#edgarriceburroughs - Every Day With Edgar Rice Burroughs - June 27, 2025

June 27, 2025 and seventy-two years ago on this day in 1953, the final episode, # 75, “Two in The Bush,” of the Commodore “Tarzan, Lord of the Jungle” radio series was broadcast, marking the end of new Tarzan radio broadcasts in the United States. Lamont Johnson was the voice of Tarzan. The introduction to each episode included the phrase, “from the immortal pen of Edgar Rice Burroughs,” even though ERB didn’t write any of the episodes.

The entire series is available to listen to at: https://www.erbzine.com/mag23/2337.html

The drabble for today is, “To A Louse,” inspired by the radio series and for those people who personify Major Bouncingbutt. Thanks to the film, “Bull Durham” and “To a Louse” by Robert Burns.

Major Bouncingbutt said, “I’m confident that the new prime minister will reappoint me as colonial governor. Everybody loves me and everybody loves the books I write.”

Tarzan said, “Major, you have a lot in common with the jungle animals. Life is a blessing for those who aren’t cursed with self-awareness.”

“Whatever do you mean. Everyone admires me except for backstabbing dogs.”

“Take a chance on a mirror, Major. As Bobby Burns wrote, “Would some Power the gift give us, to see ourselves as others see us!”

“I’ve read that. Are you calling me a louse?”

“The mirror, Major. The mirror.”

#edgarriceburroughs - Every Day With Edgar Rice Burroughs - June 26, 2025

 June 26, 2025 and 126 years ago on this day in 1899, Edgar Rice Burroughs became the treasurer of the American Battery Company in Chicago, Illinois. His father, Major George T. Burroughs was the president and his Ed’s brothers, George and Harry also worked there.

The company received an award at the World’s Columbia Exhibition in Chicago, being referred to as “the only storage battery made in this country worth any notice whatsoever. During the World's Columbian Exhibition in Chicago in 1893, George's American Battery Company supplied the batteries for Chicago's first automobile. He gave young Ed the honour of driving this "nine-seater horseless surrey" around the fairgrounds. The nighttime demonstrations were particularly impressive as the vehicle threw off sparks and flashes of blue flame.

As regularly happens, the stock market collapsed in 1901, and Ed helped his father salvage the company by selling batteries to fire stations and the like. Ed married Emma while working at the battery company, but in 1904, the couple packed up and moved to Idaho.

Some details about Ed’s period with the Battery Company are scattered across the thousands of pages at www.erbzine.com. I expect the best place to start is on the article located at: https://www.erbzine.com/mag9/0942.html

The drabble for today, “Charge It,” was inspired by the American Battery Company of Oregon, Illinois. May it rest in peace. The drabble for today, “Charge It,” was inspired by the American Battery Company of Oregon, Illinois. May it rest in peace. It contains eleven deliberate puns. A tip of the hat to my friend, Jimmie, who might have changed a fuse or two over the years.

Edgar Rice Burroughs said, “Dad, I’m happy to be treasurer of the Battery Company, but I really think I should be marketing director.”

“Marketing? We sell every battery we can manufacturer.”

“Sell more, make more. Listen. You’ll get a real charge out of my ideas. American Battery, we’re ever ready when you need energized.”

“Ed, just keep the books.”

“Resistance is futile. It’s not our fault if your current battery comes up short, we have the horsepower to replace it immediately. Just give us a wave and sine.”

“Sounds like a real joule, Ed, but it might generate negative feedback.”

#edgarriceburroughs - Every Day With Edgar Rice Burroughs - June 15, 2025

 June 25, 2025 and one hundred years ago on this day in 1925, Clarence “Bob” Hyde, the first and only president of the Burroughs Bibliophiles was born in Warren, Ohio. The next five paragraphs are from his obituary written by Linda Wilson Fuoco for the Pittsburg Post-Gazette:

Clarence B. "Bob" Hyde was one of 13 U.S. Steel employees selected in 1954 to learn how to program the company's new computer system. And although most of his professional life would involve computer programming, his lifelong passion was Tarzan.

"His interest in Tarzan started in 1933 when he was 8 years old," said his son, John Hyde, of Butler. That's when Mr. Hyde obtained a Tarzan coloring book and a sweatshirt from the Chicago World's Fair. It was also the year he saw the movie "King of the Jungle," starring Buster Crabbe.

Over 72 years his collection grew to include many items, including first editions of all the Tarzan books, signed by author Edgar Rice Burroughs. Mr. Hyde recently donated the collection to the University of Louisville's Burroughs special collection.

