John Coleman Burroughs
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John Coleman "Jack" Burroughs (28 February 1913 - 22 February 1979) was an American illustrator known for his illustrations of the works of his father, Edgar Rice Burroughs.
Jack Burroughs was born in Chicago, the son of Edgar Rice Burroughs, creator of Tarzan, and of his first wife, Emma Centennia Hulbert. On 12 December 1936 Jack Burroughs married Jane Ralston. They had three children, John Ralston Burroughs, Danton Burroughs, and Dian Burroughs. They were divorced in 1961. On 16 December 1961 Jack married his second wife, Mary. They divorced around 1972. Jack's creative powers were sapped by Parkinson's Disease in his final years.
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[edit] Creative career
Jack and his siblings Joan and Hulbert were all fans of their father's writing, but only John Coleman Burroughs added significantly to Edgar Rice Burroughs's works with new creative material. Growing up in an atmosphere saturated by his father's famous creations, his first excursions into the professional art world would be influenced by Edgar Rice Burroughs themes.
[edit] Art
At age 23, he was given the chance to illustrate his father's book, The Oakdale Affair and the Rider published on 15 February 1937. A few months earlier, Ed had written: "... it has always been the ambition of my son, Jack, and myself that one day he would illustrate one of my books. He is doing very excellent work, and I am having him illustrate the Spring book for us." Jack went on to illustrate all future Edgar Rice Burroughs books published during the author's lifetime - a total of over 125 illustrations. He also illustrated the John Carter Sunday newspaper strip, a David Innes of Pellucidar comic book feature and numerous Big Little Book covers.
[edit] Writing
In addition to his artwork, Jack wrote a string of short stories with his brother Hulbert and his wife Jane Ralston, who also served as model for the heroines he drew. Jack's novel Treasure of the Black Falcon was published in 1967 by Ballantine Books.
[edit] Legacy
In June of 2003, Danton Burroughs opened a storage locker that had been sealed since his father's death in 1979. The room was packed with items that John Coleman had amassed throughout his very productive life: personal effects, letters, documents, books, photos, sketches, clothing, paintings, charcoals, artwork done for major Hollywood film studios, WWII propaganda art and handbook illustrations for Douglas Aircraft Co., etc.
There were also a great many items passed on from Jack's father, Edgar Rice Burroughs: military hat, favorite chair, film projector, a mold for creating head and shoulder statues of Edgar Rice Burroughs, photo albums, business documents, journals, favorite books, etc. Photos of many of these items were taken as they were retrieved from the storage room. Danton is releasing material that he feels might be of interest to Edgar Rice Burroughs fans on the JohnColemanBurroughs.com Website.
[edit] References
- The Worlds of Edgar Rice Burroughs, material by Bill Hillman and Danton Burroughs
- John Coleman Burroughs site, by Danton Burroughs
