keller, Micheline H...
(1989), an offbeat TV movie, and would later return in a completely different interpretation in Tarzan: The Epic Adventures
Tarzan: The Epic Adventures
Tarzan: The Epic Adventures is a syndicated series that aired for one season . It focuses on the character of Tarzan in his early years, after his first exposure to civilization, but before his marriage to Jane Porter...
(1996), a new live-action series. In between the two productions with Lara, Tarzán
Tarzán
Tarzán was a half-hour syndicated series that aired 1991–1994. In this version of the show, Tarzan was portrayed as a blond environmentalist, with Jane turned into a French ecologist....
, a half-hour syndicated series ran from 1991 through 1994. In this version of the show, Tarzan was portrayed as a blond environmentalist, with Jane turned into a French ecologist.
Disney’s animated series The Legend of Tarzan
The Legend of Tarzan
The Legend of Tarzan is an animated television series created by The Walt Disney Company in 2001, based on the Tarzan character created by Edgar Rice Burroughs....
(2001-2003) was a spin-off from its animated film. The latest television series was the live-action Tarzan
Tarzan (WB series)
Tarzan is an American television series that premiered on October 5, 2003 on The WB. Based on the Tarzan series by Edgar Rice Burroughs, this TV series was set in New York City, depicting a modern-day adaptation on Burroughs' characters...
(2003), which starred male model Travis Fimmel
Travis Fimmel
Travis Fimmel is an Australian actor and former model who is currently based in the United States. He is best known for his high-profile Calvin Klein campaign and for co-starring with Patrick Swayze in TV series The Beast shortly before Swayze's death.- Early years :Fimmel was raised as the...
and updated the setting to contemporary New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, with Jane as a police detective. The series failed to meet studio expectations and was cancelled after only eight episodes.
A 1981 television special, The Muppets Go to the Movies, features a short sketch entitled "Tarzan and Jane." Lily Tomlin
Lily Tomlin
Mary Jean "Lily" Tomlin is an American actress, comedienne, writer, and producer. Tomlin has been a major force in American comedy since the late 1960's when she began a career as a stand up comedian and became a featured performer on television's Laugh-in...
plays Jane opposite The Great Gonzo
Gonzo (Muppet)
Gonzo the Great is a puppet character, one of Jim Henson's Muppets. He was developed and performed by Dave Goelz. The character made his first appearance in a 1970 Christmas special entitled "The Great Santa Claus Switch". Known as a "Whatever" , he is considered one of The Frackles...
as Tarzan. In addition, the Muppets have made reference to Tarzan on half a dozen occasions since the 1960s.
In an episode of The Fairly OddParents
The Fairly OddParents
The Fairly OddParents is an American-Canadian animated television series created by Butch Hartman about the adventures of Timmy Turner, who is granted fairy godparents named Cosmo and Wanda. The series started out as cartoon segments that ran from September 4, 1998 to March 23, 2001 on Oh Yeah!...
, a spoof of Tarzan appears as "lord of the drapes," and "Lord of Shapes," instead of Lord of the Apes.
Anime
The Japanese "Jungle no Ouja Ta-chan" (King of the Jungle Ta-chan) series, originally a manga by Tokuhiro Masaya, was based loosely on Tarzan. 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.In another anime, One Piece
One Piece
is a Japanese shōnen manga series written and illustrated by Eiichiro Oda. It has been serialized in Weekly Shōnen Jump since August 4, 1997; the individual chapters are being published in tankōbon volumes by Shueisha, with the first released on December 24, 1997, and the 64th volume released as...
, Roronoa Zoro is seen doing a Tarzan call imitation during the Skypiea arc.
Video games
TaitoTaito
Taito may mean:*Taito Corporation, a Japanese developer of video game software and arcade hardware*Taito, Tokyo, a special ward located in Tokyo, Japan*Taito, also known as matai, paramount chiefs according to Fa'a Samoa...
's 1982 arcade game
Arcade game
An arcade game is a coin-operated entertainment machine, usually installed in public businesses such as restaurants, bars, and amusement arcades. Most arcade games are video games, pinball machines, electro-mechanical games, redemption games, and merchandisers...
Jungle King featured a character who resembled Tarzan. Copyright issues required Taito to rename the game, producing Jungle Hunt
Jungle Hunt
Jungle Hunt is a one- or two-player side-scrolling arcade platform game produced by Taito in 1982.The player controls a jungle explorer who sports a pith helmet and a safari suit. The player must rescue his girl from a tribe of hungry cannibals...
. The company retained the original character, albeit dressed in safari clothing complete with pith helmet
Pith helmet
The pith helmet is a lightweight cloth-covered helmet made of cork or pith...
. Gameplay remained unchanged; the player still fought crocodiles and swung from trees, but by ropes instead of vines. Jungle Hunt was subsequently adapted for play on numerous video game consoles and personal computers.
Tarzan Goes Ape was released in the 1980s for the Commodore 64
Commodore 64
The Commodore 64 is an 8-bit home computer introduced by Commodore International in January 1982.Volume production started in the spring of 1982, with machines being released on to the market in August at a price of US$595...
.
Martech Games Ltd
Martech
Martech Games Ltd was a video game publisher active between 1982 and 1989.Martech was formed by David Martin and brother-in-law John Barry, initially under the name Software Communications Ltd under partnership with a firm of exporters. They were initially based at Bay Terrace, Pevensey Bay, East...
released Tarzan in 1986 for the ZX Spectrum
ZX Spectrum
The ZX Spectrum is an 8-bit personal home computer released in the United Kingdom in 1982 by Sinclair Research Ltd...
, among other computing platforms.
