Ron Ely, TV’s Tarzan in the 1960s, dies aged 86

Ron Ely, who rose to fame playing Tarzan in the 1960 television series of the same name, has died at the age of 86.

The news was confirmed by his daughter Kirsten to Fox News Digital on Wednesday (October 23), with the New York Times reporting that he passed away at the home of one of his daughters near Santa Barbara on September 29.

In a touching personal message, Kirsten wrote: ‘The world has lost one of the greatest men it has ever known – and I have lost my dad.”

“My father was someone that people called a hero. He was an actor, writer, coach, mentor, family man and leader. He created a powerful wave of positive influence wherever he went. The impact he had on others is something that I have never witnessed in any other person – there was something truly magical about him. This is how the world knew him.”

Ely was cast as the Lord of the Jungle in 1966, with Tarzan running on NBC for two years. It was the first major TV depiction of the Edgar Rice Burroughs character – who was raised by apes as a feral child in the African jungle and returned to the wild as a heroic adventurer – and followed on from a string of successful big screen productions, many of which were led by the former Olympic swimmer Johnny Weissmuller.

Ely performed his own stunts on the show, which was filmed in Brazil and Central America, and he followed in the footsteps of NFL star Mike Henry, who had left the franchise after appearing in three Tarzan films.

“I met with [producers] on a Monday, and when they offered me the role, I thought, ‘No way do I want to step into that bear trap. You do Tarzan and you are stamped for life.’ Was I ever right!” Ely said in 2013. “But my agent convinced me it was a quality show and was going to work. So on the [next] Friday I was on a plane to Brazil to shoot the first episode.”

He filmed a total of 57 hour-long episodes of the show before it was cancelled in 1968. He went on to star in the film Doc Savage: The Man of Bronze, and he also hosted the Miss America pageant in 1980 and 1981. He later presented the game show Face The Music.

In 2019, Ely’s second wife Valerie Lundeen Ely, 62, was stabbed to death by their son Cameron, 30, who authorities later shot dead.

Ely is survived by his daughters Kirsten and Kaitland.

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