The seventy-seven published
works of ERB are indexed for proper names, unusual words and phrases,
concepts, and numbers. Many allusions generally understood in the
author’s lifetime have become increasingly obscure, and the purpose of
this work will be to clarify them. Unpublished works (such as You Lucky
Girl! and Marcia of the Doorstep) have been omitted as well as ‘Mystery
Puzzles” and other occasional pieces by the author. Sequels by other
writers (authorized and unauthorized) are not included, not or stories
by the children of ERB. I hope this provides a window on the time in
which the author lived.
TWO TO STAY
September 2: On this day in 1934, the Hal Foster illustrated and Don
Garden/ and George Carlin scripted Tarzan Sunday story arc, "Tarzan and the Mysterious Maiden," concluded. There is no reason to
believe that the story arc is in any way related to the Story fragment, "Tarzan
and the Mysterious She," started by Edgar Rice Burroughs and completed years
later by writer, Michael Tierney. Every Sunday Tarzan page was titled in those
days and this one was titled, "The Battle." The maiden in the story is Princess
Mihrama, daughter of the Sultan of Palazar.
<>This page may be read
online at: https://www.erbzine.com/mag59/5989.html
<>
The drabble, "Two to
Stay." for today was inspired by the story arc and is a tongue in cheek
reworking of the ending.
TWO TO STAY
Tarzan and Bohgdu, the
ape, saved the princess and her friend from the savages. The duo captured a
small boat. Tarzan said, "Everyone aboard the boat. Once we're off this island,
we'll be safe."
The maiden, Princess
Mihrama, sat near the bow and the said, "Tarzan, the boats too small for us
all."
< style="font-weight: bold;"> Tarzan evaluated the
situation. "The ape, Bohgdu, and I will stay on the island."< style="font-weight: bold;">
"Why would you
volunteer to stay? The natives will attack you."< style="font-weight: bold;">
"He can't swim."< style="font-weight: bold;">
"And you "
<> "We can both fight. He
doesn't get the pleasure of killing all the natives by himself.
\
THE JOB'S NOT DONE UNTIL YOU FILE THE PAPERWORK
September
3: On this day in 1997, “Dark Horse
Comics” published Tarzan: The Modern Prometheus #2. A detailed list and
commentary about the entire Dark Horse Edgar Rice Burroughs comic by
Bill Ross begin at: https://www.erbzine.com/mag11/1156.html Michael
Kaluta did the cover art, Lovern Kindzierski wrote the script and did
the coloring, Stan Manoukian and Vince Roucher did the interior
illustrations. In the story, Tarzan arrived in New York City where he
meets Nikola Tesla, Thomas Edison, and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.
Frankenstein’s Monster is trying to keep Edison from exploiting the
secrets contained in his creator’s notebooks, which had been discovered
by Tesla. Tarzan is caught in the middle of the feud.
The
drabble for today, “The Job’s Not Done Until You File the Paperwork,”
was inspired by the story and by the real-life conflict between Edison
and Tesla, with a little emphasis on Edison’s reputation for stealing
and patenting the work of other scientists. A quick note, writer Ray
Cummings was Edison’s real-life assistant for several years.
THE JOB'S NOT DONE UNTIL YOU FILE THE PAPERWORK
Ray
Cummings, Edison’s assistant said, “I didn’t sign up to fight Tarzan
and a monster. All-Story bought my story, “The Girl in the Golden
Atom.” I’m going to write fulltime. You have my notice.”
“You can’t quit until I’ve patented Dr. Frankenstein’s work.”
“I believe that it’s wrong to patent other men’s creations.”
“That’s
never stopped me before. I’ve almost got this. Three patents, one for
the power source, one for the surgeries, and one for the reanimation
process.”
“Lightning was the power source. You can’t patent lightning. Ben Franklin discovered lightning.”
“Nonsense. Franklin didn’t file the paperwork. I checked.”
