She played the Jane who had the most screen time in Tarzan history, both on film and on television. Leaving her native Brittany for Los Angeles at a very young age, Lydie Denier was the star of the series “Tarzan” alongside Wolf Larson from 1991 to 1994, before playing spies in a swimsuit in “Agence Acapulco”. Met at the Monte-Carlo Television Festival, Lydie Denier, 62, recounts her memories to latin.ch.
How did you land the role of Jane in the series “Tarzan”?
I had been on the soap opera “General Hospital” for a year, and “Santa Barbara” wanted me. But I went to the studio every day and I wanted to do something else. My agent then told me about the series “Tarzan”, which was to be filmed for six months in Brazil. At my first audition, I was sick and I sucked. But I went back. For months. There were 800 girls and 1200 men to audition. And it was Aaron Spelling, whose company distributed the series, who chose me with Wolf Larson.
And you found yourself on set, in a place infested with snakes…
Snakes, tarantulas, scorpions… Initially, it was supposed to be Brazil. Finally, we filmed in Mexico. The conditions were very difficult: it was very hot, we were swimming in rivers and we didn’t know what diseases we might catch. And then we worked with chimpanzees, lions, elephants. With Wolf Larson, we arrived ten days before filming because we had to adapt to the animals. Particularly to Archie, who played Cheeta.
There was only one chimpanzee?
No, two. Archie had his understudy, because he didn’t like water!
Tarzan tackled ecological themes at a time when this was not necessarily at the heart of adventure series. Did that matter to you?
Yes! We were at the forefront. But if we filmed now, we wouldn’t be able to do it with animals anymore, everything would be in computer-generated images. One day, I met someone who was involved in protecting gorillas and she was outraged that we had filmed with a chimpanzee. I told him he was a real Hollywood actor: he traveled on a private jet, had his own seat and drank his Coca-Cola. He was never mistreated.
Do you still have contact with Wolf Larson?
Very little. After Tarzan, he did another series, Los Angeles Heat, then we quickly lost touch. He never came to fan meetings. All the Janes, all the Tarzans, Casper Van Dien (editor’s note: Tarzan and the Lost City, film released in 1998) were there. Except Wolf Larson. On the other hand, I am still in contact with his understudy, who became an actor.
Why did the Tarzan series end in 1994 after three seasons?
It’s the producers’ decision, unfortunately. They had launched the series “Agence Acapulco”, which was intended to be a sort of “Baywatch”, and therefore stopped “Tarzan”. They thought it would become something very big, but no. For season 2 of “Agence Acapulco”, they asked me to replace Catherine Oxenberg.
“I’m in a swimsuit and suddenly I have a gun. Where does he come from?
On screen, Agence Acapulco looked like a dream shoot. What was the reality behind the scenes?
We spent our days in bikinis. So we had to pay attention to what we ate, exercise, etc. Everything happened in the same hotel, the Marriott. Not in Acapulco but in Puerto Vallarta. We filmed there six days a week for six months. I remember one time I said to the director: “I’m in a swimsuit and suddenly I have a gun. Where does he come from? He told me, “Be creative.”
You also played in “Baywatch”…
Yes, in two episodes. David Hasselhoff told me, “I want you on the show.” But I couldn’t, I was under contract with “Tarzan”.
In the 90s, in addition to “Baywatch,” you made appearances in “Melrose Place” and “The Underside of Palm Beach.” Which of these shoots had the most impact on you?
“The Underside of Palm Beach”. I had to do a slightly sexy scene with Chris (editor’s note: Potter, Sergeant Tom Ryan). And he refused to do it because I came from “Acapulco Agency,” where I was in a swimsuit all the time. I went to his dressing room to talk to him. I told him we were going to act like it was “The Pink Panther”. He took off his T-shirt and found himself in his underwear… and it was great.
The 90s on television were indeed very swimsuit-oriented. We’re talking about a bygone era. Do you think we’ll come back to it one day?
Yes, I think so. Everything is cyclical. I started out in horror and science fiction films. At some point it became very dated. And today, it’s coming back. So why not the swimsuit series?