Born in Warren, Ohio, Mr. Hyde was an officer in the Navy during World War II and a 1949 graduate of Yale University. He moved to Baldwin in 1954, when he was tapped for the U.S. Steel computer training program. When he retired from the steel-making company in 1989, he was the last of the company's original 13 computer programmers.

His wife, Alice, whom he married in 1951, died in 1990. Though his children could not approach their father's passion for all things Tarzan, "we could appreciate it," his son said. The vast collection undoubtedly could have been sold for a great deal of money, " but Bob thought it was important that it all be kept as an integral collection that could be seen by future generations."

Several articles about and by Bob Hyde are located on the magnificent website, www.erbzine.com. I’d suggest starting at: https://www.erbzine.com/mag6/0686.html

I first learned about Mr. Hyde through his “Odyssey, which he shared in the Edgar Rice Burroughs Amateur Press Association and from a note he sent with a magazine I purchased from him the early 1990s.

The two photographs included here are one of Bob with Sue-On Hillman and another of Bob and Joan Bledig.

The drabble for today, “Good-bye, Bob,” was written by a dear friend, George T. McWhorter, after Mr. Hyde’s passing. I have edited it, removing seven words for length. The entire message from George is located at: https://www.erbzine.com/mag16/1663.html

“WHEN A LIFELONG FAN OF EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS dies, it's like losing a family member. Bob was always keenly interested and involved in the BURROUGHS BIBLIOPHILES which he co-founded and served as President for 45 years. He’ll always be "President Emeritus" wherever his spirit roams in the afterlife. Burroughs expressed the hope he would visit other worlds after he had left this one, and I firmly believe he and Bob will meet on one of these distant worlds and exchange ideas. They both have a full measure of admiration and respect from those of us who are temporarily left behind.”

#edgarriceburroughs - Every Day With Edgar Rice Burroughs - June 24, 2025

 June 24, 2025 and eight-four years ago on this day in 1941, the Los Angeles Times reprinted a letter written by Edgar Rice Burroughs to the Honolulu Observer. The Times titled the missive, “Bulbous Domes and Nitwits.”  Here’s their introduction to the letter: 

“Edgar Rice Burroughs, creator of "Tarzan," now is sojourning in Hawaii where, presumably, the Ape Man soon may start swinging from volcano to volcano and eating pineapple in the raw. Mr. Burroughs, regardless of Tarzan, however, has found time to write a "Letter to the Editor" -- the editor of the Honolulu Star-Bulletin. This amusing missive, being applicable to the mainland as well as to the island paradise, is reproduced herewith.”

The entire letter and several more newspaper articles written by ERB are faithfully reproduced at: https://www.erbzine.com/mag14/1441.html

The drabble for today, “Electing Stupid," is 100 words excerpted and edited for length from that article written by Edgar Rice Burroughs wherein he proposes that elected officials, specifically legislators, should be required to pass an intelligence test. Just as applicable a concern today as it was eighty-four years ago.

“Before anyone may become a candidate for elective or appointive office, he shall pass a intelligence test to prove how much native intelligence he has -- the kind of horse-sense intelligence that Will Rogers had.

"The present intelligence tests which determine I.Q. aren’t sufficient. 10-year-old children pass them. I don’t wish 10-year-old children to make laws. 

"If our bulbous-domed psychologists huddled, they could evolve test as would at least keep a majority of the nitwits out of public office.

"If this fails, we can put the street cleaners in our Legislatures. At least we know they can read and write.”

#edgarriceburroughs - Every day With Edgar Rice Burroughs - June 23, 2025

 June 23, 2025 and two years ago on this day in 2023, Actress Betta St. John, who played Fay Ames in “Tarzan the Magnificent,” and Diana Penrod in “Tarzan and the Lost Safari” died in Brighton, Brighton and Hove, United Kingdom. As Diana in Lost Safari, she was captured by warriors from Opar. As Fay Ames in Magnificent, she plays the gullible wife of Lionel Jeffries, a woman who is tricked by Coy Banton, who was played by future Tarzan, Jock Mahoney.

