Ron Ely(1938-2024)
- Actor
- Director
The 15th screen Tarzan (if you don't count Gordon Griffith) was to have played
a Tarzan impersonator in a projected Mike Henry television show, which
never materialized. He had been tested fourteen months earlier when
Henry got the part. Prior to Tarzan, Ron had numerous parts in
movies and television, including the copilot in South Pacific (1958) and had co-starred in TV's brief
series "Malibu Run" (The Aquanauts (1960)). He played the title role in the TV
series Tarzan (1966), and in two movies made from that series in 1970. He
refused to use a stunt double in his vine-swinging or animal fights and
was often injured. It has been noted that Ron's physical appearance and
dialogue were much more like those of Edgar Rice Burroughs' character than could be
said for any other Tarzan. In addition to occasional parts in TV series
and movies, several made in Germany, Ron hosted the "Miss America"
pageant on television 1979-81, replacing Bert Parks.
