"Tarzan" (1966) TV series 1966-1968

Director:

Alex Nicol

Writer:

Edgar Rice Burroughs (character)

Seasons:

1 | 2

Release Date:

8 September 1966 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure

Plot:

Tarzan (Lord Greystoke), already well educated and fed up with civilization, returns to the jungle and...

Plot Keywords:

Tarzan | Monkey Actor | Bare Chested Male | Character Name In Title

Cast

Ron Ely	...	Tarzan (57 episodes, 1966-1968)
Manuel Padilla Jr.	...	Jai (20 episodes, 1966-1968)

Series Directed by
Alex Nicol		(10 episodes, 1967-1968)
Harmon Jones		(9 episodes, 1967-1968)
William Witney		(6 episodes, 1967-1968)
Barry Shear		(5 episodes, 1967-1968)
Lawrence Dobkin		(3 episodes, 1966-1967)
Robert L. Friend		(3 episodes, 1966-1967)
Anton Leader		(3 episodes, 1966-1967)
Paul Stanley		(3 episodes, 1966)
James Komack		(3 episodes, 1967)
Earl Bellamy		(2 episodes, 1966)

Series Writing credits
Jackson Gillis		(8 episodes, 1967-1968)
Carey Wilber		(8 episodes, 1967-1968)
Samuel Newman		(5 episodes, 1967)
Don Brinkley		(3 episodes, 1966)
Jerry Adelman		(3 episodes, 1967-1968)
William Driskill		(3 episodes, 1967-1968)
Esther Shapiro		(3 episodes, 1968)
Richard Alan Shapiro		(3 episodes, 1968)
Lee Erwin		(2 episodes, 1966-1968)
James Leighton		(2 episodes, 1966-1967)
George F. Slavin		(2 episodes, 1966)
S.S. Schweitzer		(2 episodes, 1967)
Richard H. Landau		(2 episodes, 1968)
Edgar Rice Burroughs		(unknown episodes)

Series Produced by
Sy Weintraub	....	executive producer (57 episodes, 1966-1968)
Steve Shagan	....	producer (37 episodes, 1966-1968)
Maurice Unger	....	producer (10 episodes, 1968)
Leon Benson	....	producer (6 episodes, 1966-1967)
Don Brinkley	....	co-producer (5 episodes, 1966)
Jon Epstein	....	producer (5 episodes, 1966)

Series Original Music by
Jerry Fielding		(18 episodes, 1966-1967)
Walter Greene		(16 episodes, 1966-1967)
William Loose		(3 episodes, 1967-1968)

Series Cinematography by
Gabriel Torres		(48 episodes, 1966-1968)
Kenneth Talbot		(5 episodes, 1966)
Raúl Martínez Solares		(4 episodes, 1967)

Series Film Editing by
Reg Browne		(16 episodes, 1966-1968)
Edward M. Abroms		(14 episodes, 1966-1968)
Renn Reynolds		(10 episodes, 1966-1967)
Robert Crawford		(7 episodes, 1966-1968)
Morton Tubor		(5 episodes, 1967-1968)
William Austin		(4 episodes, 1967-1968)
Bob Collins		(3 episodes, 1966)
John Joyce		(2 episodes, 1967)

Series Art Direction by
José Rodríguez Granada		(2 episodes, 1967)

Series Production Management
Alfonso Sánchez Tello	....	production manager (2 episodes, 1967)

Series Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Ira Stewart	....	assistant director (2 episodes, 1967)

Series Sound Department
James Nelson	....	supervising sound editor (59 episodes, 1966-1968)
Don Minkler	....	re-recording / sound re-recording (2 episodes, 1967)
Bill Mumford	....	re-recording / sound re-recording (2 episodes, 1967)
Jim Bullock	....	sound editor / supervising sound editor (unknown episodes)

Series Special Effects by
Laurencio Cordero	....	special effects (2 episodes, 1967)

Series Visual Effects by
Phill Norman	....	optical effects (1 episode, 1967)

Series Camera and Electrical Department
Leobardo Sánchez	....	camera operator (1 episode, 1967)

Series Editorial Department
Renn Reynolds	....	supervising film editor (1 episode, 1967)

Series Music Department
Walter Greene	....	conductor (31 episodes, 1966-1967)
Nelson Riddle	....	composer: theme music / conductor (21 episodes, 1967-1968)
William Loose	....	conductor (3 episodes, 1967-1968)
Quinn Amper	....	composer: title music (unknown episodes)
Sydney Lee	....	composer: theme music (unknown episodes)

Series Other crew
'Chema' Hernandez	....	head wrangler / head wrangler: Mexico (2 episodes, 1967)
Humberto Gurza	....	animal wrangler (unknown episodes)
Miguel Gurza	....	animal wrangler (unknown episodes)

Production Companies

• Banner Productions

Distributors

• National Broadcasting Company (NBC) (1966-1969) (USA) (TV) (original airing)
• AVRO Television (1971-1972) (Netherlands) (TV)
• Warner Home Video (2012) (USA) (DVD) (DVD-R) (season one, part one)
• Warner Home Video (2012) (USA) (DVD) (DVD-R) (season one, part two)

Also Known As:

Runtime:

60 min (57 episodes)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Argentina:Atp | Australia:PG

Filming Locations:

Brazil

Company:

Banner Productions

Trivia:

Mike Henry, who had just filmed several big-screen adventures as Tarzan, was intended to have also played the lead in the TV series, but backed out. Ron Ely, who took his place, was originally to have played a Tarzan imposter in a proposed episode of the TV series.

Movie Connections:

Spoofed in Starzan III (1990)

What a swinging action-packed show of its day!!!

After the huge success of Tarzan on the big screen, Producer Sy Weintraub took the ape man from the silver screen to television. Tarzan made its debut on the NBC network in September of 1966. Weintraub wanted Mike Henry(who played Tarzan in the movies),but instead got Ron Ely to portrayed the ape man on television. I have fond memories of the show when I was a child and it was one of the most action-packed shows of its day. Ely on the show fought off REAL man-eating lions,wrestled crocodiles(even though it was mostly retreads of scenes from the Johnny Weissmuller films of the 30's tinted in color),and always managed to save Jai from great danger from some tribe or animal poachers who were destroying the jungle. Jai however(played by Manuel Padilla,Jr.) was Tarzan's companion helping him out in any way possible(only in this one there was NO Jane here),and lets not forget Cheetah,the reliable chimpanzee. However,the show had very special guests who were in some sort of trouble and it was Tarzan to the rescue(especially in one episode where Diana Ross and the Supremes guest starred as Nuns who were from an missionary) to save the day and the jungle as well. However,the show ran for a good three years on NBC(from 1966 to 1969),and after that the repeats aired on CBS for one season(from 1969 to 1970). Rarely seen nowdays since the repeats were last seen on Chicago's WGN-TV back in the late 1980's,and one episode from the series on AMC(American Movie Classics). Now it can be seen on Nick at Nite's TV Land.