Ron Ely, who played the role of Tarzan in the television series that aired in the 1960s, passed away at the age of 86.
According to his daughter, Kirsten Casale Ely, the actor passed away on September 29 at his residence in Los Angeles, which is located in the state of California.
Edgar Rice Burroughs created Tarzan as a fictional character in the early 20th century. The actor, who was 6 feet 4 inches tall and had a strong build, contributed to the formation of the present image of Tarzan.
In the action movie Doc Savage: The Man of Bronze, which was released in 1975, he also portrayed the role of the title character.
During interviews, he stated that he was responsible for his own stunts on Tarzan and that he collaborated directly with the tigers, chimpanzees, and other creatures that were loyal companions of the shirtless character.
In an interview with the Daily Express in 2013, Ely stated that the initial attempt was made to cast a former American football player named Mike Henry. However, Henry did not have a favourable attitude towards chimps, and from the moment he arrived on location, things went from bad to worse in a fast.
Henry suffered a jaw injury as a result of a monkey attack during the pilot’s filming. As a result, Ely was cast as his replacement at the very last minute.
On a Monday, I had a meeting with them, and when they offered me the post, my first thought was, “There is no way that I would ever want to put myself in that bear trap.” In an interview with the Express, Ely stated, “You do Tarzan, and you are stamped for life.”
“Had I ever been correct! But my representative was able to persuade me that it was a good programme and that it was going to be successful. On Friday, I boarded a plane to Brazil in order to complete the production of the first episode.
Valerie Lundeen Ely, who was 62 years old at the time of her death, was stabbed to death at their house in Santa Barbara, California, in the year 2019. Their son Cameron Ely discovered her body.
As a result, law enforcement shot and killed the 30-year-old man. According to an autopsy, Cameron, a former collegiate American football star, was in the early stages of chronic traumatic encephalopathy, also known as CTE, a degenerative brain condition that can result from repeated blows to the head.
Ely, who was at home at the time of the stabbing, contested the results of the prosecutor’s report, which stated that the shooting of his son was appropriate.
Throughout her career, Ely proceeded to play a wide range of parts in films and television shows, as well as write two detective novels and host the Miss America contest on two separate occasions.
Since he wanted to spend more time with his family, he effectively retired in the year 2001.
His two children, Kirsten Casale Ely and Kaitland Ely Sweet, are the only ones who will remember him.