Ron Ely

Ron Ely
Ron Ely (right) as Tarzan, 1966.
Born	Ronald Pierce Ely (1938-06-21) June 21, 1938 Hereford, Texas, U.S.
Years active	1957-present

Ronald Pierce "Ron" Ely (born June 21, 1938)^[1] is an American actor and novelist born in Hereford, Texas. Ely is best known for having portrayed Tarzan in the 1966 NBC series Tarzan and for playing the lead role in the 1975 film Doc Savage: The Man of Bronze.

Actor

Ely won the role of Tarzan in 1966 after playing various bit parts, including an airplane navigator in the 1958 film South Pacific and a guest-starring role on Barbara Eden's first television series, the romantic comedy How to Marry a Millionaire. During the filming of Tarzan, Ely did virtually all of his stunts for the series, and suffered two dozen major injuries in the process, including two broken shoulders and various lion bites.^[2] Ely's height (6' 4") and athletic build also won him the title role in the 1975 film Doc Savage, as well as various guest shots. In a 1978 Fantasy Island episode, for example, Ely portrayed Mark Antony in a Roman military short tunic and breastplate that displayed almost as much of his physique as his Tarzan costume had.

From 1960-61, Ely starred in the series The Aquanauts. In the 1980s, Ely hosted the musical game show Face the Music, as well as the 1980 and 1981 Miss America Pageants, replacing longtime host Bert Parks. Later in the decade, Ely starred in a 1987-88 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 alternate 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 Tarzán TV series (starring Wolf Larson).

Until about 2001, Ely made appearances on popular TV shows, his most recent being Sheena and Renegade. He had retired from acting in 2001, but as reported by the IMDB, he recently returned to acting with an appearance in the 2014 television movie Expecting Amish.

Writer

In recent years Ely has embarked on a successful writing career and has penned two mystery novels featuring private eye Jake Sands: Night Shadows (1994) and East Beach (1995).

Personal life=

Ely worked briefly as a school bus driver in Westport, CT, in the 1970's. In April 2015, Ely announced that he was selling his lavish Santa Barbara, California, home for over $5 million dollars.^[3]

References

External links

• Ron Ely at the Internet Movie Database
• Ron Ely at Brian's Drive-In Theater
• "Ron Ely looks back at Tarzan" - London Express - April 7, 2013