Details about the films are available at:

https://www.erbzine.com/mag19/1954.html

https://www.erbzine.com/mag19/1958.html

Born Betty Jean Striegler, Betta St. John was an American actress, singer, and dancer who worked on Broadway, the West End, and in Hollywood films. She started her career aged 10 as a child actress in uncredited movie parts in her native USA. As an adult actress her first starring role was in the MGM film Dream Wife opposite Cary Grant in 1953. In 1954 she starred with Victor Mature in Dangerous Mission. Later residing in England she appeared in starring roles in British films including High Tide at Noon, the two Tarzan films, and the horror features Corridors of Blood with Boris Karloff and Horror Hotel with Christopher Lee. She portrayed Liat in the original Broadway cast of “South Pacific.” At age ten, she was offered a role in “The Wizard of Oz,” but her parents turned it down.

The fictional drabble for today, “Don’t Need A Hero,” was inspired by Betta St. John’s career.

“Grandma,” said Betta St. John’s granddaughter Kristen. “I’ve been watching your films and you were always in trouble, kidnapped, captured, or something like that. You were a scream queen."

“We didn’t say ‘scream queen.’ I played damsels in distress.”

“Grandma, no one says damsel anymore and I don’t need some man to rescue me.”

“Times changed. These days women don’t play a damsel in distress, they get to play a dragon in a dress. But man or woman, sometimes everyone needs a little help. Somedays you’re the helper and somedays you’re the needy. The trick is to know the difference.”

#edgarriceburroughs - Every Day With Edgar Rice Burroughs - June 22, 2025

June 22, 2025 seventy- eight years ago on this day in 1947, Ralph Rothman at ERB Inc. informed Western Printing that Burroughs wasn’t prepared to write a pocket book to be titled, “My Life With Tarzan.” Over the years, Burroughs had written several articles about his life and his creations for magazines and newspapers. In June 1947, Edgar Rice Burroughs was seventy-one years old. His health was failing. The only thing that I can verify that he wrote around this time was the 1946 fragment completed by Joe Landsdale for “Tarzan and the Lost Adventure.”

Countless details about ERB and his articles about himself and his creation are located at: www.erbzine.com. For more information, go to that site and search.

The fictional drabble for today is, “A Vine Time Was Had By All,” was inspired by Pocket Books request for a book to be titled, “My Life With Tarzan.”

Ralph Rothman said, “Ed, Western Printing wants to commission a book to be titled, “My Life With Tarzan.” Are you Interested?”

“I’ve written so much about Tarzan and my life. Can’t you just tell them yes and cobble together something from all of the articles I’ve written before.”

“Perhaps, but they want something more exciting.”

“What the hell do they want? Do they think I spent years wearing a loincloth and swinging on vines through the jungle?”

“Well, that would certainly sell the book.”

“Tell them no. Say I’m too busy raiding the jewel vaults of Opar. La, La, La.”

#edgarriceburroughs - Every Day With Edgar Rice Burroughs - June 21, 2025

 June 21, 2025 and on this day seventy-five years ago, the film, “Tarzan and the Slave Girl,” was released in Mexico. Lex Barker was Tarzan, Vanessa Brown was Jane, and Denise Darcel was Lola, the titular slave girl. The working title for the film was “Tarzan and the Golden Lion.” Some location shooting was done in Baldwin Park, California, the Los Angeles County Arboretum and Botanic Garden, and the Iverson Movie Ranch. But most of the filming was done on the RKO Forty Acres backlot.

Countless details about the film are located at: https://www.erbzine.com/mag19/1950.html

This was Vanessa Brown’s only film as Jane. Sol Lesser was seeking to replace Brenda Joyce. Director Lee Sholem brought Marilyn Monroe to see Lesser eight times, but Lessor concluded that she ‘Marilyn” was “too much of a bombshell” and didn’t’ cast her. Oh, what might have been.

In Mexico, the film was titled “Tarzan al Rescate,” or “Tarzan to the Rescue.”

The fictional drabble for today is, “I Feel Pretty,” and it was inspired by Lee Sholem’s efforts to cast Marilyn Monroe as Jane in the film, “Tarzan and the Slave Girl.”

Director Lee Sholem introduced Marilyn Monroe to producer, Sol Lesser. “Sol, this is Marilyn. She’s perfect for Jane. Great box office. She’ll be the next big thing.”

Lessor looked at Marilyn’s revealing outfit. “Do you always dress like that?”

“Life’s to short to wear boring clothes.”

Sol thought a moment and said, “You’re amazingly beautiful.”

“I’m smart too, but folks won’t buy tickets to see me solve algebra problems.”

“No doubt, but you’re too damn pretty to play Jane.”

“No, I’m too damn pretty to be lied to, cheated on, and toyed with, but I got into show business anyway.”