Tarzan Rıfkı
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Tarzan (John Clayton, Viscount Greystoke) is a fictional character, a
feral child A feral child (also called wild child) is a young individual who has lived isolated from human contact from a very young age, with little or no experience of human care, social behavior, or language. Such children lack the basics of primary and ...
raised in the African jungle by the
Mangani ''Mangani'' is the name of a fictional species of great apes in the Tarzan novels of Edgar Rice Burroughs, and of the invented language used by these apes. In the invented language, ''Mangani'' (meaning "great-ape") is the apes' word for their ow ...
great apes; he later experiences civilization, only to reject it and return to the wild as a heroic adventurer. Created by
Edgar Rice Burroughs Edgar Rice Burroughs (September 1, 1875 – March 19, 1950) was an American writer, best known for his prolific output in the adventure, science fiction, and fantasy genres. Best known for creating the characters Tarzan (who appeared in ...
, Tarzan first appeared in the novel ''
Tarzan of the Apes ''Tarzan of the Apes'' is a 1912 novel by American writer Edgar Rice Burroughs, and the first in the Tarzan series. The story was first printed in the pulp magazine '' The All-Story'' in October 1912 before being released as a novel in June 191 ...
'' (magazine publication 1912, book publication 1914), and subsequently in 23 sequels, several books by Burroughs and other authors, and innumerable works in other media, both authorized and unauthorized.


Character biography

Tarzan is the son of a British lord and lady who were marooned on the coast of
Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...
by mutineers. When Tarzan was an infant, his mother died, and his father was killed by
Kerchak Kerchak is a fictional ape character in Edgar Rice Burroughs's original '' Tarzan'' novel, '' Tarzan of the Apes'', and in movies and other media based on it. History In the novel ''Tarzan of the Apes'', Kerchak is the "king" of a tribal band of ...
, leader of the ape tribe by whom Tarzan was adopted. Soon after his parents' death, Tarzan became a feral child, and his tribe of apes is known as the
Mangani ''Mangani'' is the name of a fictional species of great apes in the Tarzan novels of Edgar Rice Burroughs, and of the invented language used by these apes. In the invented language, ''Mangani'' (meaning "great-ape") is the apes' word for their ow ...
,
great ape The Hominidae (), whose members are known as the great apes or hominids (), are a taxonomic family of primates that includes eight extant species in four genera: '' Pongo'' (the Bornean, Sumatran and Tapanuli orangutan); '' Gorilla'' (the ...
s of a species unknown to science. Kala is his ape mother. Burroughs added stories occurring during Tarzan's adolescence in his sixth Tarzan book, ''
Jungle Tales of Tarzan ''Jungle Tales of Tarzan'' is a collection of twelve loosely connected short stories by American writer Edgar Rice Burroughs, comprising the sixth book in order of publication in his Tarzan (book series), series of twenty-four books about the ti ...
''.


Name

"Tarzan" is the ape-name of John Clayton,
Viscount A viscount ( , for male) or viscountess (, for female) is a title used in certain European countries for a noble of varying status. The status and any domain held by a viscount is a viscounty. In the case of French viscounts, the title is ...
Greystoke, according to Burroughs's ''
Tarzan, Lord of the Jungle ''Tarzan, Lord of the Jungle'' is an American animated series created by the Filmation studio for Saturday mornings on CBS, starting in 1976. This was the first animated series about the jungle hero. There are 36 episodes produced over four seas ...
''. (Later, less canonical sources, notably the 1984 film '' Greystoke'', make him Earl of Greystoke.) The narrator in ''Tarzan of the Apes'' describes both "Clayton" and "Greystoke" as fictitious names, implying that, within the fictional world that Tarzan inhabits, he may have a different real name. Burroughs considered other names for the character, including "Zantar" and "Tublat Zan", before he settled on "Tarzan". In the language of the Mangani, or great apes, Tarzan means "white–skin". Though the copyright on ''Tarzan of the Apes'' has expired in the United States and in other countries,
Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc. Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc. is an American holding company founded in 1923 by author Edgar Rice Burroughs. It is based in Tarzana, California. The company holds the rights to the literary estate of Burroughs that are still protected by copyright ...
claims the name "Tarzan" as a trademark. The community of
Tarzana, Los Angeles Tarzana () is a suburban neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles, California. Tarzana is on the site of a former ranch owned by author Edgar Rice Burroughs. It is named after Burroughs' fictional jungle hero, Tarzan. His ...
, is named after Tarzan.


Jane

As an 18-year-old, Tarzan meets a young American woman named
Jane Porter Jane Porter (3 December 1775 – 24 May 1850) was an English historical novelist, dramatist and literary figure. Her bestselling novels, '' Thaddeus of Warsaw'' (1803) and ''The Scottish Chiefs'' (1810) are seen as among the earliest historical ...
. She, her father, and others of their party are marooned on the same coastal jungle area where Tarzan's human parents were 20 years earlier. When Jane returns to the United States, Tarzan leaves the jungle in search of her, his one true love. In ''
The Return of Tarzan ''The Return of Tarzan'' is a novel by American writer Edgar Rice Burroughs, the second in his Tarzan (book series), series of twenty-four books about the title character Tarzan. The story was first published in the pulp magazine ''New Story Mag ...
'', Tarzan and Jane marry. In later books, he lives with her for a time in England. They have one son, Jack, who takes the ape name Korak (the Killer). Tarzan is
contempt In colloquial usage, contempt usually refers to either the act of despising, or having a general lack of respect for something. This set of emotions generally produces maladaptive behaviour. Other authors define contempt as a negative emotio ...
uous of what he sees as the
hypocrisy Hypocrisy is the practice of feigning to be what one is not or to believe what one does not. The word "hypocrisy" entered the English language ''c.'' 1200 with the meaning "the sin of pretending to virtue or goodness". Today, "hypocrisy" ofte ...
of
civilization A civilization (also spelled civilisation in British English) is any complex society characterized by the development of state (polity), the state, social stratification, urban area, urbanization, and symbolic systems of communication beyon ...
, so Jane and he return to Africa, making their home on an extensive estate in
British East Africa East Africa Protectorate (also known as British East Africa) was a British protectorate in the African Great Lakes, occupying roughly the same area as present-day Kenya, from the Indian Ocean inland to the border with Uganda in the west. Cont ...
that becomes a base for Tarzan's later adventures. As revealed in ''
Tarzan's Quest ''Tarzan's Quest'' is a novel by American writer Edgar Rice Burroughs Edgar Rice Burroughs (September 1, 1875 – March 19, 1950) was an American writer, best known for his prolific output in the adventure, science fiction, and fantasy ...
'', Tarzan, Jane, Tarzan's monkey friend
Nkima Nkima is a fictional character in Edgar Rice Burroughs' Tarzan novels, and in adaptations of the saga to other media, particularly comics. His name comes from either the word N'kima ('monkey' in the Mbugu language, a regional dialect of Swahili ...
, and their allies gained some of the Kavuru's pills that grant immortality to their consumer.


Physical abilities

Tarzan's jungle upbringing gives him abilities far beyond those of ordinary humans. These include climbing, clinging, and leaping as well as any great ape. He uses branches, swings from
vine A vine 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 themselves, for instance, when used in wicker work.Jackson; Benjamin; Da ...
s to travel at great speed, and can use his feet like hands (he prefers going barefoot because he relies on the flexibility of bare feet), a skill acquired among the
anthropoid ape The Hominidae (), whose members are known as the great apes or hominids (), are a taxonomic family of primates that includes eight extant species in four genera: '' Pongo'' (the Bornean, Sumatran and Tapanuli orangutan); ''Gorilla'' (the e ...
s. His strength, speed, stamina, agility, reflexes, and swimming skills are extraordinary; he has wrestled not just full-grown apes, but also
gorilla Gorillas are primarily herbivorous, terrestrial great apes that inhabit the tropical forests of equatorial Africa. The genus ''Gorilla'' is divided into two species: the eastern gorilla and the western gorilla, and either four or five su ...
s, lions,
rhino A rhinoceros ( ; ; ; : rhinoceros or rhinoceroses), commonly abbreviated to rhino, is a member of any of the five extant taxon, extant species (or numerous extinct species) of odd-toed ungulates (perissodactyls) in the family (biology), famil ...
s,
crocodile Crocodiles (family (biology), family Crocodylidae) or true crocodiles are large, semiaquatic reptiles that live throughout the tropics in Africa, Asia, the Americas and Australia. The term "crocodile" is sometimes used more loosely to include ...
s,
python Python may refer to: Snakes * Pythonidae, a family of nonvenomous snakes found in Africa, Asia, and Australia ** ''Python'' (genus), a genus of Pythonidae found in Africa and Asia * Python (mythology), a mythical serpent Computing * Python (prog ...
s, leopards,
shark Sharks are a group of elasmobranch cartilaginous fish characterized by a ribless endoskeleton, dermal denticles, five to seven gill slits on each side, and pectoral fins that are not fused to the head. Modern sharks are classified within the ...
s, tigers, giant seahorses, and even
dinosaur Dinosaurs are a diverse group of reptiles of the clade Dinosauria. They first appeared during the Triassic Geological period, period, between 243 and 233.23 million years ago (mya), although the exact origin and timing of the #Evolutio ...
s (when he visited
Pellucidar Pellucidar is the fictional internal surface of a Hollow Earth invented by American writer Edgar Rice Burroughs for a series of action adventure stories. In a crossover event, Tarzan, who was also created by Burroughs, visits Pellucidar. The ...
). Tarzan is a skilled tracker, and uses his exceptional hearing and keen sense of smell to follow
prey Predation is a biological interaction in which one organism, the predator, kills and eats another organism, its prey. It is one of a family of common feeding behaviours that includes parasitism and micropredation (which usually do not ki ...
or avoid predators.


