Official
Edgar Rice Burroughs Tribute and Weekly Webzine Site
Since
1996 ~ Over 15,000 Webpages in Archive
Volume
6358
ERB'S LIFE & LEGACY :: DAILY
EVENTS
GO
TO OUR FULL YEAR'S CONTENTS
www.ERBzine.com/events
A COLLATION OF THE DAILY
EVENTS IN ERB-WORLD
FROM THE PAGES OF THE HILLMANS'
ERBzine
Collated by John Martin and
Bill Hillman
With Web Design, Added Events,
Links,
Illustrations and Photo Collages
by Bill Hillman
BACK TO DAILY
EVENTS INTRO and CONTENTS
DECEMBER CONTENTS: WEEK FOUR
DEC 22 ~ DEC
23 ~ DEC 24 ~ DEC 25
~ DEC 26
WEEK FOUR: PART TWO AT
www.ERBzine.com/mag63/6359.html
DEC 27 ~ DEC 28 ~ DEC 29 ~ DEC 30 ~ DEC 31
VISIT DECEMBER WEEK 4 PHOTO ALBUM
www.ERBzine.com/mag63/6358pics.html
BACK TO DECEMBER WEEK 3
www.ERBzine.com/mag63/6357.html
Click for full-size images
DECEMBER
22
Jim Sullos in the Ventura Office Jungle: Tarzana ~
Burroughs Family Christmas Cards:
Studley Burroughs Art and Photo ~ ERB Fictional Names
~ ERB and Tarzan ~ Wolf Larson and Lydie Denier
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO JIM SULLOS - President of Edgar
Rice Burroughs, Inc.
*** Like a hero out of a Burroughs novel, Jim Sullos
finds himself in a position he likely never imagined -- as caretaker and
dealmaker for the potent literary legacy of one of the 20th century's most
popular novelists. Jim sees his role as ensuring that the Burroughs oeuvre
endures. "It's amazing," he says. "Some of these stories are nearly 100
years old, and they still take hold of your imagination."
*** A native of Southern California, Sullos graduated
from Oyx with a degree in business administration and earned his MBA from
Columbia University. He went on to a long career with Windes and McClaughry
in Long Beach.
*** Since 2001, one of his clients was Edgar Rice
Burroughs, Inc. where became a director and trustee in the mid-1990s.
Jim was due to become president of the company on May 1. That same day,
board chairman Danton Burroughs -- ERB'sgrandson and the primary
overseer of the Burroughs legacy for the last 36 years -- died of heart
failure at the age of 63, a day after a fire at his home destroyed a room
full of priceless family memorabilia. "It was tragic and unexpected," says
Sullos, who now finds himself pulling double duty -- for ERB Inc. as well
as his ongoing role at Windes and McClaughry.
*** These days, Jim maintains an office
at his firm and commutes an hour and a half each way from his home in Long
Beach to the Burroughs offices in Tarzana. The town was carved out of a
550-acre ranch that once belonged to Gen. Harrison Gray Otis, legendary
publisher of the Los Angeles Times. Burroughs bought the property in 1919
and renamed it "Tarzana Ranch." The Spanish ranch-style home, which houses
the ERB Inc. offices and fronts Ventura Boulevard, was built in 1927. "Ventura
Boulevard wasn't even paved in those days," Jim says. "Burroughs used to
ride his horse to work every day and write his books." After the author
died in 1950, his ashes were reportedly buried in an unmarked spot in the
front yard."
*** Much of Jim Sullos's time is spent dealing with trademark
and copyright issues and negotiating contracts and licenses for the use
of Burroughs's many creations. As the primary representative of a closely
held family corporation, he is always cognizant of the Burroughs legacy.
"We're constantly trying to shut down what we call infringers," Sullos
says. "I spend a lot of time defending our copyrights and trademarks. In
the trademark world, it's use it or lose it."
*** Jim has done an incredible job of bringing the Burroughs
properties into the fast-changing multi-media world of the 21st Century.
Under his guidance, ERB, Inc. has overseen a revitalization ERB's creations
in publishing, film, gaming, merchandise, comics, International contracts,
stage musicals, fandom, conventions, Internet, social media, and promotion
in all fields of entertainment.
Happy Birthday Jim - from your many friends in ERB-World.
Meet Jim Sullos
http://www.erbzine.com/mag35/3557.html
Jim Sullos and Friends I
http://www.ERBzine.com/mag64/6421.html
Jim Sullos and Friends II
http://www.ERBzine.com/mag64/6422.html
*** 1936-1949: Burroughs family
and friends looked forward each December to Studley Burroughs' remarkable
personal Christmas cards. Featured here are cards from 1936-1949
Studley Burroughs' Family Christmas
http://www.erbzine.com/mag19/1977.html
Studley Burroughs Bio and Art
http://www.erbzine.com/mag0/0053.html
Our Annual Christmas Greetings
http://www.ERBzine.com/xmas
*** 1959: Wolfgang von Wyszecki was
born Dec. 22, 1959, in West Berlin. Thirty-two years later, under the name
Wolf
Larson, he played a character named Tarzan who hung around with a researcher
named Jane.Porter, a French environmental scientist. Larson was chosen
for the role because Wolf Blitzer was busy at CNN, The Big Bad Wolf was
a cartoon, and nobody was afraid of Virginia Woolf. Some may also
wish to be assured that Wolf Larson is not the grandson of Wolf Larsen
in Jack London's "The Sea-Wolf," nor is he the son of either of the guides,
Larson and Wolf, in the Tarzan radio series, "Diamond of Ashair."
The series was originally televised
from 1991 to 1994. The idea for the series was to take everything about
Tarzan and do the opposite. Wolf's blond hair was the reverse of Tarzan's
black mop, just as Jane's black (sometimes brown) hair was unlike the book
versions's blonde. Tarzan was never seen with the blood of the kill staining
his chin, but instead he crunched vegetables. Jane was from France, the
opposite side of the Atlantic from the real Jane's Baltimore, and Tarzan
was Jane's "gofer" as opposed to being her middle terraces chauffeur.
This Tarzan had not worked much on
his communication skills and so the only job he could find was running
errands for Jane and serving as her bouncer whenever unsavory characters
happened by.
