American actor, novelist
Ron Ely
|
---|
Ely (center) as Tarzan in 1968
|
Born
| Ronald Pierce Ely
(
1938-06-21
)
June 21, 1938
(age 86)
|
---|
Occupation(s)
| Actor, novelist
|
---|
Years active
| 1957?2001, 2014?present
|
---|
Spouses
|
Helen Janet Triplet
(
m.
1959;
div.
1961)
Valerie Lundeen
(
m.
1984; died 2019)
|
---|
Children
| 3 (1 deceased)
|
---|
Ronald Pierce Ely
(born June 21, 1938)
[1]
is an American actor and novelist born in
Hereford, Texas
, and raised in
Amarillo
.
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).
[2]
He hosted the
Miss America
pageant telecast in 1980 and 1981.
Actor
[
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,
[3]
and suffered two dozen major injuries in the process, including two
broken shoulders
and various lion bites.
[4]
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
Jurgen 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
.
[5]
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
Superman
from an alternative reality in the 1991 two-part episode "The Road to Hell" of the
Superboy
syndicated television series, and a big game hunter named Gordon Shaw in the 1992 episode "Tarzan the Hunted" of the syndicated
Tarzan
TV series (starring
Wolf Larson
). Until about 2001, Ely made appearances on such television shows as
Sheena
and
Renegade
.
Ely had retired from acting in 2001, but he returned to acting with an appearance in the television movie
Expecting Amish
(2014).
[2]
Writer
[
edit
]
Ely embarked on a professional writing career and has authored two published mystery novels featuring private eye Jake Sands:
Night Shadows
(1994) and
East Beach
(1995).
[2]
Personal life
[
edit
]
Ely 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 former
Miss Florida USA
, Valerie Lundeen,
[7]
and they had three children: Kirsten, Kaitland, and Cameron.
[2]
On October 15, 2019, Valerie was found stabbed to death at the
Hope Ranch
residential community along the
Santa Barbara
coast where the couple lived; Ron was unharmed.
[8]
Police were called to the scene for a "family disturbance",
[2]
[9]
and a suspect identified as the couple's son Cameron was shot dead by police.
[3]
In October 2020, Ely challenged the Santa Barbara District Attorney after the police's actions were described as justifiable homicide by the district attorney and no charges were filed against the deputies who were 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]
Filmography
[
edit
]
Film
[
edit
]
Television
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
BnF catalog entry for Ron Ely
. Bibliotheque nationale de France
. Retrieved
January 4,
2015
.
- ^
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
.
- ^
"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
.
- ^
"Face the Music"
.
IMDb
.
External links
[
edit
]
|
---|
International
| |
---|
National
| |
---|
People
| |
---|
Other
| |
---|