LOS ANGELES (AP) 鈥� the tall, musclebound actor who played the title character in the 1960s NBC series 鈥淭arzan,鈥� has died at age 86.
Ely's daughter, Kirsten Casale Ely, told The Associated Press on Wednesday that her father died Sept. 29 at his home in Los Alamos, California, an unincorporated community in Santa Barbara County.
While Ron Ely was not quite as well-known as who played Tarzan in movies in the 1930s and 1940s, Ely helped form the image of the shirtless, loincloth-wearing character further immortalized by Disney.
鈥淗e was an actor, writer, coach, mentor, family man and leader,鈥� Kirsten Ely said in an . 鈥淗e 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.鈥�
In 2019, he tragically returned to the news when his 62-year-old wife, Valerie Lundeen Ely, was stabbed to death at their Santa Barbara, California, home by their 30-year-old son, Cameron Ely, who was . Ron Ely, who was home during the stabbing, challenged the prosecutor's report that his son's shooting was justified.
鈥淚f he didn鈥檛 have a gun or he didn鈥檛 have a weapon, what was the basis of shooting him?鈥� 鈥淭hey may have very well thought he was involved in some other activity involving the mom. But that鈥檚 not a basis to shoot and kill him. You have to have a lawful basis to do that.鈥�
In the early 1980s, Ely was host of the Miss America pageant and met Valerie, a Miss Florida, there. They married in 1984. The couple had three children, and Ely retired from acting to focus on his family in 2001.
鈥淟ate 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,鈥� he told London's Daily Express in 2013, expressing interest in the time at reentering acting. He would return briefly in the 2014 TV movie 鈥淓xpecting Amish.鈥�
Ely鈥檚 Tarzan didn鈥檛 speak in the monosyllabic grunts often associated with the character, originally created by novelist Edgar Rice Burroughs. He was instead an educated bachelor who had grown sick of civilization and had returned to African jungle where he was raised.
Ely said in interviews that he did his own stunts on the show, working directly and precariously with the tigers, chimpanzees and other wild animals that were Tarzan鈥檚 friends and servants.
鈥淭hey first tried to cast a former American football player called Mike Henry but he didn鈥檛 like chimpanzees and from the moment he got on set, things went south in a hurry,鈥� Ely told London鈥檚 Daily Express in 2013.
A chimp attacked Henry and injured his jaw when the show鈥檚 pilot was being filmed, and Ely was cast in his place at the last moment.
鈥淚 met with them on a Monday and when they offered me the role I thought: 鈥楴o way do I want to step into that bear trap. You do Tarzan and you are stamped for life鈥�,鈥� Ely told the Daily Express. 鈥淲as I ever right! But my agent convinced me it was a quality show and was going to work. So on the Friday I was on a plane to Brazil to shoot the first episode.鈥�
Ely also played the title character in the 1975 action film 鈥淒oc Savage: The Man of Bronze,鈥� but otherwise had mostly small roles in TV and films, including the 1958 movie musical 鈥淪outh Pacific.鈥�
He also wrote a pair of mystery novels featuring a detective named Jake Sands, 1994鈥檚 鈥淣ight Shadows鈥� and 1995鈥檚 鈥淓ast Beach.鈥�
Born in Hereford, Texas, and raised in Amarillo, he married his high school sweetheart in 1959, but divorced two years later.
Along with Kirsten Casale Ely, he is survived by daughter Kaitland Ely Sweet.
Andrew Dalton, The Associated Press