Jane Porter had a secret crush on this big palooka but
he never even asked her out on a date, so eventually she changed her name
to Olga de Coude and went in search of a Tarzan whose adventures were more
Epic.
In the pages of ERBapa during the early 90s, John Guidry
regularly and humorously reported on the adventures of this Tarzan, referring
to him as TAPCAP (Tediously Aware Politically Correct Ape Person).
Any similarities between Wolf Larson's Tarzan and ERB's
Tarzan were, of course, coincidental. Fans of ERB's true Tarzan found a
lot to dislike in this syndicated series. However, there was one redeeming
factor which made it bearable: In most markets, the show was aired late
at night when most were asleep and, in other markets, not aired at all.
It is too bad that television, along with the movies, can come so close
to portraying Tarzan as ERB wrote him but then make some needless changes
that totally ruin a production for ERB fans.
A few years ago, John Martin was watching
an episode of Larson's Tarzan when he realized that, with just a few minor
tweaks, the episode could have actually been a realistic Tarzan story.
So, having taped the episode, he replayed it several times and typed out
a workable script, in which he made those changes and came up with a version
that was more like ERB's Tarzan. This tale was originally printed in ERBapa
and reprinted at ERBlist.
The 75 titles for all three seasons
of this Tarzan series are listed in ERBzine's ERB-TV:
Reviews of Wolf's series of TV Tarzan
episodes along with hundreds of screen captures are featured in ERBzine
at: 7453
Reviews and Screen Captures of Wolf's TV series:
https://www.erbzine.com/mag74/7453.html
Tarzan TV Series with Wolf Larson: Titles
https://www.erbzine.com/mag0/0014.html
Lydie Denier: TV's Jane
https://www.erbzine.com/mag33/3338.html
Off-Site Reference:
Martin's
Revised Script
*** 1911: The
Tarzan
of the Apes
foreword was written after 95 pages of manuscript had
been written.
Full Text of Tarzan of the Apes
http://www.erbzine.com/craft/t1ta.html
Tarzan of the Apes: C.H.A.S.E.R.
Biblio
http://www.erbzine.com/mag4/0483.html
*** 1912: In Business Correspondence
between ERB and Thomas Metcalf of All-Story Magazine, ERB gives
direction as to how the names of his fictional characters are pronounced:
"My
dear (fan): I have to thank you for your letter of December 18th and for
your interest in my stories. The correct pronunciations of the names listed
in your letter are, as follows:"
ERB/Metacalf Letter: Pronunciation
Guide
http://www.erbzine.com/mag28/2834.html
DECEMBER
23
Studley Oldham Burroughs and Family ~ ERB's Library
Bookplate and Descriptions ~ El Caballero Golf and Country Club
ERB Christmas Card to Studley ~ Studley's Cover Art
for Uncle Ed's Books (3 of the 4 - Apache Devil shown previously)
*** 1949; The death of ERB's nephew artist Studley Oldham
Burroughs. Studley was born December 26, 1892 to ERB's brother
Harry
and his wife Ella (Nellie) Burroughs. He was named after his father
whose full name was Henry Studley Burroughs, and his mother whose maiden
name was Oldham. Both Studley and his sister, Mary Evelyn
(born
March 12, 1895) were born in Chicago. Harry and Nellie took both children
to Minidoka during the Burroughs brothers gold mining venture.
Young Studley, the budding artist
was probably influenced by his uncle Ed more than most people realize.
Long before his talents as a writer were recognized worldwide, Ed was writing
humorous bits of fantasy, which he illustrated with quite clever and artistic
sketches and cartoons. In 1909, ERB sent his young nephew a personally
illustrated Christmas card. His verse is headed in large capitals: "S.O.B."
and he jokes about his financial state: "Please accept from Edgar Rice
The best he's got to give -- advice: Start a Bank Account."
The family's artistic talent influenced
Studley who was drawing and painting at an early age. He started
out with almost no formal training but studied at nights at a wide variety
of places of art instruction. His uncle Ed recommended him for a number
of art jobs: ". . . his work is improving wonderfully." His
first Burroughs related job was probably an illlustration in his
grandmother, Mary Evaline's Memoirs Of A War Bride, in which
she related her experiences during the American Civil War. In 1919 after
the death of his first wife Ed invited him to Tarzana where they designed
a golf course and score card - it survives today as the world famous El
Caballero. A few years later he illustrated the El Caballero Souvenir Booklet.
It was around this time that Studley designed and illustrated ERB's
personal bookplate. He later went on to illustrate four Burroughs novels:
Tarzan
the Invincible,
Jungle
Girl,
Tarzan
Triumphant, and Apache
Devil (1931-1933).
Studley died of an embolism at age 57 following an operation
for hiatus hernia. His uncle Ed, suffering from serious heart problems
and Parkinson's Disease, was not told the bad news. He would pass
away three months later.
I had a wonderful visit with Studley's
granddaughter, Jill Adams, while in Tarzana for Danton's Memorial.
Jill has shared personal memories and rare art from her family collection
and gave me permission to showcase much of it in our ERBzine Tributes
to her grandfather.
Studley Oldham Burroughs Tribute:
6 pages
http://www.erbzine.com/mag0/0053.html
Memoirs of a War Bride
http://www.erbzine.com/mag9/0920.html
El Caballero Souvenir Booklet
http://www.erbzine.com/mag10/1091.html
ERB's Personal Bookplate Designed
by Studley
http://www.erbzine.com/mag0/sbebplt.jpg
*** Sometime in December
of 1959, Vern Coriell published the first issue of "The Gridley
Wave," a publication of The Burroughs Bibliophiles. That newsletter
along with the much larger Burroughs Bulletin magazine still arrive
in our mailboxes today unless -- thanks to changing times and ever-advancing
technology -- we have opted for an electronic copy of the Wave in our email
inbox. George McWhorter of the University of Louisville revived the organization
and publications in 1990. The current publications are are edited by Henry
Franke.
I joined the Burroughs Bibliophiles in May of 1964. This
began a long association with Vern Coriell, Bob Hyde, George McWhorter
and the Burroughs Bibliophiles. I have been editior, Webmaster and Web
Host of the Burroughs Bibliophiles Website for many years.
