Tuesday, April 21, 2015

The Big Cage! #14


6 comments:

JIM ELLIOTT said...

Jon(Tarzan)Zerbini---I believe.

Chic Silber said...


Yes Jim but "Jon" is Jean Charles

mike zim said...

Wrestler Wild Bill Zim (dad) was Tarzan of the Elephants for Ringling in 1933/1934. (Sarasota winter quarters) Other jobs: posing at Ringling Art School, and taking on all comers with Cyclone Thompson. No photos of the elephant job, just the fighting, of them standing on the stage in front of the tent.

Roger Smith said...

The Edgar Rice Burroughs estate took Zerbini to court, arguing they had done so before with many performers trying to cash in on the Tarzan creation. The judge decided as corn-ball as it was, a person can call himself whatever he likes, and Tarzan became part of Jean's legal name.

Chic Silber said...


Jean Charles' father Charlie had

learned about adding the name in

a court filing from his friend

Emelian Buglione who had added

Buffalo Bill Cody to his name in

a French court (Emelian told me

during a visit to Cirque D'Hiver

where I was invited to dinner)

Chic Silber said...


However this isn't likely Zerbini