In 1999, games based on Disney's animated film Tarzan were released for the PlayStation
PlayStation
The is a 32-bit fifth-generation video game console first released by Sony Computer Entertainment in Japan on December 3, .The PlayStation was the first of the PlayStation series of consoles and handheld game devices. The PlayStation 2 was the console's successor in 2000...
, Windows, and Game Boy Color
Game Boy Color
The is Nintendo's successor to the 8-bit Game Boy handheld game console, and was released on October 21, 1998 in Japan, November 19, 1998 in North America, November 23, 1998 in Europe and November 27, 1998 in the United Kingdom. It features a color screen and is slightly thicker and taller than...
. The PlayStation and Windows version was later ported to the Nintendo 64
Nintendo 64
The , often referred to as N64, was Nintendo′s third home video game console for the international market. Named for its 64-bit CPU, it was released in June 1996 in Japan, September 1996 in North America, March 1997 in Europe and Australia, September 1997 in France and December 1997 in Brazil...
in 2000.
Other games focusing on Disney's version of Tarzan include Tarzan Untamed (2001) for the PlayStation 2
PlayStation 2
The PlayStation 2 is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Sony as part of the PlayStation series. Its development was announced in March 1999 and it was first released on March 4, 2000, in Japan...
and Gamecube and Disney's Tarzan: Return to the Jungle (2002) for the Game Boy Advance
Game Boy Advance
The is a 32-bit handheld video game console developed, manufactured, and marketed by Nintendo. It is the successor to the Game Boy Color. It was released in Japan on March 21, 2001; in North America on June 11, 2001; in Australia and Europe on June 22, 2001; and in the People's Republic of China...
. Characters from the animated film have also appeared in Disney's Extreme Skate Adventure
Disney's Extreme Skate Adventure
Disney's Extreme Skate Adventure is a sports video game released by Toys For Bob. It utilizes the same game engine as Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4 by Neversoft and features characters from Toy Story, The Lion King and Tarzan.-Gameplay:...
and Kingdom Hearts
Kingdom Hearts
is an action role-playing game developed and published by Square in 2002 for the PlayStation 2 video game console. The first game in the Kingdom Hearts series, it is the result of a collaboration between Square Enix and The Walt Disney Company. The game combines characters and settings from Disney...
.
In the first Rayman
Rayman
Rayman is a platform video game published, produced and developed by Ubisoft and is the first game in the Rayman series of videogames. Originally released on the PlayStation in 1995, it was re-released for the Atari Jaguar, Sega Saturn and MS-DOS in 1996. It has also been ported to various formats,...
, a Tarzan-like version of Rayman named Tarayzan appears in the Dream Forest.
Ephemera
There have been several Tarzan View-MasterView-Master
View-Master is a device for viewing seven 3-D images on a paper disk. Although the View-Master is now considered a children's toy, it was originally marketed as a way for viewers to enjoy stereograms of colorful and picturesque tourist attractions.-1939–66: stereoscopic sightseeing:In 1911,...
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
The Phantom
The Phantom is an American adventure comic strip created by Lee Falk, also creator of Mandrake the Magician. A popular feature adapted into many media, including television, film and video games, it stars a costumed crimefighter operating from the fictional African country Bengalla.The Phantom is...
.
Superman's Song by the Canadian rock band
Rock Band
Rock Band is a music video game developed by Harmonix Music Systems, published by MTV Games and Electronic Arts. It is the first title in the Rock Band series. The PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions were released in the United States on November 20, 2007, while the PlayStation 2 version was...
the Crash Test Dummies
Crash Test Dummies
The Crash Test Dummies is a Canadian folk rock/alternative rock band from Winnipeg, Manitoba, widely known for their 1993 single "Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm".The band is most identifiable through Brad Roberts and his distinctive bass-baritone voice...
compares Tarzan unfavourably to Superman
Superman
Superman is a fictional comic book superhero appearing in publications by DC Comics, widely considered to be an American cultural icon. Created by American writer Jerry Siegel and Canadian-born American artist Joe Shuster in 1932 while both were living in Cleveland, Ohio, and sold to Detective...
.
One Leg Too Few
One Leg Too Few
One Leg Too Few is a comedy sketch written by Peter Cook and most famously performed by Cook and Dudley Moore. It is a classic example of comedy arising from an absurd situation which the participants take entirely seriously, and a demonstration of the construction of a sketch in order to draw a...
is a comedy sketch by Peter Cook
Peter Cook
Peter Edward Cook was an English satirist, writer and comedian. An extremely influential figure in modern British comedy, he is regarded as the leading light of the British satire boom of the 1960s. He has been described by Stephen Fry as "the funniest man who ever drew breath," although Cook's...
concerning a one-legged man attempting to audition for the role of Tarzan.
There is a song by Danish
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
pop
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
group Toy-Box
Toy-Box
Toy-Box was a Danish pop group, consisting of vocalists Anila Mirza and Amir El-Falaki. Mirza was born on October 8, 1974 in Hillerød, Denmark to a half-Pakistani, half-Iranian mother, and a Parsi father. El-Falaki was born August 12, 1973 in Copenhagen, Denmark to Moroccan parents...
called "Tarzan & Jane", first released as a single in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
in 1998, and then released worldwide in 1999 to coincide with the release of the Disney film Tarzan (see "Film").
Silents
- Tarzan of the ApesTarzan of the Apes (film)Tarzan of the Apes is a 1918 American action/adventure silent film directed by Scott Sidney starring Elmo Lincoln, Enid Markey, George B. French and Gordon Griffith. The movie was the first Tarzan movie ever made, and is based on Edgar Rice Burroughs' original novel Tarzan of the Apes...
