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The Tarzan yell or Tarzan's jungle call is the distinctive, ululating yell of the character
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 ...
as portrayed by actor
Johnny Weissmuller Johnny Weissmuller (born Johann Peter Weißmüller; June 2, 1904 – January 20, 1984) was an American Olympic swimmer, water polo player and actor. He was known for having one of the best competitive swimming records of the 20th century. H ...
in the films based on the character created by Edgar Rice Burroughs starting with ''
Tarzan the Ape Man Tarzan, the Ape Man may refer to * Tarzan, a fictional character * ''Tarzan the Ape Man'' (1932 film), with Johnny Weissmuller * ''Tarzan, the Ape Man'' (1959 film) with Denny Miller * ''Tarzan, the Ape Man'' (1981 film) with Richard Harris and ...
'' (
1932 Events January * January 4 – The British authorities in India arrest and intern Mahatma Gandhi and Vallabhbhai Patel. * January 9 – Sakuradamon Incident: Korean nationalist Lee Bong-chang fails in his effort to assassinate Emperor Hiro ...
). The yell was a creation of the movies based on what Burroughs described in his books as simply "the victory cry of the bull ape."


History and origin

Although the RKO Picture version of the Tarzan yell was putatively that of Weissmuller, different stories exist as to how the Tarzan yell was created. One claim is that a man named Lloyd Thomas Leech was the original voice behind the
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded on April 17, 1924 ...
Tarzan yell. He was an
opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a libr ...
singer from the 1940s into the '60s, winning the Chicagoland Music Festival on August 17, 1946, and going on to sing throughout the U.S., touring with several opera companies. There are recordings of his recollections of creating the Tarzan yell, a story supported by his children and grandchildren. According to the newspaper columnist L. M. Boyd (circa 1970), "Blended in with that voice are the growl of a dog, a trill sung by a soprano, a note played on a violin's G string and the howl of a hyena recorded backward." According to
Bill Moyers Bill Moyers (born Billy Don Moyers, June 5, 1934) is an American journalist and political commentator. Under the Johnson administration he served from 1965 to 1967 as the eleventh White House Press Secretary. He was a director of the Counci ...
, it was created by combining the recordings of three men: one baritone, one tenor, and one hog caller from Arkansas. Another widely published notion concerns the use of an
Austrian Austrian may refer to: * Austrians, someone from Austria or of Austrian descent ** Someone who is considered an Austrian citizen, see Austrian nationality law * Austrian German dialect * Something associated with the country Austria, for example: ...
yodel Yodeling (also jodeling) is a form of singing which involves repeated and rapid changes of pitch between the low-pitch chest register (or "chest voice") and the high-pitch head register or falsetto. The English word ''yodel'' is derived from th ...
played backwards at abnormally fast speed. But Weissmuller claimed that the yell was actually his own voice. His version is supported by his son and by his Tarzan co-star,
Maureen O'Sullivan Maureen O'Sullivan (17 May 1911 – 23 June 1998) was an Irish-American actress, who played Jane in the ''Tarzan'' series of films during the era of Johnny Weissmuller. She performed with such actors as Laurence Olivier, Greta Garbo, William ...
.


