While investigating the illegal activities of slave traders and ivory smugglers, Tarzan and his friend, Paul D'Arnot save a member of the Burton-Ashleigh Expedition from death. After learning that the expedition is lost, Tarzan agrees to lead the group out of the jungle. Little do they realize however, that they will soon be captured by a strange yellow race, and taken to the lost city of Tohr... There they face the dangers of the arena, rogue elephants and sacrifice to the Fires of Tohr—the result of a hidden lake of volcanic fire that shoots up through a pit to the very arms of the temple god, an idol carved in the likeness of a lion. Befriending the son of the ruler of a rival city who is held as a slave in Tohr, Tarzan and his friends face death at every turn. Love, hate, jealousy, and political intrigue—as well as courage and loyalty—all play parts in this thrilling serial produced under the personal direction of Edgar Rice Burroughs.  (This series of 15-minute installments was transcribed but saw limited release. ) 

Original Broadcast Dates

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  # 1 Expedition In Peril
  # 2 Tarzan’s Timely Arrival
  # 3 Attack On The Yellow Creature
  # 4 Out Of The Danger Zone
  # 5 Captured By Yellow Giants
  # 6 Close Calls For O’Rourke
  # 7 River Escape Route
  # 8 Safe On Shore
  # 9 Mungo, Leader Of The Yellow Giants
  #10 City & Palace Of The Queen
  #11 Tarzan In Mortal Combat
  #12 Marriage Ultimatum
  #13 Queen’s Treasure Cave
  #14 Victory In The Arena
  #15 A Clever Ruse Works
  #16 Escape From The Dungeon
  #17 Bridge Over The Fires Of Tohr
  #18 Medieval Arsenal
  #19 Fortunes Of War
  #20 Elephant Talk
  #21 Two Prisoners Vanish
  #22 Condemned To Slavery
  #23 Quest For Freedom
  #24 Royal Inspection Tour
  #25 Friendship Is Sacred
  #26 Escape By Elephant
  #27 A Queen Is Scorned
  #28 Meeting A Friendly Patrol
  #29 Case Of The Missing Key
  #30 Betrayal In The Jewel Pits
  #31 A Traitor's Plan
  #32 A Pachyderm Remembers
  #33 Rooftop Escape
  #34 Chamber Of Serpents
  #35 Enemies On The Prowl
  #36 Death To Mungo
  #37 Emancipation Time
  #38 Elephants Clear The Way
  #39 Noble Sacrifice – The Finale

 

TARZAN -- PRODUCED BY ERB, INC.
by Robert Barrett

Tarzan and the Fires of Tohr was the second serial produced by Burroughs. For whatever reason, the serial got off to a slow start (possibly because they wanted to see what the results would be for their first serial before spending money on a second one). 

Recording was eventually completed in late 1935. Tarzan, once again, was played by Carlton Kadell with Ralph Scott as D'Arnot. John McIntire only narrated through episode fourteen, after which director Fred Shields took over the narration duties. Gale Gordon, who had the role of Cecil Clayton in the Dahlquest programs, played one of the male leads in this serial. Barbara Luddy played the role of Queen Ahtea.

Tarzan and the Fires of Tohr would have to be construed a failure. It didn't play on enough radio stations to make its production worthwhile. One of the reasons was that there was just too much time wasted between the completion of Tarzan and the Diamond of Asher and the completed recording of Tarzan and Fires of Tohr. By the time it was ready, most of the radio stations (after begging for another Tarzan serial) had filled their airtime with other shows. As a result, Tarzan and the Fires of Tohr only played on ten stations, including Hawaii, Canada and Australia.

Burroughs made two aborted attempts at getting Tarzan, once again, onto radio in 1938 when an unnamed sponsor seemed to show some interest. He hired a new writer, Jerry Cady, and retained Rob Thompson. A synopsis and scripts for episodes 1 and 2 survive by Jerry Cady. Nothing seems to have survived of the second attempt except for a letter from Rob Thompson to Burroughs asking him what he thinks of titling serial No. 4, "Tarzan, Lord of the Jungle." A note was scribbled across the bottom of the letter in Ed's hand stating that he liked the title "but it will be confusing because of the same book title."

