Tarzan

by Frank M. Roberts

October 2016

Note - Thanks to '8' I've been out of commission for a couple months. '8'. I was born in '28 and Nov. 8 I turn 88. In other words, I'm an old dude and, as you probably know, that kind of age is accompanied by aches and pains galore. Quickie example, I have - honestly - toe trouble. My g.p. sent me to a specialist who, in turn, sent me to specialist number two. There - now back to work. Oh, send donations to the American Toe Society. My digits thank you. My main problem is bone degeneration, so I'm trying to write fast. Thanks.

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As a native New Yorker, I know the boroughs - Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Staten Island, and my own, Queens but this column is about another Burrough -- Edgar Rice, the prolific writer who invented Tarzan (now the star of a new jazzed-up version).

Tarz was a swinger - well - a vine swinger. "Nothing I enjoy more than a fine vine," he was never quoted as saying. The writer also entered the world of sci-fi with the unforgettable, "Land That Time Forgot." Altogether, he penned 58 books - without using a computer.

Most of his works have been heard on radio or seen in comic strips and darkened theaters. They began as 'silents,' the first one coming out in 1917 and starring Elmo Lincoln. It was, of course, "Tarzan Of the Apes." The last one, thus far, was in 1985 when the jungle guy became just another New York swinger. That was, "Tarzan In Manhattan," with the now forgotten Joe Lara. (He was also a musician).

Over the years there were many Tarzans swinging from branch to branch (so many, he had to open a 'branch' office). The personal favorite, was former Olympic swim champ, Johnny Weismuller.

Some sour-faced critics described Burroughs' writing as repetitious and clumsy. What do they know?

The author was born in Chicago (that 'dawdling' town), but raised out west on a cattle farm. While most of us write for the love of writing, he said he started at 35 because he was broke. Like another writer - me - he wasn't so hot in the classroom. He dropped out of the Phillips Academy, then flunked out of West Point.

Burroughs got married in 1900 while bringing home a weekly (weakly) salary of $15. At different times he worked for and with one of his brothers. The young man was ready to go west and entered Oregon with $15 and a collie. He kept the pooch but lost his money playing poker. To make matters worse, when he went back to his room he found it had been ransacked.

However, things began to turn around when he sold his first story, at a time, he said, when he knew zilch about writing. After that, it was a pleasant climb uphill. To jazz up his bank account, he also began writing for newspapers. (I'm not sure that adds up).

During World War 2, Burroughs was probably the oldest war correspondent. He witnessed the attack on Pearl Harbor. He spent the last years of his life in the town in California named in his honor - Tarzana. He died in 1950. He just finished reading the Sunday comics in bed when a heart condition took his life.

Now, I get to the personal stuff. In the '70s his grandson, Mike Pierce, was a good friend of mine. At the time, I lived in Edenton, N. C. and he was stationed at the old Marine base there which was abandoned in the early '80s. He and his wife, Jan Watts of Whittier, CA., one of the prettiest ladies extant, visited our house often. If I remember correctly, her family was in the funeral business.

Mike went to Harvard Military Academy in California, graduating with honors. He attended Arizona State University, Colorado College, and a naval academy in Pensacola. He played on the football and baseball teams of those schools, and he was a champion swimmer and diver. At the time, the couple had two daughters.

He had often flown with his grandfather, and that led him to become a Marine pilot - decorated while in Vietnam. A mutual friend sent me a pic of Mike, with grandpa when the young Mr. Pierce was 12-years-old. Mike's dad played Tarzan in two of the silent flicks; on the radio he and his wife portrayed Tarzan and Jane.

Finally, an 'it's a small world' item. My son, David, his son Josh and five dachschunds live in a log cabin on five acres of forest land in Edenton, much of which was part of the old Marine Base. A small portion of the old infirmary remains.

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As you probably already know, Tarzan's - er - mate was portrayed by the lovely Irish-American lass, Maureen O'Sullivan. And, of course, there was - Boy - who wasn't their boy, and 'el-chimpo'.