Ronald Pierce Ely (born June 21, 1938) is an American actor and novelist born in
Hereford, Texas
Hereford ( ) is a city in and county seat of Deaf Smith County, Texas, United States. It is 48 miles southwest of Amarillo. Its population was 15,370 at the 2010 census. It is the only incorporated locality named "Hereford" in the country.
Here ...
, and raised in
Amarillo
Amarillo ( ; Spanish language, Spanish for "yellow") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat, seat of Potter County, Texas, Potter County. It is the List of cities in Texas by population, 14th-most populous city in Texas and th ...
.
Ely is best known for having portrayed
Tarzan
Tarzan (John Clayton II, Viscount Greystoke) is a fictional character, an archetypal feral child raised in the African jungle by the Mangani great apes; he later experiences civilization, only to reject it and return to the wild as a heroic adv ...
in the 1966–1968
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...
series ''
Tarzan
Tarzan (John Clayton II, Viscount Greystoke) is a fictional character, an archetypal feral child raised in the African jungle by the Mangani great apes; he later experiences civilization, only to reject it and return to the wild as a heroic adv ...
'' and for playing the lead role in the film ''
Doc Savage: The Man of Bronze'' (1975).
He hosted the ''
Miss America
Miss America is an annual competition that is open to women from the United States between the ages of 17 and 25. Originating in 1921 as a "bathing beauty revue", the contest is now judged on competitors' talent performances and interviews. As ...
'' pageant telecast in 1980 and 1981.
Actor
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
''The Fiend Who Walked the West'' is a 1958 Western film based on the 1947 film noir ''Kiss of Death''. Almost a horror western, the story involves a psychotic ex-convict terrorising his former cellmate and his family. The director was Gordon ...
'' (1958) and ''
The Remarkable Mr. Pennypacker'' (1959).
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.
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
''Fantasy Island'' is an American fantasy drama television series created by Gene Levitt. It aired on ABC from 1977 to 1984. The series starred Ricardo Montalbán as the mysterious Mr. Roarke and Hervé Villechaize as his assistant, Tattoo. Gu ...
''; in one, in 1978, Ely portrayed
Mark Antony
Marcus Antonius (14 January 1 August 30 BC), commonly known in English as Mark Antony, was a Roman politician and general who played a critical role in the transformation of the Roman Republic from a constitutional republic into the autoc ...
in a
Roman
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...
military short tunic and breastplate. Also in 1978, Ely starred in the ''
Wonder Woman
Wonder Woman is a superhero created by the American psychologist and writer William Moulton Marston (pen name: Charles Moulton), and artist Harry G. Peter. Marston's wife, Elizabeth Holloway Marston, Elizabeth, and their life partner, Olive Byr ...
'' television series two-part episode "The Deadly Sting."
Ely starred on the series ''
The Aquanauts
''The Aquanauts'' (later known as ''Malibu Run'') is an American adventure/drama series that aired on CBS in the 1960–1961 season. The series stars Keith Larsen, Jeremy Slate and Ron Ely, who later replaced Larsen on midseason.
Synopsis
The h ...
'' in 1960–1961, in the western adventure film ''
The Night of the Grizzly
''The Night of the Grizzly'' is a 1966 Western film starring Clint Walker, Martha Hyer, Keenan Wynn, Jack Elam and Nancy Kulp. Directed by Joseph Pevney and written by Warren Douglas, the film was released by Paramount Pictures on April 20, ...
'' (1966) opposite
Clint Walker
Norman Eugene "Clint" Walker (May 30, 1927 – May 21, 2018) was an American actor. He played cowboy Cheyenne Bodie in the ABC/Warner Bros. western series ''Cheyenne'' from 1955 to 1963.
Early life
Clint Walker was born Norman Eugene Wal ...