(1918) (Elmo Lincoln) – based on the first part of the novel Tarzan of the ApesTarzan of the ApesTarzan of the Apes is a novel written by Edgar Rice Burroughs, the first in a series of books about the title character Tarzan. It was first published in the pulp magazine All-Story Magazine in October, 1912; the first book edition was published in 1914. The character was so popular that Burroughs... - The Romance of TarzanThe Romance of TarzanThe Romance of Tarzan is a silent, black and white action adventure film directed by Wilfred Lucas starring Elmo Lincoln, Enid Markey, Thomas Jefferson and Cleo Madison. The movie was the second Tarzan movie ever made, and is based on Edgar Rice Burroughs' original novel Tarzan of the Apes...
(1918) (Elmo Lincoln) – based on the second part of the novel Tarzan of the ApesTarzan of the ApesTarzan of the Apes is a novel written by Edgar Rice Burroughs, the first in a series of books about the title character Tarzan. It was first published in the pulp magazine All-Story Magazine in October, 1912; the first book edition was published in 1914. The character was so popular that Burroughs... - The Revenge of TarzanThe Revenge of TarzanThe Revenge of Tarzan is a silent adventure film, and the third Tarzan film produced. The film was produced by the Great Western Film Producing Company, a subsidiary of Numa Pictures Corporation. It was sold to Goldwyn Distributing Company before release...
(1920) (Gene Pollar) – based on the first part of the novel The Return of TarzanThe Return of TarzanThe Return of Tarzan is a novel written by Edgar Rice Burroughs, the second in his series of books about the title character Tarzan. It was first published in the pulp magazine New Story Magazine in the issues for June through December 1913; the first book edition was published in 1915 by A. C.... - The Son of TarzanThe Son of Tarzan (film)The Son of Tarzan is a 15 chapter film serial which focuses on the coming of age of Jack Clayton, also known as Korak, the son of Tarzan and Jane. The serial was produced by David P. Howells, written by Roy Somerville , and directed by Arthur J. Flaven and Harry Revier...
(1920) (P. Dempsey Tabler) – serial based on the novel The Son of TarzanThe Son of TarzanThe Son of Tarzan is a novel written by Edgar Rice Burroughs, the fourth in his series of books about the title character Tarzan. It was written between January 21 and May 11, 1915, and first published in the magazine All-Story Weekly as a six-part serial from December 4, 1915-January 8, 1916. It... - The Adventures of TarzanThe Adventures of TarzanThe Adventures of Tarzan is a 15 chapter movie serial which features the third and final appearance of Elmo Lincoln as Tarzan. The serial was produced by Louis Weiss, written by Robert F. Hill and Lillian Valentine , and directed by Robert F...
(1921) (Elmo Lincoln) – based on the second part of the novel The Return of TarzanThe Return of TarzanThe Return of Tarzan is a novel written by Edgar Rice Burroughs, the second in his series of books about the title character Tarzan. It was first published in the pulp magazine New Story Magazine in the issues for June through December 1913; the first book edition was published in 1915 by A. C.... - Tarzan and the Golden LionTarzan and the Golden Lion (film)Tarzan and the Golden Lion is a Tarzan film based on the 1923 novel of the same title written by Edgar Rice Burroughs, creator of the Tarzan character. The film starred James Pierce as Tarzan, Frederick Peters as Esteban Miranda, Dorothy Dunbar as Jane, and Edna Murphy as Betty Greystoke. The film...
(1927) (James Pierce) – based on the novel Tarzan and the Golden LionTarzan and the Golden LionTarzan and the Golden Lion is a novel written by Edgar Rice Burroughs, the ninth in his series of books about the title character Tarzan. It was first published as a seven part serial in Argosy All-Story Weekly beginning in December 1922; and then as a complete novel by A.C. McClurg & Co... - Tarzan the MightyTarzan the MightyTarzan the Mighty is a 1928 action film serial directed by Jack Nelson and Ray Taylor. It was nominally based on the collection Jungle Tales of Tarzan by Edgar Rice Burroughs. The film is now considered to be lost.-Cast:* Frank Merrill as Tarzan...
(1928) (Frank Merrill) – an original story; the working title was Jungle Tales of TarzanJungle Tales of TarzanJungle Tales of Tarzan is a collection of twelve loosely-connected short stories written by Edgar Rice Burroughs, comprising the sixth book in order of publication in his series about the title character Tarzan...
but it is not based on the Burroughs novel of that name - Tarzan the TigerTarzan the TigerTarzan the Tiger is a Universal movie serial based on the novel Tarzan and the Jewels of Opar by Edgar Rice Burroughs. It stars Frank Merrill as Tarzan, Natalie Kingston as Jane, and Al Ferguson. It was written by Ian McClosky Heath and directed by Henry MacRae.It was considered lost at one time...
(1929) (Frank Merrill) – based on the novel Tarzan and the Jewels of OparTarzan and the Jewels of OparTarzan and the Jewels of Opar is a novel written by Edgar Rice Burroughs, the fifth in his series of books about the title character Tarzan. It first appeared in the November and December issues of All-Story Cavalier Weekly in 1916, and the first book publication was by McClurg in 1918.-Plot...
; filmed as a silent but partially dubbed to become the first Tarzan sound film
With Johnny Weissmuller
- Tarzan the Ape Man (1932)
- Tarzan and His MateTarzan and His MateTarzan and His Mate is a Tarzan film based on the character created by Edgar Rice Burroughs. It was the second in the Tarzan film series to star Johnny Weissmuller....
(1934) - Tarzan EscapesTarzan EscapesTarzan Escapes is a 1936 Tarzan film based on the character created by Edgar Rice Burroughs. It was the third in the MGM Tarzan series to feature Johnny Weissmuller as the "King of the Apes".-Plot:...
