Famed ‘Tarzan’ actor dies at 86

Actor Ron Ely, best known for playing Tarzan on the popular eponymous 1960s television show, has died. He was 86.

Ely’s daughter, Kirsten Casale Ely, confirmed his death in an Instagram post, writing, “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,” she wrote. “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,” she said.

“Tarzan” ran on TV from 1966-68, and featured a more educated, well-spoken jungle lord. The actor was known for doing most of his own stunts, which often resulted in broken bones, torn muscles or attacks from animals, according to reports from the New York Times, BBC and USA Today.

Ely got his start as a supporting actor on such popular TV shows as “Father Knows Best,” “How to Marry a Millionaire” and “The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis,” before nabbing the title role on “Tarzan.”

He later played another pulp hero, Doc Savage, in the 1975 movie “Doc Savage: The Man of Bronze.”

He went on to have guest appearances on a number of popular shows, including “The Love Boat,” “Marcus Welby, M.D.,” and “Fantasy Island,” before retiring in 2001. He returned to performing in 2014 with the television movie “Expecting Amish.”

In addition, he hosted the game show “Face the Music,” hosted the Miss America pageant in 1980 and 1981 and wrote two detective novels in the 1990s.

In October 2019, tragedy hit when Ely‘s wife, Valerie Lundeen Ely, was stabbed to death at their California home by their son, Cameron.

When police arrived, they shot and killed Cameron who, they said, posed a threat.

Ely and his family later filed a lawsuit saying that the shooting was not justifiable and that Cameron had his hands up, signaling that he was surrendering. A jury ruled in 2022 that the police had acted in self-defense.