''Tarzan'' is a series that aired on

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...

from 1966 to 1968. The series portrayed

Tarzan Tarzan (John Clayton II, Viscount Greystoke) is a fictional character, an archetypal feral child raised in the African jungle by the Mangani great apes; he later experiences civilization, only to reject it and return to the wild as a heroic adv ...

(played by

Ron Ely Ronald Pierce Ely (born June 21, 1938) is an American actor and novelist born in Hereford, Texas, and raised in Amarillo. Ely is best known for having portrayed Tarzan in the 1966–1968 NBC series ''Tarzan'' and for playing the lead role in ...

) as a well-educated character who had grown tired of civilization, and returned to the jungle where he had been raised. It was filmed in Brazil. The production later relocated to Mexico. This series was set in one of the newly independent African countries of the time. This series retained many of the trappings of the film series, included the "

Tarzan yell The Tarzan yell or Tarzan's jungle call is the distinctive, ululating yell of the character Tarzan as portrayed by actor Johnny Weissmuller in the films based on the character created by Edgar Rice Burroughs starting with ''Tarzan the Ape Man'' ( ...

" and

Cheeta Cheeta (sometimes billed as Cheetah, Cheta, and Chita) is a chimpanzee character that appeared in numerous Hollywood Tarzan films of the 1930s–1960s, as well as the 1966–1968 television series, as the ape sidekick of the title character, Tarza ...

, but excluded

Jane Jane may refer to: * Jane (given name), a feminine given name * Jane (surname), related to the given name Film and television * ''Jane'' (1915 film), a silent comedy film directed by Frank Lloyd * ''Jane'' (2016 film), a South Korean drama fil ...

as part of the "new look" for the fabled apeman that executive producer

Sy Weintraub Sy Weintraub (May 28, 1923 – April 4, 2000) was an American film 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 ...

had introduced in previous motion pictures starring

Gordon Scott Gordon Scott (born Gordon Merrill Werschkul; August 3, 1926 – April 30, 2007) was an American film and television actor known for his portrayal of the fictional character Tarzan in five films (and one compilation of three made-as-a ...

Jock Mahoney Jacques Joseph O'Mahoney (February 7, 1919 – December 14, 1989), known professionally as Jock Mahoney, was an American actor and stuntman. He starred in two Action/Adventure television series, ''The Range Rider'' and ''Yancy Derringer''. He ...

, and Mike Henry.

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

aired repeat episodes of the program during the summer of 1969.

Cast

as Tarzan * Manuel Padilla, Jr. as Jai *

Alan Caillou Alan Samuel Lyle-Smythe MBE, M.C. (9 November 1914 – 1 October 2006), who wrote under the name Alan Caillou, was an English-born author, actor, screenwriter, soldier, policeman and professional hunter. Biography Alan Lyle-Smythe was born in ...

as Jason Flood *

Rockne Tarkington William Rockne Tarkington, Jr. (May 14, 1932 – April 5, 2015) was an American stage, film and television actor. Career Born in Junction City, Kansas, Tarkington began his career as a stage actor, and made the transition to television with g ...

as Rao

Recurring appearances

Maurice Evans guest starred as retired Brigadier Sir Basil Bertram, hero of the

Battle of the Bulge The Battle of the Bulge, also known as the Ardennes Offensive, was the last major German offensive (military), offensive military campaign, campaign on the Western Front (World War II), Western Front during World War II. The battle lasted fr ...

, in four episodes.

Julie Harris Julia Ann Harris (December 2, 1925August 24, 2013) was an American actress. Renowned for her classical and contemporary stage work, she received five Tony Awards for Best Actress in a Play. Harris debuted on Broadway in 1945, against the wish ...

guest starred as missionary Charity Jones in four episodes.

Chips Rafferty John William Pilbean Goffage MBE (26 March 190927 May 1971), known professionally as Chips Rafferty, was an Australian actor. Called "the living symbol of the typical Australian", Rafferty's career stretched from the late 1930s until his death ...

appeared as Dutch Jensen in two episodes.

Episode list

Season 1: 1966–67

Barbara Bouchet Ron Ely Fernando Lamas Tarzan 1968

Season 2: 1967–68

Syndication

After being seen intermittently in syndication and on cable in the years after its network run, as of 2016, the series airs on the

Heroes & Icons Heroes & Icons (H&I) is an American Digital terrestrial television, digital broadcast television network owned by Weigel Broadcasting. Usually carried on the digital subchannels of its affiliated television station in most markets, the network ai ...

network Saturday mornings. It lasted until September 2018. On June 4–5, 2016 the

Decades A decade () is a period of ten years. Decades may describe any ten-year period, such as those of a person's life, or refer to specific groupings of calendar years. Usage Any period of ten years is a "decade". For example, the statement that "du ...

TV network ran a marathon of the series. On September 9, 2016 Decades celebrated Tarzan's fiftieth anniversary repeating a few choice episodes.

Home media

On March 13, 2012,

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...

released ''Tarzan: Season 1, Part 1 & Tarzan: Season 1, Part 2'' on DVD in region 1 via their

Warner Archive Collection The Warner Archive Collection is a home video division for releasing classic and cult films from Warner Bros.' library. It started as a manufactured-on-demand (MOD) DVD series by Warner Bros. Home Entertainment on March 23, 2009, with the inte ...

manufacture-on-demand service. The second season was released complete on September 17, 2013.

Opening Scene

Iguazu Falls Iguazú Falls or Iguaçu Falls ( gn, Chororõ Yguasu , es, Cataratas del Iguazú, links=no ; pt, Cataratas do Iguaçu ) are waterfalls of the Iguazu River on the border of the Argentine province of Misiones and the Brazilian state of Paraná. ...

, in opening scene. This series had two separate musical theme's as featured in Season One.
Tarzan's March
by far being the overall favorite but unfortunately not featured in Season Two for the opening scene or the end credits. Over both seasons, the show had three different theme tunes. "Tarzan's March" music originally composed by "Sydney Lee & Walter Greene" which gained additional fame and was covered by several artists including
Al Hirt & His Orchestra
,
Marty Manning & The Cheetahs
& even
Lawrence Welk & His Orchestra
.

References

External links

*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tarzan (1966 Tv Series) Tarzan television series Television series by Warner Bros. Television Studios NBC original programming 1966 American television series debuts 1968 American television series endings Television shows filmed in Brazil Television shows filmed in Mexico