NIBY
Tarzan
and Jane look into a new trading post established by a French trader
named Renard Dumont. After a brief scuffle with his men, Tarzan decides
to allow them to stay as long as they don't interfere with the
gorillas. After Jane does some shopping, Terk realizes that the trading
post was constructed on the site of the local black rhino group's
traditional drinking/bathing spot, and wonders where they went. The
rhinos, displaced by the construction work, commandeer the gorilla's
watering place, and Tarzan must find a new home for them or be forced
to move the gorilla troop elsewhere. After an attempt to reason with
the rhinos' leader, Buto, fails, Tarzan ends up turning to Dumont's
trading post and purchases some dynamite, which he uses to redirect a
stream and create a new watering hole for the rhinos.
The episode guest starred Rene Auberjonois, or as Star Trek fans like to say, Oh No, Odo!”
The
drabble for today is, “Niby,” inspired by the new trading post, and by
real like NIBY’s, the acronym for Not In My Back Yard,” people are
opposed to anything new happening near them.
NIBY
Tarzan
inspected the trading post that was under construction. “Mr. Dumont,
did you get permission from the locals before starting construction?”
“I did not, but I did hire the chief’s son to help with construction.”
“Birds used to nest right where you’re building.”
“Birds? Tarzan, the world is full. Anywhere you go someone or something was there first. ”
“The natives say it’s ugly and will ruin their property values.”
Dumont twirled his mustache
and laughed. “A grass hut has no property value. Neighbors are always
opposed until they need medicine, milk, or diapers in the middle of the
night.”
CRAZY
September
5: On this day in 1918, Actor
Charles Fredericks, who portrayed DeGroot in “Tarzan’s Hidden Jungle,”
was born as either Fred Cockerham; or Crockenham in Columbus,
Mississippi. The son of a minister, he had success as a professional
singer, before focusing a film and television career, mostly in
westerns. He more than 90 film and television credits. He’s pictured
with Gordon Scott and Jack Elam.
The
fictional drabble for today, ‘Trial and Error,” incorporates lines
spoken by Charles Fredericks on the television shows, “Maverick” and
“Yancy Derringer, and maybe a line from “Cool Hand Luke.”
CRAZY
Gordon Scott as Tarzan said, “Degroot, you’re a poacher and a bad guy. I’m throwing you out of the country.”
Charles Fredericks, as DeGroot said, “We’re entitled to a trial even if we’re guilty.”
“Who said that,” asked Tarzan.
“Any lawyer could tell you that the law says that.”
“I’m not a lawyer, but in the jungle, I am the law.”
“You’re telling me that I’m not just dealing with a simple savage.”
“Savage yes, simple no. You gonna be a hard case about this?”
“I suppose. It’s sort of my job.”
“Calling it your job, don’t make it right.”
QUEEN LA, QUEEN LA
September
6: On this day in 2001, episode number four,
“Tarzan and the Lost City of Opar,” The Legend of Tarzan animated TV
series, was broadcast. All of the television episodes may be reviewed
at: https://www.erbzine.com/mag0/0014.html#disney The
story begins when Professor Porter is captured by the Leopard
Men—vicious leopards transformed into humanoids by magic. Tarzan, Jane,
Terk, and Tantor track the kidnappers deep into the jungle, discovering
the hidden, ancient Lost City of Opar.
Opar
is ruled by Queen La (voiced by Diahann Carroll). After witnessing
Tarzan's raw strength and bravery while fighting to free the Professor,
she instantly falls in love with him. Because Tarzan is fiercely
devoted to Jane, Queen La schemes to execute Jane so she can claim
Tarzan as her husband and the King of Opar. When Tarzan refuses her
advances, La sentences the entire group to death, but Jane ultimately
rallies to help save the day. Pretty mature content for a cartoon.
The
drabble for today, Queen La, Queen La, was inspired by the episode and
by a song by the late Dolly Parton. It’s 103 words long, not 100, but
that’s the way beat goes on. I didn't have time to make it shorter.
QUEEN LA, QUEEN LA
Your beauty is beyond compare
With flowing locks of snow-white hair
And brave men tremble at your stare
With jewels and gold stashed underground
A voice the way that angels sound
And I cannot compete with you Queen La
It’s your face he sees when he’s with me
Your side is where he wants to be
And there’s nothing I can do to make it stop
He wants your gold, you want his soul
Please don’t leave me in the cold,
Please great Queen, don’t take Tarzan
Queen La, Queen La, Queen Loa, Queen La
I begging of you, please don’t take Tarzan.