(1936) - Tarzan Finds a Son!Tarzan Finds a Son!Tarzan Finds a Son! is a 1939 Tarzan film based on the character created by Edgar Rice Burroughs. It was the fourth in the MGM Tarzan series to feature Johnny Weissmuller as the "King of the Apes".-Plot:...
(1939) - Tarzan's Secret TreasureTarzan's Secret TreasureTarzan's Secret Treasure is a 1941 Tarzan film based on the character created by Edgar Rice Burroughs. It is the fifth in the MGM Tarzan series to star Johnny Weissmuller and Maureen O'Sullivan.-Plot:An expedition team arrives on Tarzan's escarpment...
(1941) - Tarzan's New York AdventureTarzan's New York AdventureTarzan's New York Adventure is a 1942 film, the sixth Tarzan film to feature actors Johnny Weissmuller and Maureen O'Sullivan. This film was the sixth and final film in MGM's Tarzan series and was the studio's last Tarzan film until their 1958 release, Tarzan's Fight for Life, directed by H. Bruce...
(1942) - Tarzan TriumphsTarzan TriumphsTarzan Triumphs is a 1943 adventure film in which Tarzan fights the Nazis. Johnny Weismuller had portrayed the popular Edgar Rice Burroughs character in six films with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, but this was his first with the producer Sol Lesser at RKO Pictures...
(1943) - franchise moves from MGM to RKO under producer Sol Lesser - Tarzan’s Desert Mystery (1943)
- Tarzan and the AmazonsTarzan and the AmazonsTarzan and the Amazons is an adventure film starring Johnny Weissmuller in his ninth outing as Tarzan. Brenda Joyce makes the first of five appearances as Jane and Johnny Sheffield returns as Boy. Henry Stephenson and Maria Ouspenskaya co-star. The movie was produced by Sol Lesser and Kurt...
(1945) - Tarzan and the Leopard WomanTarzan and the Leopard WomanTarzan and the Leopard Woman was a 1946 action film based on the Tarzan character created by Edgar Rice Burroughs and portrayed by Johnny Weissmuller. Directed by Kurt Neumann, the premise of the movie is Tarzan encounters a tribe of leopard-worshippers....
(1946) - Tarzan and the HuntressTarzan and the HuntressTarzan and the Huntress is an adventure film starring Johnny Weissmuller in his eleventh outing as Tarzan. Brenda Joyce makes the third of five appearances as Jane and Johnny Sheffield marks his eighth and final appearance as Boy. Patricia Morison and Barton MacLane co-star...
(1947) - Tarzan and the MermaidsTarzan and the MermaidsTarzan and the Mermaids is a 1948 action film based on the Tarzan character created by Edgar Rice Burroughs. Directed by Robert Florey, it was the last of the Tarzan movies to star Johnny Weissmuller in the title role.-Plot summary:...
(1948)
With Lex Barker
- Tarzan's Magic FountainTarzan's Magic FountainTarzan's Magic Fountain is a 1949 Tarzan film starring Lex Barker as Tarzan and Brenda Joyce as his companion Jane. The film also features Albert Dekker and Evelyn Ankers, was co-written by Curt Siodmak, and directed by Lee Sholem....
(1949) - Tarzan and the Slave GirlTarzan and the Slave GirlTarzan and the Slave Girl is a 1950 film starring Lex Barker as Tarzan, Vanessa Brown as Jane, and Robert Alda as big game hunter Neil. It was directed by Lee Sholem...
(1950) - Tarzan's PerilTarzan's PerilTarzan's Peril is a 1951 film starring Lex Barker as Tarzan and Virginia Huston as Jane, and featuring Dorothy Dandridge as "Melmendi, Queen of the Ashuba." Some of it was shot in Kenya, making it the first Tarzan movie to be filmed in Africa, though the majority of its location shooting was done...
(1951) - Tarzan's Savage FuryTarzan's Savage FuryTarzan's Savage Fury is a 1952 film starring Lex Barker as Tarzan, Dorothy Hart as Jane, and Patric Knowles. The movie was directed by Cy Endfield. While most Tarzan films of the 1930s, '40s and '50s presented Tarzan as a very different character from the one in Edgar Rice Burroughs' novels, this...
(1952) - Tarzan and the She-DevilTarzan and the She-DevilTarzan and the She-Devil is a 1953 film starring Lex Barker as Tarzan and Joyce MacKenzie as Jane. It also features Raymond Burr, Tom Conway and Monique van Vooren, who plays the "She-Devil," a colorful name for a female villain. The movie was directed by Kurt Neumann. Tarzan is held captive...
(1953)
With Gordon Scott
- Tarzan's Hidden JungleTarzan's Hidden JungleTarzan's Hidden Jungle is a 1955 RKO B&W movie starring Gordon Scott in his first film as Tarzan, taking over the role from Lex Barker, who had in turn followed Johnny Weismuller in the series. This film about Edgar Rice Burroughs' ape-man also features Vera Miles and Jack Elam, and was directed...
(1955) - Tarzan and the Lost SafariTarzan and the Lost SafariTarzan and the Lost Safari is an action adventure film featuring Edgar Rice Burroughs' famous jungle hero Tarzan and starring Gordon Scott, Robert Beatty, Yolande Donlan and Betta St. John. The movie was directed by H. Bruce Humberstone, and was the first Tarzan movie released in color, Eastman...
(1957) - first Tarzan film in color - Tarzan and the TrappersTarzan and the TrappersTarzan and the Trappers is an action adventure film featuring Edgar Rice Burroughs' famous jungle hero Tarzan and starring Gordon Scott, Eve Brent, Rickie Sorensen and Lesley Bradley...