Language and literacy

As originally depicted, Tarzan/John Clayton is very intelligent and articulate, and does not speak in broken English as the classic movies of the 1930s depict him. He can communicate with many species of jungle animals, and has been shown to be a skilled impressionist, able to mimic the sound of a gunshot perfectly. Tarzan is literate in English before he first encounters other English-speaking people. His literacy is self-taught after several years in his early teens by visiting the log cabin of his infancy and looking at children's primer/picture books. He eventually reads every book in his father's portable book collection, and is fully aware of geography, basic world history, and his family tree. He is "found" by traveling Frenchman Paul D'Arnot, who teaches him the basics of human speech and returns with him to civilization. When Tarzan first encounters D'Arnot, he tells him (in writing): "I speak only the language of my tribe—the great apes who were Kerchak's; and a little of the languages of Tantor, the elephant, and Numa, the lion, and of the other folks of the jungle I understand." Tarzan can learn a new language in days, ultimately speaking many languages, including that of the great apes,
French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...
, Finnish, English,
Dutch Dutch or Nederlands commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands ** Dutch people as an ethnic group () ** Dutch nationality law, history and regulations of Dutch citizenship () ** Dutch language () * In specific terms, i ...
,
German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...
,
Swahili Swahili may refer to: * Swahili language, a Bantu language officially used in Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda and widely spoken in the African Great Lakes. * Swahili people, an ethnic group in East Africa. * Swahili culture, the culture of the Swahili p ...
, many other
Bantu languages The Bantu languages (English: , Proto-Bantu language, Proto-Bantu: *bantʊ̀), or Ntu languages are a language family of about 600 languages of Central Africa, Central, Southern Africa, Southern, East Africa, Eastern and Southeast Africa, South ...
,
Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...
,
Ancient Greek Ancient Greek (, ; ) includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the classical antiquity, ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Greek ...
, Ancient Latin, and
Mayan Mayan most commonly refers to: * Maya peoples, various indigenous peoples of Mesoamerica and northern Central America * Maya civilization, pre-Columbian culture of Mesoamerica and northern Central America * Mayan languages, language family spoken ...
, as well as the languages of the Ant Men and of
Pellucidar Pellucidar is the fictional internal surface of a Hollow Earth invented by American writer Edgar Rice Burroughs for a series of action adventure stories. In a crossover event, Tarzan, who was also created by Burroughs, visits Pellucidar. The ...
.


Literature

Tarzan has been called one of the best-known
literary character In fiction, a character is a person or being in a narrative (such as a novel, play, radio or television series, music, film, or video game). The character may be entirely fictional or based on a real-life person, in which case the distinction of ...
s in the world. In addition to more than two dozen books by Burroughs and a handful more by authors with the blessing of Burroughs's estate, the character has appeared in
film A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are generally, sinc ...
s,
radio Radio is the technology of communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 3  hertz (Hz) and 300  gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmitter connec ...
, television,
comic strip A comic strip is a Comics, sequence of cartoons, arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often Serial (literature), serialized, with text in Speech balloon, balloons and Glossary of comics terminology#Captio ...
s, and
comic books A comic book, comic-magazine, or simply comic is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panel (comics), panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are often accompanied by descriptive prose and wri ...
. Numerous parodies and pirated works have also appeared.


Critical reception

While ''Tarzan of the Apes'' met with some critical success, subsequent books in the series received a cooler reception and have been criticized for being derivative and formulaic. The characters are often said to be two-dimensional, the dialogue wooden, and the storytelling devices (such as excessive reliance on coincidence) strain credulity. According to
Rudyard Kipling Joseph Rudyard Kipling ( ; 30 December 1865 – 18 January 1936)''The Times'', (London) 18 January 1936, p. 12. was an English journalist, novelist, poet, and short-story writer. He was born in British Raj, British India, which inspired much ...
(who himself wrote stories of a feral child, ''
The Jungle Book ''The Jungle Book'' is an 1894 collection of stories by the English author Rudyard Kipling. Most of the characters are animals such as Shere Khan the tiger and Baloo the bear, though a principal character is the boy or "man-cub" Mowgli, who ...
''s
Mowgli Mowgli () is a fictional character and the protagonist of the Mowgli stories featured among Rudyard Kipling's ''The Jungle Book'' stories. He is a feral boy from the Pench area in Seoni, Madhya Pradesh, India, who originally appeared in Kiplin ...
), Burroughs wrote ''Tarzan of the Apes'' just so he could "find out how bad a book he could write and get away with it." While Burroughs was not a polished novelist, he was a vivid storyteller. Most of his novels are still in print. In 1963, author
Gore Vidal Eugene Luther Gore Vidal ( ; born Eugene Louis Vidal, October 3, 1925 – July 31, 2012) was an American writer and public intellectual known for his acerbic epigrammatic wit. His novels and essays interrogated the Social norm, social and sexual ...
wrote a piece on the Tarzan series that, while pointing out several of the deficiencies that the Tarzan books have as works of literature, praises Burroughs for creating a compelling "daydream figure." Critical reception grew more positive with the 1981 study by Erling B. Holtsmark, ''Tarzan and Tradition: Classical Myth in Popular Literature''. Holtsmark added a volume on Burroughs for Twayne's United States Author Series in 1986. In 2010, Stan Galloway provided a sustained study of the adolescent period of the fictional Tarzan's life in ''The Teenage Tarzan''. Despite critical panning, the Tarzan stories have remained popular. Burroughs's melodramatic situations and the elaborate details he works into his fictional world, such as his construction of a partial language for his great apes, appeal to a worldwide fan base.


Unauthorized works

After Burroughs's death, a number of writers produced new Tarzan stories. In some instances, the estate managed to prevent publication of such works. The most notable example in the United States was a series of five novels by the pseudonymous "Barton Werper" that appeared 1964–65 by Gold Star Books (part of
Charlton Comics Charlton Comics was an American comic-book publishing company that existed from 1945 to 1986, having begun under a different name: T. W. O. Charles Company, in 1940. It was based in Derby, Connecticut. The comic-book line (comics), line was a divi ...
). As a result of legal action by
Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc. Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc. is an American holding company founded in 1923 by author Edgar Rice Burroughs. It is based in Tarzana, California. The company holds the rights to the literary estate of Burroughs that are still protected by copyright ...
, they were taken off the market. Similar series appeared in other countries, notably Argentina, Israel, and some Arab countries.


