R.I.P. Ron Ely: ‘Tarzan’ TV Star Dead At 86

Tarzan alum Ron Ely died on Sept. 29, the Associated Press reports. He was 86.

Kirsten Casale Ely, the late actor’s daughter, confirmed to the outlet that her father passed away at his home in Los Alamos, California. She also honored her father on Instagram on Wednesday (Oct. 23), praising him as “someone that people called a hero.”

Born in Texas, Ely would go on to star as Tarzan in all 57 episodes of the TV series that aired on NBC from 1966 until 1968. Other TV credits of Ely’s include The Aquanauts, Marcus Welby M.D., Wonder Woman, The Love Boat, Fantasy Island, Sea Hunt, Superboy, L.A. Law, Hawkeye, and Renegade.

In his film career, he appeared in the 1958 movie musical South Pacific, as well as The Night of the Grizzly (1966), Cry of the Black Wolves (1972), and Doc Savage: The Man of Bronze (1975), among others. He most recently appeared in the 2014 TV movie Expecting Amish.

Outside of acting, he also became an author, penning two mystery novels, per AP.

Ely saw his fair share of tragedy, unfortunately, in his later years. His wife Valerie Lundeen Ely, whom he met while hosting the Miss America pageant, was stabbed to death by their son Cameron in 2019, who in turn was shot and killed by the police, per NBC News.

Ely was home when this took place, and challenged the Santa Barbara County District Attorney’s report that the shooting of his son was justified in 2020, per The Hollywood Reporter. As noted by The Daily Beast, the prosecutor’s report was upheld by a jury in 2022.