Ron Ely
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Ron Ely | |
|---|---|
 Ely (center) as Tarzan in 1968 | |
| Born | Ronald Pierce Ely June 21, 1938 Hereford, Texas, U.S. |
| Died | September 29, 2024 (aged 86) |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 1957–2001, 2014 |
| Spouses | Helen Janet Triplet
(m. 1959; div. 1961)Valerie Lundeen
(m. 1984; died 2019) |
| Children | 3 |
Ronald Pierce Ely (June 21, 1938 – September 29, 2024) was an American actor and novelist.
Ely is best known for having portrayed Tarzan in the 1966–1968 NBC series Tarzan and for playing the lead role in the film Doc Savage: The Man of Bronze (1975).[1] He hosted the Miss America pageant telecast in 1980 and 1981.
Career
[edit]Ely won the role of Tarzan in 1966 after playing supporting roles in films such as South Pacific (1958), as an airplane navigator, The Fiend Who Walked the West (1958) and The Remarkable Mr. Pennypacker (1959).
During the filming of Tarzan, Ely did virtually all of his stunts for the series,[2] and suffered two dozen major injuries in the process, including two broken shoulders and various lion bites.[3]
Ely's height (6'4") and athletic build also won him the title role in the film Doc Savage: The Man of Bronze (1975), as well as various guest shots. He was in five episodes of the series Fantasy Island; in one, in 1978, Ely portrayed Mark Antony in a Roman military short tunic and breastplate. Also in 1978, Ely starred in the Wonder Woman television series two-part episode "The Deadly Sting."
Ely starred on the series The Aquanauts in 1960–1961, in the western adventure film The Night of the Grizzly (1966) opposite Clint Walker, and later appeared in Jürgen Goslar's slavery movie Slavers (1978). In the 1980s, he hosted the musical game show Face the Music, as well as the 1980 and 1981 Miss America Pageants, replacing longtime host Bert Parks.[4] Later in the decade, Ely starred in a 1987–1988 revival of the 1960s adventure series Sea Hunt as Mike Nelson, the role played by Lloyd Bridges in the original series.
In the 1990s, Ely's roles included a retired alternate universe variant of Superman in the Superboy episode "The Road to Hell", and hunter Gordon Shaw in the Tarzán episode "Tarzan the Hunted". Until about 2001, Ely made appearances on such television shows as Sheena and Renegade.
Ely retired from acting in 2001, but he returned to acting with an appearance in the television film Expecting Amish (2014).[1]
Ely embarked on a professional writing career and authored two published mystery novels featuring private eye Jake Sands: Night Shadows (1994) and East Beach (1995).[1]
Personal life and death
[edit]Ely was born in Hereford, Texas on June 21, 1938, and raised in Amarillo.[5] He married his high school sweetheart, Helen Janet Triplet,[6] in 1959. Both natives of Hereford, Texas, they stayed together until their divorce in July 1961.[7] He later dated actresses Ursula Andress, Barbara Bouchet, Dyan Cannon, and Britt Ekland. In 1984 he married Valerie Lundeen, who won the Miss Florida USA title in 1981,[7] and they had three children: Kirsten, Kaitland, and Cameron.[1]
On October 15, 2019, Lundeen was found stabbed to death in Hope Ranch, California, a coastal residential community in Santa Barbara where she and Ely resided.[8] Police officers were called to the scene for a "family disturbance"[1][9] and killed a suspect identified as the couple's son, Cameron.[2] In October 2020, Ely challenged the Santa Barbara district attorney who had described the police's actions as justifiable homicide. Ultimately, no charges were filed against the deputies involved in the shooting.[10][11] An autopsy found that Cameron was suffering from the early stages of chronic traumatic encephalopathy at the time of his death.[12]
Ron Ely died at his daughter's home in Santa Barbara on September 29, 2024, at the age of 86.[13][14]
Filmography
[edit]Film
[edit]| 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 |
Television
[edit]| 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[15] | 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" |
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d e "Ron Ely: Woman found dead at Tarzan star's California home". BBC News. October 16, 2019.
- ^ a b "'Tarzan' actor Ron Ely's wife killed; son shot by deputies". ABC News. Associated Press. October 16, 2019.
- ^ Rutledge, Leigh W. (1989). The Gay Fireside Companion. Alyson Publications, Inc. p. 146. ISBN 978-1-55583-164-6.
- ^ "Our History | Miss America 2.0". Miss America. Retrieved October 16, 2019.
- ^ BnF catalog entry for Ron Ely. Bibliothèque nationale de France. Retrieved January 4, 2015.
- ^ "Aquanauts Diver Reaches Stardom in Short Time". Simpson's Leader-Times. Kittanning, Pennsylvania. February 11, 1961. p. 11.
- ^ a b Farrell, Paul (October 16, 2019). "Valerie Lundeen, Ron Ely's Wife: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know". Heavy.com. Retrieved October 16, 2019.
- ^ O'Neill, Natalie (October 16, 2019). "'Tarzan' actor Ron Ely's wife stabbed to death: reports". New York Post. Retrieved October 16, 2019.
- ^ Parker, Ryan (October 16, 2019). "Homicide Suspect Killed by Deputies in Home of 'Tarzan' Actor Ron Ely". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved October 16, 2019.
- ^ Roberto, Melissa (October 16, 2020). "Ron Ely challenges Santa Barbara district attorney after fatal shooting of his son deemed 'justifiable'". Fox News. Retrieved October 16, 2020.
- ^ "No charges against sheriff's deputies who shot, killed son of 'Tarzan' actor Ron Ely in Santa Barbara County". ABC7 KABC. October 7, 2020. Retrieved October 15, 2020.
- ^ Hayden, Tyler (October 7, 2020). "Don't Believe Your Ears in Ely Case, Authorities Say ― Believe the Deputies". The Santa Barbara Independent.
- ^ Risen, Clay. "Ron Ely, Who Played an Updated Tarzan in the 1960s, Dies at 86". The New York Times. Retrieved October 23, 2024.
- ^ Overhultz, Lauryn (October 23, 2024). "'Tarzan' star Ron Ely dead at 86". Fox News. Retrieved October 23, 2024.
- ^ "Face the Music". IMDb.
External links
[edit]- Ron Ely at IMDb
- Ron Ely at Brian's Drive-In Theater
- "Ron Ely looks back at Tarzan". Daily Express. April 7, 2013. Archived from the original on December 20, 2019.
- Ron Ely discography at Discogs
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| People | |
| Other | |
- Recent deaths
- 1938 births
- 2024 deaths
- 20th-century American male actors
- 20th-century American male writers
- 20th-century American novelists
- 21st-century American male actors
- Amarillo High School alumni
- American game show hosts
- American male film actors
- American male novelists
- American male television actors
- Male actors from Texas
- People from Amarillo, Texas