Appearances

*The sound clip used in the Weissmuller films has also been used for
animated series An animated series is a set of animated works with a common series title, usually related to one another. These episodes should typically share the same main characters, some different secondary characters and a basic theme. Series can have eith ...
appearances of
Filmation Filmation Associates was an American production company that produced animation and live-action programming for television from 1963 until 1989. Located in Reseda, California, the animation studio was founded in 1962. Filmation's founders and ...
's Tarzan and in the 1966
Tarzan television series 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 ...
starring
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 ...
, rather than having the actor providing Tarzan's voice for the series attempt to imitate the trademark yell. It was also used in the 1981 film '' Tarzan, the Ape Man'', where even the
MGM Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded on April 17, 1924 a ...
Lion's trademark roar had Tarzan's yell dubbed in its place. *The yell is heard at
Carolina Hurricanes The Carolina Hurricanes (colloquially known as the Canes) are a professional ice hockey team based in Raleigh, North Carolina. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference ...
home games. *A comical version of this yell is used by
Ray Stevens Harold Ray Ragsdale (born January 24, 1939), known professionally as Ray Stevens, is an American country and pop singer-songwriter and comedian, known for his Grammy-winning recordings " Everything Is Beautiful" and " Misty", as well as novel ...
in his 1969 novelty hit " Gitarzan". *The original version of the 1982 video game ''
Jungle Hunt re-released as is a side-scrolling action game developed by Taito and released for arcades in 1982. It was originally distributed as ''Jungle King'', then quickly modified and re-released as ''Jungle Hunt'' due to a copyright dispute over the ...
'', ''Jungle King'', features a sample of the yell that plays at the start of the game and after the completion of the third level. This sample was replaced with a musical fanfare after a legal dispute with Burroughs' estate forced
Taito is a Japanese company that specializes in video games, toys, arcade cabinets and game centers, based in Shinjuku, Tokyo. The company was founded by Michael Kogan in 1953 as the importing vodka, vending machines and jukeboxes into Japan. I ...
, the game's publisher, to strip the game of any cosmetic resemblance to Tarzan. *Comedian
Carol Burnett Carol Creighton Burnett (born April 26, 1933) is an American actress, comedian, singer, and writer. Her groundbreaking comedy variety show ''The Carol Burnett Show'', which originally aired on CBS was one of the first of its kind to be hosted ...
would do the yell on request during a question and answer weekly session on her comedy sketch series ''
The Carol Burnett Show ''The Carol Burnett Show'' is an American variety/sketch comedy television show that originally ran on CBS from September 11, 1967, to March 29, 1978, for 279 episodes, and again with nine episodes in fall 1991. It starred Carol Burnett, Har ...
''. She taught it to herself as a young girl and once taught it to opera singer
Beverly Sills Beverly Sills (May 25, 1929July 2, 2007) was an American operatic soprano whose peak career was between the 1950s and 1970s. Although she sang a repertoire from Handel and Mozart to Puccini, Massenet and Verdi, she was especially renowned f ...
. *This sound effect is often used for comic effect in later, unrelated movies, particularly when a character is swinging on vines or doing other "
Tarzanesque Tarzanesque (in French: ''Tarzanide'') is a term created by Frenchman Francis Lacassin used to describe characters in comic books inspired by Tarzan. A tarzanesque character resembles Tarzan in his physical resourcefulness, within a line of actio ...
" things. **A version of the yell appears in the 1983 '' Star Wars''
original trilogy The original ''Star Wars'' trilogy, formerly marketed as the ''Star Wars'' Trilogy (and colloquially referred to as the 'original trilogy'), is the first set of three films produced in the ''Star Wars'' franchise, an American space opera cre ...
film ''
Return of the Jedi ''Return of the Jedi'' (also known as ''Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi'' is a 1983 American epic space opera film directed by Richard Marquand. The screenplay is by Lawrence Kasdan and George Lucas from a story by Lucas, who ...
'' as Chewbacca swings on a
vine A vine (Latin ''vīnea'' "grapevine", "vineyard", from ''vīnum'' "wine") is any plant with a growth habit of trailing or scandent (that is, climbing) stems, lianas or runners. The word ''vine'' can also refer to such stems or runners themsel ...
towards an Imperial
AT-ST All Terrain Walkers are armoured fighting vehicles from the '' Star Wars'' universe that traverse the landscape on mechanical legs. They are used by the Old Republic, the Galactic Empire, and the First Order for ground assault, reconnaissanc ...
walker Walker or The Walker may refer to: People * Walker (given name) *Walker (surname) * Walker (Brazilian footballer) (born 1982), Brazilian footballer Places In the United States *Walker, Arizona, in Yavapai County *Walker, Mono County, California ...
on the forest moon of Endor. The yell is also heard in the 2005
prequel trilogy The ''Star Wars'' prequel trilogy, colloquially referred to as the prequels, is a series of epic space-opera films written and directed by George Lucas. It was produced by Lucasfilm Ltd. and distributed by 20th Century Fox. The trilogy was re ...
film '' Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith'' in the Battle of
