For as long as I can remember I have been surrounded by my grandfather's legacy. Edgar Rice Burroughs was a man with an unquenchable thirst for knowledge and adventure, and his interests seemed to be split equally among the realms of past, present and future. He seemed to want to embrace and horde memories of his own unique world for posterity, and as a result he left behind an amazingly eclectic and gargantuan horde of books, photos, art, letters, magazines, and memorabilia. See "My Diversions" by Edgar Rice Burroughs

This family trait has been passed down through the generations -- to my dad, John Coleman Burroughs, to my uncle Hulbert, to aunt Joan Pierce. . . and to myself. I like nothing better than to immerse myself in the wonderful family archive I've inherited and to experience vicariously the wonderful life's roller coaster they rode through decades past. Over the years I have taken great joy in sharing these family "treasures" on our various Websites. Here is another assortment of items ranging from the 1920s to present day.

~ Danton

Short Danton Burroughs Bio
adapted from the University of Louisville site. 
The McWhorter ERB Memorial Collection is housed at U of L. Danton Burroughs, grandson of Edgar Rice Burroughs, is currently president of Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc., founded by his grandfather in 1923 to handle the merchandizing of Tarzan and his other literary creations. Danton has two daughters, Dejah and Llana, named for heroines in his grandfather's Martian books. He lives in Tarzana, California. In addition to sharing thousands of ERB items from his Tarzana Archives on the numerous ERB Websites, he has placed many important memorabilia items on permanent loan to the Burroughs Memorial Collection in Louisville. These items include early textbooks (going back to preschool primers), signed presentation copies with the author's original cartoons on the first preliminary leaves, the military cape worn by Burroughs at the Michigan Military Academy in 1892, his personal WWII papers, identification cards, briefcase, safety razor, cigarette case, fountain pen, and correspondence. 

State of Alabama
PROCLAMATION 
by the Governor

WHEREAS, Edgar Rice Burroughs, endowed with a talent seldom found in man, devoted his gifts as a fiction author to write for the entertainment of both the young and the young oldsters; and

WHEREAS, in the span of his seventy-five year life, he authored ninety six entertaining and thrilling novels, becoming a phenomenal success, not only in the United States, but all over the world and

WHEREAS, his wild romances, almost incredible as they may seem, did fulfill the subconscious desires of boys and girls, men and women, who would like to be stronger, braver and even more physically attractive; and

WHEREAS, he exemplifies one in early life, who was of his generations failures but by his unrelenting and tenacious will for achievement did harness and develop is talent; and

WHEREAS, Edgar Rice Burroughs was born in Chicago, September 1st, 1875, and this year being the 100th anniversary of the birth of one of the world's best known authors and is being commemorated by motion picture theatres throughout Alabama:

NOW, THEREFORE, I, George C. Wallace, Governor of the State of Alabama, do hereby proclaim March 7-13, 1975,

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the Great Seal of the State of Alabama to be affixed by the Secretary of State at the State Capitol in the City of Montgomery on this the 21st day of February, 1975.

Robert Towne who wrote "Shampoo" and "The Last Detail" has finished a screenplay which, according to young Burroughs (he's 32), is more true to the spirit of the original Tarzan than scripts previously brought to the screen.

"Towne says he's going to give my grandfather's Tarzan to the people," the grandson cheerfully tells us. "I've liked some of the screen Tarzans, but none of them has been like the man my grandfather created. If you've read the books, you know that Tarzan was actually an English lord who was well educated and didn't use 'me' in the nominative case."

"In the new picture, you'll see Tarzan as a baby, as a boy and as a man, so three actors will be cast. I believe Warners has an actor tentatively cast to play the adult Tarzan, but I'd certainly like to play the part. I'm the right age, and I'm in good condition, because I've been working out since I was 15. Physical fitness was paramount with my grandfather. These interests really inspired Tarzan."

Of the screen Tarzans to date, Burroughs says Herman Brix was his favorite. "He was absolutely the best," he says. "But I also liked Johnny Weissmuller, and I loved Lex Barker."

The elder Burroughs wrote 26 "Tarzan" books, the first of which appeared in 1912 in All Story magazine and two years later in hardback.

"There've been 16 movie Tarzans and 40 'Tarzan' movies," grandson Burroughs reveals. "But, since the movie producers didn't read the books, the hero of the pictures wasn't like the one my grandfather imagined."

 
Excerpt from the Duke University press release announcing Professor Matt Cohen's 
“Brother Men: The Correspondence of Edgar Rice Burroughs and Herbert T. Weston,”
Duke University ~ May 11, 2005
Danton Burroughs, Edgar Rice Burroughs’ grandson, said he was interested to see a new side of the larger-than-life figure he had known as a child. “A lot of time and effort went into this book. I’m very impressed. It was quite enjoyable for me to see a different side of my grandfather through his best friend and through his letters,” Burroughs said. “My grandfather led the life of a few individuals -- he had tremendous energy and drive. I’m in wonder as to how he was a family man, he traveled, he did the business, he wrote the books, he did the scripts, he wrote the movies … he was all-encompassing. “This is different side of him [in the letters.] He was so down to earth, such a good family man, he loved his kids and was proud of each and every one of his kids.” Danton Burroughs remembers weekly visits to his grandfather’s house, when family members would set up the movie projector and dip into the ERB archive. “Dad would select anything from the 1918 Tarzan right up to the Weissmuller classics. That left a hell of an impression on me. Those are cherished memories,” he said.