(1958)- a black and white television pilot also released to theaters - Tarzan's Fight for LifeTarzan's Fight for LifeTarzan's Fight for Life is an action adventure film featuring Edgar Rice Burroughs' famous jungle hero Tarzan It stars Gordon Scott, Eve Brent, Rickie Sorensen, Jil Jarmyn, and Cheeta the chimpanzee. The movie was directed by H. Bruce Humberstone...
(1958)- in color, as would be all subsequent Tarzan films; last Tarzan film produced by Sol Lesser and the last in the franchise to follow the Weissmuller formula of a pidginPidginA pidgin , or pidgin language, is a simplified language that develops as a means of communication between two or more groups that do not have a language in common. It is most commonly employed in situations such as trade, or where both groups speak languages different from the language of the...
-speaking Tarzan living in a treehouse with Jane. - Tarzan's Greatest AdventureTarzan's Greatest AdventureTarzan's Greatest Adventure is a 1959 adventure film directed by John Guillermin, produced by Sy Weintraub and Harvey Hayutin, and written by Les Crutchfield . The film features a literate Tarzan portrayed by Gordon Scott. The character of Jane does not appear. Cheeta only appears a few times...
(1959)- first of the Sy WeintraubSy WeintraubSy Weintraub was a movie and television producer best known for his series of Tarzan films and television episodes between 1959 and 1968. Weintraub broke with the Johnny Weissmuller formula of portraying Tarzan as a pidgin-speaking noble savage who lives in a treehouse with Jane and Boy...
productions, revamping the character as an educated lone adventurer - Tarzan the MagnificentTarzan the MagnificentTarzan the Magnificent is a 1960 British film, the follow-up to Tarzan's Greatest Adventure . It was directed by Robert Day and produced by Sy Weintraub. Gordon Scott makes his last appearance as Tarzan while Jock Mahoney appeared as villain Coy Banton...
(1960) – not based on the Burroughs novel of that title
With other actors
- Tarzan Goes to IndiaTarzan Goes to IndiaTarzan Goes to India is the first film featuring Jock Mahoney as Tarzan. It was written by Robert Hardy Andrews and directed by John Guillermin who also directed Tarzan's Greatest Adventure. It was one of two Mahoney films that took Tarzan out of Africa and sent him to the far east...
(1962) (Jock Mahoney) - Tarzan's Three ChallengesTarzan's Three ChallengesTarzan's Three Challenges is a British-American adventure film filmed in Metrocolor, which is a followup to 1962's Tarzan Goes to India. The movie was Jock Mahoney's second and final turn as the apeman, was produced by Sy Weintraub, written by Robert Day and Berne Giler, and directed by Robert Day...
(1963) (Jock Mahoney) - Tarzan and the Valley of GoldTarzan and the Valley of Gold (film)Tarzan and the Valley of Gold is an adventure film starring Mike Henry in his debut as Tarzan. The movie, produced by Sy Weintraub, written by Clair Huffaker, and directed by Robert Day, is remembered for its very James Bond-like portrayal of a tropical suited, globetrotting Tarzan...
(1966) (Mike Henry) – novelizationNovelizationA novelization is a novel that is written based on some other media story form rather than as an original work.Novelizations of films usually add background material not found in the original work to flesh out the story, because novels are generally longer than screenplays...
by Fritz Lieber - Tarzan and the Great RiverTarzan and the Great RiverTarzan and the Great River is an adventure Eastmancolor film starring Mike Henry in his second outing as a James Bond-like globetrotting Tarzan of his three Tarzan movies. The movie was produced by Sy Weintraub and Steve Shagan, written by Bob Barbash , and directed by Robert Day...
(1967) (Mike Henry) - Tarzan and the Jungle BoyTarzan and the Jungle BoyTarzan and the Jungle Boy is an adventure Eastmancolor film starring Mike Henry in his third and final outing as a James Bond-like globetrotting Tarzan. Rafer Johnson and Aliza Gur co-star. The movie was produced by Sy Weintraub and Robert Day, written by Stephen Lord and directed by Robert...
(1968) (Mike Henry) - Tarzan's Jungle Rebellion (1966) (Ron Ely - pilot for the NBC TV series, also released to theaters)
- Tarzan's Deadly SilenceTarzan's Deadly SilenceTarzan's Deadly Silence is an adventure film composed of an edited two-part television episode of Tarzan released as a feature. It stars Ron Ely as Tarzan. Former Tarzan actor Jock Mahoney and Woody Strode co-star. The movie was produced by Sy Weintraub and Leon Benson, written by Lee Erwin,...
(1970) (Ron Ely - a two-part television episode also released to theaters)
Competing films
- Tarzan the FearlessTarzan the FearlessTarzan the Fearless is a 12 chapter film serial starring Buster Crabbe in his only appearance as Tarzan. It was also released as a 71-minute feature film which comprised the first four chapters of the serial version. Co-starring was actress Jacqueline Wells, who later changed her name to Julie...
(1933) (Buster CrabbeBuster CrabbeClarence Linden "Buster" Crabbe was an American athlete and actor, who starred in a number of popular serials in the 1930s and 1940s.-Birth:...
) - released as a serial and as an edited feature film - The New Adventures of TarzanThe New Adventures of TarzanThe New Adventures of Tarzan is a 1935 American film serial in 12 chapters. It is a more authentic version of the character than most other adaptations, with Tarzan as a cultured and well educated gentleman as in the original Edgar Rice Burroughs novels. It was filmed during the same period as the...
(1935) (Herman BrixBruce BennettBruce Bennett was an American actor and Olympic silver medalist shot putter. During the 1930s, he went by his real name, Herman Brix .-Early life and Olympics:...
) – released as a serial and as a feature film - Tarzan and the Green Goddess (1938) (Herman BrixBruce BennettBruce Bennett was an American actor and Olympic silver medalist shot putter. During the 1930s, he went by his real name, Herman Brix .-Early life and Olympics:...