Kashyyyk Wookiees () are fictional humanoid aliens in the '' Star Wars'' universe, native to the forest planet Kashyyyk. They are distinguished from humans by their gigantism, hirsutism, and physical strength. The most prominent Wookiee is Chewba ...
as
Wookiee Wookiees () are fictional humanoid aliens in the ''Star Wars'' universe, native to the forest planet Kashyyyk. They are distinguished from humans by their gigantism, hirsutism, and physical strength. The most prominent Wookiee is Chewbacca, c ...
warrior A warrior is a person specializing in combat or warfare, especially within the context of a tribal or clan-based warrior culture society that recognizes a separate warrior aristocracies, class, or caste. History Warriors seem to have be ...
s swing on a vine onto an attacking tank droid. **It also appears in the ''
James Bond The ''James Bond'' series focuses on a fictional British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short-story collections. Since Fleming's death in 1964, eight other authors have ...
'' film ''
Octopussy ''Octopussy'' is a 1983 spy film and the thirteenth in the ''James Bond'' series produced by Eon Productions. It is the sixth to star Roger Moore as the MI6 agent James Bond. It was directed by John Glen and the screenplay was written by G ...
'' from 1983. *In the 1935 Mickey Mouse cartoon, '' Mickey's Garden'', a
beetle Beetles are insects that form the order Coleoptera (), in the superorder Endopterygota. Their front pair of wings are hardened into wing-cases, elytra, distinguishing them from most other insects. The Coleoptera, with about 400,000 describ ...
(voiced by
Pinto Colvig Vance DeBar Colvig Sr. (September 11, 1892 – October 3, 1967), professionally Pinto Colvig, was an American voice actor, newspaper cartoonist, and circus and vaudeville performer whose schtick was playing the clarinet off-key while mugging. C ...
) lets out a Tarzan yell and chases after Mickey Mouse and
Pluto Pluto (minor-planet designation: 134340 Pluto) is a dwarf planet in the Kuiper belt, a ring of bodies beyond the orbit of Neptune. It is the ninth-largest and tenth-most-massive known object to directly orbit the Sun. It is the largest ...
two times. It is later reused in the 1941
Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...
animated feature ''
Dumbo ''Dumbo'' is a 1941 American animated fantasy film produced by Walt Disney Productions and released by RKO Radio Pictures. The fourth Disney animated feature film, it is based upon the storyline written by Helen Aberson and Harold Pearl, ...
'' and the 1941 Goofy cartoon '' The Art of Self Defense''. *
Donkey Kong is a video game franchise created by Shigeru Miyamoto and owned by Nintendo. It follows the adventures of a gorilla named Donkey Kong (character), Donkey Kong and his clan of other Ape, apes and monkeys. The franchise primarily consists of plat ...
has also been known to use the Tarzan yell (although it sounds like "Ooo-wa-ooo-aaooaaooaa-ooo!"). His Tarzan yell is first heard in '' Donkey Kong: Jungle Beat'' and later was used in ''
DK Jungle Climber ''DK: Jungle Climber'' is a 2007 puzzle-platform game developed by Paon and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo DS handheld video game console. It was released in Japan on August 9, 2007, and in western territories later that year. It was r ...
'', ''
Donkey Kong Country Returns ''Donkey Kong Country Returns'' is a 2010 side-scrolling platform game developed by Retro Studios and published by Nintendo for the Wii console. The game was released first in North America in November 2010, and in PAL regions and Japan the ...
'' and later in '' Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze''. *
Roronoa Zoro , also known as , is a fictional character in the ''One Piece'' franchise created by Eiichiro Oda. In the story, Zoro is the first crewmate to join Monkey D. Luffy's crew after he is saved (by Luffy and Koby) from being executed at the Marin ...
used the Tarzan yell in
One Piece ''One Piece'' (stylized in all caps) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Eiichiro Oda. It has been serialized in Shueisha's ''shōnen'' manga magazine '' Weekly Shōnen Jump'' since July 1997, with its individual cha ...
, Episode 159, titled: "Onward Crow: To the Sacrificial Altar" when he swang on a vine. *
Jerry Mouse Gerald Jinx "Jerry" Mouse is a fictional character and one of the two titular characters in Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's series of ''Tom and Jerry'' theatrical animated short films and other animated media, usually acting as the protagonist opposite his ...
as baby mouseling and
Tom Cat Thomas Jasper "Tom" Cat Sr. is a fictional character and one of the two titular main protagonists (the other being Jerry Mouse) in Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's series of ''Tom and Jerry'' theatrical animated short films. Created by William Hanna and J ...
as baby kitten used the Tarzan yell in
Tom & Jerry Kids ''Tom & Jerry Kids'' (formerly known as ''Tom & Jerry Kids Show'' in the first season) is an American animated comedy television series co-produced by Hanna-Barbera and Turner Entertainment Co., and starring the cat-and-mouse duo Tom and Jerry a ...
, Episode 11, titled: "Cast Away Tom" while saving baby pelican and momma seagull's egg. *
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 ...
used the Tarzan yell in ''
Tarzan II ''Tarzan II'' (also known as ''Tarzan 2'' and ''Tarzan 2: The Legend Begins'') is a 2005 American direct-to-video musical animated film, and the third and final Disney ''Tarzan'' film after ''Tarzan and Jane'', though it chronologically takes pla ...
'' before closing the movie. Moon used the Tarzan yell in The Ollie & Moon Show, Episode 34 titled: "The Malaysian Butterfly Chase" while Moon and Tua played a game chasing after Ollie's special explorer's hat.


