The Tarzan Twins" were anything but conventional twins, breaking age-old rules from the moment they were born. Born on the same day, they embodied many of the physical characteristics one might expect from twins, with striking similarities in features such as their noses, blue eyes, chins, and mouths. However, their individuality emerged in the realm of hair color, where Dick sported a jet-black mane, and Doc's locks were as golden as molasses candy.
But the most significant twist in their story was that they hailed from different corners of the globe. Dick was born in England, while Doc entered the world in America, a fact that challenged the very notion of twinship. So, why, then, were they famously known as the Tarzan Twins? To unravel this enigma, one must delve into their family history.
The Tarzan Twins were sons of twin sisters, two American girls whose resemblance to each other exceeded even that of identical twins. Each sister married a man from a different continent, resulting in Dick's mother staying in America and becoming Doc's mother marrying an Englishman and relocating to another hemisphere.
Their upbringing was unconventional too. Their parents, in a bid to offer them a diverse education, divided it between America and England. What no one foresaw was their unplanned educational adventure in Africa's jungles.
At the age of fourteen, while attending an esteemed English school teeming with future aristocrats, the striking resemblance between Dick and Doc earned them the moniker "The Twins." This nickname later evolved into "The Tarzan Twins" after it was revealed that Dick's father had a distant connection to Lord Greystoke, renowned worldwide as Tarzan of the Apes.
The jungle-inspired name was a blend of Tarzan, where "tar" symbolizes white in the apes' language, and "go," meaning black. Doc, with his fair hair, was tagged as Tarzan-tar, while Dick, the raven-haired counterpart, became Tarzan-go.
However, their tree-climbing skills left much to be desired, prompting ridicule from their peers. Determined to live up to their new names, Dick and Doc dedicated themselves to athleticism, quickly mastering tree-climbing and sports. Their academic performance may have suffered, but their physical prowess soared.
Their world was turned upside down when a letter from Dick's mother arrived, inviting them to spend two months with none other than Tarzan of the Apes himself on his vast African estate. Overjoyed and brimming with excitement, the boys flouted curfew, sacrificing a day of classes to revel in their upcoming adventure.
