Mike to be featured speaker at 2022 annual Tarzan Dum Dum – June 3 and 4

Thursday, April 7th, 2022 | Book Signing, Books, Speaking, Tarzan | No Comments

For the fourth time in the last 20 years, Mike will be a featured speaker at the annual Dum Dum, which will be held at the Drury Plaza Hotel in San Antonio, Texas, June 2 – 4, 2022. The annual event is hosted by the Burroughs Bibliophiles to honor the works of Edgar Rice Burroughs, the creator of Tarzan and John Carter, Warlord of Mars.  Burroughs wrote 24 Tarzan books and the character has been featured in over 50 films.   The convention is open to the public both days for a $5 ticket. The Huckster Room will have over a dozen exhibitors with many rare Tarzan memorabilia items on display and for sale. At the closing banquet on June 4, Mike will talk about two movie Tarzans and the books he wrote about them — Herman Brix (aka Bruce Bennett) and Glenn Morris. Brix was a silver medal winner in the shot put in the 1928 Olympics and was a football star at the U of Washington, playing in the Rose Bowl. He made his two Tarzan films in the mid 1930s, portraying the ape-man as an intelligent and literate jungle hero, like in the books. He changed his name to avoid being typecast and starred in nearly 100 movies as Bruce  Bennett, including blockbusters “The Treasure of the Sierra Madre” and  “Mildred Pierce.” Mike spent 5 days interviewing Bruce in his Hollywood home and wrote the book, called “Please Don’t Call Me Tarzan”  in 2001.  Glenn Morris won the gold medal in the decathlon in the 1936 Olympics in Berlin and played Tarzan in 1938. He served in World War II and suffered post traumatic stress disorder. Mike wrote his biography, called “the Gold and the Glory” in 2003. He will have both books and other Tarzan items for sale.

Details on the event can be found here: THE ERB DUM DUM DOSSIER (erbzine.com)

Tags: Bruce Bennett, DumDum, Edgar Rice Burroughs, Glenn Morris, Herman Brix, Tarzan

Upcoming Events for April and August 2017

Tuesday, April 4th, 2017 | Book Signing, Books, Speaking | No Comments

April 13 – Governor Terry Branstad will appear at the Newton YMCA for a special book signing on Thursday, April 13, from noon until 1:30 p.m., and Mike will be with him. Mike was the author of the book “Iowa’s Record-Setting Governor: The Terry Branstad Story,” which came out in December of 2015. The book is 234 pages long with over 50 photos, covering the governor’s life from growing up on a farm in tiny Leland, to attending high school in Forest City and then the University of Iowa and Drake law school. The book details his career as a politician, up through 2015 when he became the longest serving governor in American history.
 
Also, Mike will debut his latest book called “A Journey: Reflections on 50 Years on Writing, Wrestling, Weightlifting and Heroes. “ it is a 286 page book with nearly 200 photos, including stories on some of the best-known figures in U.S. history – from  Ronald Reagan, Muhammad Ali, Robert Redford, and Lou “The Incredible Hulk” Ferrigno to Iowa icons like Dan Gable, Hayden Fry, Dan McCarney and, of course, Terry Branstad. it is Mike’s 29th published book.
 
August 3-5 – Mike will be one of the special guests at the 2017 Dum Dum held at the Quality Inn and Suites in Coldwater, Michigan. The annual event is the largest gathering of fans in the world to celebrate the works of Edgar Rice Burroughs, the author who created Tarzan of the Apes and other characters such as John Carter of Mars.  Other special guests are Jim Sullos, president of ERB., Inc.; Martin Powell, writer for ERB., Inc.; Bo Hampton, artist for Dark Horse Comics; Bob Zueschner, author of “Edgar Rice Burroughs: The Biography,” and Cathy and Tyler Wilbanks, of Team ERB. The host for the event is Michael Hatt, author of the book “Tarzan Slept Here”, which details the times Burroughs stayed in Coldwater.
   
Mike has written two books about actors who played Tarzan in the movies and his latest memoirs has a lot of Tarzan stories in it. He will have all three books for sale, along with other Tarzan memorabilia.
   
The dum dum is a gathering of apes that Tarzan called by beating on jungle drums. Mike hosted Dum Dum events in 1997 (Newton, Iowa), 2004 (Fort Collins,Colorado) and 2008 (Waterloo, Iowa) and is a recipient of the Golden Lion Award, given out by the Burroughs Bibliophiles to persons who have to perpetuate the memory of ERB and his works.

Tags: Edgar Rice Burroughs, Tarzan, Terry Branstad