YUBA CITY, Calif. — They call themselves ERBs. There are several
thousand ERBs scattered around the world — all over the Americas,
in France, Germany, Italy, England, Africa, Japan, Russia and Australia.
Bill Dutcher, 34-year-old hamburger-slinging bachelor here is an ERB —
has been since he was 13.
An
ERB is a superfan of the life and works of the author and creator of Tarzan,
the late Edgar Rice Burroughs. ERBs come in many varieties — circus acrobats,
company presidents, writers like Rav Bradbury, accountants, electricians,
college professors, pilots, the young, middle-aged, elderly.
President John F. Kennedy was an ERB He had excellent credentials. His
father produced one of rhe 42 Tarzan movies. When Bill Dutcher isn't tossing
hamburgers onto the grill at his Yuba City stand, he's busy publishing
an ERB magazine called Jasoomian. During an interview in his apartment,
crammed with an incredible assortment of Tarzan and Burroughs memorabilia,
Dutcher nibbled Tarzan vinegar-flavored potato chips made in Quebec and
explained the name of his publication: "Burroughs' first novel, Princess
of Mars, was one of 10 science-fiction books he wrote about Mars. "He wrote
90 novels in all — 26 in the Tarzan series. In his books appear 18
languages invented by Burroughs including the language of Martians. "Jasoomian
is one of Burroughs' Martian words. It means earth-man." Dutcher's 32-page
illustrated slick magazine sells for $1. It has a circulation in excess
of 2,000 with ERBs in Europe, Africa, South America, Asia and Australia
among regular subscribers.
"I like to think of Jasoomian kind of like a Time Magazine of Tarzan
buffs," said the 5-foot 1-mch, 210-pound superfan. "It's filled with photos,
special features, and news items about Tarzan and ERB activities." Before
going into business in Yuba City, Dutcher worked for seven years as a printer
for the St. Petersburg (Fla.) Times. He values his Tarzan-Burroughs
collection at approximately $50,000. It includes first editions of all
Burroughs' novels; 10,000 Tarzan movie still photos worth 50 cents
to $1 each to ERB collectors, and early-day Tarzan comic books that sell
for as much as $50 each. Only 1,000 first editions of "Tarzan of the Apes"
were published. Rare book buyers pay $600 for a copy — $200 for just one
of the original dust jackets.
Dutcher has tapes of Tarzan eadio episodes aired in the 1930s, a series
in which Jane was played by Burroughs' daughter, Joan, and Tarzan by Joan's
husband Jim Pierce. He has silent and sound Tarzan movies, old movie window
cards and original Tarzan movie scripts. Dutcher's apartment is cluttered
with file cabinets brimming with Tarzan bubble gum, cigarets, potato chips,
T-shirts, games, records, tradins caids, posters, printings; wrappers from
Tarzan bread ard ice cream bars. His magazine, issued quarterly but soon
to be published monthly, contains Tarzan and Burroughs related features
such as stories about Tarzana, Calif., and Tarzan, Tex. A recent issue
reproduced a copy of the Rand McNally rejection slip for "Tarzan of the
Apes" written by Burroughs in 1912. The rejection read: "careful consideration
and while interesting we find it does not fit in with our plans."
More than 35 million copies of Tarzan books have been publised in 36
different languages. Dutcher, who is leading a campaign to get the Post
Office to issue an Edgar Rice Burroughs commemorative stamp, has endless
Tarzan statistics. Tarzan films started in 1915 and are still being
made today — the longest running motion picture series ever made.."Tarzan
of the Apes," starring Elmo Lincoln, the first Tarzan, war the first film
to gross more than $1 million. "Burroughs was bom in Chicago Sept. 1, 1875.
He died March 19, 1950, at his home in Tarzana, Calif. He never set foot
in Africa. He was the oldest American war correspondent during World War
II."
Dutcher, whose favorite film ape man is Gordon Scott, says some places
in the world are just now discovering Tarzan. In France Tarzan novels are
the hottest single item in the book publishing business. The whole
series of Tarzan books is being printed in French at 250,000 copies per
book, Dutcher figures once his magazine reaches a circulation of 5,000
a month he'll be able to quit slinging hamburgers and become a full time
publisher.
He's been a member of the Burroughs Bibliophiles for 10 years. That
group includes 2,500 paid-up members ($5 annual dues.) The bibliophiles
conduct an annual convention. This year it will be in Boston. It has been
in England twice. Germany will play host to ERBs in 1972. "The conventions
are pretty exciting," said Dutcher. "The Burroughs usually show up, so
do many of the movie Tarzans. 'Tarzan and Burroughs items are swapped and
sold by bibliophiles."You'd be surprised at the widespread interest in
Tarzan and Edgar Rice Burroughs after all these years," said Datcher. "And
it's a growing interest — not a diminishing one. "Tarzan is a heck of a
lot more popular than Sherlock Holmes and the rest of the other life-like
fictional characters."
Milwaukee, Wis.,
Nov. 7.--[Special]-- Brig. Gen. Charles King, 87, Indian fighter, author
and veteran of five wars, tonight said he had proposed matrimony to Miss
Lucille Rhoades of 92 1/2 28th street, and was eagerly awaiting her answer.
The proposal was in a letter he sent while in the east recently, he said.
