Ron Ely death: Tarzan star with tragic family history dies at 86
Texan actor was also known for his lead role in ‘Doc Savage: The Man of Bronze’ and for hosting the Miss America pageant
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Ron Ely, who played Tarzan in an NBC television series from 1966 to 1968, has died. He was 86.
The Texan actor also played the lead role in Doc Savage: The Man of Bronze and was later known for hosting the telecast of the Miss America pageant.
His death was announced by his daughter, Kirsten, in a statement to Fox News Digital. “The world has lost one of the greatest men it has ever known – and I have lost my dad,” she said.
She continued: “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.”
“I knew him as my dad – and what a heaven sent honor that has been. To me, he hung the moon.”
Ronald Pierce Ely was born in Hereford, Texas on June 21, 1938. He began his screen career with a small role as a Navigator in the 1958 film version of the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical South Pacific.
In 1966, he won the lead role in the Tarzan television series. He portrayed the character as a well-educated man who rejects civilization to return to the African jungle where he was raised. Ely was known for performing all his own stunts in the series, and regularly suffered injuries including two broken shoulders and several lion bites.
Ely’s 6ft 4in height and good looks were also put to use in his starring role in the 1975 pulp action film Doc Savage: The Man of Bronze. In the 1980s he hosted a game show, Face the Music, and twice hosted the Miss America Pageants in 1980 and 1981.
His first marriage, to high school sweetheart Helen Janet Triplet, lasted from 1959 to 1961. He reportedly dated a string of high-profile fellow actors including Ursula Andress, Barbara Bouchet and Britt Ekland.
In 1984 he married a former Miss Florida, Valerie Lundeen, and they had three children: Kirsten, Kaitland, and Cameron.
In October 2019, Lundeen was found stabbed to death at a residential community on the Santa Barbara coast. When police arrived at the scene they shot the couple’s son Cameron 24 times, killing him. Ely later sued the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department, saying they did not attempt to save his family’s lives.
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