Thompson would continue his association with Tarzan by scripting two sets of Tarzan records for Decca in 1941, produced by ERB, Inc. and starring well-known radio personality Elliott Lewis as Tarzan. Thompson also scripted the first three Dell Tarzan comic books in the late 1940s and scripted the Tarzan newspaper script for United Feature Syndicate until 1950.

Ref: Edgar Rice Burroughs' TARZAN ON RADIO
An Anecdotal Guide to Edgar Rice Burroughs Tarzan On Radio
Published by Radio Spirits, Inc.
by Robert Barrett
Pages 29 & 30

 

ERB SPEAKS ~1935
From ERB ON THE AIR: ERBzine 0141

"There is one factor that may have more effect on reducing book sales than any number of depressions, and that is radio, to which we are looking for far greater returns than our book royalties ever brought us. Already, with two programs, we are netting more than we do from the sale of all our books, which, taken in connection with the fact that there are hundreds of similar programs on the air, suggests that people are taking their fiction this way instead of through books."

Cy Kendall
Ask.com Bio & Filmography Cyrus W. Kendall was eight years old when he made his acting debut at the fabled Pasadena Playhouse. As an adult, the portly Kendall became a charter member of the Playhouse's Eighteen Actors Inc., acting in and/or directing over 100 theatrical productions. In films from 1936, he was usually typecast as an abrasive, cigar-chomping detective, gangster or machine politician. He showed up in roles both large and small in feature films, and was prominently cast in several of MGM's Crime Does Not Pay short subjects. Typical Kendall assignments of the 1940s included Jumbo Madigan in Alias Boston Blackie (1941) and "Honest" John Travers in Outlaw Trail (1944). Remaining active into the early years of live television, Cyrus W. Kendall essayed several guest spots on the 1949 quiz show/anthology Armchair Detective, and co-starred with Robert Bice, Spencer Chan and Herb Ellis on the Hollywood-based ABC weekly Mysteries of Chinatown (1949-50). Cy Kendal in Wikipedia
Cy Kendall at IMDB

Gale Gordon
Gale Gordon in Wikipedia: The Radio Years Gale Gordon (February 20, 1906 – June 30, 1995) . Prior to his long television and film career, Gordon was a respected American radio actor. Born Charles T. Aldrich, Jr. in New York City, the son of British actress Gloria Gordon and her vaudevillian husband Charles Aldrich, Gale Gordon's first big radio break came via the recurring roles of "Mayor La Trivia" and "Foggy Williams" on Fibber McGee and Molly, before playing Rumson Bullard on the show's successful spinoff, The Great Gildersleeve. Gordon and his character of Mayor La Trivia briefly left the show in December of 1942; both had enlisted in World War II.

Gordon was the first actor to play the role of Flash Gordon, in the 1935 radio serial The Amazing Interplanetary Adventures of Flash Gordon. In 1949 Gordon recorded the pilot for The Halls of Ivy, starring in the program's title role of Dr. Todhunter Hall, the president of Ivy College. The pilot led to a radio series that aired from 1950-52, but with Ronald Colman in the title role; Gordon later joined the cast as a replacement for Willard Waterman in the popular role of John Merriweather.

In 1950, Gordon played John Granby in the radio series Granby's Green Acres, which became the basis for the 1960s television series, Green Acres. Gordon went on to create the role of pompous principal Osgood Conklin on Our Miss Brooks, carrying the role to television when the show moved there in 1952. In the interim, Gordon turned up as Rudolph Atterbury on My Favorite Husband, which starred Lucille Ball in a precursor to I Love Lucy. Gordon and Ball previously worked together on The Wonder Show, starring Jack Haley, from 1938 to 1939. The two had a long friendship as well as recurring professional partnership. Gordon also had a recurring role as fictitious Rexall Drugs sponsor representative Mr. Scott on yet another radio hit, The Phil Harris-Alice Faye Show, staying with the role as long as Rexall sponsored the show.

The Gale Gordon Archive
Biography
Gale Gordon at IMDB