▲The Lord of the Jungle's romantic interest was Bo Derek, then married to the film's director.

▲Weissmuller meanwhile cemented his reputation as the noble savage, though in reality his screen Tarzan does not reflect the original character in the novels, who is gracious and highly sophisticated.

▲A box-office hit, the film went on to receive three Academy Award nominations—the first Tarzan movie to garner such accolades.

▲Faring much better was this remake of 1912's 'Tarzan of the Apes.' Directed by Hugh Hudson, 'Greystoke' starred French actor Christopher Lambert in the title role.

▲Brix appeared in this follow-up feature, and in the same year starred in 'Hawk of the Wilderness' portraying Kioga, a character very similar to Tarzan.

▲Actor Herman Brix adjusted his loincloth to play Tarzan in this film serial. Actually, Brix was the original choice to play the character back in 1931. However, he broke his shoulder before filming began so Johnny Weissmuller replaced him.

▲Directed by John Derek, this version saw a tanned and ribbed Miles O'Keeffe take to the river and the trees.

▲Tony Goldwyn voiced Tarzan while Minnie Driver was cast as the voice of Jane Porter. Glenn Close, Brian Blessed, and Nigel Hawthorn were among others providing their vocal skills.

▲A big success, the movie won Academy and Grammy awards for Best Music, Original Song, and Best Soundtrack Album.

▲Upon release the movie was widely panned by critics, and often ranks as one of the worst films ever made.

▲Definitely played for laughs, this good-natured spoof was a surprise box-office hit. It featured Brendan Fraser, a young man raised in the jungle like Tarzan and who frequently careens into trees while swinging on vines. Well, the franchise had it coming!

▲A Spanish production directed by José Truchado and starring Richard Yesteran, this effort made little impact on the public or the box office.

▲Disney's offering was the first animated major motion picture version of Edgar Rice Burroughs' original story.

▲In one episode called 'The Convert,' Tarzan meets Sister Therese, portrayed by Supremes vocalist Diana Ross.

▲In this film, Tarzan and Jane adopt a boy after his parents die in an air crash. Thereafter the character is known simply as "Boy." Making up the foursome is Cheeta, Tarzan's chimpanzee.

▲In 1966, NBC began broadcasting a TV series starring Ron Ely as Tarzan. This time, the "ape-man" was a well-educated bachelor who grew tired of urban civilization and opted to live in the African jungle.

▲The series was panned by critics. The Nation newspaper in London described Crabbe as "an unfortunate young athlete [...] required to jump from tree to tree, caress synthetic Hollywood apes, and make hideously inhuman noises."

▲It was Casper Van Dien's turn to chase down leopards, lions, and bad guys in this version, best described as "a throwback to the days of Saturday afternoon adventures." The film was shot in South Africa.

▲This was Crabbe's only appearance as Tarzan. The film costarred Julie Bishop (born Jacqueline Brown) as a pseudo-Jane character.

▲Tarzan's first appearance in book form was in the novel 'Tarzan of the Apes', published in 1914.

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German-Austrian actor Christoph Waltz portrays a villainous Belgian captain, and helps add a truly international dimension to this latest addition to the Tarzan franchise.

▲... in the 1921 serial 'The Adventures of Tarzan' (1921), screened in "15 Electrifying Episodes."

▲Besides Weissmuller's Tarzan, the character was also portrayed by Buster Crabbe in the film serial 'Tarzan the Fearless.'

▲Tarzan subsequently appeared in 25 sequels, published in various magazines. 'The Return of Tarzan' was serialized in New Story Magazine in 1913.

▲The Tarzan character first appeared in the October 1912 issue of The All-Story magazine.

▲The Lord of the Jungle made his film debut in the silent adventure 'Tarzan of the Apes,' starring Elmo Lincoln.

▲Billed as the "wonder story of the age," it was shot in Morgan City, Louisiana, utilizing humid Louisiana swamps as a stand-in for the African jungle.

▲Elmo Lincoln portrayed the character twice more, in 'The Romance of Tarzan' (1918) and...

▲In 1932, Johnny Weissmuller made his screen debut as the character in 'Tarzan the Ape Man,' the first of 12 films he made portraying the heroic adventurer raised in the African jungle. The film also marked the first appearance of Maureen O'Sullivan as his mate, Jane.

▲As the film franchise grew in popularity, so did Tarzan's family.

▲Desperate perhaps for a change of scenery, MGM set this movie in the Big Apple. "Tarzan's first encounter with indoor plumbing is truly memorable," noted film critic Leonard Maltin.

▲That person was Lex Barker (seen here with Brenda Joyce), the tenth official Tarzan of the movies.

▲He made his debut in this caper. Commenting on Barker's performance, The New York Times declared: "a younger, more streamlined ape-man with a personable grin and a torso guaranteed to make any lion cringe... "

▲This was the last of twelve films to feature Weissmuller as Tarzan. Brenda Joyce had by now taken over the role of Jane, and it was time for a new actor to swing from tree to tree!

▲The franchise continued to woo a mainly matinee audience over the next twenty years. Screen actors who portrayed Tarzan throughout this period included Gordon Scott (pictured), Jock Mahoney, and Mike Henry.

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A character created by American author Edgar Rice Burroughs, Tarzan first appeared in a 1912 novel before achieving worldwide popularity in a movie franchise that's endured for 100 years. The Lord of the Jungle has also had his own TV series, and has starred in an animated Disney feature film.

Browse the gallery and find out more about the nobleman who was raised by apes and grew up to defend the rights of the weak and the disadvantaged.

▲Swedish actor Alexander Skarsgård does a fair job of interpreting the now very familiar Tarzan character in this updated version, which despite mixed reviews was a box-office success.

▲Australian actress Margot Robbie (center) plays Jane Carter, Baroness Greystoke, Tarzan's wife.