Tarzan star Ron Ely’s cause of death released

The star of 1960s ‘Tarzan’ series reportedly died from end-stage heart disease

Ely played Tarzan in NBC’s 1960s TV series (AP)

Ron Ely’s cause of death has been released two months after the Tarzan actor died in September at the age of 86.

The Texan actor who starred as the title character in NBC’s 1960s Tarzan series, died from end-stage heart disease, according to his death certificate obtained by TMZ.

End-stage heart disease is considered to be the most severe form of heart disease and occurs when the heart becomes too weak to pump blood effectively, according to Mass General Brigham. A person diagnosed with end-stage heart disease is at risk of dying within the next six to 12 months.

While Ely died on September 29 at his home in Los Alamos, California, his death wasn’t reported until October when his daughter, Kirsten Casale Ely, confirmed the news.

“He was an actor, writer, coach, mentor, family man and leader,” Kirsten said in an Instagram post at the time. “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.”

Ely may not have been quite as well-known as Johnny Weismuller, the Olympic swimmer who played Tarzan in the films in the 1930s and 1940s, but he was still integral to forming the image of the musclebound, loincloth-wearing character viewers know today.

Ron Ely’s cause of death was listed as end-stage heart disease (Getty Images)

The actor was preceded in death by his wife, Valerie Lundeen Ely, who in 2019 was tragically stabbed to death in their California home by their 30-year-old son, Cameron Ely. Cameron was subsequently shot and killed by police.

Ely, who was home at the time of the stabbing, later challenged the prosecutor’s report that his son’s shooting was justified.

“If he didn’t have a gun or he didn’t have a weapon, what was the basis of shooting him?” Ely’s attorney John Burris said in 2020. “They may have very well thought he was involved in some other activity involving the mom. But that’s not a basis to shoot and kill him. You have to have a lawful basis to do that.”

Ely and Valerie met in the early 1980s when the actor was the host of the Miss America pageant, and Valerie was Miss Florida. They married in 1984. They had three children, and Ely eventually retired from acting to focus on his family in 2001.

“Late in life I had a young family. I decided to stop acting and work at home, as an author, that way I could be with the kids all through school and be able to attend their sports games and things,” Ely told The Daily Express in 2013.

Along with Kirsten Casale Ely, he is survived by daughter Kaitland Ely Sweet, who remembered him as “a true American hero” in a separate Instagram tribute.

“My dad. My first and longest love. I will forever miss his laugh, ah the best laugh in the world,” Kaitland wrote. “He lives on within us. His teachings are in us. His light shines through us. His knowledge runs deep throughout my veins.”