) - second feature film version of the serial The New Adventures of Tarzan - Tarzan’s Revenge (1938) (Glenn Morris)
- Tarzan, the Ape Man (1959) (Denny Miller)
- Tarzan in the Golden Grotto (1969) (Steve Hawkes)
- Tarzan and the Brown PrinceTarzan and the Brown PrinceTarzan and the Brown Prince is a 1972 Spanish/Italian co-production Tarzan film with Steve Hawkes and Kitty Swan repeating their roles from 1968's King of the Jungle. The film became a serialised Filipino graphic novel written in Tagalog and illustrated by Franc Reyeswho acted as an illustator on...
(1972) (Steve Hawkes)
Later films
- Tarzan the Ape Man (1981) (Miles O’Keeffe)
- Greystoke - The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the ApesGreystoke - The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the ApesGreystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes is a 1984 British film directed by Hugh Hudson and based on Edgar Rice Burroughs' novel Tarzan of the Apes...
(1984) (Christopher Lambert) - Tarzan and the Lost CityTarzan and the Lost City (film)Tarzan and the Lost City is a 1998 American action-adventure film directed by Carl Schenkel, and starring Casper Van Dien, Jane March and Steven Waddington....
(1998) (Casper Van Dien) - Tarzan of the ApesTarzan of the Apes (1999 film)Tarzan of the Apes is an animated musical adventure film produced by Diane Eskenazi and Darcy Wright and written by Mark Young . Richard Wagner's Ride of the Valkyries was used as the score during the opening scenes of the film...
(1999) - direct to video animated feature - TarzanTarzan (1999 film)Tarzan is a 1999 American animated feature film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released by Walt Disney Pictures on June 18, 1999...
(1999) – animated feature - Tarzan & JaneTarzan & JaneTarzan & Jane is a Disney direct-to-video film released on July 23, 2002, sequel to the 1999 animated feature Tarzan, and uses three unaired episodes of the film's corresponding television series, The Legend of Tarzan. Tarzan II, a midquel to the original film, was released in 2005...
(2002) – direct to video animated feature - Tarzan IITarzan IITarzan II is a 2005 direct-to-video midquel to the 1999 Walt Disney Feature Animation film Tarzan. It was released on June 14, 2005....
(2005) – direct to video animated feature
Television
- Tarzan and the TrappersTarzan and the TrappersTarzan and the Trappers is an action adventure film featuring Edgar Rice Burroughs' famous jungle hero Tarzan and starring Gordon Scott, Eve Brent, Rickie Sorensen and Lesley Bradley...
(filmed 1958, aired 1966) - three episodes filmed as pilots for a series that never materialized, edited into a television feature, starring Gordon ScottGordon ScottGordon Scott was an American film and television actor known for his portrayal of the fictional character Tarzan in five films of the Tarzan film series from 1955 to 1960.-Early life, education and military service:He was born Gordon Merrill Werschkul in Portland,... - TarzanTarzan (NBC series)Tarzan is a series that aired on NBC from 1966 – 1968. The series portrayed Tarzan as a well-educated character, one who, tired of civilization, had returned to the jungle where he had been raised...
(1966–1968) — NBCNBCThe National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
series starring Ron Ely - Tarzan, Lord of the JungleTarzan, Lord of the JungleTarzan, Lord of the Jungle is an animated series created by the Filmation studio for CBS. There are a total of 36 episodes produced over the first four seasons....
(1976–1977) — FilmationFilmationFilmation Associates was an American production company that produced animation and live action programming for television during the latter half of the 20th century. Located in Reseda, California, the animation studio was founded in 1963...
animated series (season one)- Batman/Tarzan Adventure HourBatman/Tarzan Adventure HourThe Batman/Tarzan Adventure Hour is a Filmation series that ran on CBS during the 1977–1978 television season. It consisted of the second seasons of Tarzan, Lord of the Jungle and The New Adventures of Batman aired together....
(1977–1978) — (season two) - Tarzan and the Super 7Tarzan and the Super 7Tarzan and the Super 7, was a Saturday morning cartoon series, produced by Filmation and originally airing from 1978–1980 on CBS.The show consisted of separate installments featuring seven groups of adventurers;* Tarzan, Lord of the Jungle...
(1978–1980) — (seasons three and four) - The Tarzan/Lone Ranger Adventure HourThe Tarzan/Lone Ranger Adventure HourThe Tarzan / Lone Ranger adventure hour is an animated television series produced by Filmation that aired on CBS during the early 1980s....
(1980–1981) — (season five, repeats only) - The Tarzan/Lone Ranger/Zorro Adventure Hour (1981–1982) — (season six, repeats only)
- Batman/Tarzan Adventure Hour
- Tarzan in ManhattanTarzan in ManhattanTarzan in Manhattan is an action adventure CBS television movie. Joe Lara portrays Tarzan, and Kim Crosby appears as Jane Porter. Tony Curtis and Jan Michael Vincent co-star. The telefilm was produced by Max A. Keller, Micheline H...
(1989) — CBSCBSCBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
TV movie starring Joe LaraJoe LaraWilliam Joseph Lara is an American actor and musician, best known in the role of Tarzan in the American TV series Tarzan: The Epic Adventures.-Career:... - TarzánTarzánTarzán was a half-hour syndicated series that aired 1991–1994. In this version of the show, Tarzan was portrayed as a blond environmentalist, with Jane turned into a French ecologist....
(1991–1994) — syndicated series starring Wolf LarsonWolf LarsonWolf Larson is a Canadian actor.-Biography:Wolf was born in West Berlin, Germany. His parents met when his father was stationed in Berlin for six years... - Tarzan: The Epic AdventuresTarzan: The Epic AdventuresTarzan: The Epic Adventures is a syndicated series that aired for one season . It focuses on the character of Tarzan in his early years, after his first exposure to civilization, but before his marriage to Jane Porter...