I corresponded with Vern Coriell many times after joining
the BBs in 1964. When I sent him tapes of the first 77 Tarzan radio shows
from 1932 he responded by sending me a complete set of all his BB publications
-- a much prized addition to my Burroughs Collection. We weren't able to
visit the House of Greystoke, in Kansas City until 2002. Vern had passed
away by then but we had a wonderful afternoon visit with Rita Coriell during
which she shared many memories of the Golden Days of the BBs in which she
played a major part.
I've collated the Gridley Wave back
issues from 1959-2010 in order and have displayed scans of the pages for
all to read in ERBzine. Covers and Contents of the Bulletins -- Original
and New Series -- are also featured -- all authorized by George McWhorter.
Guide to The Gridley Wave: Read 'em All from 1059-2010
http://www.erbzine.com/mag34/3450.html
History of the Burroughs Bulletin
http://www.erbzine.com/mag1/0148.html
Read the first 27. . . and counting Bulletins
http://www.erbzine.com/mag52/5200.html
Hillmans visit the House of Greystoke in 2002
http://www.erbzine.com/dumdum/1rita.html
Burroughs Bibliophiles
http://www.burroughsbibliophiles.com
*** In 1941,
ERB
continued to write his regular "Laugh it Off!" column for the Honolulu
newspapers. On Dec. 23 of that year, he used it to tell of Eve Stockin,
who, "tired of stumbling over her Great Dane in the dark, would like to
trade him for a Peke or sump'n that she can carry in her pocket. Just another
little navy wife trying to get along in the dark."
In that 1941 column, ERB noted among other things: "The
Japanese naval officer, survivor of the peanut sub that hit the reef off
windward Oahu, when being questioned by a soldier who held a .45 against
his forehead, said: 'I am a gentleman. Kill me intimately.' So sorry! No
can do. We only kill in battle; then we shall kill you intimately, and
you will stay killed."
And then there was the man "who plans to dig his air-raid
shelter in the cemetery across the street, so that in case they are bombed,
they won't have to move."
A year later, on Dec. 23, 1942, ERB, as the oldest war
correspondent in the Pacific Theater, was looking at his bill for the past
15 days of room and board on New Caledonia, and saw that it came to $13.60!
Laugh It Off! 1941: Scanned and Keyed
https://www.erbzine.com/mag11/1129.html
ERB's WWII Journal Dec 23, 1942
https://www.erbzine.com/mag68/6810.html
https://www.erbzine.com/mag11/1129.html#December%2023,%201941
Laugh It Off! 1942:
https://www.erbzine.com/mag17/1754.html
https://www.erbzine.com/mag10/1035.html
*** 1959: During
this week, the last issue of the British comic, Tarzan Adventures,
was printed. Most of the covers and other information for this series are
featured in the ERBzine Comics Emporium:
During the music performance and recording tours of England
that Sue-On and I made in 1976-1979 I had a chance to search markets for
ERB items with the best finds in London's Petticoat Lane I found stacks
of these Tarzan Adventures comics and freighted them home in duffle bags.
Friend and fellow ERB fan from Texas, Mickey
Burwell, added many pristine copies to my collection.
I haven't scanned the contents of the Tarzan Adventures
because I've already featured most of the strips contained in my ERBzine
Comics section.
Tarzan Adventures: UK Comics: 15 Pages:
http://www.erbzine.com/comics/uk1.html
ERB Comics Emporium
http://www.ERBzine.com/comics
Cover Collage of the last 14 issues of Tarzan Adventures
http://www.ERBzine.com/cards/comics2/tarzanadventureslast.jpg
DECEMBER
24
War Correspondent ERB's Arrival in Australia: 1942.12.25
~ Young Joanne with Grandparents,
Mother Joan, Uncle Hully ~ Tanar of Pellucidar
dedicated
to Joanne ~ ERB in Dictionaries
*** 1942: Christmas Eve Notes that I've pulled from the
ERB War Journals from the personal collection of Danton Burroughs:
ERB arrived in Sydney, Australia.
Ed arose before dawn on the Christmas Eve morning of 1942, admiring the
Southern Cross on his way over to the kitchen where he cajoled the cook
into opening a can of tomato juice. An army truck took him to the airport
where he joined a dozen service men in boarding a DC3 marine transport
bound for Sydney, Australia. It was a tiresome and uncomfortable eight-hour
trip. Because of the onboard auxiliary fuel tanks they were not allowed
to smoke. The passengers were hungry and cold and many of them had to lie
on the floor as there were not enough of the notoriously uncomfortable
seats for everyone.
Upon arriving at Sydney's Mascot
Field they boarded a navy bus for downtown Sydney. The bus came to
a sudden stop, however, when the baggage that had been stowed on the roof
-- including Ed's typewriter -- fell off onto the concrete pavement. The
hotels were packed, but with the help of the billeting officer, Ed and
his friend, Ham Freeman, each got a room at Usher's Hotel. Ed's room had
a bath and lavatory but no W.C. Ed reported to the Public Relations
Officer, who telegraphed General MacArthur's HQs to check for mail. There
was none. He was expecting a letter from Ralph Rothmund with information
about which banks held ERB, Inc.'s frozen Australian royalties. The PRO
invited him to a nearby office where Australian officers and civilians
were being treated to piles of great food and Scotch. Ed returned
to the hotel to pass his laundry on to the "housekeeper" but she warned
him that it probably wouldn't be returned for almost a week because of
the Christmas holidays. Ed and Ham joined an Australian captain and three
girls for Christmas Eve drinks and dancing at The Princess.
ERB in Australia: Notes from his War Journals
http://www.erbzine.com/mag10/1046.html
THE DIARY OF A CONFUSED OLD MAN
Wartime Journals of Correspondent ERB :: Dec 1942-April
1943
http://www.erbzine.com/mag68/6800.html
ERB: The War Years
http://www.ERBzine.com/war
*** 1929: Ed
became a grandfather when daughter Joan, in Holllywood Hospital,
gave birth to a daughter -- blonde-haired, blue-eyed little Joan (later
they changed the spelling to Joanne to avoid confusion). The proud
grandfather dedicated his next book, Tanar of Pellucidar,
to her: "To Joan Burroughs Pierce II."