Modern fiction

In 1972,
science-fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, sp ...
author
Philip José Farmer Philip José Farmer (January 26, 1918 – February 25, 2009) was an American author known for his science fiction and fantasy fiction, fantasy novels and short story, short stories. Obituary. Farmer is best known for two sequences of novels, t ...
wrote '' Tarzan Alive'', a biography of Tarzan using the frame device that he was a real person. In Farmer's fictional universe, Tarzan, along with
Doc Savage Doc Savage is a fictional character of the competent man hero type, who first appeared in American pulp magazines during the 1930s and 1940s. Real name Clark Savage Jr., he is a polymathic scientist, explorer, detective, and warrior who "right ...
and
Sherlock Holmes Sherlock Holmes () is a Detective fiction, fictional detective created by British author Arthur Conan Doyle. Referring to himself as a "Private investigator, consulting detective" in his stories, Holmes is known for his proficiency with obser ...
, are the cornerstones of the
Wold Newton family The Wold Newton family is a literary concept derived from a form of Fictional crossovers, crossover fiction developed by the American science fiction writer Philip José Farmer. Origins In real life a meteorite, called the Wold Cottage meteorit ...
. Farmer wrote two novels, '' Hadon of Ancient Opar'' and ''
Flight to Opar ''Flight to Opar'' is a fantasy novel by American writer Philip José Farmer, first published in paperback by DAW Books in June 1976, and reprinted twice through 1983. The first British edition was published by Magnum in 1977; it was reprinted b ...
'', set in the distant past and giving further knowledge of the antecedents of the lost city of Opar, which plays an important role in the Tarzan books. In addition, Farmer's '' A Feast Unknown'', and its two sequels '' Lord of the Trees'' and '' The Mad Goblin'', are pastiches of the Tarzan and Doc Savage stories, with the premise that they tell the story of the real characters upon which the fictional characters are based. ''A Feast Unknown'' is somewhat infamous among Tarzan and Doc Savage fans for its graphic violence and sexual content.


Tarzan in other media


Film

The first Tarzan films were
silent pictures A silent film is a film without synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, wh ...
adapted from the original ''Tarzan'' novels, which appeared within a few years of the character's creation. The first actor to portray the adult Tarzan was
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, a ...
in 1918's film ''
Tarzan of the Apes ''Tarzan of the Apes'' is a 1912 novel by American writer Edgar Rice Burroughs, and the first in the Tarzan series. The story was first printed in the pulp magazine '' The All-Story'' in October 1912 before being released as a novel in June 191 ...
''. With the advent of
talking pictures A sound film is a motion picture with synchronized sound, or sound technologically coupled to image, as opposed to a silent film. The first known public exhibition of projected sound films took place in Paris in 1900, but decades passed befor ...
, a popular Tarzan film franchise was developed, lasting from the 1930s through the 1960s. Starting with '' Tarzan the Ape Man'' in 1932 through twelve films until 1948, the franchise was anchored by former Olympic swimmer
Johnny Weissmuller Johnny Weissmuller ( ; born Johann Peter Weißmüller, ; June 2, 1904 – January 20, 1984) was a Hungarian-born German American Olympic swimmer, water polo player and actor. He was known for having one of the best competitive-swimming records o ...
in the title role. Tarzan films from the 1930s on often featured Tarzan's
chimpanzee The chimpanzee (; ''Pan troglodytes''), also simply known as the chimp, is a species of Hominidae, great ape native to the forests and savannahs of tropical Africa. It has four confirmed subspecies and a fifth proposed one. When its close rel ...
companion
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, Ta ...
, his consort Jane (not usually given a last name), and an adopted son, usually known only as "Boy." However, productions by Sy Weintraub from 1959 onward dropped the character of Jane and portrayed Tarzan as a lone adventurer. Later Tarzan films have been occasional and somewhat
idiosyncratic An idiosyncrasy is a unique feature of something. The term is often used to express peculiarity. Etymology The term "idiosyncrasy" originates from Greek ', "a peculiar temperament, habit of body" (from ', "one's own", ', "with" and ', "blend ...
. There were also several serials and features that competed with the main franchise, including '' Tarzan the Fearless'' (1933) starring
Buster Crabbe Clarence Linden "Buster" Crabbe II (; February 7, 1908 – April 23, 1983) was an American two-time Olympic swimmer and film and television actor. He won the 1932 Olympic gold medal for 400-meter freestyle swimming event, which launched his c ...
and ''
The New Adventures of Tarzan ''The New Adventures of Tarzan'' is a 1935 American film serial in 12 chapters starring Bruce Bennett, Herman Brix. The serial presents a more authentic version of the character than most other film adaptations, with Tarzan as the cultured and w ...
'' (1935) starring Herman Brix. The latter serial was unique for its period in that it was partially filmed on location (
Guatemala Guatemala, officially the Republic of Guatemala, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico, to the northeast by Belize, to the east by Honduras, and to the southeast by El Salvador. It is hydrologically b ...
) and portrayed Tarzan as educated. It was the only Tarzan film project for which Burroughs was personally involved in the production. Weissmuller and his immediate successors were enjoined to portray the ape-man as a
noble savage In Western anthropology, Western philosophy, philosophy, and European literature, literature, the Myth of the Noble savage refers to a stock character who is uncorrupted by civilization. As such, the "noble" savage symbolizes the innate goodness a ...
speaking broken English, in marked contrast to the cultured
aristocrat The aristocracy (''from Greek'' ''ἀριστοκρατία'' ''aristokratía'', "rule of the best"; ''Latin: aristocratia'') is historically associated with a "hereditary" or a "ruling" social class. In many states, the aristocracy included the ...
of Edgar Rice Burroughs's novels (the
pidgin English Pidgin English is a non-specific name used to refer to any of the many pidgin languages derived from English. Pidgins that are spoken as first languages become creoles. English-based pidgins that became stable contact languages, and which have ...
being more linguistically plausible). With the exception of Burroughs's co-produced ''The New Adventures of Tarzan'', this "me Tarzan, you Jane" characterization of Tarzan persisted until the late 1950s, when Weintraub, having bought the
film rights Film rights are rights under copyright law to produce a film as a derivative work of a given item of intellectual property. In US law, these rights belong to the holder of the copyright, who may sell (or " option") them to someone in the film indus ...
from producer
Sol Lesser Sol Lesser (February 17, 1890 – September 19, 1980) was an American film producer. He received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1960 and was awarded the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award in 1961. Biography In 1913, while living in San ...
, produced ''
Tarzan's Greatest Adventure ''Tarzan's Greatest Adventure'' is a 1959 American Eastmancolor adventure film directed by John Guillermin, produced by Sy Weintraub and Harvey Hayutin, and written by Les Crutchfield, based on the character created by Edgar Rice Burroughs as ...
'' (1959) followed by eight other films and a television series. The Weintraub productions portray a Tarzan that is closer to Burroughs's original concept in the novels: a jungle lord who speaks grammatical English and is well educated and familiar with civilization. Most Tarzan films made before the mid-1950s were
black-and-white films Black-and-white (B&W or B/W) images combine black and white to produce a range of achromatic brightnesses of grey. It is also known as greyscale in technical settings. Media The history of various visual media began with black and white, a ...
shot on studio sets, with
stock Stocks (also capital stock, or sometimes interchangeably, shares) consist of all the Share (finance), shares by which ownership of a corporation or company is divided. A single share of the stock means fractional ownership of the corporatio ...
jungle footage edited in. The Weintraub productions from 1959 on were shot in foreign locations and were in color. More recently, '' Tarzan, the Ape Man'', starring
Miles O'Keeffe Miles O'Keeffe (born June 20, 1954) is an American film and television actor. O'Keeffe got his first big break playing the title role in the 1981 version of '' Tarzan, the Ape Man''. Youth O'Keeffe was born in Ripley, Tennessee. A star footba ...
and
Bo Derek Bo Derek (born Mary Cathleen Collins; November 20, 1956) is an American actress and model. She began her career as a child model before deciding to pursue acting on the advice of a talent agent she met through actress Ann-Margret, who was acqua ...
, was released in 1981.
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 ...
voiced Tarzan in
Disney's The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Di ...
animated film of the same name, released in 1999 (making it the first major animated motion picture to star the Ape Man) and his ape family were portrayed as gorillas in the film. This version marked a new beginning for the ape man, taking its inspiration equally from Burroughs and the 1984 live-action film '' Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes''. Since ''Greystoke'', two additional
live-action Live action is a form of cinematography or videography that uses photography instead of animation. Some works combine live action with animation to create a live-action animated feature film. Live action is used to define film, video games or ...
Tarzan films have been released, 1998's ''
Tarzan and the Lost City ''Tarzan and the Lost City'' is a 1998 American adventure film directed by Carl Schenkel, written by Bayard Johnson and J. Anderson Black, and starring Casper Van Dien, Jane March, and Steven Waddington. The screenplay by Bayard Johnson and J. An ...
'' and 2016's '' The Legend of Tarzan'', both
period piece Period may refer to: Common uses * Period (punctuation) * Era, a length or span of time *Menstruation, commonly referred to as a "period" Arts, entertainment, and media * Period (music), a concept in musical composition * Periodic sentence (or r ...
s that drew inspiration from Edgar Rice Burroughs's writings.


