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Blogs > Tropical_Man > Meriam's Guy


Tropical_Man 68M
6573 posts
3/8/2008 6:56 am
Ron Ely...a Tarzan for all seasons

Native Texan Ron Ely was born Ronald Pierce in 1938. In The mid 1950s, he enrolled at the University of Texas, but he soon made his way to California. After signing with 20th Century Fox in the late 1950s.

Ely appeared in small roles in several films and television shows, including the films South Pacific and The Remarkable Mr. Pennypacker and the TV series How to Marry a Millionaire (1957-1959; with Merry Anders, Barbara Eden, and Lori Nelson). And in 1960 Ely was cast in the CBS series The Aquanauts, but the show was cancelled after just one season. Several more films followed, but his big break didn't come until 1966, when the 6'4" actor was cast in the role of Tarzan for the TV series of the same name.

Ely had tried out for the role of Tarzan after Jock Mahoney abandoned the role in 1963, but he lost out to football player-turned-actor Mike Henry. Henry made three Tarzan films and was originally cast for the series, but he declined it after some bad experiences while shooting his first Tarzan film. Ely was then cast in the role.

After a number of attempts to create a Tarzan TV series had failed, producer Sy Weintraub finally was able to bring Tarzan to the small screen in 1966. Tarzan aired on NBC beginning in September 1966 and lasted until September 1968, with each episode running at about 47 minutes. In the series, there is no Jane in sight; Tarzan is assisted only by Cheetah and Jai (Manuel Padilla Jr.), an orphan.

In the past few years, Ely has cooled his acting career, focusing instead on writing mystery novels focusing on the character, Jake Sands. His novels are titled Night Shadows and East Beach, both published in the mid 1990s. But on occasion, Ely makes appearances on popular TV shows, his most recent being Sheena and Renegade.



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