Tarzan actor Ron Ely passes away at age 86

US actor Ron Ely, best known for playing the role of Tarzan in the 1960s television show of the same name, has died aged 86.

“The world has lost one of the greatest men it has ever known – and I have lost my dad,” the actor’s daughter, Kirsten Casale Ely, said in an Instagram post. When Tarzan first appeared on the NBC television network in 1966 and 1968, the actor broke several bones and was reportedly bitten by animals while doing his own stunts.

Ely started writing and published two mystery novels when he retired from performing in 2001.
Ely briefly returned to acting in 2014, playing an Amish elder in the television movie Expecting Amish.

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He had appearances in other popular television shows in the 1980s, such as Wonder Woman with Lynda Carter and the comedy The Love Boat, which was set on a cruise ship. Ely, who was born in 1938 in Texas, married his high school love in 1959 and got divorced two years later.

In the early 1980s, he also gained notoriety as the host of the Miss America pageant, when he met Valerie, his wife. Three children were born to the couple.

On September 29, Ely passed away at his Los Alamos residence in Santa Barbara, California.
The actor's daughter posted the following on Instagram on Wednesday to announce the actor's passing:

Ely, who was born in 1938 in Texas, married his high school love in 1959 and got divorced two years later. “My father was someone that people called a hero. He was an actor, writer, coach, mentor, family man and leader.”
She added: “I knew him as my dad – and what a heaven-sent honour that has been. To me, he hung the moon.”