Tanar of Pellucidar: History ~ Art ~ e-Text
http://www.erbzine.com/mag7/0743.html
Joan Burroughs Tribute Pages
http://www.erbzine.com/mag11/1103.html
*** 1929: Elser
promised to follow up on Ed's request to have Webster's and Funk and
Wagnall's dictionaries include his bio and the word "Tarzan" in future
revisions.
Webster's added this: Noun 1. Tar’zan,
n. - (sometimes used ironically) a man of great strength and agility (after
the hero of a series of novels by Edgar Rice Burroughs) : a strong agile
person of heroic proportions and bearing ~ He is a white man of prodigious
strength and Chivalrous instincts, reared by African apes.
2. Tarzan - a man raised by
apes who was the hero of a series of novels by Edgar Rice Burroughs
Tar’zan-ish, adj. ~~ Webster’s New International Dictionary
Synonyms: Tarzan of the Apes
"-- a character that has a place as
a noun and an adjective in Webster's Unabridged Dictionary -- he
is entitled to whatever rest and privacy he can catch up with down here
on the island of Oahu, where I found the great simianologist and author
"Tarzan" strolling through his Hawaiian jungle at Lanikai." Bob Davis
Bob Davis Reveals
http://www.erbzine.com/mag33/3365.html
Ape Man Business: Fortune Magazine - 1938
http://www.erbzine.com/mag2/0276.html
*** The White
House will be lavishly decorated for Christmas on Dec. 24, 2025,
for a ball honoring the crew of the USS
Barsoom, who will be blasting off Christmas morning (presumably
after opening their presents). We know this will be happening just seven
years from now from reading "The Moon Maid," an astonishing account
which Edgar Rice Burroughs was able to write thanks to an interview in
June of 1967 with a fellow named Julian, who was able to see every detail
of his future lives! Obviously, such foresight was an ability possessed
by ERB himself, since he wrote of the late 60s meeting back in the early
1920s.
We ERB fans are fortunate to be able
to possess copies of "The Moon Maid," which tells us of this future. True,
the times ahead are outlined as bleak ones. But we can be proactive. Nothing
is certain until it happens. And, forewarned is forearmed. We can start
now to get ready to repel those nasty Moon men when they invade the Earth,
as foretold in part two of "Moon Maid." If we are successful, that will
turn ERB's book from a prophetic treatise to a work of fiction, but I think
we'd prefer the fiction to domination by the Kalkars.
The Moon Maid: Full C.H.A.S.E.R. Biblio Info
http://www.erbzine.com/mag7/0767.html
Moon Maid: Chapter I: eText
http://www.erbzine.com/craft/moonmaid.html
The Other Burroughs
http://www.erbzine.com/mag0/0051.html
Conquest of the Moon Illustrations
http://www.erbzine.com/mag60/6024.html
*** 1941: Speaking
of the future, ERB didn't see ahead quite as clearly on the subject of
hyphenated Americans. In his Laugh It Off! column of Dec. 24, 1941,
he suggested that the term "Japanese-Americans" was a misnomer, and should
no longer be used. Little did he realize that the United States was heading
for a day when hypenated citizens of every variety under the sun would
be using such terms, including Hispanic-Americans, African-Americans, Irish-Americans,
Italian-Americans,
et al.
What ERB wrote was: "There can never
again be 'Japanese-Americans' in Hawaii. That term is a misnomer. It is
like calling Peter McLean, a Scotch-American, or me an English-American.
A citizen of Scotch descent, or English descent, or Japanese descent might
be disloyal; but because of such individual cases, we should not all be
damned. I have heard of many Americans of Japanese descent who are as bitter
in their hatred and denunciation of the Japanese
attack upon us as any other Americans.
"As an example of loyalty, I should
like to cite the attitude of the four house servants of the William Mitchells
of Kaneohe, all of whom are of Japanese descent. They came to Mr. and Mrs.
Mitchell in a body, and said that they wished to serve without pay for
the duration of the war. Later, when, in spite of this, they received their
pay, they all returned and insisted upon returning their pay envelopes.
"I can't help but think what a
swell story this would have been had they been 'Scotch-Americans' -- swell
for Ripley."
In another item from that Laugh It
Off! column, laughs came from some of our servicemen, told in these two
items:
--"Here are two true ones vouched
for by Harry Linnehan of Pearl Harbor: A big sailor on one of the battlewagons
was stationed at an anti-aircraft gun. He was eating an apple. Every time
a Japanese came over, he would lay down his apple and blaze away at him.
If he missed him, he'd swear a blue streak at him and then pick up his
apple and take a couple more bites until the next Japanese came over. As
a chief petty officer asks: 'Now how can you lick guys like that?'
-- "The other: 'As the craft got
hit, this Swede, Whitey, gets knocked into the drink. As his head came
above the oil-smeared waves, he looked a mess. Then he bellows out to his
shipmates on board: 'I been tryin' to get off this blanked craft for months,
and at last I made it' Guys like that may be bombable, but they're not
beatable."
Laugh It Off Columns for 1941
http://www.erbzine.com/mag11/1129.html
1910: Fritz Reuter Leiber Jr.
(December 24, 1910 – September 5, 1992) was an American writer of fantasy,
horror, and science fiction. He was also a poet, actor in theatre and films,
playwright and chess expert. With writers such as Robert E. Howard and
Michael Moorcock, Leiber can be regarded as one of the fathers of sword
and sorcery fantasy, having coined the term. He is perhaps best known by
Burroughs fans for his novelization of the Tarzan film starring Mike Henry:
Tarzan
and the Valley of Gold.
Leiber's Tarzan and the Valley
of Gold has been adopted and re-issued by ERB, Inc. It is now available
for the first time in hardcover, and features brand-new cover art by Richard
Hescox and interior art by Douglas Klauba.