Radio

Tarzan was the hero of two popular radio programs in the United States. The first aired from 1932 to 1936 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 ...
in the role of Tarzan. The second ran from 1951 to 1953 with
Lamont Johnson Ernest Lamont Johnson Jr. (September 30, 1922 – October 24, 2010) was an American actor and film director who appeared in and directed many television shows and movies. He won two Emmy Awards. Early years Johnson was born in Stockton, C ...
in the title role. The Tarzan book series was later modernized and parodied in an authorized 2021 golden-age radio styled podcast program entitled ''The Adventures of Tarzan'', produced by the Freshly Squeezed Pulp comedy troupe of Duke University.


Television

Television later emerged as a primary vehicle bringing the character to the public. From the mid-1950s, all the extant sound Tarzan films became staples of Saturday morning television aimed at young and teenaged viewers. In 1958,
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- ...
filmed three episodes for a prospective television series. The program did not sell, but a different live action ''
Tarzan Tarzan (John Clayton, Viscount Greystoke) is a fictional character, a 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 adventurer. Creat ...
'' series produced by Sy Weintraub and starring
Ron Ely Ronald Pierce Ely (June 21, 1938 – September 29, 2024) was an American actor and novelist, best known for portraying Tarzan in the 1966–1968 NBC series ''Tarzan (1966 TV series), Tarzan'' and playing the lead role in the film ''Doc Savage: ...
ran on
NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...
from 1966 to 1968. This depiction of Tarzan is a well-educated bachelor who grew tired of urban civilization and is in his native African jungle once again. Tarzan was voiced by
Robert Ridgely Robert Ridgely (December 24, 1931 – February 8, 1997) was an American actor, known for both on-camera roles and extensive voice-over work. Early life Ridgely was born in Teaneck, New Jersey. Before becoming an actor, he worked as a cabaret e ...
and Danton Burroughs in the animated series from
Filmation Filmation Associates was an American production company founded by Lou Scheimer, Hal Sutherland and Norm Prescott in 1962, before closing by Group W Productions on February 3, 1989. Located in Reseda, California, Filmation produced animated ...
, titled ''
Tarzan, Lord of the Jungle ''Tarzan, Lord of the Jungle'' is an American animated series created by the Filmation studio for Saturday mornings on CBS, starting in 1976. This was the first animated series about the jungle hero. There are 36 episodes produced over four seas ...
'' (1976–1977), as well as in the
anthology In book publishing, an anthology is a collection of literary works chosen by the compiler; it may be a collection of plays, poems, short stories, songs, or related fiction/non-fiction excerpts by different authors. There are also thematic and g ...
programs that followed: * '' Batman/Tarzan Adventure Hour'' (1977–1978); * ''
Tarzan and the Super 7 ''Tarzan and the Super 7'' is 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'' (1980–1981); and * '' The Tarzan/Lone Ranger/Zorro Adventure Hour'' (1981–1982).
Joe Lara William Joseph Lara (October 2, 1962 – May 29, 2021) was an American actor, martial artist, and musician, known for the role of Tarzan in the American TV series '' Tarzan: The Epic Adventures''. Early life and career Lara was born William Jose ...
starred in the title role in '' Tarzan in Manhattan'' (1989), an offbeat
TV movie A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie, telefilm, telemovie or TV film/movie, is a film with a running time similar to a feature film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a terrest ...
, and later returned in a completely different interpretation, titled '' Tarzan: The Epic Adventures'' (1996), a new live-action series. In between the two productions with Lara, ''
Tarzán ''Tarzán'' is a television series that aired in syndication from 1991–1994. In this version of the show, Tarzan ( Wolf Larson) was portrayed as a blond environmentalist, with Jane (Lydie Denier) turned into a French ecologist. The series air ...
'' (1991–1994), a half-hour syndicated series in which Tarzan is portrayed as a blond
environmentalist Environmentalism is a broad Philosophy of life, philosophy, ideology, and social movement about supporting life, habitats, and surroundings. While environmentalism focuses more on the environmental and nature-related aspects of Green politics, g ...
, with Jane turned into a French
ecologist Ecology () is the natural science of the relationships among living organisms and their environment. Ecology considers organisms at the individual, population, community, ecosystem, and biosphere levels. Ecology overlaps with the closely re ...
. Disney's animated series '' The Legend of Tarzan'' (2001–2003) was a
spin-off Spin-off, Spin Off, Spin-Off, or Spinoff may refer to: Entertainment and media *Spinoff (media), a media work derived from an existing work *''The Spinoff'', a New Zealand current affairs magazine * ''Spin Off'' (Canadian game show), a 2013 Canad ...
of the 1999 animated Disney film. The latest television series was the short-lived live-action ''
Tarzan Tarzan (John Clayton, Viscount Greystoke) is a fictional character, a 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 adventurer. Creat ...
'' (2003), which starred male model
Travis Fimmel Travis Fimmel (born 15 July 1979) is an Australian actor. He is known for his role as Ragnar Lothbrok in the History Channel television series ''Vikings'' (2013–2017). He also starred in HBO science fiction series' '' Raised by Wolves'' as M ...
and updated the setting to contemporary
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
, with Jane as a police detective, played by
Sarah Wayne Callies Sarah Wayne Callies is an American actress. She is known for starring as Sara Tancredi in Fox's ''Prison Break'', Lori Grimes in AMC's '' The Walking Dead'', and more recently, as Birdie Nicolletti in ABC's '' The Company You Keep''. She ha ...
. The series was cancelled after only eight episodes. ''
Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (''SNL'') is an American Late night television in the United States, late-night live television, live sketch comedy variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Michaels and Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC. The ...
'' featured recurring sketches with the speech-impaired trio of " Tonto, Tarzan, and Frankenstein's Monster". In these sketches, Tarzan is portrayed by
Kevin Nealon Kevin Nealon (; born November 18, 1953) is an American comedian and actor. He has earned a Primetime Emmy Award nomination and two Screen Actors Guild Award nominations. He first gained widespread attention during his tenure as a cast member on ...
.


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 (born Richard Timothy Smith; 25 March 1942) is a British-New Zealand actor, writer, musician, and television presenter. He wrote the musical stage show ''The Rocky Horror Show'' in 1973, which has since remained in continuous p ...
wrote a
musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the Character (arts), charac ...
entitled ''T. Zee'', loosely based on Tarzan but restyled in a rock
idiom An idiom is a phrase or expression that largely or exclusively carries a Literal and figurative language, figurative or non-literal meaning (linguistic), meaning, rather than making any literal sense. Categorized as formulaic speech, formulaic ...
. * ''
Tarzan Tarzan (John Clayton, Viscount Greystoke) is a fictional character, a 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 adventurer. Creat ...
'', a musical stage adaptation of the 1999 animated feature, opened at the
Richard Rodgers Theatre The Richard Rodgers Theatre (formerly Chanin's 46th Street Theatre and the 46th Street Theatre) is a Broadway theater at 226 West 46th Street in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City, New York, U.S. Opened in 1925, it was ...
on Broadway on May 10, 2006, and closed on July 8, 2007. * The show, a Disney Theatrical production, was directed and designed by
Bob Crowley Bob Crowley (born 10 June 1952) is a theatre designer (scenic and costume), and theatre director. He lives between London, New York and West Cork in the south west of Ireland. Career Born in Cork, Ireland on 10 June 1952, Bob Crowley is t ...
. The same version of Tarzan that was played at the Richard Rodgers Theatre is being played throughout Europe and has been a huge success in the Netherlands. * Tarzan also appeared in the ''Tarzan Rocks!'' show at the Theatre in the Wild at
Walt Disney World Resort The Walt Disney World Resort is an entertainment resort complex located about southwest of Orlando, Florida, United States. Opened on October 1, 1971, the resort is operated by Disney Experiences, a division of the Walt Disney Company. ...
's
Disney's Animal Kingdom Disney's Animal Kingdom Theme Park is a zoological theme park at Walt Disney World in Bay Lake, Florida, near Orlando. Owned and operated by the Walt Disney Company through its Experiences division, it is the largest theme park in the worl ...
. Although the show closed in 2006, Tarzan, Jane Porter and Terk remain popular
meetable character A costumed performer or suit performer wears a costume that usually (but not always) covers the performer's face, typically to represent a non-human character such as a mascot or cartoon character. These include theme park "walk-around" or "m ...
s at the
Disney Parks and Resorts Disney Experiences, commonly known as Disney Parks, is one of the three major divisions of the Walt Disney Company. It was founded on April 1, 1971, exactly six months before the opening of the Walt Disney World Resort. Led by Josh D'Amaro, t ...
, and can be found in Adventureland, and at
Disney's Animal Kingdom Disney's Animal Kingdom Theme Park is a zoological theme park at Walt Disney World in Bay Lake, Florida, near Orlando. Owned and operated by the Walt Disney Company through its Experiences division, it is the largest theme park in the worl ...
.


