Original 1927 movie poster
Several actors and actresses played the parts of Tarzan and Jane while bringing Edgar Rice Burroughs’ many novels to the big screen. One of those actors was a man named James H. Pierce. He was discovered by Burroughs himself at a party at the Tarzana Ranch and was hired to play the jungle hero in the 1927 film Tarzan and the Golden Lion.
The next year Jim Pierce married Edgar Rice Burroughs’ daughter Joan. The happy couple starred as the voices of Tarzan and Jane for the Tarzan radio show from 1932 to 1936.
“Tarzan”
“Jane”
Jim pierce was originally from Shelbyville, Indiana. He and wife Joan and other relatives are buried in Forest Hill Cemetery in Shelbyville. Their family plot is similar to many in the cemetery. However, only on Jim and Joan’s gravestones will you find the names “Tarzan” and “Jane”.
May they Rest In Peace
Roadtirement 
Wonderful history snippet. I never got into Tarzan. Although he was so ingrained in the culture that when we had ropes to swing on when I was a kid we all did the Tarzan yell.
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Something about swinging on a rope triggers the need to let loose with the Tarzan yell. Thanks, Tim for sharing.
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Fascinating movie history
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Thanks, Derrick.
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This is one of those odd snippets that are so much fun to uncover. Thank you.
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Glad you enjoyed it. (We love our history and cemeteries.)
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What an interesting bit of trivia! Thank you for sharing.
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So glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for the visit.
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Thanks for posting. Like other early Gen X’ers I grew up with the Johnny Weissmuller 30s and 40s Tarzan movies on TV. Was not aware of the earlier silent film or radio versions by Pierce. It would be interesting to compare them.
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From what we found there is a copy of the 1927 movie somewhere available. Wikipedia said that Pierce wanted to find a copy before he died.
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YouTube is a good free source for older public domain films, often uploaded in high definition. I’ll have to poke around further. Thanks for the tip!
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Good luck with the search, let us know if you find it. Thanks!
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Thank you for this piece of history.
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Fascinating. Thanks for this tidbit of info.
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You are most welcome, glad you enjoyed it.
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Pingback: Tarzan and Jane final resting place – MobsterTiger
Thanks for the reblog
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Pingback: Tarzan and Jane final resting place – Nelsapy
Cemeteries are fascinating places when you start digging into the history. 🙂 … the pun wasn’t intended but I left it in anyway. 😀
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We liked the pun, most appropriate. We’ve done some metal detecting in the past, literally digging into history! TYVM for stopping by and commenting.
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