Tarzan and the Valley of Gold: Film and Novelization
http://www.erbzine.com/mag2/0210.html
Tarzan Still Lives!: ERB, Inc. Special Editions
http://www.ERBzine.com/erbalive
Off-Site Reference
Leiber
in Wikipedia
DECEMBER
25
ERB Christmas: Art ~ US Cavalry ~ Father ~ With Emma
AND Kids ~ Tarzana Zoo ~ UK Pen Pal
Flo AND Kids ~ Rothmund ~ WWII Correspondent
~ Tarzana Family ~ Danton and Johnny
EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS CHRISTMAS
NOTES
Retrieved from the pages
of Porges and ERB's Personal Journals
GO TO:
www.ERBzine.com/mag63/6360.html
CONTENTS
1. Christmas
with the US Cavalry in Arizona
2. A
Father's Love
3. Christmas
Cards Created with Love
4. The
Tarzana Ranch Zoo
5. Correspondence
with a Young English Fan Through the Years
6. A
Bitter Sweet Homecoming from WWII Hawaii
7. Journal
Notes
8. ERB's
War Journals: Christmas in Australia
9. A
Burroughs Christmas Celebration
10. ERB
LIFE and LEGACY DAILY EVENTS IN ERBzine
*** 1942: Christmas Day: More notes from ERB's War Journals
that grandson Danton Burroughs shared with me. I spent many days going
through them and edited and condensed them for my Daily Events projects
that I've featured through the years. Ed's description of his December
1942 exploits in Australia were particularly interesting. Today's entry
included:
*** 1942: Ed had an early Christmas morning Australian
breakfast -- everything passed the test except for the coffee which tasted
like ether. After a walk around the city to deliver a message he returned
to his room to write a story. He spent the afternoon in the hotel lounge
chatting with a P-38 pilot just in from Guadalcanal. Ed and Freeman then
took a tram to King's Cross for a Christmas steak supper.
One of the stories he wrote said:
"I have no business being here and shall probably lose my job and have
to go back to writing Tarzan and Martian stories and other factual and
scientific works; but when the opportunity presented itself, I couldn't
resist the temptation. So here I am 'down under' on Christmas 1942, and
glad of it."
He added: "Christmas down here happens in mid-summer.
Today is warm and sunny. Everything is closed up tighter than a drum, to
remain closed for four days. It seems that tomorrow is Race Day, the next
day is Sunday, and Monday is Boxing Day, or something like that." The
column he wrote this for was published on Jan. 4, 1943 and it is featured
in ERBzine 1756
Christmas Notes:
http://www.ERBzine.com/mag63/6360.html
ERB War Journals
http://www.erbzine.com/mag10/1020.html
ERB Finds Aussie Customs Odd
http://www.erbzine.com/mag17/1756.html#aussiecustomsodd
CHRISTMAS BOOKS FEATURED IN OUR
ERB PERSONAL LIBRARY SHELVES
www.ERBzine.com/dan
*** The Burroughs family knew that books make good Christmas
gifts. One Christmas day, ERB acquired a copy of "Cruise of the Kawa:
Wanderings in the South Seas," by Walter E. Traprock. He wrote
in it: "Edgar Rice Burroughs, December 25, 1922, Tarzana Ranch.": See it
in SHELF T1
http://www.erbzine.com/dan/t1.html
*** A few years later, Emma gave ERB a book for Christmas,
"Mystery Cities Exploration and Adventure in Lubaantun" by
Thomas Gann. She inscribed it "To Ed from Emma December 25, 1926 Tarzan
Again!" Lubaantun was a ruined city of the Mayas. Perhaps Emma thought
ERB would take Tarzan there some day. He did, in "Tarzan
and the Castaways."
Emma's gift noted, with other books in ERB's library
in Shelf G1:
http://www.erbzine.com/dan/g1.html
*** ERB's daughter Joan gave him "The Letters of
Archie Butt," inscribing it, "Merry Christmas to Papa with a
world of love from Joan December 25, 1924." Butt was personal aide
to President Teddy Roosevelt, a leader for whom ERB had often expressed
admiration. See it in Shelf
B6
http://www.erbzine.com/dan/b6.html
*** In 1931, ERB presented his son Hulbert with a Christmas
gift of Emily Post's "The Blue Book of Social Usage" with
the inscription: "To Hulbert Burroughs, whether he needs it or not,
with love from O.B., Dec. 25, 1932." See it in Shelf
PQ1
http://www.erbzine.com/dan/pq1.html
*** 1911: Burne Hogarth's parents gave the ERB
world a Christmas present on December 25, 1911, with the birth of their
son.
Burne Hogarth (born Spinoza Bernard Ginsburg ~ 1911.12.25-1996.01.28)
was an American cartoonist, illustrator, educator, author and theoretician,
best known for his work on the Tarzan newspaper comic strip and his series
of anatomy books for artists.
Hogarth created an amazing number of Tarzan strips for
the daily and weekly newspapers. He released two books in which he fully
illustrated the stories from Tarzan of the Apes and Jungle
Tales of Tarzan. His Sunday pages and B/W dailies have been reprinted
a number of publications. . . most recently in Titan Books. Most
of the Hogarth Tarzan Sundays are reprinted in ERBzine with a new one added
every Friday in the ERBzine Weekly Webzine
All the Tarzan Sunday Pages by Burne Hogarth
https://www.erbzine.com/mag66/6600.html
Tarzan Sunday Pages in ERBzine: 1947-1948
https://www.erbzine.com/mag69/6900.html
A Chat with Burne Hogarth
https://www.erbzine.com/mag2/0298.html
Off-Site Reference:
Hogarth
in Wikipedia
1928: Actress Irish McCalla (1928.12.25
Pawnee City, Nebraska - 2002.02.01 Tucson, Arizona) starred in She Demons
(1958), Sheena: Queen of the Jungle (1955) and The Beat Generation (1959).
She overcame a brain tumor in 1969 and again when it
returned in 1981. President of McCalla Enterprises, Inc. Member of Woman
Artists of the American West. Her art work is displayed in the Western
White House, Los Angeles Museum of Arts and Sciences, and the Cowgirl Hall
of Fame. She was once a "Varga Girl" model. Has painted more than 1,000
paintings, eight collector plates and numerous limited edition lithographs.
The statuesque pin-up star whose measurements were 39-24-38,
began appearing in girlie magazines; a photographer recommended her for
the role of leopardskin-suited Sheena in the jungle series.