Trademark

The sound itself is a registered
trademark A trademark (also written trade mark or trade-mark) is a type of intellectual property consisting of a recognizable sign, design, or expression that identifies products or services from a particular source and distinguishes them from othe ...
and
service mark A service mark or servicemark is a trademark used in the United States and several other countries to identify a service rather than a product. When a service mark is federally registered, the standard registration symbol ® or "Reg U.S. ...
, owned by Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc. Recognition of the trademark's registration within the
European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been de ...
is uncertain. In late 2007, the
Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market The European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO; french: links=no, Office de l'Union européenne pour la propriété intellectuelle), founded in 1994, is the European Union Agency responsible for the registration of the European Union trad ...
(OHIM) determined that attempts by ERB, Inc. to maintain such trademark must fail legally, reasoning that " at has been filed as a graphic representation is from the outset not capable of serving as a graphic representation of the applied-for sound ... The examiner was therefore correct to refuse the attribution of a filing date." Regardless, the trademark registration was updated in 2010 (to include slot machines) and 2014 (to include online use).


Other Tarzan yells

The first ever version of the yell can be found in the part-sound serial ''
Tarzan the Tiger ''Tarzan the Tiger'' (1929) 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 directed by Henry M ...
'' (
1929 This year marked the end of a period known in American history as the Roaring Twenties after the Wall Street Crash of 1929 ushered in a worldwide Great Depression. In the Americas, an agreement was brokered to end the Cristero War, a Catholic ...
). This version is described as a "Nee-Yah!" noise. In the
1932 Events January * January 4 – The British authorities in India arrest and intern Mahatma Gandhi and Vallabhbhai Patel. * January 9 – Sakuradamon Incident: Korean nationalist Lee Bong-chang fails in his effort to assassinate Emperor Hiro ...
Tarzan
radio serial Radio drama (or audio drama, audio play, radio play, radio theatre, or audio theatre) is a dramatized, purely acoustic performance. With no visual component, radio drama depends on dialogue, music and sound effects to help the listener imagine t ...
with
James Pierce James Hubert Pierce (August 8, 1900 – December 11, 1983) was an American actor and the fourth actor to portray Tarzan on film. He appeared in films from 1924 to 1951. Background Pierce was born in Freedom, Indiana. He was an All-American ...
, the yell sounds like "Taaar-maan-ganiii". In the
ape language Research into great ape language has involved teaching chimpanzees, bonobos, gorillas and orangutans to communicate with humans and with each other using sign language, physical tokens, lexigrams, and mimicking human speech. Some primatologist ...
mentioned in the Tarzan novels, "Tarmangani" means "White Ape". A very similar cry was used for Burroughs' own Tarzan film, ''
The New Adventures of Tarzan ''The New Adventures of Tarzan'' is a 1935 American film serial in 12 chapters starring Herman Brix. The serial presents a more authentic version of the character than most other film adaptations, with Tarzan as the cultured and well-educated gen ...
'' ( 1935), shot concurrently with the
MGM Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded on April 17, 1924 a ...
Weissmuller movies in
Central America Central America ( es, América Central or ) is a subregion of the Americas. Its boundaries are defined as bordering the United States to the north, Colombia to the south, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. ...
with
Herman Brix Bruce Bennett (born Harold Herman Brix, also credited Herman Brix; May 19, 1906February 24, 2007) was an American film and television actor who prior to his screen career was a highly successful college athlete in football and in both intercol ...