Video games

* A
computer game A video game or computer game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface or input device (such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device) to generate visual feedback from a display device, mo ...
with the title ''Tarzan'', licensed from Edgar Rice Burroughs Inc., was produced by
Martech Martech was a video game publisher which operated in Pevensey Bay between 1982 and 1989. It was founded as Martech Games. The company published a number of successful video games for the BBC Micro, BBC Model B, ZX Spectrum, ZX81, MSX, Amstrad CPC, ...
in 1986 for the
Acorn Electron The Acorn Electron (nicknamed the Elk inside Acorn and beyond) was introduced as a lower-cost alternative to the BBC Micro educational/home computer, also developed by Acorn Computers, to provide many of the features of that more expensive mach ...
,
Amstrad CPC The Amstrad CPC (short for "Colour Personal Computer") is a series of 8-bit home computers produced by Amstrad between 1984 and 1990. It was designed to compete in the mid-1980s home computer market dominated by the Commodore 64 and the ZX Spec ...
,
BBC Micro The BBC Microcomputer System, or BBC Micro, is a family of microcomputers developed and manufactured by Acorn Computers in the early 1980s as part of the BBC's Computer Literacy Project. Launched in December 1981, it was showcased across severa ...
,
Commodore 64 The Commodore 64, also known as the C64, is an 8-bit computing, 8-bit home computer introduced in January 1982 by Commodore International (first shown at the Consumer Electronics Show, January 7–10, 1982, in Las Vegas). It has been listed in ...
,
MSX MSX is a standardized home computer architecture, announced by ASCII Corporation on June 16, 1983. It was initially conceived by Microsoft as a product for the Eastern sector, and jointly marketed by Kazuhiko Nishi, the director at ASCII Corpo ...
, and
ZX Spectrum The ZX Spectrum () is an 8-bit computing, 8-bit home computer developed and marketed by Sinclair Research. One of the most influential computers ever made and one of the all-time bestselling British computers, over five million units were sold. ...
. * A game under the title ''Tarzan Goes Ape'', with little connection to the franchise, was released in 1991 for the Commodore 64 and ZX Spectrum by
Codemasters The Codemasters Software Company Limited (trade name: Codemasters) is a British video game developer and former publisher based in Southam, England, which is a subsidiary of American corporation Electronic Arts and managed under the EA Sports ...
. * Disney's Tarzan had seen video games released for the
PlayStation is a video gaming brand owned and produced by Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE), a division of Japanese conglomerate Sony. Its flagship products consists of a series of home video game consoles produced under the brand; it also consists ...
,
Nintendo 64 The (N64) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was released in Japan on June 23, 1996, in North America on September 29, 1996, and in Europe and Australia on March 1, 1997. As the successor to the Super Nintendo E ...
and
Game Boy Color The (GBC or CGB) is an 8-bit handheld game console developed by Nintendo. It was released in Japan on October 21, 1998, and to international markets that November. Compared to the original Game Boy, the Game Boy Color features a color TFT scre ...
. Followed by: ** '' Disney's Tarzan Untamed'' for the
PlayStation 2 The PlayStation 2 (PS2) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Interactive Entertainment, Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on 4 March 2000, in North America on 26 October, in Europe on 24 Novembe ...
(PS2) and
Gamecube The is a PowerPC-based home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was released in Japan on September 14, 2001, in North America on November 18, 2001, in Europe on May 3, 2002, and in Australia on May 17, 2002. It is the suc ...
** '' Disney's Tarzan: Return to the Jungle'' for the
Game Boy Advance The (GBA) is a 32-bit handheld game console, manufactured by Nintendo, which was released in Japan on March 21, 2001, and to international markets that June. It was later released in mainland China in 2004, under the name iQue Game Boy Advanc ...
. * The Disney incarnation of Tarzan appears in the PS2 game ''
Kingdom Hearts is a series of action role-playing games developed and published by Square Enix (originally by Square) and owned by The Walt Disney Company. A collaboration between the two companies, it was conceptualized by Square employees, Japanese gam ...
'', with Goldwyn reprising his role from the film. * In the first ''
Rayman ''Rayman'' is a franchise of platformer video games, created by video game designer Michel Ancel for Ubisoft. Since the release of the original game in 1995, the series has produced a total of 45 games across multiple platforms. The series ...
'', a
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 acti ...
version of
Rayman ''Rayman'' is a franchise of platformer video games, created by video game designer Michel Ancel for Ubisoft. Since the release of the original game in 1995, the series has produced a total of 45 games across multiple platforms. The series ...
named Tarayzan appears in the Dream Forest.


Toys and ephemera

Throughout the 1970s
Mego Corporation Mego Corporation () is an American toy company that in its original iteration was first founded in 1954. Originally known as a purveyor of dime store toys, in 1971 the company shifted direction and became famous for producing licensed action figu ...
licensed the Tarzan character and produced 8"
action figure An action figure is a poseable character model figure made most commonly of plastic, and often based upon characters from a film, comic book, military, video game, television program, or sport; fictional or historical. These figures are usually ...
s which they included in their "World's Greatest Super Heroes" line of characters. In 1975 they also produced a 3" "Bendy" figure made of poseable, malleable plastic. Several Tarzan-themed products have been manufactured, including
View-Master View-Master is the trademark name of a line of special-format stereoscopes and corresponding View-Master "reels", which are thin cardboard disks containing seven Stereoscopic 3-D pairs of small transparent color photographs on film.Mary Ann & Wo ...
reels and packets, numerous Tarzan
coloring book A coloring book (British English: colouring-in book, colouring book, or colouring page) is a type of book containing line art to which people are intended to add color using crayons, colored pencils, marker pens, paint or other artistic media. ...
s, children's books, follow-the-dots, and activity books.


Comics

''
Tarzan of the Apes ''Tarzan of the Apes'' is a 1912 novel by American writer Edgar Rice Burroughs, and the first in the Tarzan series. The story was first printed in the pulp magazine '' The All-Story'' in October 1912 before being released as a novel in June 191 ...
'' was adapted in newspaper-strip form in early 1929, with illustrations by
Hal Foster Harold Rudolf Foster, FRSA (August 16, 1892 – July 25, 1982) was a Canadian-American comic strip artist and writer best known as the creator of the comic strip '' Prince Valiant''. His drawing style is noted for its high level of draftsmanship ...
. A full-page
Sunday strip The Sunday comics or Sunday strip is the comic strip section carried in some Western newspapers. Compared to weekday comics, Sunday comics tend to be full pages and are in color. Many newspaper readers called this section the Sunday funnies, t ...
began March 15, 1931, by Rex Maxon. Over the years, many artists have drawn the ''Tarzan'' comic strip, notably
Burne Hogarth Burne Hogarth (born Spinoza Bernard Ginsburg, December 25, 1911 – January 28, 1996) was an American artist and educator, best known for his work on the ''Tarzan (comics), Tarzan'' newspaper comic strip and his series of anatomy books for artis ...
,
Russ Manning Russell George Manning (January 5, 1929"United States Social Security Death Index," index, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/VMMT-NZN : accessed 28 Aug 2014), Russell Manning, Dec 1981; citing U.S. Social Security Administratio ...
, and
Mike Grell Mike Grell (born September 13, 1947) is an American comic book writer and artist, known for his work on books such as '' Green Lantern/Green Arrow'', '' The Warlord'', and '' Jon Sable Freelance''. Early life Grell studied at the University of ...
. The
daily strip A daily strip is a newspaper comic strip format, appearing on weekdays, Monday through Saturday, as contrasted with a Sunday strip, which typically only appears on Sundays. They typically are smaller, 3–4 grids compared to the full page Sunday s ...
began to reprint old dailies after Manning's last daily (#10,308; publ. July 29, 1972). The Sunday strip also turned to reprints . Both strips continue as reprints today in a few newspapers and in ''Comics Revue'' magazine. NBM Publishing did a high quality reprint series of the Foster and Hogarth work on Tarzan in a series of hardback and paperback reprints in the 1990s. Tarzan has appeared in many comic books from numerous publishers over the years. The character's earliest comic book appearances were in comic strip reprints published in several titles, such as ''Sparkler (comics), Sparkler'', ''Tip Top Comics'' and ''Single Series''. Western Publishing published ''Tarzan'' in Dell Comics's ''Four Color, Four Color Comics'' #134 & 161 in 1947, before giving him his own series, ''Tarzan'', published through Dell Comics and later Gold Key Comics from January–February 1948 to February 1972; many of these issues adapted Burroughs's novels. DC Comics, DC took over the series in 1972, publishing ''Tarzan'' #207–258 from April 1972 to February 1977, including work by Joe Kubert. In 1977, the series moved to Marvel Comics, who restarted the numbering rather than assuming those of the previous publishers. Marvel issued ''Tarzan'' #1–29 (as well as three ''Annual''s), from June 1977 to October 1979, mainly by John Buscema. Following the conclusion of the Marvel series the character had no regular comic-book publisher for a number of years. During this period, Blackthorne Comics published ''Tarzan'' in 1986, and Malibu Comics published ''Tarzan'' comics in 1992. Dark Horse Comics has published various ''Tarzan'' series from 1996 to the present, including reprints of works from previous publishers like Gold Key and DC, and joint projects with other publishers featuring crossovers with other characters. There have also been a number of different comic book projects from other publishers over the years, in addition to various minor appearances of Tarzan in other comic books. The Japanese manga series ''Jungle no Ouja Ta-chan'' (Jungle King Tar-chan) by Tokuhiro Masaya was based loosely on Tarzan. Also, manga "god" Osamu Tezuka created a Tarzan manga in 1948 entitled ''Tarzan no Himitsu Kichi'' (''Tarzan's Secret Base'').