Irish was cast in the role of Sheena: Queen of the Jungle
(1955) only after Anita Ekberg had declined the part.
Following her retirement from acting, she became an accomplished
painter of seascapes and Western or Native American motifs.
She was married to Patrick Horgan and Patrick H. McIntyre.
Sheena, Queen of the Jungle
https://www.erbzine.com/mag3/0322.html
DECEMBER
26
ERB and Family: his last Encino home ~ Studley and
his Burroughs grandparents 1896 ~ Studley: on his
Tarzana Golf Course, War Bride art ~ Remington and
art ~ Jack Benny: Tarzan ~ UK Tarzan Comics
*** 1945: Zelzah would have been a good name for an
exotic female character in an Edgar Rice Burroughs novel. But it was actually
the name of a street on which ERB lived, at 5465, in Encino, from
Dec. 26, 1945, until his death in 1950.
There was a post-war housing shortage
and this was the closest abode to his beloved Tarzana that he could find
-- just a few streets over. He paid $14,000 for the two-bedroom house on
1/2 acre. Still weak from his overexertions in the Pacific, Ed now spent
much of his time resting.
I visited this address a many years
back during one of my Tarzana visits. I didn't work up enough nerve to
ring the doorbell :) I believe it is the site of an apartment block now.
A photo of a family gathering at Zelzah is at the bottom of that page featuring
ERB homes:
Homes of Edgar Rice Burroughs
https://www.erbzine.com/mag2/0252.html
More Homes of ERB
https://www.erbzine.com/mag2/0251.html
Where Was ERB Living When He Wrote This Story
https://www.erbzine.com/mag2/0250.html
Burroughs Bio Timeline and Journals
https://www.ERBzine.com/bio
Homes of ERB: Photo Collage
https://www.erbzine.com/cards/erb/erbhomesall.jpg
*** 1974: Benny Kubelsky
passed away Dec. 26, 1974, after having touched the life of Edgar Rice
Burroughs a few times. Kubelsky, better known as Jack Benny, had
a 15-year run with his half-hour television show and devoted an episode
in 1962 to Tarzan, with guest star Carol Burnett on hand to take
the role of Jane.
In the program, Benny invited Burnett onto the stage
and they joked in front of the audience for a few minutes before the switch
to the Tarzan set which, at first, had future "Mission Impossible" strongman
Peter Lupus in the loin cloth before his Jane was replaced with Burnett
and Lupus was replaced with Benny, complete with extra torso muscles attached.
Years before, when Jack Benny and
his troupe travelled to the Pacific to put on shows for the troops fighting
World War II, ERB met and spent some time with Benny on Hawaii. It was
in September of 1944, and ERB told of the experience in a letter home to
his daughter-in-law Jane that month: "When Jack Benny
was here this week I had him and Larry Adler at lunch at the Outrigger
Canoe Club with some of my friends. The next day we all went as Jack's
guests to see his show at one of the recreation centers here. We had staff
cars and a motorcycle escort of MPs. I rode to and from with Carole Landis.
She is very lovely and very sweet. (Oh, to be seventy again!) The audience
at the show was almost as interesting as the show -- some 18,000 to 20,000
servicemen. They ribbed Jack, which is part of every show he gives for
them. He is a swell guy -- with no swelled head."
Carole Landis's breakout movie was
as a cave girl in an ERB-like movie, "One
Million B.C." She travelled more than 100,000 miles during the
war and spent more time visiting troops -- in Europe, North Africa and
the Pacifc -- than any other actress. Landis became a popular pin-up with
servicemen during World War II.
View the entire Jack Benny program
with the Tarzan skit and read the script for the Tarzan skit in ERBzine
at ERB-TV
The Jack Benny Tarzan Script
https://www.erbzine.com/mag0/0014.html
ERB's Letter to Jane: Meeting Jack Benny and Carole
Landis
http://www.erbzine.com/mag10/1026.html#September%2016
https://www.erbzine.com/mag0/jbtarzanpromo.jpg
*** 1892: Nephew
Studley
Oldham Burroughs (1892.12.16-1949.12.27) (future illustrator of ERB
books) was born in Chicago to Harry and Ella Burroughs. The Burroughs
family were quite excited about the birth of the new baby boy. In April
1895 Ed wrote to his brother, "How is the kid? From all of your letters
I will expect to find him riding a bicycle and reading Caesar on my return
in the summer. Don't rush him too much. He may get brain fever. Just tell
him to follow after his uncle - if he wants to be a blooming idiot." Studley
went on to illustrate many ERB-related projects, including his grandmother's
Memoirs
of a War Bride.
Studley's granddaughter, Jill Adams,
has shared some wonderful memories of her grandfather with me. Many of
the family stories, photos and clippings, as well as examples of Studley's
art, cartoons, photos, etc. I have featured much of this material on the
six ERBzine Tribute Pages starting at ERBzine 0053. He created fabulous
family Christmas cards which I've also displayed, a sampling of which is
posted here.
Studley Oldham Burroughs: 6 Tribute Pages
http://www.erbzine.com/mag0/0053.html
Memoirs of a War Bride: Mary Evaline Burroughs
http://www.erbzine.com/mag9/0920.html
*** 1959: Tarzan Adventures: v9n32 was
published. This was the last issue of a long run #32 (59.12.26)
The reprints were Celardo Tarzans (59.7.13 - 59.8.5 ~ Daily 6223-6243)
~ This UK series of reprints of American Tarzan strips in comic book format
began in 1950. Donald F. Peters, Ltd. was the publisher of this first UK
Tarzan comic.
The series started off with the title: TARZAN MONTHLY,
which ran for 19 issues with a fully reprinted American Sunday strip on
each page. The comic was then taken over by Westworld Publications, Ltd.
of London, who changed the title to TARZAN: THE GRAND ADVENTURE COMIC for
Volumes 1 and 2. With Volume 3 the title changed again -- to TARZAN ADVENTURES
-- title which it bore until its demise with at the end of Volume
9. Each issue featured a secondary illustrated adventure story (usually
westerns or SF), a variety of features, as well as a 1-3 short text story
by authors such as Mike Moorcock and strips by Jim Cawthorn, The
series promoted a readers' Tarzan Club whose members were issued a Tarzan
badge, membership card and a special message decoder.
