Ron Ely, Actor

Ronald Pierce Ely was born in Hereford, Texas on June 21, 1938 to Vernon Howard Ely and Sybil Ely. His father Vernon died at the age of 38 the following year, after which his mother raised Ron and his sister. A 1966 newspaper article in the Clay County Reader out of Henrietta, Texas noted that Ron was born and raised in Texas and that he had worked in the summers shoveling grain and working in the oilfield near Amarillo.

He was a high school athlete and had won a Texas poetry reading championship. Ron graduated from Amarillo High School in 1956. He majored in radio-television at University of Texas in Austin before deciding to move to California.

In California, Ron worked in offices, as a car salesman and gas station attendant while studying drama. His first screen appearance was the result of being cast by director Joshua Logan in the 1958 production, “South Pacific.” He played a navigator on a Navy sea plane. He appears in the film, but had no lines of dialogue. Ron had signed with 20th Century-Fox and was cast in two more films that year, “The Fiend Who Walked the West” and “The Remarkable Mr. Pennypacker.” In 1959 he is credited in a half dozen television episodes including “Father Knows Best,” “Steve Canyon” and “Playhouse 90.” Ron appeared in around one film per year until landing his signature role in the series “Tarzan.”

Edgar Rice Burroughs (1875 – 1950) was an American writer born in Chicago who wrote extensively in the adventure and science fiction genres. His two most well known characters were probably John Carter and Tarzan. The John Carter or Martian series dealt with the planet Mars while the Tarzan series dealt with the adventures of a child raised by apes in the African jungle. In the series, the main character is brought back to “civilization” but later rejects it as an adult and returns to the jungle to live. Burroughs wrote 80 books during his career. The John Carter series debuted in 1912 and totals eleven books while twenty-four books debuted the around the same time, devoted to Tarzan.

The first Burroughs Tarzan book was called “Tarzan of the Apes” and introduced the character. It was first released as a magazine serial in 1912 and published two years later in book form. By 1918, the first of several Tarzan silent films were released. After the sound era began in films, the most famous actor to play the title role was Johnny Weissmuller. His initial release was in 1932, entitled “Tarzan the Ape Man.” It was the first of twelve films starring Weissmuller from 1932 to 1948. Since then, dozens of feature films have been released, as well as direct to video, also including animated features. Burroughs continued to write until his death in 1950. Tarzan was Burroughs’ most marketable character. Burroughs bought a ranch in the growth pattern of Los Angeles, California and called it Tarzana. It eventually became a developed neighborhood on the south side of Los Angeles.

Film and television producer Sy Weintraub produced seven Tarzan films released between 1959 and 1968. Weintraub hired Ely to play the lead role when he wanted to bring the series to television. Weintraub’s productions portrayed Tarzan as having been educated but having grown tired of life in civilized society. There is no character Jane, but a recurring character named Jai and a chimpanzee named Cheeta. The series ran for 57 episodes which were shown between 1966 and 1968. Ely appeared in all 57 episodes with the actor Manuel Padilla, Jr. playing Jai in 56. Numerous other well known actors like Woody Strode, Julie Harris and Jock Mahoney (a former film Tarzan) made guest appearances.

Ely stood about 6’4″ and was noted for his looks and athleticism. He talked about the early days of filming the series in the July 28, 1966 Clay County Leader newspaper interview. He noted that he received no particular training for his long swings. He told that he just climbed a tree on location in Brazil, grabbed a vine and swung. He added that making the swings look graceful was the difficult part. Filming was not without its hazards. He had already taken a fall and separated his shoulder, as well as fracturing a rib or two which required hospitalization and surgery. Ely also sustained somewhat less serious injuries. In other interviews, he mentioned getting injured while dealing with wildlife.

An article in the Amarillo Globe-Times in its July 18, 1967 is presented in an Associated Press article written by Ely. In it he described the filming as a routine schedule of six to seven days a week since January, 1965 once he arrived on site in Brazil. Afterward, the crew was constantly on the go from Mexico City, on to Acapulco, on to Guatemala and back to Mexico City. He said he did not drink alcohol or smoke and what time he was not working, he would try to sleep. He also said that he did his own stunts.

After the final episode of Tarzan, Ely had a long career in film and television including 22 episodes in a production called “Sea Hunt” in the role of Mike Nelson, calling to mind Lloyd Bridges who had played the lead character in the series of the same name filmed thirty years earlier. “Sea Hunt” was Ely’s second longest running series. Ely made numerous guest appearances up until his official retirement in 2001. He made one final credited appearance in a made-for-television film in 2014.

Ron hosted the Miss America pageant for two years in the early 1980s. He was chosen to replace the previous host, Bert Parks, who had served as master of ceremonies of the beauty pageant for twenty-five years. Parks had been dismissed likely in an effort to have a younger look for the program. The pay for the job was reportedly modest. Ely hosted the 1980 and 1981 broadcast before an invitation was extended to actor Gary Collins, then the husband of former 1959 pageant winner Mary Ann Mobley. Collins went on to host the broadcast for ten years.

Ron was briefly married to Helen Janet Triplett, also from Hereford. After their divorce, Ely dated several actresses, but remained single for about twenty-five years. In 1984, he married Valerie Anne Lundeen, a former Miss Florida USA from Miami. He and Valerie had two daughters and one son. A tragedy occurred in in the family home in 2019 when Ely was about 80. According to public records, police were called to the Ely residence to answer a disturbance call. Their son had reportedly stabbed his mother to death. Also in the incident, the son was fatally wounded by police. The couple had been married for 35 years at the time of the two deaths.

Valerie Lundeen Ely died on October, 15, 2019 as did their son. Valerie was 63 and their son was 30. Both died in Hope Ranch, California and burial details were private. Ron Ely’s date of death was September 29, 2024 in Los Alamos, California at the age of 86. He was cremated.

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