Actor. He was a former All-American football player at Indiana University and he was working as a coach at Glendale High School in 1926,when he was noticed by Edgar Rice Burroughs at a celebration for the author's daughter being given at his home. In May,1927 he was cast as the first Tarzan in, "Tarzan and the Golden Lion". Even more ironic is the fact that Thun, the Prince of the Lion Men (Flash Gordon Serials 1934), is the only role for which Pierce ended up being remembered. James Pierce married Joan Burroughs in 1932. Pierce gave up acting after 1947, instead focusing on his family life. He and Joan were married for 40 years, until her death in 1972. James was cremated, his ashes placed in an urn and interred next to his wife Joan at the Pierce family plot in Indiana.
Actor. He was a former All-American football player at Indiana University and he was working as a coach at Glendale High School in 1926,when he was noticed by Edgar Rice Burroughs at a celebration for the author's daughter being given at his home. In May,1927 he was cast as the first Tarzan in, "Tarzan and the Golden Lion". Even more ironic is the fact that Thun, the Prince of the Lion Men (Flash Gordon Serials 1934), is the only role for which Pierce ended up being remembered. James Pierce married Joan Burroughs in 1932. Pierce gave up acting after 1947, instead focusing on his family life. He and Joan were married for 40 years, until her death in 1972. James was cremated, his ashes placed in an urn and interred next to his wife Joan at the Pierce family plot in Indiana.
Bio by: Moses Lestz
Inscription
"Tarzan"
Family Members
Siblings
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Records on Ancestry
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