Ron Ely was born on June 21 1938 in Hereford, Texas. He graduated from Amarillo High School in 1956. He attended the University of Texas in Austin for a year before he moved to Los Angeles to pursue a career in acting. He made his film debut in a bit part in South Pacific (1958) as a navigator. In the late Fifties he also appeared in the films The Fiend Who Walked the West (1958) and The Remarkable Mr. Pennypacker (1959). On television he guest starred on Father Knows Best, Steve Canyon, Playhouse 90, How to Marry a Millionaire, The Millionaire, and The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp. He played Dobie's older brother in the unaired pilot for The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis, a part played on the series by Dwayne Hickman's real life older brother Darryl Hickman.
In the Sixties, Ron Ely was a regular on the TV series The Aquanauts. After former NFL player Mike Henry, who had played Tarzan in film, quit, Ron Ely was approached about playing Tarzan on a television series. He was reluctant to take the part, but his agent convinced him to do so. The series ran for two seasons and 57 episodes. He also guest starred on the TV shows Thriller and The Courtship of Eddie's Father. He appeared in the movies The Night of the Grizzly (1966) and Once Before I Die (1966).
In the Seventies, Ron Ely played his second best known role, that of Clark "Doc" Savage in the cult film Doc Savage: The Man of Bronze (1975). He also appeared in the movies The Cry of the Black Wolves (1972), Alleluja & Sartana are Sons... Sons of God (1972), MitGift (1976), and Slavers (1977). He guest starred on television on Ironside; Marcus Welby, M.D.; Wonder Woman, Fantasy Island, and The Love Boat. He was the host of the game show Face the Music. He hosted the Miss America pageant in 1980 and 1981.
In the Eighties, Ron Ely starred in the 1987, syndicated revival of the TV show Sea Hunt. He guest starred on the Fantasy Island, The Love Boat, Matt Houston, and Hotel. In the Nineties, he guest starred on the TV shows Superboy, the Nineties series Tarzan, The Hat Squad, L,A. Law, Renegade, and Hawkeye. He guest starred on the syndicated TV series Sheena in 2001 and he appeared in the TV movie Expecting Amish in 2014.
Ron Ely published two novels, Night Shadows in 1994 and East Beach in 1995.
I think it is safe to say that Ron Ely will always be best remembered as Tarzan and Doc Savage. While Tarzan only ran for two seasons, it proved to be successful in syndication, so that Ron Ely was the first Tarzan for many people. While Doc Savage: The Man of Bronze bombed at the box office, it developed a cult following after repeated showings on television, despite departing a bit form the original pulp novels. While Ron Ely was best known for playing heroes, he could play other sorts of roles as well. In an episode of the Nineties, syndicated series Tarzan, Mr. Ely even played a villain, a hunter who hunts Tarzan. He also played a villain in an episode of the TV series Hawkeye. Ron Ely played a variety of other sorts of roles on TV shows and in movies, from military officers to police officers to athletes. He won't be forgotten.
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