The initial radio Tarzan originated at WOR in New York City and was syndicated by the World Broadcasting System. Production later switched to Hollywood, California. The series was broadcast September 12, 1932 – March 3, 1934.
Tarzan was played by James Pierce, who portrayed the title character in the film Tarzan and the Golden Lion (1927). Jane was played by Joan Burroughs, daughter of Edgar Rice Burroughs, creator of the Tarzan stories. The program’s writer prepared scripts using material from the original Tarzan books, and Burroughs himself revised each script as needed for accuracy.
This version of Tarzan was notable for the extent of distribution of a recorded program. Jim Cox, in his book, Radio Crime Fighters: More Than 300 Programs from the Golden Age, wrote: “The first Tarzan show, produced and recorded by American Radio Features, set a distinct precedent in U.S. radio. It was actually the premier feature prerecorded and distributed to local broadcasters throughout the nation and overseas.”
The youth-oriented program included two elements that were often found in other programs aimed at a young audience: a club centered on the central character and premiums that could be obtained by sending in elements such as labels or box tops from the sponsor’s products. In the first 30 days after the Signal Tarzan Club was launched by sponsor Signal Oil, 15,000 youngsters from California signed up for it. During the club’s first year, membership reached 125,000. Another sponsor, Fould’s Milling Company of Chicago, received 93,000 package ends of its products in eight weeks through WBBM in Chicago and CKOK in the Windsor/Detroit market. The proofs of purchase were submitted to obtain “plaster of Paris statuettes of various characters in the Tarzan series.”