I have devoted nine ERBzine Web pages
- part of the ERBzine C.H.A.S.E.R. Comics Encyclopedia - in an attempt
to display the cover art of the issues and to dentify the American comic
reprints contained in each of these UK comics. Many of the comics shown
are in my collection. I found many of them during our music tours of England
in the mid to late '70s. Most of them turned up in Pettycoat Lane Market
in London. They were too big a load for my airline luggage so I purchased
a large duffel bag in which I had the issues sent across the Atlantic by
freight. Many more issues are courtesy of the generosity of out Texas friend,
Mickey Burwell.
Tarzan UK Comic Introduction and first covers
http://www.erbzine.com/comics/uk1.html
The final issues in 1959
http://www.erbzine.com/comics/uk9a.html
Mick Burwell: Burroughs Biblio-Pro-Phile
http://www.erbzine.com/mag14/1425.html
*** 1909: Frederic Sackrider
Remington (1861.10.04-1909.12.26) died on this date. He was an American
painter, illustrator, sculptor, and writer who specialized in depictions
of the Old American West, specifically concentrating on the last quarter
of the 19th century American West and images of cowboys, American Indians,
and the U.S. Cavalry.
I've compiled some of his art inspired by the time he
spent with the US Cavalry at Fort Grant -- the Fort that ERB was
stationed at while serving with the US 7th Cavalry. I've also included
ERB's Fort Grant Sketches on the same page.
Frederic Remington and ERB Art while at Fort Grant
http://www.erbzine.com/mag34/3470.html
Off-Site Reference
Remington
Western Art in Wikipedia
*** 2001: Sir Nigel Barnard Hawthorne
died (1929.04.05-2001.12.26). His last role was
as the voice for Archimedes Q. Porter in the Disney’s 1999 Tarzan film,
although he was featured in the 2001 “Tarzan Untamed” video game
and three television appearances after “Tarzan.” He is most known for his
stage acting and his portrayal of Sir Humphrey Appleby, the permanent secretary
in the 1980s sitcom Yes Minister and the Cabinet Secretary in its
sequel, Yes, Prime Minister.
He was a Commander of the Order of the British Empire,
and was knighted in 1999.
Hawthorne’s was raised in South Africa and didn’t begin
his acting career in 1950. His half century of public performances
encompassed stage, film, television and voice. He portrayed King George
in “The Madness of King George” on stage and screen. He was nominated for
one Academy Award, won one Tony award and over a dozen awards for stage
and screen roles in the UK.
Alan Bennett described him in his
diary: "Courteous, grand, a man of the world and superb at what he did,
with his technique never so obvious as to become familiar as, say, Olivier's
did or Alec Guinness's."
Animated Tarzan 1999 from Disney: Starting at:
https://www.erbzine.com/mag1/0181.html
Plus
https://www.erbzine.com/mag2/0257.html
https://www.erbzine.com/mag0/0099.html
DECEMBER
27
Cheetah RIP ~ Tarzan Controversy & Boom in LIFE
~ ERB's and Kipling's Juvenile Books
Joe Celardo: Artist ~ Bob Hyde with JCB's Family and
in Tip Top Comics ~ Maxon "What-If" Tip Top
.
*** 1928: On this date ERB expressed his opinion of his own
experiment in writing stories for juveniles. This was after a rather tepid
reception of The Tarzan Twins, written for a juvenile audience.
It was published by Volland the previous year on October 10, 1927. It contained
126 pages and 23,000 words. He then added what he thought about Kipling's
efforts in writing for a juvenile market.:
"It gives me
a great deal of pleasure to hear from children and to know that they like
my stories. An odd thing about my work is that my stories are written for
adults and I have a very large adult following and that the only juvenile
that I ever wrote, "The
Tarzan Twins," is practically my only flop. Trying to find
out why has taught me a lesson. I have it from no less an authority than
the president of A.C. McClurg & Company, who has been publishing
books for many years, that from fifteen years up children read and enjoy
adult literature. I made my mistake in "The Tarzan Twins" by doing what
is known as 'writing down' and succeeded only in reaching a mental level
far below that of the young people I wished to appeal to. I think Kipling
did the same thing in his "Just So" stories, for I know that as far as
I was concerned they were the rottenest things he did."
In spite of his feelings, ERB went on to write a second
juvenile story, "Tarzan
and the Tarzan Twins with Jad-bal-ja the Golden Lion," in 1936.
Pulled from ERB's Personal Journals
http://www.erbzine.com/bio/years20.html
The TarzanTwins: History, Art,
Info
http://www.erbzine.com/mag4/0498.html
The Tarzan Twins: Read the e-Text
Here
http://www.erbzine.com/craft/twins.html
Tarzan Twins: 102 Rex Maxon Strips from 1935
http://www.erbzine.com/mag61/6102.html
Tarzan Twins: Gold Key Comic
http://www.erbzine.com/mag41/4176.html
Tarzan Twins: Morphology of a Folktale
http://www.erbzine.com/mag13/1367.html
Read all 48 pages of this Give-Away Edition
http://www.erbzine.com/mag64/6446.html
*** 1961: A Downy,
California school teacher
stated that Tarzan and Jane never married. The resulting furor and publicity
resulted in a major boom in the publishing and popularity of ERB's books
-- many of which the copyrights were lapsed. The phenomenon was covered
in a multitude of newspapers and magazines including LIFE Magazine
~ November 29, 1963. The boom was spearheaded by the release of Canaveral
hardcovers and ACE and Ballantine paperbacks. Use of Frazetta and Krenkel
art for covers and interiors lured in millions of new readers.
"Tarzan publishers stand behind Jane's fair name":
The Modesto Bee
~TARZANA, Los Angeles Co. - UPI- Publishers
of the Tarzan books rose up in arms today against critics who tried to
besmirch the fair name of the apeman's mate Jane.
Cause for the indignation was a report from nearby Downey
stating that an elementary school banned the Tarzan books and the western
stories of Zane Grey from its library.
