GORDON SCOTT DEAD AT 79 Gordon Scott passed away today, April 30, 2007, at the age of 79. He was 27 when he made his film debut in Tarzan’s Hidden Jungle (1955). It was a low budget film, but they got better as time went on. I first became aware of him from a TV interview conducted by Groucho Marx in 1955, right after he was announced as Hollywood's newest Tarzan. After his debut in Tarzan’s Hidden Jungle he made four more Tarzan films: Tarzan and the Lost Safari (1957), Tarzan’s Fight for Life (1958), Tarzan’s Greatest Adventure (1959) and Tarzan the Magnificent (1960). 

Several Tarzan fans have told me they consider Gordon's last two Tarzan films the best of any made up to that time. Movie buffs seem to have their own favorite Tarzan actors, and my private theory is that first impressions are lasting when discovered during the teenage years.

We had the pleasure of Gordon's company at several annual Dum-Dums; in fact he had hoped to attend our 2007 convention when Fate intervened.

We knew he had been an army drill sergeant and a Las Vegas lifeguard before being discovered and sent to Hollywood, but we are glad he was given a chance to win a wider audience through films. He has left us a fine legacy of entertaining films which we can enjoy, knowing that we will always see him as he appeared in that brief moment of time in the middle of the Twentieth Century. The photo shown here is from Tarzan and the Lost Safari which was filmed in British East Africa and the Belgian Congo.

I like to remember Gordon as he looks in this photo: young, healthy, happy, and with the world at his feet. May he rest in peace. 

... "Ye Editor"

Dave Fury has done it again with his comprehensive biography of gorgeous movie Jane, Maureen O’Sullivan.

I like a book with a lot of pictures in it, and this one has 215, plus 12 more on the dust jacket. 
You can order a copy from Dave Fury at 
Artist’s Press, P.O.Box 16087, Minneapolis, MN 55416. 
The book is $40 plus shipping ($50 outside the USA). More detailed information is given on his web site: www.artistspress.com.

Edgar Rice Burroughs Tells All is a massive compilation of 605 pages by Jerry Schneider, founder and editor of ERBville Press in Rialto, California. 

It contains 188 articles by ERB or newspaper accounts of his life and works, so it is a great blessing to have all of these "fugitive pieces" collected in one handy volume. 

Trade editions are $50 plus postage, and Deluxe editions are $70 plus postage. Both are hardbound books. More complete details can be found on his website: www.erbvillepress.com. 

Or you can write him at 3550 N. Daisy Drive, Rialto, CA 92377.
 
 
 
 

Also just announced is the Science Fiction Book Club’s final volume in their John Carter reprinting: 

Tales of Mars has a Michael Whelan jacket 

and includes Llana of Gathol and John Carter of Mars.

The book is available to members for $12.95.

2007 Dum-Dum Notes Richard Hescox, cover artist for Ballantine's Venus novels of ERB, will be guest of honor, along with Tarzan actor Denny Miller. Both will be omnipresent in the huckster room at the Galt House Hotel where the Dum-Dum will take place. Room rates have been knocked down from $129 to $90 for this convention, so when you call for a reservation (502-589-5200) be sure to tell them you’re signing up for the Dum-Dum so you’ll get the convention rates.
 
 

We will compile a flyer in the next few days giving all the details and time schedules, and mail it to you with the June issue of the Gridley Wave. Meanwhile, we can tell you that the huckster room will be open from Thursday through Saturday, and the Bob Hyde dedication and exhibit will be on Friday at the U of L Library, with guided tours of the Burroughs Memorial Collection, a slide presentation by Dorothy Howell, and a "Meet the Artists" session (with questions and answers). 

On Saturday, we’ll have a round table discussion by the Burroughs Bibliophiles concentrating on where we've been and where we're going, a Burroughs Jeopardy game hosted by Joan Bledig, and an auction during the afternoon hours, with the Awards banquet that night at the Galt House, and a Sunday morning farewell breakfast. The registration fee will be $65, payable in advance or in person when you arrive. At left is a first look at Richard Hescox's Dum-Dum logo. Much more later. Cheers! 

. . . "Ye Editor"