Who Are Those Guys? ~ Ron Ely

 

Ronald Pierce Ely was born June 21, 1938, in Hereford, Texas. He was an American actor and novelist, best known for portraying Tarzan in the 1966–1968 NBC series ‘Tarzan’ and playing the lead role in the film “Doc Savage: The Man of Bronze” in 1975. He also hosted the ‘Miss America Pageantl telecast in 1980 and 1981.

Ely was born in Hereford, Texas and raised in Amarillo. He married his high school sweetheart, Helen Janet Triplet,[6] in 1959. Both natives of Hereford, Texas, divorced in July 1961. In 1984, Ely married Valerie Lundeen, who won the Miss Florida USA title in 1981, and they had three children.

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 Jürgen 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. He 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.

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 almost all of his own stunts, and received over two dozen injuries, including two broken shoulders and several lion bites.

Ely retired from acting in 2001, returning with an appearance in the television film ‘Expecting Amish’ (2014).

On October 15, 2019, Ely's son Cameron, then 30 years old, stabbed Valerie Ely to death at the family's home in Hope Ranch, California, a coastal residential community in Santa Barbara. Police officers were called to the scene for a "family disturbance" and killed Cameron Ely, claiming he posed a threat to officers. The Santa Barbara district attorney ruled the police shooting a justifiable homicide. No charges were filed, and an attorney representing Ely disputed the police account of Cameron's death. An autopsy found Cameron was in the early stages of chronic traumatic encephalopathy before he died.

Ely died at the home of one of his daughters in Los Alamos, California, on September 29, 2024, at age 86.

ELY, Ron (Ronald Pierce Ely) [6/21/1938, Hereford, Texas, U.S.A. – 9/29/2024, Los Alamos, California, U.S.A.] – author, film, TV actor, married to Cathy A. Ely (1959-1961), married to Miss Florida Valerie Anne Lundeen [1956-2019] (1984-2019) father of Kirsten C. Ely [1986-    ], Kaitland H. Ely [1988-    ], Cameron P. Ely [1989-2019].

Alleluia and Sartana, Sons of God – 1972 (Alleluia/Hallelujah)

Cry of the Black Wolves – 1972 (Bill Robin/Robinson)