It was intimated in hushed tones that Tarzan and his
mate had an offspring without benefit of wedlock and therefore the books,
"Tarzan of the Apes" and "The Return of Tarzan" might
have a deteriorate effect on young minds. In connection with the Zane
Grey books, it was said that some of his characters used language a
little stronger than "shucks" or "gee whiz."
~ 'They Were Married' Tarzan's
main defender was Ralph Rothmund, general manager of Edgar Rice
Burroughs, Inc., the firm established by the late author of the Tarzan
books which gave the name to this Los Angeles suburb. Said Rothmund in
high dudgeon: "They were married. They were married. Anyone who has read
the books at all closely should know they were married.
NOTE: Mr. Rothmund's defense
of Tarzan was admirable. However, he himself should have reviewed the last
chapter of "The Return of Tarzan." If he had, instead of
saying "The father may not have been an ordained minister," he could have
quoted from the book itself, which says he definitely was: "Professor
Porter, who in his younger days had been ordained a minister, conducted
the simple services for the dead."
~ "Jane and Tarzan took the marriage
vows in the jungle with her father present. The father may not have
been an ordained minister but after all things were pretty primitive in
those days in the jungle. It is common practice
in some primitive areas for betrothed couples to take their vows of marriage
without the presence of an ordained clergyman.
~ Jack of All Trades: "You'll
find that most churches recognize such marriages. Jane's father had to
be - like all white men in the jungle - a jack of all trades. Such a man
would be a minister, a doctor, a carpenter, anything you want to name.
"Why it's ridiculous if the Tarzan books have been banned by some narrow
minded people. But I guess it takes all kinds to make a world. They say
there are even people who hate God."
~ In Downey, Superintendent of
Schools Bruce Boore was under instructions from the school board to
investigate the reported banning of the books as soon as teachers and librarians
return from Christmas vacation. Board member Robert Ryan said he was told
the books were removed from a school library because some parents thought
Grey's books "contained obscene words and that there was no indication
that Tarzan and his mate were ever married."
Tarzan Publishers Stand Behind
Jane's Fair Name
http://www.erbzine.com/mag31/3139.html#JANE
Burroughs Boom of the '60s:
Life Magazine
http://www.erbzine.com/mag14/1433.html
Tarzan X-Rated
http://www.erbzine.com/mag45/4551.html
ERB C.H.A.S.E.R. Bibliography
Info on all titles
http://www.ERBzine.com/chaser
*** 1940: Bob Hyde's Letter in
Tip Top, Dec. 27, 1940:
Another very important event happened to me in 1940.
My letter to Tip Top Comics was selected to be headlined as the "Hobby-of-the-Month"
in the February 1941 issue, which came out on December 27, 1940. As a result
of the publication, I received more than 100 letters from other kids in
the United States, England and South Africa.
Many wanted to start a Tarzan collection hobby, others
just wanted a pen-pal, and a few were Tarzan collectors. I answered every
letter and every response to my letters. This went on for several years,
until all correspondence died out. But many years later, I was able to
reestablish contact with two of the boys (now men) who had been collectors
then, and I still correspond with one of them.In all, 1940 was a very eventful
year for me.
Dear Hobby Editor:
I have a hobby which I think no one else can equal. I
collect everything about Tarzan I can find. I have 20 of the 21 full length
Tarzan books -- two of them are first editions; one of them is autographed
by Edgar Rice Burroughs himself. All together I have 44 Tarzan books, four
of which I made myself from picture articles, Sunday papers and your swell
magazine Tip Top Comics. I also have a 100-foot film of Tarzan, the Boy;
a Tarzan puppet with full equipment and I have three Tarzan suits -- one
of them my mother made, one a Halloween masquerade costume and one a bathing
suit. I also have all the equipment -- spear, bow and arrow, quiver, rope,
hunting knife, fur belt, a wig and a head band. I would like to hear from
anyone else interested in Tarzan.
Bob Hyde ~ 404 Kenmore Ave. S.E. ~ Warren, Ohio
Tip Top Reference in our Bob Hyde Tribute
http://www.erbzine.com/mag6/0688.html#TIP%20TOP
Tip Top: Tarzan Cover Bibliography
http://www.erbzine.com/mag8/0822.html
Bob Hyde Tribute Pages
http://www.ERBzine.com/hyde
*** 2011:
Cheetah
the chimpanzee, who acted in classic Tarzan movies in the early 1930s,
died of kidney failure Saturday at Suncoast Primate Sanctuary in Palm Harbor,
a sanctuary spokeswoman said. Cheetah was roughly 80 years old, loved fingerpainting
and football and was soothed by nondenominational Christian music, said
Debbie Cobb, the sanctuary's outreach director. He was an outgoing chimp
who was exposed to the public his whole life, Cobb said today. "He wasn't
a chimp that caused a lot of problems," . . . "In the wild, the average
chimp survives 25 to 35 years and at zoos chimps typically live 35 to 45
years," she said.
Tarzan co-star Cheetah dies
at Palm Harbor sanctuary
http://www.erbzine.com/mag36/3645.html
Cheetah Has Died
https://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/
Cheetah's ERBzine Scrapbook
http://www.erbzine.com/mag16/1697.html
*** 1918: John Celardo
(Artist,
Writer, Editor) was born on Staten Island on this date: (1918.12.27-2012.01.06)
John Celardo is remembered for his very long run on both the daily and
Sunday TARZAN strips beginning in 1954 and ending in 1968, eventually
drawing a total of 4350 daily strips and 724 Sunday strips.
Meet John Celardo: Bio and Guide to Strips
http://www.erbzine.com/mag38/3801.html
Celardo Tribute Collage in ERBzine
http://www.erbzine.com/mag63/jan18all.jpg
WEEK FOUR CONTINUED: PART TWO AT
www.ERBzine.com/mag63/6359.html
DEC 27 ~ DEC 28 ~ DEC 29 ~ DEC 30 ~ DEC 31
VISIT DECEMBER WEEK 4 PHOTO ALBUM
www.ERBzine.com/mag63/6358pics.html
BACK TO DECEMBER WEEK 3
www.ERBzine.com/mag63/6357.html
BACK TO DAILY
EVENTS INTRO and CONTENTS
www.ERBzine.com/events
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