as a cultured Tarzan. The yell can best be described as a "Mmmmm-ann-gann-niii" sound that gradually rises ever higher in pitch.
Elmo Lincoln Elmo Lincoln (born Otto Elmo Linkenhelt; February 6, 1889June 27, 1952) was an American stage and film actor whose career in motion pictures spanned the silent and sound eras. He performed in over 100 screen productions between 1913 and 1952 an ...
recreated his victory cry in a 1952 episode of ''
You Asked for It ''You Asked for It'' is a human interest television show created and hosted by Art Baker. Initially titled ''The Art Baker Show'', the program originally aired on American television between 1950 and 1959. Later versions of the series were see ...
''. Tarzan's yell is used as a melodic refrain in the
Baltimora Baltimora was an Italian music project from Milan, active from 1984 to 1987. They are best known for their 1985 single " Tarzan Boy" and are often considered a one-hit wonder in the United Kingdom and the United States. In other European countri ...
single ''
Tarzan Boy "Tarzan Boy" is the debut single by Italian-based act Baltimora. The song was written by Maurizio Bassi and Naimy Hackett, and released in 1985 as the lead single from Baltimora's debut album '' Living in the Background''. The song was re-rec ...
''. This refrain plays in place of an ordinary Tarzan yell when Haru climbs and struggles to keep his balance on the top of a palm tree in ''
Beverly Hills Ninja ''Beverly Hills Ninja'' is a 1997 American martial arts comedy film directed by Dennis Dugan, written by Mark Feldberg and Mitch Klebanoff. The film stars Chris Farley, Nicollette Sheridan, Nathaniel Parker, with Chris Rock, and Robin Shou. The ...
''. The refrain was also used in a 1993 jungle-themed advert for Listerine's Cool Mint mouthwash. In the 1991 TV series '' Land of the Lost'', Christa (played by
Shannon Day Shannon Day (born Sylvia Day; August 5, 1896 – February 24, 1977) was an American silent film A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative ...
) used a similar sounding version of the yell that was used to calm certain animals. In the 1999
Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...
animated Animation is a method by which still figures are manipulated to appear as moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited on film. Today, most ani ...
film ''
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 ...
'', the character himself lets out an updated version of his jungle call at various moments. The yell is dubbed by
Brian Blessed Brian Blessed (; born 9 October 1936) is an English actor, presenter, writer and mountaineer. Blessed is known for portraying PC "Fancy" Smith in ''Z-Cars'', Augustus in the 1976 BBC television production of '' I, Claudius'', King Richard I ...
, who voiced the villain Clayton. This was done after
Tony Goldwyn Anthony Howard Goldwyn (born May 20, 1960) is an American actor, singer, producer, director, and political activist. He made his debut appearing as Darren in the slasher film '' Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives'' (1986), and had his breakthr ...
, who voiced the title character, blew his vocals. Jane (as portrayed by
Maureen O'Sullivan Maureen O'Sullivan (17 May 1911 – 23 June 1998) was an Irish-American actress, who played Jane in the ''Tarzan'' series of films during the era of Johnny Weissmuller. She performed with such actors as Laurence Olivier, Greta Garbo, William ...
) used a variation of the Tarzan yell.


See also

*
Wilhelm scream The Wilhelm scream is a stock sound effect that has been used in a number of films and TV series, beginning in 1951 with the film '' Distant Drums''. The scream is usually used when someone is shot, falls from a great height, or is thrown from ...
* Howie scream *
Goofy holler Goofy is a cartoon character created by The Walt Disney Company. He is a tall, anthropomorphic dog who typically wears a turtle neck and vest, with pants, shoes, white gloves, and a tall hat originally designed as a rumpled fedora. Goofy is a ...
* Castle thunder


References


External links

* *
The Tarzan Yell. Excerpt from the Documentary: "Tarzan: Silver Screen King of the Jungle"
{{Tarzan Tarzan Sound effects Sound trademarks In-jokes 1932 works