American actor Ron Ely, the 6ft4 (1m93) musclebound performer who played the title character in the 1960s NBC series Tarzan, has died aged 86.
While Ron Ely was not as well-known as Johnny Weismuller, the Olympic swimmer who played Tarzan in movies in the 1930s and 1940s, Ely helped form the image of the shirtless, loincloth-wearing character further immortalized by Disney.The actor died at his home in Los Alamos in Santa Barbara, California on 29 September.
Announcing the death in an Instagram post yesterday, the actor's daughter, Kirtsen Ely, said: "My father was someone that people called a hero.
He was an actor, writer, coach, mentor, family man and leader." “He created a powerful wave of positive influence wherever he went.
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