(1996) — syndicated series starring Joe LaraJoe LaraWilliam Joseph Lara is an American actor and musician, best known in the role of Tarzan in the American TV series Tarzan: The Epic Adventures.-Career:... - The Legend of TarzanThe Legend of TarzanThe Legend of Tarzan is an animated television series created by The Walt Disney Company in 2001, based on the Tarzan character created by Edgar Rice Burroughs....
(2001–2003) — DisneyWalt Disney TelevisionWalt Disney Television was the former name of the television production division of The Walt Disney Company.-History:It was formed in 1983, as the Walt Disney Pictures Television Division, the name was later shortened to Walt Disney Television in the mid-1980s...
animated series with Michael T. WeissMichael T. WeissMichael Terry Weiss is an American actor best known for playing the title role in The Pretender.-Early life:Weiss was born in Chicago, Illinois. His father was a steel-industry executive and his mother was a homemaker. He has a sister, Jamie Sue Weiss, who became a make-up artist for television...
providing the voice of Tarzan - TarzanTarzan (WB series)Tarzan is an American television series that premiered on October 5, 2003 on The WB. Based on the Tarzan series by Edgar Rice Burroughs, this TV series was set in New York City, depicting a modern-day adaptation on Burroughs' characters...
(2003) — WB series starring Travis FimmelTravis FimmelTravis Fimmel is an Australian actor and former model who is currently based in the United States. He is best known for his high-profile Calvin Klein campaign and for co-starring with Patrick Swayze in TV series The Beast shortly before Swayze's death.- Early years :Fimmel was raised as the...
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 TarzanInvestigating TarzanInvestigating Tarzan is a 1997 Canadian documentary film written and directed by Alain d 'Aix for InformAction Films to investigate the history and cultural impact of the character of Tarzan and the books and films in which the character was depicted....
(1997) - The One, the Only, the Real Tarzan (2004)
- Tarzan: Silver Screen King of the JungleTarzan: Silver Screen King of the JungleTarzan: Silver Screen King of the Jungle is a documentary focusing on the first six sound Tarzan films produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer starring Johnny Weissmuller and Maureen O'Sullivan....
(2004) - I,Tarzan (1996) * http://www.documen.tv/asset/Tarzan.html
On film (adult)
- Elmo LincolnElmo LincolnElmo Lincoln was an American film actor.Born Otto Elmo Linkenhelt, the barrel-chested actor is best known in his silent movie role as the first Tarzan in 1918's Tarzan of the Apes as an adult --...
1918, 1918, 1921 - Gene PollarGene PollarGene Pollar was the screen name of New York City firefighter Joseph Pohler, who in his very brief movie career played Tarzan.-Background:...
1920 - P. Dempsey TablerP. Dempsey TablerPerce Dempsey Tabler was a Tennessee-born athlete, businessman and actor, best remembered for being the third actor to portray Tarzan in films....
1920 - James PierceJames PierceJames Hubert Pierce , of Shelbyville, Indiana, was the fourth actor to portray Tarzan on film.-Early life/College/Early film career:...
1927 - Frank MerrillFrank Merrill (actor)Frank Merrill was a Southern California and national title-winning gymnast , police officer, stuntman and actor, most famous for being the fifth actor to portray Tarzan on film.Merrill had doubled for the screen's first Tarzan, Elmo Lincoln, in the 1921 movie serial The...
1928, 1929 - Johnny WeissmullerJohnny WeissmullerJohnny Weissmuller was an Austro-Hungarian-born American swimmer and actor best known for playing Tarzan in movies. Weissmuller was one of the world's best swimmers in the 1920s, winning five Olympic gold medals and one bronze medal. He won fifty-two US National Championships and set sixty-seven...
1932, 1934, 1936, 1939, 1941, 1942, 1943, 1943, 1945, 1946, 1947, 1948 - Buster CrabbeBuster CrabbeClarence Linden "Buster" Crabbe was an American athlete and actor, who starred in a number of popular serials in the 1930s and 1940s.-Birth:...
1933 - Herman Brix later billed as Bruce BennettBruce BennettBruce Bennett was an American actor and Olympic silver medalist shot putter. During the 1930s, he went by his real name, Herman Brix .-Early life and Olympics:...
1935, 1938 - Glenn MorrisGlenn MorrisGlenn Edgar Morris was a U.S. track and field athlete. He won a gold medal in the Olympic decathlon in 1936, setting new world and Olympic records....
1938 - Lex BarkerLex BarkerLex Barker was an American actor best known for playing Tarzan of the Apes and leading characters from Karl May's novels.-Early life:...
1949, 1950, 1951, 1952, 1953 - Gordon ScottGordon ScottGordon Scott was an American film and television actor known for his portrayal of the fictional character Tarzan in five films of the Tarzan film series from 1955 to 1960.-Early life, education and military service:He was born Gordon Merrill Werschkul in Portland,...
1955, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1960 - Denny MillerDenny MillerDenny Scott Miller is an American actor, perhaps best known for his guest-starring roles on Gilligan's Island and as Tarzan in the late 1950s....
1959 - Jock MahoneyJock MahoneyJock Mahoney was an American actor and stuntman of Irish, French, and Cherokee ancestry. Born Jacques O'Mahoney, he was credited variously as Jock Mahoney, Jack O'Mahoney or Jock O'Mahoney. He starred in two television series, both westerns...
