Ron Ely, an actor best known for starring in the 1960s NBC television series “Tarzan,” has died at age 86.
Ely’s daughter, Kirsten Casale Ely, confirmed that the star died on Sept. 29 at his home in Los Alamos, California. The cause of death was not revealed.
Kirsten shared family photos with her father on Instagram, 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. 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.”
“My father’s life story was one of relentless perseverance, unending dedication to his family and friends, courage to do what was right, and willing sacrifice to facilitate the dreams of those he loved,” she wrote.
She wrote that her “greatest comfort is knowing that my dad is with my momma and my brother. It is also my greatest sadness because I miss them all so much that it’s etched into my soul. I will proudly carry all of my favorite pieces of them—lovingly cemented into my heart—until we all meet again.” Her words referred to the 2019 fatal stabbing incident involving Ron Ely’s son, Cameron, and his wife, Valerie Ely.
In October 2019, Ron Ely’s wife, 62-year-old Valerie Lundeen Ely, was stabbed to death at their Santa Barbara, California, home by their 30-year-old son, Cameron Ely, who was subsequently shot dead by police. A year later, Ely and his family challenged the Santa Barbara County District Attorney report that the fatal shooting of his son was justifiable.
“If he didn’t have a gun and he didn’t have a weapon, what was the basis for shooting him?” the Ely family’s attorney John Burris said in 2020.
TV, Film Career
Born in 1938 in Hereford, Texas, the actor’s career began in the 1950s, when he guest-starred in popular TV shows such as “Father Knows Best,” “Steve Canyon,” and “The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis” before landing the lead role of “Tarzan.”
Ely played the iconic character from 1966 to 1968 across 57 episodes before portraying another pulp fiction hero in the 1975 action-comedy movie “Doc Savage: The Man of Bronze.” He took on supporting roles from the ’70s through to the ’90s, appearing in well-known TV shows such as “Wonder Woman,” “Fantasy Island,” “Superboy,” and “L.A. Law.”
In 1980 and 1981, Ely replaced long-time host Bert Parks to host the Miss America pageants and emceed the game show “Face the Music” during the same period.
The actor took a hiatus from acting in the mid-‘90s to raise his children Kirsten, Kaitland, and Cameron. He also released two detective novels, “Night Shadows” (1994) and “East Beach” (1995), as well as a non-fiction book about his love for nature called “Take a Hike” (2022).
In 2014, Ely made his comeback with the TV movie “Expecting Amish,” about an 18-year-old who is about to join the Amish church and marry her boyfriend when a trip to Hollywood changes her life.
“I stepped out of acting to raise a family and be able to spend more time with them here in Santa Barbara,” Ely said in a 2014 interview with The Fresno Bee.
“Now, all the kids are through college with advanced degrees. My family asked me, ‘What are you hanging around for?’ I started looking around and this film came up. It felt so good making the movie, I wish I had never left,” he added.
Ely is survived by daughters Kirsten Casale Ely and Kaitland Ely Sweet.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.