, and later appeared in
's slavery movie ''Slavers'' (1978). In the 1980s, he hosted the musical
game show
A game show is a genre of broadcast viewing entertainment (radio, television, internet, stage or other) where contestants compete for a reward. These programs can either be participatory or Let's Play, demonstrative and are typically directed b ...
''
Face the Music'', as well as the 1980 and 1981
Miss America Pageants, replacing longtime host
Bert Parks
Bert Parks (born Bertram Jacobson; December 30, 1914 – February 2, 1992) was an American actor, singer, and radio and television announcer, best known for hosting the annual Miss America telecast from 1955 to 1979.
Early life
Parks was bor ...
. Later in the decade, Ely starred in a 1987–1988 revival of the 1960s adventure series ''
Sea Hunt
''Sea Hunt'' is an American action adventure television series that aired in syndication from 1958 to 1961 and was popular for decades afterwards. The series originally aired for four seasons, with 155 episodes produced. It stars Lloyd Bridges a ...
'' as Mike Nelson, the role played by
Lloyd Bridges
Lloyd Vernet Bridges Jr. (January 15, 1913 – March 10, 1998) was an American film, stage and television actor who starred in a number of television series and appeared in more than 150 feature films. He was the father of four children, includi ...
in the original series.
In the 1990s, Ely’s roles included a retired
Superman
Superman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, and debuted in the comic book ''Action Comics'' #1 (cover-dated June 1938 and publi ...
from an alternative reality in the 1991 two-part episode "The Road to Hell" of the ''
Superboy
Superboy is the name of several fictional superheroes appearing in American comicbooks published by DC Comics. These characters have been featured in several eponymous comic series, in addition to ''Adventure Comics'' and other series featuring ...
'' syndicated television series, and a big game hunter named Gordon Shaw in the 1992 episode "Tarzan the Hunted" of the syndicated ''
Tarzán
''Tarzán'' is a television series that aired in syndication from 1991–1994. In this version of the show, Tarzan (Wolf Larson) was portrayed as a blond environmentalist, with Jane (Lydie Denier) turned into a French ecologist. The series aired ...
'' TV series (starring
Wolf Larson
Wolf Larson (born Wolfgang von Wyszecki on December 22, 1959) is a German-Canadian former actor, screenwriter, and producer.
Biography
Larson was born in West Germany to Gunther and Ingeborg, he has a younger sister. In his teens he worked as ...
). Until about 2001, Ely made appearances on such television shows as ''
Sheena'' and ''
Renegade
Renegade or The Renegade may refer to:
Aircraft
*Lake Renegade, an American amphibious aircraft design
*Murphy Renegade, a Canadian ultralight biplane design
*Southern Aeronautical Renegade, an American racing aircraft design
Games
*'' Comman ...
''.
Ely had retired from acting in 2001, but he returned to acting with an appearance in the television movie ''Expecting Amish'' (2014).
Writer
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).
Personal life
Ely married his high school sweetheart Janet in 1959. Both natives of Hereford, Texas, they stayed together until their divorce in July 1961.
He later married
Miss Florida USA (1981), Valerie Lundeen
and they had three children: Kirsten, Kaitland, and Cameron.
On October 15, 2019, Valerie was found stabbed to death at the
Hope Ranch
Hope Ranch is an unincorporated coastal suburb of Santa Barbara, California, located in Santa Barbara County. It is bounded on the east by Santa Barbara, on the north and west by the unincorporated area of Noleta, and on the south by the Pacifi ...
residential community along the
Santa Barbara coast where the couple lived; Ron was unharmed. Police were called to the scene for a "family disturbance",
and a suspect identified as the couple's son Cameron was shot dead by police.
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.
Filmography
Film
Television
References
External links
*
Ron Ely at Brian's Drive-In Theater*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ely, Ron
1938 births
Living people
American game show hosts
American male film actors
American male television actors
American male novelists
20th-century American novelists
Male actors from Texas
People from Amarillo, Texas
Amarillo High School alumni
20th-century American male writers