Cultural influence


Science

Tarzan's Anarcho-primitivism, primitivist philosophy was absorbed by countless fans, amongst whom was Jane Goodall, who describes the Tarzan series as having a major influence on her childhood. She states that she felt she would be a much better spouse for Tarzan than his fictional wife, Jane, and that when she first began to live among and study the Common chimpanzee, chimpanzees she was fulfilling her childhood dream of living among the great apes just as Tarzan did.Jane Goodall
." ''Encyclopædia Britannica''. [1998] 2020.
Tarzan is commemorated in the scientific name of a species of chameleon, ''Calumma tarzan'', which is Endemism, endemic to Madagascar.


Literature

Rudyard Kipling Joseph Rudyard Kipling ( ; 30 December 1865 – 18 January 1936)''The Times'', (London) 18 January 1936, p. 12. was an English journalist, novelist, poet, and short-story writer. He was born in British Raj, British India, which inspired much ...
's
Mowgli Mowgli () is a fictional character and the protagonist of the Mowgli stories featured among Rudyard Kipling's ''The Jungle Book'' stories. He is a feral boy from the Pench area in Seoni, Madhya Pradesh, India, who originally appeared in Kiplin ...
has been cited as a major influence on Burroughs's creation of Tarzan. Mowgli was also an influence for a number of other "List of fictional feral children, wild boy" characters. Jerry Siegel named Tarzan and another Burroughs character, John Carter of Mars, John Carter, as early inspirations for his creation of Superman. Tarzan's popularity inspired numerous imitators in pulp magazines. A number of these, like Kwa of the Jungle, Kwa and Ka-Zar (David Rand), Ka-Zar were direct or loosely veiled copies; others, like Polaris of the Snows, were similar characters in different settings, or with different gimmicks. Of these characters the most popular was Ki-Gor, the subject of 59 novels that appeared between winter 1939 to spring 1954 in the magazine ''Jungle Stories (magazine), Jungle Stories''.


Popular culture

Tarzan is often used as a nickname to indicate a similarity between a person's characteristics and that of the fictional character. Individuals with an exceptional 'ape-like' ability to climb, cling and leap beyond that of ordinary humans may often receive the nickname 'Tarzan'. An example is retired United States, American baseball player Joe Wallis. Comedian Carol Burnett was often prompted by her audiences to perform her trademark Tarzan yell. She explained that it originated in her youth when she and a friend watched a Tarzan movie.


Tarzan and Pellucidar main series chronology

#''
Tarzan of the Apes ''Tarzan of the Apes'' is a 1912 novel by American writer Edgar Rice Burroughs, and the first in the Tarzan series. The story was first printed in the pulp magazine '' The All-Story'' in October 1912 before being released as a novel in June 191 ...
'', Chapters 1 to 11 (1912)Edgar Rice Burroughs, Burroughs, Edgar Rice. [1912] 2012.
Tarzan of the Apes
''. Washington, DC: Project Gutenberg.
Edgar Rice Burroughs, Burroughs, Edgar Rice. [1912] 2007.
Tarzan of the Apes
'' (audiobook), read by Mark E. Smith, Mark F. Smith. ''LibriVox''.
#''
Jungle Tales of Tarzan ''Jungle Tales of Tarzan'' is a collection of twelve loosely connected short stories by American writer Edgar Rice Burroughs, comprising the sixth book in order of publication in his Tarzan (book series), series of twenty-four books about the ti ...
'' (1919)Edgar Rice Burroughs, Burroughs, Edgar Rice. [1919] 2012
''Jungle Tales of Tarzan''
. Washington, DC: Project Gutenberg.
Edgar Rice Burroughs, Burroughs, Edgar Rice. [1919] 2009.
Jungle Tales of Tarzan
'' (audiobook), read by Ralph Snelson. ''LibriVox''.
#*"Tarzan's First Love" (1916) #*"The Capture of Tarzan" (1916) #*"The Fight for the Balu" (1916) #*"The God of Tarzan" (1916) #*"Tarzan and the Black Boy" (1917) #*"The Witch-Doctor Seeks Vengeance" (1917) #*"The End of Bukawai" (1917) #*"The Lion" (1917) #*"The Nightmare" (1917) #*"The Battle for Teeka" (1917) #*"A Jungle Joke" (1917) #*"Tarzan Rescues the Moon" (1917) #''
Tarzan of the Apes ''Tarzan of the Apes'' is a 1912 novel by American writer Edgar Rice Burroughs, and the first in the Tarzan series. The story was first printed in the pulp magazine '' The All-Story'' in October 1912 before being released as a novel in June 191 ...
'', Chapters 11 to 28 (1912) #''
The Return of Tarzan ''The Return of Tarzan'' is a novel by American writer Edgar Rice Burroughs, the second in his Tarzan (book series), series of twenty-four books about the title character Tarzan. The story was first published in the pulp magazine ''New Story Mag ...
'' (1913)Edgar Rice Burroughs, Burroughs, Edgar Rice. [1913] 2012.
The Return of Tarzan
''. Washington, DC: Project Gutenberg.
Edgar Rice Burroughs, Burroughs, Edgar Rice. [1913] 2009
''The Return of Tarzan''
(audiobook), read by Ralph Snelson. ''LibriVox''.
#''The Beasts of Tarzan'' (1914)
Ebook

Audiobook
# ''At the Earth's Core (novel), At the Earth's Core'' (1914) #''The Son of Tarzan'', Chapters 1 to 12 (1915)
Ebook

Audiobook
# ''Pellucidar (novel), Pellucidar'' (1915) #''Tarzan and the Forbidden City'' (1938)
Ebook
) #''Tarzan and the Jewels of Opar'' (1916)
Ebook

Audiobook
#''The Son of Tarzan'' Chapters 13 to 27 (1915)
Ebook

Audiobook
# "The Eternal Lover" (''The Eternal Lover'' Part 1) ''All-Story Weekly'', March 7, 1914 # "The Mad King" (''The Mad King'' Part 1) ''All-Story Weekly'' March 21, 1914 # "Sweetheart Primeval" (''The Eternal Lover'' Part 2) ''All-Story Weekly'', Jan.–Feb. 1915 # "Barney Custer of Beatrice" (''The Mad King'' Part 2) ''All-Story Weekly'', August 1915 #''Tarzan the Untamed'' (1920)
Ebook
#*"Tarzan and the Huns" (also cited as "Part 1: Tarzan the Untamed,"''Tarzan the Untamed'', Ballantine paperback edition, 1963 1919) #*"Tarzan and the Valley of Luna" (also cited as "Part 2: Tarzan the Untamed," 1920) #''Tarzan the Terrible'' (1921)
Ebook

