Ron Ely, who portrayed TV's 'Tarzan' in the 1960s, passes away at 86
Ron Ely, the towering and muscular actor who embodied the iconic character in NBC's 1960s series "Tarzan," passed away at 86. His daughter, Kirsten Casale Ely, shared with The Associated Press that he died on September 29 at his Los Alamos residence in Santa Barbara County, California. Ely, while not as renowned as Johnny Weismuller, the Olympic champion who portrayed Tarzan in earlier films, further shaped the timeless image of the bare-chested, loincloth-clad figure that Disney later celebrated.
“He was an actor, writer, coach, mentor, family man, and leader,” Kirsten Ely posted on Instagram. “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.”
In 2019, Ely resurfaced in the headlines when his wife, Valerie Lundeen Ely, was tragically killed at their home by their son, Cameron Ely, who was later fatally shot by police. Ron Ely, present during the incident, contested the justification of his son's shooting.
“If he didn’t have a gun or he didn’t have a weapon, what was the basis of shooting him?” questioned Ely’s attorney, John Burris, in 2020. “They may have very well thought he was involved in some other activity involving the mom. But that’s not a basis to shoot and kill him. You have to have a lawful basis to do that.”
During the early 1980s, Ely was the host of the Miss America pageant, where he met Valerie, a former Miss Florida. They wed in 1984 and had three children. Ely retired from acting in 2001 to prioritize his family. "Late 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," he revealed to London’s Daily Express in 2013, though he briefly returned to acting in the 2014 TV movie "Expecting Amish."
Ely's portrayal of Tarzan was distinct from the monosyllabic grunts often linked to the character created by Edgar Rice Burroughs. Instead, he depicted an educated bachelor who, disillusioned with society, returned to the African jungle of his upbringing. Ely proudly stated he performed his own stunts with Tarzan's animal companions.
“They first tried to cast a former American football player called Mike Henry but he didn’t like chimpanzees and from the moment he got on set, things went south in a hurry,” Ely recounted to the Daily Express. When a chimp injured Henry during filming, Ely was swiftly chosen as his replacement.
“I met with them on a Monday and when they offered me the role I thought: ‘No way do I want to step into that bear trap. You do Tarzan and you are stamped for life’,” Ely shared with the Daily Express. “Was 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.”
Ely also starred as the lead in the 1975 action film "Doc Savage: The Man of Bronze." Apart from this, his roles in TV and films were mostly minor, such as in the 1958 musical "South Pacific." He authored two mystery novels featuring detective Jake Sands: "Night Shadows" (1994) and "East Beach" (1995). Born in Hereford, Texas, and raised in Amarillo, he married his high school sweetheart in 1959, but they divorced two years later. He leaves behind his daughter Kaitland Ely Sweet, along with Kirsten Casale Ely.
