Ron Ely | |
|---|---|
 Ely asDoc Savage in 1975 | |
| Born | Ronald Pierce Ely (1938-06-21)June 21, 1938 Hereford, Texas, US |
| Died | September 29, 2024(2024-09-29) (aged 86) |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 1957–2001, 2014 |
| Spouses | |
| Children | 3 |
Ronald Pierce Ely (June 21, 1938 – September 29, 2024) was an American actor and novelist, best known for portrayingTarzan in the 1966–1968NBC seriesTarzan and playing the lead role in the filmDoc Savage: The Man of Bronze (1975).[1] He hosted theMiss America pageant telecast in 1980 and 1981.
Ely won the role of Tarzan in 1966 after playing supporting roles in films such asSouth Pacific (1958), as an airplane navigator,The Fiend Who Walked the West (1958) andThe Remarkable Mr. Pennypacker (1959).[citation needed]
During the filming ofTarzan, Ely did almost all of his own stunts,[2] and received over two dozen injuries, including two broken shoulders and several lion bites.[3]
Ely's height (6'4")[citation needed] and athletic build also won him the title role in the filmDoc Savage: The Man of Bronze (1975), as well as various guest shots. He was in five episodes of the seriesFantasy Island; in one, in 1978, he portrayedMark Antony in aRoman military short tunic and breastplate and starred in theWonder Woman two-part episode, "The Deadly Sting".[citation needed]
Ely starred on the seriesThe Aquanauts in 1960–1961, in the western adventure filmThe Night of the Grizzly (1966) oppositeClint Walker, and later appeared inJürgen Goslar's slavery movieSlavers (1978). In the 1980s, he hosted the musicalgame showFace the Music, as well as the 1980 and 1981Miss America Pageants, replacing longtime hostBert Parks.[4] He starred in a 1987–1988 revival of the 1960s adventure seriesSea Hunt as Mike Nelson, the role played byLloyd Bridges in the original series.[citation needed]
In the 1990s, Ely's roles included a retired alternate universe variant ofSuperman in theSuperboy episode "The Road to Hell", and hunter Gordon Shaw in theTarzán episode "Tarzan the Hunted".[citation needed] Until about 2001, he appeared on such shows asSheena andRenegade.[citation needed] He wrote twomystery novels featuringprivate investigator Jake Sands:Night Shadows (1994) andEast Beach (1995).[1]
Ely retired from acting in 2001, returning with an appearance in the television filmExpecting Amish (2014).[1]
Ely was born inHereford, Texas on June 21, 1938 and raised inAmarillo.[5] He married his high school sweetheart, Helen Janet Triplet,[6] in 1959. Both natives of Hereford, Texas, they divorced in July 1961.[7]
In 1984, Ely married Valerie Lundeen, who won theMiss Florida USA title in 1981,[7] and they had three children.[1]
On October 15, 2019, Ely's son Cameron, then 30 years old, stabbed Valerie Ely to death at the family's home inHope Ranch, California, a coastal residential community inSanta Barbara.[8] Police officers were called to the scene for a "family disturbance"[1][9] and killed Cameron Ely, claiming he posed a threat to officers.[2]
The Santa Barbara district attorney ruled the police shooting ajustifiable homicide. No charges were filed, and an attorney representing Ely disputed the police account of Cameron's death.[10][11] An autopsy found Cameron was in the early stages ofchronic traumatic encephalopathy before he died.[12]
Ely died at the home of one of his daughters inLos Alamos, California, on September 29, 2024, at age 86.[13][14][15] His death was not announced until October 23, 2024.[16][17]
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Source:[18]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1958 | South Pacific | Navigator | |
| 1958 | The Fiend Who Walked the West | Deputy Jim Dyer | |
| 1959 | The Remarkable Mr. Pennypacker | Wilbur Fielding | |
| 1966 | The Night of the Grizzly | Tad Curry | |
| 1966 | Once Before I Die | Soldier | |
| 1972 | Der Schrei der schwarzen Wölfe | Bill Robinson | |
| 1972 | 100 Fäuste und ein Vaterunser | Hallelujah | |
| 1975 | Doc Savage: The Man of Bronze | Clark Savage Jr. aka Doc | |
| 1976 | MitGift | Dr. Kurt Jahn | |
| 1978 | Slavers | Steven Hamilton | |
| 1981 | The Seal | ||
| 2014 | Expecting Amish | Elder Miller |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1959 | Father Knows Best | Jerry Preston | Episode: "Crisis Over a Kiss" |
| 1959 | Steve Canyon | Pete Randall | Episode: "The Sergeant" |
| 1959 | Playhouse 90 | Buddy | Episode: "The Second Happiest Day" |
| 1959 | How to Marry a Millionaire | Philip Jackson | Episode: "The Method" |
| 1959 | The Millionaire | Jim Phillips | Episode: "Millionaire Sergeant Matthew Brogan" |
| 1959 | The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis | Dobie's Older Brother | Episode: "Pilot" |
| 1960 | The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp | Arleigh Smith | Episode: "The Posse" |
| 1961 | The Aquanauts | Mike Madison | 18 episodes |
| 1962 | Thriller | Lt. Mike Hudson | Episode: "Waxworks" |
| 1966–1968 | Tarzan | Tarzan | 57 episodes |
| 1969 | The Courtship of Eddie's Father | Ronald | Episode: "Pain" |
| 1971 | Ironside | Scott Bradley | Episode: "A Killing at the Track" |
| 1974 | Marcus Welby, M.D. | Ben Brecht | Episode: "To Father a Child" |
| 1978 | Wonder Woman | Bill Michaels | Episode: "The Deadly Sting" |
| 1979–1984 | Fantasy Island | Fred Spenser / Burt Hunter / Kevin Lansing Eric Williams / Marc Anthony / Baron Manfred von Richthofen | 5 episodes |
| 1980–1981 | Face The Music | Host[19] | Main role |
| 1980–1981 | The Love Boat | Ted Cole / Jim / Steve Swaggart / Darryl Brewster | 3 episodes |
| 1983 | Matt Houston | Winston Fowler | Episode: "A Deadly Parlay" |
| 1983 | Hotel | Evan Paige | Episode: "Charades" |
| 1987 | Sea Hunt | Mike Nelson | 22 episodes |
| 1991 | Superboy | Superman | Episode: "The Road to Hell" |
| 1992 | Tarzán | Gordon Shaw | Episode: "Tarzan, the Hunted" |
| 1992 | The Hat Squad | Carl Strong | Episode: "Family Business" |
| 1993 | L.A. Law | Episode: "Book of Renovation" | |
| 1993–1994 | Renegade | Gen. Howard Bird / Reverend McClain | 2 episodes |
| 1994 | Hawkeye | Harry March | Episode: "Out of the Past" |
| 2001 | Sheena | Bixby | Episode: "The Feral King" |
