Frank Merrill
Frank Merrill (born Otto Adolph Stephan Poll; March 21, 1893 – February 12, 1966) was an American national title-winning gymnast (with over 58 titles to his credit), police officer, stuntman, and actor, most famous for being the fifth actor to portray Tarzan on film.
Frank Merrill
Public domain
- Name
- Frank Merrill
- Birth Name
- Otto Adolph Stephan Poll
- Born
- 21 March 1893
- Birthplace
- Newark, New Jersey, U.S.
- Died
- 12 February 1966
- Place of death
- Los Angeles, California, U.S.
- Occupation
- * Gymnast
- Nationality
- United States
- Languages
- English
VALÉORINE Encyclopedia
VALÉORINE documentary reading
Documentary summary
Frank Merrill (born Otto Adolph Stephan Poll; March 21, 1893 – February 12, 1966) was an American national title-winning gymnast (with over 58 titles to his credit), police officer, stuntman, and actor, most famous for being the fifth actor to portray Tarzan on film.
Admitted source layer · organised and presented by VALÉORINE
Note VALÉORINE
No house-authored Note is published until its assertions and sources pass the VALÉORINE evidence contract. The documentary article remains available in full while that enrichment is being consolidated.
Documentary enrichment in progress · no unsupported statement published
Reference Check
Propose documentary evidence for Frank Merrill. A contribution is never written directly as fact: identity, source, rights and evidence gates still decide.
Sign in to contribute
World of VALÉORINE
Documentary connections
Only confirmed graph relationships appear here. Images are shown only when their identity and reuse rights both pass the documentary gate.
Documentary evidence
Evidence Panel
not yet certified
- Identity
- unresolved
- Independent source families
- 0
- Admitted assertions
- 0
- Open conflicts
- 0
Authority files
wikidata · Q5488405
In this article
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Frank Merrill • Birth Name — Otto Adolph Stephan Poll • Born — 21 March 1893 • Birthplace — Newark, New Jersey, U.S. • Died — 12 February 1966 • Place of death — Los Angeles, California, U.S. • Resting Place — Hollywood Forever Cemetery • Occupation — * Gymnast • police officer • stuntman • actor • Years Active — 1921–1929
Later life
Later life
With the coming of sound films, it was decided that Merrill's voice was unsuitable for the "talkies," and he was not asked back in the role. This suited Merrill fine, as he had so enjoyed meeting youngsters via his tenure as Tarzan that he devoted the rest of his life to working with children in the Los Angeles city administration, the Los Angeles Parks Commission, as a recreation director and as a volunteer gymnastics instructor with the YMCA.
Death
Death
Merrill died on February 12, 1966, in Hollywood, California at age 72. His mausoleum is in Hollywood Forever Cemetery.
Selected filmography
Selected filmography
• Battling Mason (1924) • Reckless Speed (1924) • A Fighting Heart (1924) • Savages of the Sea (1925) • Speed Madness (1925) • A Gentleman Roughneck (1925) • Cupid's Knockout (1926) • The Fighting Doctor (1926) • Unknown Dangers (1926) • The Hollywood Reporter (1926) • The Little Wild Girl (1928) • Tarzan the Mighty (1928) • Tarzan the Tiger (1929)
L. to R.: Al Ferguson, Frank Merrill Natalie Kingston in Tarzan the Tiger - publicity still (cropped)
unknown (Universal) · Images d'Art
Places
Named by the record
Places
Only places the record itself states, plotted where the house gazetteer settles their coordinates. Nothing is inferred from a name or a nationality.
Newark.
Birth place
Los Angeles.
Death place
Tarzan Films
• Illustration — Frank Merrill as Tarzan in Tarzan the Tiger (1929) Merrill had doubled for the screen's first Tarzan, Elmo Lincoln, in the 1921 movie serial The Adventures of Tarzan, and was cast in the role himself in the 1928 movie serial Tarzan the Mighty. A year later, he starred in the movie serial Tarzan the Tiger, which, though shot as a silent feature, was partially dubbed into sound. Merrill was thus the first actor to voice Tarzan's "victory cry" on film.
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Frank Merrill no IMDB
- 2.Frank Merrill no Grapevine
- 3.Frank Merrill no Erbzine
- 4.The Great Movie Serials: Their Sound and Fury. 978-0-7130-0097-9.
- 5.Tarzan of the Movies. 978-0-8065-0295-3.
- 6.FREESE, Gene Scott Hollywood Stunt Performers, 1910s-1970s: A Biographical Dictionary, 2014, 2. ed. p. 191.
- 7.O Gorila Branco no IMDB
- 8.Tarzan at the Movies, Part 2: The Many Faces of Tarzan
- 9.Frank Merrill no Find a Grave
- 10.Elsie Merrill no Find a Grave
- 11.The Adventures of Tarzan no Silent Hollywood
References
Citations
References
Each reference names the institution holding it, so a reader may go to the document itself.
reference work
Partially resolved
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 24 August 2026.
Elsewhere in Film memorabilia
37,515 published records in this field, each with its sources named.
- Frank McDonaldPerson
- Frank McGlynn Sr.Person
- Frank McHughPerson
- Frank McRaePerson
- Frank MitchellPerson
- Frank MontgomeryPerson
- Frank MorganPerson
- Frank MoserPerson
Best supported in this field
For owners
Own a work by Frank Merrill?
A specialist will read what you send and tell you what the house can establish, what it cannot, and whether the object is suited to sale. There is no charge and no obligation. The object stays with you throughout; nothing is shipped to us unless it is arranged in writing beforehand.