MANILA, Philippines—“Me Tarzan, you Jane” introduced the Ape Man’s partner to his fans. By the time the pretty damsel from England entered Tarzan’s life, there had already been a highly successful series about the infant lord who survived a plane crash under the care of female apes in an African forest.
Enter Jane, the educated lady who became smitten with the gentle jungle man. She became an admirer of the pristine life in the African jungle. She taught Tarzan manners and turned his treehouse into a veritable jungle manor.
Since the series ran for decades, there were almost as many Janes as there were Tarzans.
Most memorable of them all was Maureen O’Sullivan, a legitimate actress from Ireland. It was during the successful ‘reign’ of Olympian swimmer, Johnny Weissmuller, when Hollywood producers thought it was time to get the Ape Man a bride. As expected, she captured Tarzan’s heart and lived ‘happily ever after’ in his jungle domain.
The petite actress looked perfect in “Tarzan and His Mate.” Her size was in direct contrast to Weissmuller’s macho build, and her voice as genteel as his was rough.
The jungle tandem was so successful Maureen and Johnny did at least half a dozen successful films.
Other attractive Janes included Brenda Joyce, who appeared in three films with Lex Barker—the Tarzan better known for his love affairs with Hollywood sirens like Lana Turner and Arlene Dahl.
Successful career
Vera Miles, who is best remembered as the investigative sister of Janet Leigh in “Psycho,” also portrayed Jane. She took the Tarzan-Jane teamup one step further—she married Gordon Scott, her Tarzan! After she divorced Scott, she then had a rather successful career as a leading lady.
Vanessa Brown, a pretty brunette also played Jane after she appeared in a supporting role in Vincente Minnelli’s “The Bad and the Beautiful.”
Jane was always supportive to Tarzan—until John Derek decided to showcase his wife, Bo Derek, in his version of Tarzan. Unfortunately, we only remember Bo’s perfect-10 qualities in that film—and forget Tarzan!