1962, 1963 - Mike Henry 1966, 1967, 1968
- Ron Ely 1966, 1967, 1968, 1970
- Miles O'KeeffeMiles O'KeeffeMiles O'Keeffe is a television and movie actor. O'Keeffe got his first big break playing the title role in the 1981 version of Tarzan, the Ape Man.-Early life:...
1981 - Christopher LambertChristopher LambertChristophe Guy Denis "Christopher" Lambert is an American-born French actor who has appeared in French, European and American productions. He is best known for his role as Connor MacLeod, or simply "The Highlander", from the movie and subsequent movie franchise series of the same name...
1984 - Casper Van DienCasper Van Dien-Early life:Van Dien was born and grew up in Milton, Florida, the son of Diane , a retired nursery school teacher, and Casper Robert Van Dien, Sr., a retired U.S. Navy Commander and fighter pilot. There is a long military tradition in Van Dien's family. Aside from his father, his grandfather was a...
1998 - Tony GoldwynTony GoldwynAnthony Howard "Tony" Goldwyn is an American actor and director. He portrayed the villain Carl Bruner in Ghost, Colonel Bagley in The Last Samurai, and the voice of the title character of the Disney animated Tarzan.-Early life:...
1999 (voice of animated Tarzan)
On film (youth)
- Gordon GriffithGordon GriffithGordon S. Griffith was an American assistant director, film producer, and one of the first child actors in the American movie industry. Griffith worked in the film industry for five decades, acting in over 60 films, and surviving the transition from silent films to talkies—films with...
(1918, 1918) - Tali McGregor (1984)
- Peter Kyriakous (1984)
- Danny Potts (1984)
- Eric Langlois (1984)
- Alex D. LinzAlex D. LinzAlexander David Linz is an American actor who starred in several late 1990s and early 2000s films and television programs as a child actor. His notable film roles include Home Alone 3 and Max Keeble's Big Move ....
1999 (voice of young animated Tarzan) - Harrison Chad (2005)
On stage
- Ronald Adair 1921 (Broadway)
- Josh StricklandJosh StricklandJoshua Strickland is an American singer and actor from Charleston, South Carolina. He attended high school at the Charleston County School of the Arts and graduated from Middleton High School in Charleston. He attended the College of Charleston, where he studied voice with Deanna McBroom...
2006 (Original Broadway Cast - New York, NY) - Daniel MancheDaniel MancheDaniel Manche is a child actor from Alabama who moved to New York City, and currently lives in North Jersey. He portrayed the role of J.J...
(Tarzan as a youth) 2006 (Original Broadway Cast - New York, NY) - Alex Rutherford (Tarzan as a youth) 2006 (Original Broadway Cast - New York, NY)
- Dylan Riley SnyderDylan Riley SnyderDylan Riley Snyder is an American film, television and musical theatre performer. Beginning his acting career in community theatre at the age of five, Snyder is known for his acting, singing, and dancing abilities, starring as "Young Tarzan" in the 2006 Broadway musical, Tarzan, as "Timmy" in the...
(Tarzan as a youth) 2006 (Original Broadway Cast - New York, NY)
On radio
- James PierceJames PierceJames Hubert Pierce , of Shelbyville, Indiana, was the fourth actor to portray Tarzan on film.-Early life/College/Early film career:...
1932-1934 - Carlton KaDell 1934-1936
- Lamont JohnsonLamont JohnsonLamont Johnson was an American actor and film director who has appeared in and directed many television shows and movies. He won two Emmy Awards....
1951-1953
On television
- Gordon ScottGordon ScottGordon Scott was an American film and television actor known for his portrayal of the fictional character Tarzan in five films of the Tarzan film series from 1955 to 1960.-Early life, education and military service:He was born Gordon Merrill Werschkul in Portland,...
filmed 1958, aired 1966 - Ron Ely 1966-1968
- Robert RidgelyRobert RidgelyRobert Ridgely was an American actor and vocal artist, known for both on-camera roles and extensive voice-over work.-Career:...
1976-1982 (voice, Filmation series) - Joe LaraJoe LaraWilliam Joseph Lara is an American actor and musician, best known in the role of Tarzan in the American TV series Tarzan: The Epic Adventures.-Career:...
1989, 1996 - Wolf LarsonWolf LarsonWolf Larson is a Canadian actor.-Biography:Wolf was born in West Berlin, Germany. His parents met when his father was stationed in Berlin for six years...
1991-1994 - Michael T. WeissMichael T. WeissMichael Terry Weiss is an American actor best known for playing the title role in The Pretender.-Early life:Weiss was born in Chicago, Illinois. His father was a steel-industry executive and his mother was a homemaker. He has a sister, Jamie Sue Weiss, who became a make-up artist for television...
2001 (voice, Disney series) - Travis FimmelTravis FimmelTravis Fimmel is an Australian actor and former model who is currently based in the United States. He is best known for his high-profile Calvin Klein campaign and for co-starring with Patrick Swayze in TV series The Beast shortly before Swayze's death.- Early years :Fimmel was raised as the...
2003
In video games
- Tony GoldwynTony GoldwynAnthony Howard "Tony" Goldwyn is an American actor and director. He portrayed the villain Carl Bruner in Ghost, Colonel Bagley in The Last Samurai, and the voice of the title character of the Disney animated Tarzan.-Early life:...
, Kingdom HeartsKingdom Heartsis an action role-playing game developed and published by Square in 2002 for the PlayStation 2 video game console. The first game in the Kingdom Hearts series, it is the result of a collaboration between Square Enix and The Walt Disney Company. The game combines characters and settings from Disney...
, 2002 - Jūrōta KosugiJurota Kosugiis a Japanese voice actor. His deep voice is often used for rough and imposing characters. He is well known for playing the role of Sukashii from Kyattou Ninden Teyandee and Asuma Sarutobi from Naruto....
, Kingdom Hearts, Japanese