Thursday, September 13, 2007

Me Tarzan, Me Like Disneyland

Many famous people have visited Disneyland since it opened. With the proximity to Hollywood, many of them have been stars of movies and television. These two shots are of Gordon Scott who was Tarzan of the late 1950s and Vera Miles his wife at the time. Vera had a thriving film career of her own and Gordon and her met on the set of a Tarzan film. I like that the photographers placed them in Adventureland the natural setting for Tarzan. The image of them in the Jungle Cruise is great for the detail of the elephant wall in the temple scene. And of course who does not like a merchandise shot with funky earrings in the back (on a Disneyland card), straw hats of different shapes, rubber spears and leis. In Vera's hand she is holding a Disneyland Admittance ticket. Now days such stars would be surrounded by security and not posing for photographs but hiding from the stalkerazzi.

10 comments:

  1. Neat Rare post, thanks! I want one of those rubber spears really bad! I love how Vera is holding an Admittance ticket, isn't she already in Disneyland? LOL!! Thanks for the unique posts! Tim

    ReplyDelete
  2. These are fun...notice that Vera has some Mouse Ears in the first photo!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Anonymous9:51 AM

    That is not Gordon Scott or Vera Miles. It is Lex Baxter and a girl I do not know. For more pictures of Lex do a Google Image Search. Love your blog. Thank you very much.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Anonymous10:08 PM

    Actually your both mistaken. The picture is of Lex Barker (not Gordon Scott or Baxter). He also played Tarzan. The woman next to him is his new wife actress Irene Labhart not Vera Miles. He married Irene in 1957 after divorcing Lana Turner. Irene died in 1962 of leukemia. Lex was the tenth movie Tarzan. I try to catch your blog often and really enjoy your efforts, Thanks and I hope this helps.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Hello both anonymous. Thanks for the information. I looked at images of Lex and saw some similarities, but was not sure it was him. It also looked like Lex was not in too many films during this time period, so I thought it was Gordon with publicity. Thanks for setting the record straight.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Goodness, and I here I thought it was Lucy & Ethel from the lost "Jungle Cruise" episode (soon to be colorized for DVD). Whoever it is, great post, Matterhorn!

    ReplyDelete
  7. I agree. That is not Vera miles.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Anonymous3:01 AM

    "Gavin Elster"? Hmmm. That's the name of the murderer in Hitchcock's VERTIGO, a film he made right before PSYCHO with Vera Miles, and right after THE WRONG MAN, also with Vera Miles.

    Yes, that is quite definitely Lex Barker. Gordon Scott, whom I had the pleasure of meeting about 12 years ago (And who died earlier this year), was much better looking for one thing.

    Nor is that by any stretch of the imagination Vera Miles. She's familiar enough, at least to anyone who has seen PSYCHO, that it's surprising to have made the misidentification, although she DID wear her hair in that style at that time.

    But still, it IS a Tarzan in Adventureland, and so near where his tree house now sits.

    BTW, perhaps why Barker's credits were so few is because, having seen most of his Tarzans, I can attest he was a mediocre actor at best, not that Gordon Scott was Olivier.

    "Tarzan and the Trappers" is the movie on which Scott & Miles met. I have a DVD of it. The marriage didn't last long.

    Great pictures.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Gordon Scott was tall and built like a bodybuilder. He was an excellent Tarzan.

    The photos of Lex Barker at Disneyworld are interesting, but obviously posed for the magazines. Back in the old days, these type of publicity shots were routine and sent to the movie magazines along with press releases.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Anonymous3:17 PM

    Blödsinn was hier geschrieben wurde, das ist nicht Lex Barker und Irene Labhardt, sondern er und seine Ehefrau Nr. 1 Constance Thurlow mit der er von 1942-1950 verheiratet war und die Mutter seiner Kinder Lynne und Alexander "Zan" war.

    ReplyDelete