THUNDER MOON
September
7: I’ve been assembling the new Three
Cousins Anthology and re-editing Every Day With Edgar Rice Burroughs. Enjoy 3,000 of my ERB Drabbles & Events in ERBzine at: https://www.ERBzine.com/lupton.On this day in
1955, writer Jeff Mariotte, "Tarzan and the Forest of Stone"and "Beyond
Thirty: A World Reborn," was born in Park Forest, Illinois. Jeff hasn’t
only written the two approved Edgar Rice Burroughs themed novels listed
above, he’s written several dozen more novels, eleven of which take
place in the universe of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. If you haven’t read
his stuff, you should. The
one hundred word drabble for today, “Thunder Moon,” incorporates
fifteen titles of books written by Jeff, not counting the title of the
drabble.
THUNDER MOON
The
policeman said, “I not sure whether the missing white girl vanished in
winter, spring or fall, but finding her is a high-stakes game.
“His
partner replied, “I check the morgue daily to see if she’s on the slab.
She disappeared into the woods. Dangerous out there. Survival of the
fittest. I hope she found sanctuary before the boogeymen got her”
“Time and chance will tell. Folks around here got cold black hearts and wouldn’t help even if they had empty rooms.”
“Probably too late because the river runs red, but I’ll keep my nose close to the ground.”
ROUGH LANDING
September
8: On this day in 1900, actor, Gavin Muir, who
played a pilot in “Tarzan Finds A Son,” was born in Chicago, Illinois,
and no, he isn’t the captain from the Love Boat. He had over seventy
film and television credits including three appearances in Sherlock
Holmes films. His only job in Tarzan Finds A Son was to crash the
airplane.
The fictional drabble, “Rough Landing,” for today was inspired by Gavin’s role as the pilot in “Tarzan Finds A Son,”
ROUGH LANDING
The passenger said, “Pilot, my wife and child are frightened. I worried about the way you’re flying this plane.”
“Good for you. So am I. I think were running out of fuel.”
“So many gauges. I might have skipped instrument day at flight school.”
“Which day did you skip?”
“All of them. Strap in. This is gonna be a bumpy landing..”
“Send out an SOS. Tell the search party or coordinates so they’ll know where to find us.”
.
EVERYONE WAS FUTILE FIGHTING
September
9: On this day in 1977, S03E01, “Tarzan
and the Spider People,” of the animated Tarzan, Lord of the Jungle
series, was broadcast as part of the Tarzan and the Super Seven. Tarzan
has to stop two groups of spider people, the workers and the scholars,
from fighting other and destroying their treetop city. I tried to watch
the episode, but I couldn’t find it anywhere. I tried to find a picture
of the spider people, but perhaps after Tarzan left, they killed each
other off. I guess we’ll never know until the show goes into public
domain in about forty-eight more years or someone buys the rights to
stream them. The studio closed in 1989 and the library was sold to L
‘Oreal. Evidently, the rights now belong to Dreamworks Animation,
except for third-licensed properties, which I can only assume includes
Tarzan. Maybe the folks at ERB, Inc. can let us know the status. Story lines of all 36 episodes of this Lord of ths Jungle animated series that was produced over
four seasons are featured in ERBzine at: https://www.erbzine.com/mag0/0014b.html
The drabble for today, “Everyone was Futile Fighting,” was inspired by
the story line. There’s nothing dumber than people fighting until they
destroy everything they were fighting over. Credit to Country Joe and
the Fish, ready, one, two, three, four.
EVERYONE WAS FUTILE FIGHTING
Come all you working spiders
Put down your tools and pack those diapers
We’ve got trouble with the scholars’ clan
They’re hogging the food, but I got a plan
We’ll burn their homes and rule the trees
We’ll break all eight of their knees.
And it’s one, two, three,
Toss ‘em from the trees.
