Ron Ely
Biography
Ronald Pierce "Ron" Ely (born June 21, 1938) was an American actor and novelist born in Hereford, Texas. Ely is best known for having portrayed Tarzan in the 1966 NBC series Tarzan and for playing the lead role in the 1975 film Doc Savage: The Man of Bronze. Ely obtained the role after playing various bit-parts, including an airplane navigator in the 1958 film South Pacific and a guest-starring role on Barbara Eden's first television series, the romantic comedy How to Marry a Millionaire. Ely's height (6' 4") and athletic build also won him the title role in the 1975 film Doc Savage, as well as various guest shots. In a 1978 Fantasy Island episode, for example, Ely portrayed Mark Antony in a Roman military short tunic and breastplate that displayed almost as much of his physique as his Tarzan costume had. From 1960-61, Ely starred in the series The Aquanauts. In the 1980s, Ely hosted the musical game show Face the Music. Additionally, Ely hosted the 1980 and 1981 Miss America Pageants, replacing longtime host Bert Parks. In the 1990s, Ely’s roles included a retired Superman in the 1991 two-part episode "The Road to Hell" of the Superboy syndicated television series, and a big game hunter named Gordon Shaw in the 1992 episode "Tarzan the Hunted" of the syndicated Tarzán TV series (starring Wolf Larson). In recent years Ely has embarked on a successful writing career and has penned two mystery novels featuring private eye Jake Sands: Night Shadows (1994) and East Beach (1995). Until about 2001, Ely made appearances on popular TV shows, his most recent being Sheena and Renegade. He is now retired from acting. Description above from the Wikipedia article Ron Ely, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Known For
All Movies (21)
- Tarzan Revisited2017 · as Self
- Tarzan: Lord of the Movies2017 · as Tarzan (Archive Footage)
- Expecting Amish2014 · as Elder Miller
- Underground Entertainment: The Movie2011 · as Ron (archive footage)
- In Search of Tarzan with Jonathan Ross1998 · as Self
- Tarzan at the Movies, Part 2: The Many Faces of Tarzan1996 · as Tarzan (archive footage)
- Slavers1978 · as Steven Hamilton
- MitGift1976 · as Kurt
- Doc Savage: The Man of Bronze1975 · as Clark 'Doc' Savage Jr.
- Alleluja & Sartana Are Sons... Sons of God1972 · as Hallelujah
- Cry of the Black Wolves1972 · as Bill Robinson
- Tarzan and the Perils of Charity Jones1971 · as Tarzan
- Tarzan's Deadly Silence1970 · as Tarzan
- Tarzan and the Four O'Clock Army1968 · as Tarzan
- The Mountains of the Moon1967 · as Tarzan
- Tarzan's Jungle Rebellion1967 · as Tarzan
- Once Before I Die1966 · as Soldier
- The Night of the Grizzly1966 · as Ted Curry
- The Remarkable Mr. Pennypacker1959 · as Wilbur Fielding
- The Fiend Who Walked the West1958 · as Deputy Jim Dyer
- South Pacific1958 · as Navigator
All TV Shows (25)
- Sheena2000 · as Bixby
- Marker1995
- Renegade1992
- Renegade1992 · as Reverend McClain
- The Hat Squad1992 · as Carl Strong
- Vicki!1992 · as Self - Guest
- Sea Hunt1987 · as Mike Nelson
- L.A. Law1986 · as Mr. McIntyre
- Blacke's Magic1986
- Matt Houston1982
- Hotel1982 · as Evan Paige
- The Love Boat1977 · as Jim
- The Love Boat1977 · as Ted Cole
- The Love Boat1977 · as Steve Swaggart / Darryl Brewster
- Wonder Woman1975 · as Bill Michaels
- The Courtship of Eddie's Father1969 · as Ronald
- Ironside1967 · as Scott Bradley
- Tarzan1966 · as Tarzan
- Die Rudi Carrell Show1965
- The Aquanauts1960 · as Mike Madison
- Thriller1960 · as Lt. Mike Hudson
- Stars in the Ring1959 · as Self
- Steve Canyon1958 · as Pete Randall
- The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp1955
- The Millionaire1955 · as Jim Phillips