Audiobook
#''Tarzan and the Golden Lion'' (1922, 1923)
Ebook
) #''Tarzan and the Ant Men'' (1924)
Ebook
#''Tarzan and the Tarzan Twins'' (1963; for younger readers) #*"The Tarzan Twins" (1927)
Ebook
) #*"Tarzan and the Tarzan Twins and Jad-Bal-Ja the Golden Lion" (1936)
Ebook
) #''
Tarzan, Lord of the Jungle ''Tarzan, Lord of the Jungle'' is an American animated series created by the Filmation studio for Saturday mornings on CBS, starting in 1976. This was the first animated series about the jungle hero. There are 36 episodes produced over four seas ...
'' (1927, 1928)
Ebook
) #''Tarzan and the Lost Empire'' (1928)
Ebook
) #''Tanar of Pellucidar'' (1929) #''Tarzan at the Earth's Core'' (1929)
Ebook
#''Tarzan the Invincible'' (1930, 1931)
Ebook
#''Tarzan Triumphant'' (1931)
Ebook
) #''Tarzan and the City of Gold'' (1932)
Ebook
) #''Tarzan and the Lion Man'' (1933, 1934)
Ebook
) #''Tarzan and the Leopard Men'' (1935)
Ebook
#''
Tarzan's Quest ''Tarzan's Quest'' is a novel by American writer Edgar Rice Burroughs Edgar Rice Burroughs (September 1, 1875 – March 19, 1950) was an American writer, best known for his prolific output in the adventure, science fiction, and fantasy ...
'' (1935, 1936)
Ebook
) #''Tarzan the Magnificent (novel), Tarzan the Magnificent'' (1939)
Ebook
#*"Tarzan and the Magic Men" (1936) #''Back to the Stone Age'' (1937) #''Tarzan and the Elephant Men"'' (1937–1938) #''Tarzan and the Champion"'' (1940) #''Tarzan and the Jungle Murders"'' (1940) #''Tarzan and the Madman'' (1940) - (first published 1964) #''Tarzan and the Castaways'' (1941)
Ebook
) #''Land of Terror'' (1944) #''Tarzan and the Foreign Legion'' (1947)
Ebook
) #''Savage Pellucidar'' (1963) #*"The Return to Pellucidar" #*"Men of the Bronze Age" #*"Tiger Girl" #*"Savage Pellucidar" #''Tarzan: the Lost Adventure'' (c. 1940s; unfinished – 16 chapters, 83 pages; revised and completed by Joe R. Lansdale, 1995)


Bibliography


By Edgar Rice Burroughs

#''
Tarzan of the Apes ''Tarzan of the Apes'' is a 1912 novel by American writer Edgar Rice Burroughs, and the first in the Tarzan series. The story was first printed in the pulp magazine '' The All-Story'' in October 1912 before being released as a novel in June 191 ...
'' (1912) #''
The Return of Tarzan ''The Return of Tarzan'' is a novel by American writer Edgar Rice Burroughs, the second in his Tarzan (book series), series of twenty-four books about the title character Tarzan. The story was first published in the pulp magazine ''New Story Mag ...
'' (1913) #''The Beasts of Tarzan'' (1914)
Ebook

Audiobook
#''The Son of Tarzan'' (1915)
Ebook

Audiobook
#''Tarzan and the Jewels of Opar'' (1916)
Ebook

Audiobook
#''
Jungle Tales of Tarzan ''Jungle Tales of Tarzan'' is a collection of twelve loosely connected short stories by American writer Edgar Rice Burroughs, comprising the sixth book in order of publication in his Tarzan (book series), series of twenty-four books about the ti ...
'' (1919) #*"Tarzan's First Love" (1916) #*"The Capture of Tarzan" (1916) #*"The Fight for the Balu" (1916) #*"The God of Tarzan" (1916) #*"Tarzan and the Black Boy" (1917) #*"The Witch-Doctor Seeks Vengeance" (1917) #*"The End of Bukawai" (1917) #*"The Lion" (1917) #*"The Nightmare" (1917) #*"The Battle for Teeka" (1917) #*"A Jungle Joke" (1917) #*"Tarzan Rescues the Moon" (1917) #''Tarzan the Untamed'' (1920)
Ebook
#*"Tarzan and the Huns" (also cited as "Part 1: Tarzan the Untamed," 1919) #*"Tarzan and the Valley of Luna" (also cited as "Part 2: Tarzan the Untamed," 1920) #''Tarzan the Terrible'' (1921)
Ebook

Audiobook
#''Tarzan and the Golden Lion'' (1922, 1923)
Ebook
) #''Tarzan and the Ant Men'' (1924)
Ebook
#''
Tarzan, Lord of the Jungle ''Tarzan, Lord of the Jungle'' is an American animated series created by the Filmation studio for Saturday mornings on CBS, starting in 1976. This was the first animated series about the jungle hero. There are 36 episodes produced over four seas ...
'' (1927, 1928)
Ebook
) #''Tarzan and the Lost Empire'' (1928)
Ebook
) #''Tarzan at the Earth's Core'' (1929)
Ebook
#''Tarzan the Invincible'' (1930, 1931)
Ebook
#''Tarzan Triumphant'' (1931)
Ebook
) #''Tarzan and the City of Gold'' (1932)
Ebook
) #''Tarzan and the Lion Man'' (1933, 1934)
Ebook
) #''Tarzan and the Leopard Men'' (1935)
Ebook
#''
Tarzan's Quest ''Tarzan's Quest'' is a novel by American writer Edgar Rice Burroughs Edgar Rice Burroughs (September 1, 1875 – March 19, 1950) was an American writer, best known for his prolific output in the adventure, science fiction, and fantasy ...
'' (1935, 1936)
Ebook
) #''Tarzan and the Forbidden City'' (1938)
Ebook
) #''Tarzan the Magnificent (novel), Tarzan the Magnificent'' (1939)
Ebook
#*"Tarzan and the Magic Men" (1936) #*"Tarzan and the Elephant Men" (1937–1938) #''Tarzan and the Foreign Legion'' (1947)
Ebook
) #''Tarzan and the Madman'' (1964) #''Tarzan and the Castaways'' (1965) #*"Tarzan and the Castaways" (1941)
Ebook
) #*"Tarzan and the Champion" (1940) #*"Tarzan and the Jungle Murders" (1940) #''Tarzan and the Tarzan Twins'' (1963, for younger readers) #*"The Tarzan Twins" (1927)
Ebook
) #*"Tarzan and the Tarzan Twins and Jad-Bal-Ja the Golden Lion" (1936)
Ebook
) #''Tarzan: The Lost Adventure'' (unfinished) (revised and completed by Joe R. Lansdale) (1995)


By other authors

* Maude Robinson Toombs wrote a novelization of the film serial ''The Adventures of Tarzan'' published as a 15-part serial for newspapers in 1921, it was collected and published as a released as a trade-paperback () by ERBville Press in January 2006. * Arthur B. Reeve wrote a novelization of the film serial ''Tarzan the Mighty'' published as a 15-part serial for newspapers in 1928, it was collected and published as a released as a trade-paperback () by ERBville Press in 2005. *Barton Werper – these novels by the pseudonymous "Barton Werper" were never authorized by the Burroughs estate, were taken off the market and remaining copies destroyed. *#''Tarzan and the Silver Globe'' (1964), the novel was rewritten as "Zamba and the Silver Globe" () and published by ERBville Press in October 2014. *#''Tarzan and the Cave City'' (1964) *#''Tarzan and the Snake People'' (1964) *#''Tarzan and the Abominable Snowmen'' (1965) *#''Tarzan and the Winged Invaders'' (1965) *Fritz Leiber – the first novel authorized by the Burroughs estate, and numbered as the 25th book in the Tarzan series. **''Tarzan and the Valley of Gold (novel), Tarzan and the Valley of Gold'' (1966) *
Philip José Farmer Philip José Farmer (January 26, 1918 – February 25, 2009) was an American author known for his science fiction and fantasy fiction, fantasy novels and short story, short stories. Obituary. Farmer is best known for two sequences of novels, t ...
(also wrote a novel based on his own fascination with Tarzan, entitled ''Lord Tyger'', and translated the novel ''Tarzan of the Apes'' into Esperanto). **'' Tarzan Alive'' (1972) a fictional biography of Tarzan (here Lord Greystoke), which is one of the two foundational books (along with ''Doc Savage: His Apocalyptic Life'') of the
Wold Newton family The Wold Newton family is a literary concept derived from a form of Fictional crossovers, crossover fiction developed by the American science fiction writer Philip José Farmer. Origins In real life a meteorite, called the Wold Cottage meteorit ...
. **''The Adventure of the Peerless Peer'' (1974)
Sherlock Holmes Sherlock Holmes () is a Detective fiction, fictional detective created by British author Arthur Conan Doyle. Referring to himself as a "Private investigator, consulting detective" in his stories, Holmes is known for his proficiency with obser ...
goes to Africa and meets Tarzan. **''The Dark Heart of Time'' (1999) this novel was specifically authorized by the Burroughs estate, and references Tarzan by name rather than just by inference. The story is set between ''Tarzan the Untamed'' and ''Tarzan the Terrible''. *R. A. Salvatore **'' Tarzan: The Epic Adventures'' (1996) an authorized novel based on the pilot episode of the series of the same name. Stuart J. Byrne In the 1950s, Byrne wrote the novel ''Tarzan on Mar''s under the pen name John Bloodstone, the novel is a crossover of the Tarzan series and the Barsoom series, John Carter's adventures on Mars, however, he did not obtain a license to publish the novel, which had unauthorized editions. ;New Tarzan Publisher Faber and Faber with the backing of the Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc., Edgar Rice Burroughs, Incorporated, have updated the series through author Andy Briggs. In 2011, Briggs published the first of the books ''Tarzan: The Greystoke Legacy''. In 2012 he published the second book ''Tarzan: The Jungle Warrior'', and in 2013, he has published the third book ''Tarzan: The Savage Lands''.


