8 Things You Didn’t Know About Tarzan
Ever since he first swung onto silent movie screens in 1918, Tarzan has appeared in 50 movies, been the star of at least five TV shows, won one Oscar and inspired an Italian pop song. That’s a pretty good track record for a guy who doesn’t even wear pants! Here are a few things you probably didn’t know about the Lord of the Jungle and his decades in Hollywood.
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1. The Original Tarzan Was Well-Spoken
When we think of Tarzan, we generally picture Johnny Weissmuller’s depiction of the character, who speaks in caveman-style broken English. But in Edgar Rice Burroughs’ original novels, which were first published in 1912, Tarzan was very articulate. The character was fluent in written English, as well as other languages, from reading books left at the campsite of his dead parents; he learned to speak aloud after running into a French explorer.
Early Tarzan movies also show the man speaking typical conversational English; in 1935’s The New Adventures of Tarzan starring Bruce Bennett (also known as Herman Brix), Tarzan and Jane seem equally matched verbally. Weissmuller’s Tarzan was more challenged in the communication department, and as he became seen as the definitive Tarzan, speaking monosyllabically began to be thought of as an essential part of the character.
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2. He Never Said “Me Tarzan, You Jane”
Speaking of the things Tarzan did or didn’t say, the most famous line tied to the character was never actually spoken by the character. It was said jokingly by Johnny Weissmuller in a 1932 issue of Photoplay: “I didn’t have to act in Tarzan, the Ape Man — [I] just said, ‘Me Tarzan, you Jane.’” His comment was a play on a scene in 1932’s Tarzan, the Ape Man, where an increasingly frustrated Jane attempts to explain the concept of “me” and “you” to Tarzan. By the end of the conversation, she seems more upset than when apes tried to carry her off moments earlier; and honestly, you can’t blame her.
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3. Johnny Weissmuller Wasn’t The Only Olympian To Play Tarzan
Weissmuller, who won five Olympic gold medals for swimming, was certainly the most accomplished Olympian to don the leopard-skin loincloth. But he wasn’t the only one. Herman Brix (shotput), Buster Crabbe (swimming) and Glenn Morris (decathlon) all shared that honor. Eleanor Holm, who appeared in the 1938 film Tarzan’s Revenge, also medaled in swimming.
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4. The Source Of Tarzan’s Yell Is Up For Debate
Though he’s also known for his loincloth, his ability to swing from vines and his close personal relationship with a chimpanzee, Tarzan’s greatest trademark on film is probably his yell. Though it’s described in the books, the first cinematic Tarzan yell appears in 1929’s Tarzan the Tiger, where, to my ear, it sounds like someone exclaiming after badly stubbing their toe. The classic multi-note Tarzan call showed up once Johnny Weissmuller began playing the role — though whether the sound is all him is the subject of much debate.
Weissmuller claimed that the yell was all him and was inspired by yodeling neighbors he had as a boy. MGM, the studio that released the films, claimed that the actor’s voice had been mixed with “hyena’s howl played backward, a camel’s bleat, the pluck of a violin and a soprano’s high C” to achieve the trademark jungle cry. Other tales have circulated as well — in 2006, PBS journalist Bill Moyers told a crowd of graduates at Hamilton College that the Tarzan cry was achieved by making “a recording of three men — one a baritone, one a tenor and one a hog caller from Arkansas — all yelling to the top of their lungs.”
5. Carol Burnett Developed Her Tarzan Yell In Childhood
Speaking of Tarzan yells — though the most famous practitioner was Weissmuller, the second-most famous has to be Carol Burnett, who turned her imitation of his deafening holler into one of her comedic trademarks, beginning in a 1962 episode of The Jack Benny Program. But her jungle yodeling predated her comedy career. As she told Larry King in 2013, around the age of 10, Burnett frequently went to the movies with a beautiful cousin; when they reenacted the movies while playing at home, her cousin would nab the female character role, while Burnett would take the male character. This extended to playing Tarzan and Jane — Burnett taught herself the yodel so that she could more fully portray the ape king.
6. Tarzan Once Fought The Nazis
Tarzan was famous for taking on all manner of foes, including the occasional crocodile. But in 1943’s Tarzan Triumphs, he fought a far more dastardly opponent — the Nazis. Germans have landed in Africa to gather supplies for war; while they’re at it, the capture a lost jungle city and enslave its people because, hey, that’s what Nazis do. After they kidnap his son Boy, Tarzan dispatches the Nazis, feeding one to a lion. His sidekicks Cheeta and Elephant take out some members of the Third Reich, too.
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7. He Appeared Alongside Batman (Sort Of)
In the ’70s, Tarzan pivoted to the small screen, where he appeared in a run of Saturday morning cartoons — first as half of the 1977 Batman/Tarzan Adventure Hour, then as part of the show Tarzan and the Super 7, which ran brief cartoon segments about Tarzan, Batman and some less illustrious superheroes, such as Superstretch and Microwoman (hey, it was the ’70s). In 1980, he jumped over to The Tarzan/ Lone Ranger/Zorro Adventure Hour, where he stayed until 1982.
Despite what some of the snazzy promo images would have you believe, Tarzan never actually hung out with Batman or Zorro — each character existed only in self-contained cartoon segments that had no crossover with other parts of the show.
However, in 2000, Batman and Tarzan did finally meet face-to-face, if only on the printed page. In the graphic novel Batman/Tarzan: Claws of the Cat-Woman, the two elite orphaned heroes join forces to restore lost artifacts and right some wrongs done to an ancient African civilization.
8. He Inspired An Italian Dance Pop Song
The 1999 Disney version of Tarzan helped tell its story through a number of songs written by Phil Collins, including the theme “You’ll Be in My Heart,” which won an Oscar for Best Song — the only time a Tarzan film has been honored with a little gold man. The film was eventually turned into a stage musical, which ran on Broadway from 2006 through 2007.
But it’s not the only time Tarzan inspired someone to burst into song. In 1985, Italian dance pop group Baltimora had their only international hit with “Tarzan Boy,” a synth pop song with a Tarzan yodel as the chorus. It hit No. 13 on the Billboard charts in 1986, and then reentered in 1993, revitalized by its inclusion on The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III soundtrack and a somewhat perplexing Listerine commercial, where a bottle of mint Listerine flies through the jungle on a vine. If that’s not clear proof of the jungle king’s enduring and timeless appeal, then I’ll eat my own loincloth.
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Classic Hollywood Hunks
September 2019
Cary Grant, Sean Connery, Rock Hudson and Paul Newman, smoldered onscreen and, in addition to being smokin’ hot, they were effortlessly cool.
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