They’ll hit ground, that’s where they’ll splatter
I don’t care ‘cause they don’t matter
And it’s five, six, seven
Smart spiders still can’t fly
They got no time to even try
Shout whoopee! They’re all gonna die.
One, two, three, four
What are we fighting for.
RESOLUTION
September
10: On this day in 1998, author Irwin
Porges died. Porges, who published several short stories and a number
of non-fiction books was the author of “Edgar Rice Burroughs, The Man
who Created Tarzan.” The book and its information have taken on almost
Biblical reverence concerning its accuracy. ERB scholars and
aficionados have settled many an argument by saying “look it up in
Porges.” The author’s name is sufficient to identify the volume. His
other works include, “Edgar Allan Poe, a Biography,” “The Violent
Americans,” and SOS The World’s Greatest Sea Disasters.” During the
1950s, he sold several stories to Alfred Hitchcock’s Magazine and to
Mike Shayne’s Mystery Magazine.
The
hardcover first edition was published in a print run of 17,000 by the
Brigham Young University Press. At one time I had fifteen copies. I
found them remaindered in a B. Dalton bookstore, priced at $4.99. I
bought them all. I only have one copy now, the others having been
traded or given away. ERBzomer
The
drabble, “Resolution,” for today concerns “ Violence In America,” by
Porges. I ordered a copy, but it hasn’t arrived. The drabble is from
Robert E. Heinlein’s Hugo winning novel, “Starship Troopers.” The book
is so much better than the movies, but then, isn’t that almost always
the case. ERBzine online features on Porges are featured at: https://www.erbzine.com/mag64/6445.html and https://www.erbzine.com/mag64/6426.html . . . Ray Bradbury's introdution to the Porges book is featured at: https://www.erbzine.com/mag35/3571.html
RESOLUTION
To anyone who clings to
the historically untrue—and thoroughly immoral—doctrine that ‘violence
never settles anything’ I would advise to conjure up the ghosts of
Napoleon Bonaparte and of the Duke of Wellington and let them debate
it. The ghost of Hitler could referee, and the jury might well be the
Dodo, the Great Auk, and the Passenger Pigeon. Violence, naked force,
has settled more issues in history than has any other factor, and the
contrary opinion is wishful thinking at its worst. Breeds that forget
this basic truth have always paid for it with their lives and freedoms.”
.
FOREVER JANE
September
11: On this day in 1929, Jean Ann
Ewers, known professionally as Eve Brent, and who played Jane in the
films, Tarzan’s Fight For Life and Tarzan and the Trappers was born in
Houston, Texas. Her career spanned fifty-seven years, from 1955 to 2012
and included The Barefoot Executive, The Green Mile, and Fade to Black.
The drabble for today, “Forever Jane, is excerpted from comments that Eve Brent made during interviews about playing Jane.
FOREVER JANE
"I really couldn't get
work as an actress because of Jane. You get stereotyped, at least in
the business at that time. The memory of being Jane... has allowed me
to be a part of motion picture history, and a part of all the lives of
all the people who have enjoyed Tarzan. I am so grateful for that. He’s
a wonderful man. Gordon Scott and I had a great rapport. And through
the years, we have maintained our friendship. I’m very proud to have
worked with Gordon. It was a real honor. A wonderful time to look back
on.
SHIFTING HIS SHARE OF THE BLAME
September
12: On this day in 2001, Episode number
9, “Tarzan and the Enemy Within,” of the “The Legend of Tarzan”
animated TV series, was released. The title was especially appropriate
to me today. One of the organizations I belong to was fortunate enough
to remove a toxic and destructive individual from an important
position. That person is attempting to regain a position of trust,
mostly by trying to get the rest of us to blame ourselves and each
other, and not that person for their behavior, not unlike an abusive
man telling the woman he’s abusing that it’s her fault.
There was also episode of the Wolf Larson series with the same title and the same lesson.
Tarzan
and Terk find an injured gorilla named Gobu in the forest, who was
attacked by hyenas. Little do they know, but he is under orders from
his leader to lure Tarzan back to Gobu's family. Once the injured
gorilla is better, he and Tarzan embark on the long journey to Gobu's
home, only to find the evil Tublat, a bull ape who was expelled from
Kerchak's family many years before and has killed the group's original
leader, is waiting there to trap him.