Themes of gender and race

In her ''Manliness and Civilization'', Gail Bederman describes how various people of the time either challenged or upheld the idea that "civilization" is predicated on white masculinity. She closes with a chapter on ''Tarzan of the Apes'' (1912) because the story's protagonist is, according to her, the ultimate male by the standards of 1912 White Americans. Bederman does note that Tarzan, "an instinctively chivalrous Anglo-Saxon," does not engage in sexual violence, renouncing his "masculine impulse to rape." However, she also notes that not only does Tarzan kill black man Kulonga in revenge for killing his ape mother (a stand-in for his biological White mother) by hanging him, "lynching, lyncher Tarzan" actually enjoys killing black people, for example the cannibalistic Mbongans.Bederman, Gail. 1995.
Manliness and Civilization: A Cultural History of Gender and Race in the United States, 1880–1917
'. Tarzan and After. pp. 219–240.
Bederman, in fact, reminds readers that when Tarzan first introduces himself to Jane, he does so as "Tarzan, the killer of beasts and many black men". The novel climaxes with Tarzan saving Jane (who in the original novel is not British, but a southern White woman from Baltimore, Baltimore, Maryland) from a Black Buck, black ape rapist. When he leaves the jungle and sees "civilized" Africans farming, his first instinct is to kill them just for being Black. "Like the lynch victims reported in the Northern press, Tarzan's victimscowards, cannibals, and despoilers of white womanhoodlack all manhood. Tarzan's lynchings thus prove him the superior man." According to Bederman, despite Tarzan embodying all the tropes of white supremacy espoused or rejected by the people she had reviewed (Theodore Roosevelt, G. Stanley Hall, Charlotte Perkins Gilman, Ida B. Wells), Burroughs, in all probability, was not trying to make any kind of statement or echo any of them. "He probably never heard of any of them." Instead, Bederman writes that Burroughs proves her point because, in telling racist and sexist stories whose protagonist boasted of killing black people, he was not being unusual at all, but was instead just being a typical 1912 White American.


Race

The Tarzan books and movies employ extensive stereotyping. With changing social views and customs this has led to criticism, including charges of racism since the early 1970s. The early books give a pervasively negative and stereotypical portrayal of Arabs and native African people, Africans, including Berbers and Copts. In ''
The Return of Tarzan ''The Return of Tarzan'' is a novel by American writer Edgar Rice Burroughs, the second in his Tarzan (book series), series of twenty-four books about the title character Tarzan. The story was first published in the pulp magazine ''New Story Mag ...
'', Arabs are "surly looking" and call Christians "dogs", while Black people#Africa, black Africans are "lithe, ebon warriors, gesticulating and jabbering". In regards to race, a superior–inferior relationship with valuation is implied in virtually all interactions between white and black people in the Tarzan stories, and similar relationships and valuations can be seen in most other interactions between differing people. According to James Loewen's ''Sundown Towns'', this may be a vestige of Burroughs's having been from Oak Park, Illinois, a former Sundown town (a town that forbids non-white people from living within it). Tarzan is a white European male who grows up with apes. According to "Taking Tarzan Seriously" by Marianna Torgovnick, Tarzan is confused with the social hierarchy that he is a part of. Unlike everyone else in his society, Tarzan is the only one who is not clearly part of any social group. All the other members of his world are not able to climb or decline socially because they are already part of a social hierarchy which is stagnant. Turgovnick writes that since Tarzan was raised as an ape, he thinks and acts like an ape. However, instinctively he is human and he resorts to being human when he is pushed to. The reason of his confusion is that he does not understand what the typical white male is supposed to act like. His instincts eventually kick in when he is in the midst of this confusion, and he ends up dominating the jungle. In Tarzan, the jungle is a microcosm for the world in general in 1912 to the early 1930s. His climbing of the social hierarchy proves that the European white male is the most dominant of all races/sexes, no matter what the circumstance. Furthermore, Turgovnick writes that when Tarzan first meets Jane, she is slightly repulsed but also fascinated by his animal-like actions. As the story progresses, Tarzan surrenders his knife to Jane in an oddly chivalrous gesture, which makes Jane fall for Tarzan despite his odd circumstances. Turgovnick believes that this displays an instinctual, civilized chivalry that Burrough believes is common in white men.Turgovnick, Mariana "Taking Tarzan Seriously" from Gone Primitive, University of Chicago Press 1990 [Ch 2 pp.42–72]


Gender dynamic

Burroughs's opinions, manifested through the narrative voice in the stories, reflect common Western attitudes in his time, which in a 21st-century context would be considered racist and sexist. Although the character of Tarzan does not directly engage in violence against women, feminist scholars have critiqued the presence of other sympathetic male characters who do so with Tarzan's approval. In ''Tarzan and the Ant Men'', the men of a fictional tribe of creatures called the Alali gain social dominance of their society by beating Alali women into submission with weapons that Tarzan willingly provides them. Following the battle, Burroughs (p. 178) states:
To entertain Tarzan and to show him what great strides civilization had taken—the son of The First Woman seized a female by the hair and dragging her to him struck her heavily about the head and face with his clenched fist, and the woman fell upon her knees and fondled his legs, looking wistfully into his face, her own glowing with love and admiration.
While Burroughs depicts some female characters with humanistic equalizing elements, Torgovnick argues that violent scenes against women in the context of male political and social domination are condoned in his writing, reinforcing a notion of gendered hierarchy where patriarchy is portrayed as the natural pinnacle of society.


See also

*Ape *Enkidu *Feral child *
Mowgli Mowgli () is a fictional character and the protagonist of the Mowgli stories featured among Rudyard Kipling's ''The Jungle Book'' stories. He is a feral boy from the Pench area in Seoni, Madhya Pradesh, India, who originally appeared in Kiplin ...
*Jungle girl - fictional characters, female versions of Tarzan *Rima, a jungle girl character who predates Tarzan


References


Primary sources


Further reading

* Egan, Sean. 2017. ''Tarzan: The Biography''. London: Askill Publishing. . * Wannamaker, Annette, and Michelle Ann Abate, eds. 2012. ''Global Perspectives on Tarzan: From King of the Jungle to International Icon''. 216 pages. (Includes studies by scholars from the United States, Australia, Canada, Israel, the Netherlands, Germany, and France.)


External links

*
Edgar Rice Burroughs tribute
*
Tarzan eBooks by Project Gutenberg

''Empire'' magazine Tarzan centenary feature

For an appraisal of Tarzan films in movies vs films section.Works by or about ERB at the HathiTrust
{{Authority control Tarzan, Tarzan characters Dynamite Entertainment characters Fantasy film characters Fictional African people Fictional animal hunters Fictional English people Fictional feral children Fictional immortals Fictional knife-fighters Fictional lords and ladies Fictional orphans Fictional polearm and spearfighters Literary characters introduced in 1912 Orphan characters in comics Male characters in comics Male characters in literature Male characters in film