RIP Ron Ely

 

American film, TV actor and author died in Santa Barbara, California on September 29^th. His daughter Kirsten reported his death to the media on October 23^rd. Ron was 86. Most remembered for playing TV’s Tarzan in 1966 replacing Mike Henry. The show ran 57 episodes. Ely also hosted the Miss America pageant in 1980 and 1981. Ronald Pierce Ely was born on June 21, 1938, in Hereford, Texas. He graduated from Amarillo (Texas) High School in 1956 and then attended the University of Texas at Austin for a year before heading to California. He made his screen debut playing a pilot in the 1958 film adaptation of “South Pacific”, then signed a contract with 20th Century Fox. He was mostly remembered for his several TV series including ‘The Aquanauts’ 1960-1961 and ‘Doc Savage: The Man of Bronze’ (1975). He became a writer of mystery novels, featuring the character Jake Sands Night Shadows 1994 East Beach 1995. On October 15, 2019, his son, 30-year-old Cameron Ely, stabbed his 62-year-old mother, Valerie Ely, to death. Ron and Valerie had been married approximately 35 years. Cameron Ely was shot to death by sheriff's deputies later that evening. He was unarmed and his father unsuccessfully filed charges over the shooting. No charges were filed against the deputies. Ron appeared in two Euro-westerns: “Alleluia and Sartana, Sons of God” 1972 as Alleluia/Hallelujah, and “Cry of the Black Wolves” 1972 as Bill Robin/Robinson.