The
drabble for today is, “Shifting His Share of the Blame,’ inspired by
the story and toxic people. The title comes from a line in the Kris
Kristopherson song, “The Silver-Tongued Devil.”
SHIFTING HIS SHARE OF THE BLAME
Jane said, “Tarzan, you should forgive Tublat, and let him back into the tribe.”
“Tublat abused women, beat the children, and even tried to kill me.”
“Perhaps he just wanted attention. He says that the rest of you didn’t understand him.”
“It’s a trick. People like Tublat always play the victim rather than the evildoer. Jane, have you ever had a thorn in a finger?”
“After you pulled it out, did the pain stop.”
“Did you ever consider sticking it back in your finger?”
“My point exactly. This is exactly the same.”
STEPPING UP
September
13: On this day in 1932, episode # 2,
Battle With The Apes, of the Tarzan of the Apes radio show, with James
and Joan Burroughs Pierce, was broadcast.
The drabble for today, “Stepping Up.” While fictional and not part of the radio script, was inspired by the episode.”
STEPPING UP
A bull ape had captured Jane. Tarzan roared and jumped on the ape. He stabbed the ape repeatedly.
Another ape caught Jane around the waist and fled.
Tarzan gave chase and confronted the ape.
The
ape tossed Jane aside, beat its chest, and attacked. The ape and the
ape man were both injured during the battle. The ape ran away and
Tarzan collapsed.
He
awoke with Jane cleaning his face. “Since I’ve met you, you’ve done one
dangerous thing after another. Fighting apes is dangerous. Why do that?”
“I do the dangerous things so that other people don’t have to.
IDEA MAN
September
14: On this day in 2001, episode eleven,
Tarzan and the Hidden World, The Legend of Tarzan animated TV series
was released. Academic rival Samuel T. Philander, whose career has been
made by stealing from Jane's father, comes to Africa to find out what
Professor Porter is working on. This leads Tarzan to showing Jane and
Prof. Porter the way to Pellucidar.
The drabble for today was inspired by the theme of the episode and by those who seek to profit from the ideas of other people.
IDEA MAN
Professor Philander leered, “Professor Porter, what are we working on?”
“We?
You got a mouse in your pocket. My work isn’t your concern. You’ve
stolen more ideas than Thomas Alva Edison and that’s saying a lot.”
‘Improving on a mere thought, making an idea into a reality isn’t theft.”
“So, say all intellectual thieves.”
Porter said, “Come with us. Tarzan says dinosaurs are real.”
After they arrived in Pellucidar, the hollow earth, a brontosaurus loomed overhead.
Porter said, “Real enough for you. Let’s see you steal that.”
Philander trembled. “I don’t do real. I’m more of an idea man.”
DEATH BY RUMOR
September
15: On this day in 1967, the first
episode of the second season, “Tiger, Tiger,” of the Ron Ely Tarzan TV
series, was broadcast. First we have to move past the fact that there
are no tigers in Africa, unless one escaped from a zoo or booked a
wildlife tour. In the episode, which featured James Whitmore as a guest
star, Tarzan has to fight a tiger. In reality, when Ron Ely fought with
a real tiger during filming, things got out of hand and Ely was almost
killed. The simple plot is that an engineer working on an irrigation
project ignores warnings of a deadly tiger in the area and continues
his work.
The drabble for today is, “Death by Rumor,” inspired by the story line.
DEATH BY RUMOR
Tarzan
said, “It’s not safe here. There’s a wild tiger roaming the area. It
almost killed me. You have to stop work until its killed or captured.”
“That’s a stupid trick to halt construction;. There are no tigers in Africa.”
Tarzan pointed to the scratches on his chest. “Do these wounds look like a trick?”
“Occupational hazard. You live in the jungle and have tough playmates. A tiger in Africa is only a myth.”
With a roar, a tiger
stepped clear of the foliage. Tarzan said, “I guess that I’ll leave and
just let this myth tear your head off.”
