Tarzan Radio Show

Jungle Adventure (1932 - 36) (1951 - 53)

Tarzan ranks in the pantheon of American hero characters, although real fans would tell you Tarzan was an Englishman. His author, Edgar Rice Burroughs, was an American born to a prosperous family in Chicago, who before Tarzan led a life full of failures. At the age of 35 he began writing - firmly convinced that he could write as well as most pulp fiction magazines required with absolutely no prior experience in the field. Like his literary predecessors Jules Verne, Alexander Dumas, Lord Dunsany, Arthur Conan Doyle and Burroughs succeeded beyond his widest dreams with Tarzan of the Apes, published in 1914. He wrote the Tarzan novels, and many other novel series as well. All was fantasy adventure fiction for the masses- none considered great literature, but still in print worldwide,

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Burroughs himself was involved in the production of the first of the Tarzan radio serials, Tarzan of the Apes. It is considered to be the first major syndicated radio serial, and was popular from the start. This first serial gave the story of Tarzan and his background, and was very true to the novel. It also was good radio, with a vivid scenes and good sound effects for all the action. Burrough's daughter Joan played Jane, and her husband, James Pierce played Tarzan. The famed radio actor Gale Gordon (best known for principal Conklin on Our Miss Brooks) was Cecil Clayton. The second of the series, Tarzan and the Diamond of Asher, 1934, starred Carlton KaDell as Tarzan. Joan Pierce was pregnant, so Jane wasn't in this adventure. Also, Burroughs took more control than he had on the first series on this one, The Fires of Toth, begun in 1936, was the third and final serial series of the early era. All three are great jungle radio serials.

Tarzan is one of our most popular adventure figures, so he was repackaged for radio, although it was many years after the early 1930s serials. Perhaps WWII made our battle with Europeans and Orientals more vivid in the public mind than the dark continent exploits of an imaginary Ape Man. In 1951, a new Tarzan show was produced, with Lamont Johnson and Tarzan. In the new format, a story was finished in a single half-hour show. Even though Tarzan had been a staple of Hollywood movies both good and mediocre throughout the years as a radio broadcast it was successful series late for old time radio.

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The updated collection includes additional broadcasts of Tarzan of the Apes (1931), Diamond of Asher (1935), Fire of Tohr (1936), Lord of the Jungle (1951) and a few additional guest programs including paradies.

Great 1930s serial series are Air Adventures of Jimmie Allen and Captain Midnight, while the 1940s favorites are Dick Tracy, Superman, The Green Hornet, and I Love a Mystery.

For additional reading, see also Tim DeForest's article on Tarzan of the Apes. See also: Jungle Jim.