Ron Ely
Birthday: Born in 1938-06-21 in Hereford, Texas, USA
Deathday: 2024-09-29
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.
TV Credits
L.A. Law
Character: Mr. McIntyre
L.A. Law is an American television legal drama series that ran for eight seasons on NBC from September 15, 1986, to May 19, 1994. Created by Steven Bochco and Terry Louise Fisher, it contained many of Bochco's trademark features including a large number of parallel storylines, social drama and off-the-wall humor. It reflected the social and cultural ideologies of the 1980s and early 1990s, and many of the cases featured on the show dealt with hot-topic issues such as abortion, racism, gay right...
The Love Boat
Character: Jim
Passengers who search for romantic nights aboard a beautiful ship travelling to tropical or mysterious countries, decide to pass their vacation aboard the "Love Boat", where Gopher, Dr. Bricker, Isaac, Julie, and Captain Stubing try their best to please them, and sometimes help them fall in love. Things are not always so easy, but in the end, love wins....
Sheena
Character: Bixby
Sheena's parents were archaeologists who died in the jungle when she was about six years old, leaving their daughter Shirley Hamilton. She was taken in by Kali, a local Shamaness of a tribe who brought her up, and five years ago she was taught how to morph into animals and birds, acquiring their abilities, even flight. Further, she became a mythical creature called "The Darachna" who relies on people' fear of the unknown. For this she covers herself in a dark liquid mud which allows her to be la...
Wonder Woman
Character: Bill Michaels
With the strength of Hercules, the wisdom of Athena, the speed of Mercury and the beauty of Aphrodite, she’s Wonder Woman. Beautiful Amazon princess Wonder Woman travels to 1940s America disguised as Diana Prince, assistant to handsome but trouble-prone Major Steve Trevor. Using her golden belt, which imbues her with astonishing strength, her bullet-deflecting bracelets, a golden lasso that dispels dishonesty and an invisible supersonic plane, Wonder Woman combats evil....
Ironside
Character: Scott Bradley
When an assassin's bullet confines him to a wheelchair for life ending his career as Chief of Detectives, Robert T. Ironside becomes a consultant to the police department. Detective Sergeant Ed Brown and policewoman Eve Whitfield join with him to crack varied and fascinating cases. Ex-con Mark Sanger is employed by the chief as home help but eventually becomes a fully fledged member of the team also. Officer Whitfield leaves after 4 years service, and is replaced by Officer Fran Belding....
The Millionaire
Character: Jim Phillips
An anthology series that explored the ways sudden and unexpected wealth changed life for better or for worse. It told the stories of people who were given one million dollars from a benefactor who insisted they never know him, with one exception....
Thriller
Character: Lt. Mike Hudson
Thriller is an American anthology television series that aired during the 1960–61 and 1961–62 seasons on NBC. The show featured host Boris Karloff introducing a mix of self-contained, macabre weird-horror and morbid, hitchockian crime stories, in some of which he also starred....
The Aquanauts
Character: Mike Madison
The Aquanauts is an American adventure/drama series that aired on CBS in the 1960-1961 season. The series stars Keith Larsen, Jeremy Slate and Ron Ely....
The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp
Character:
The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp is a television western series loosely based on the life of frontier marshal Wyatt Earp. The half-hour black-and-white program aired for 229 episodes on ABC from 1955 to 1961 and featured Hugh O'Brian in the title role....
Matt Houston
Character:
Matt Houston is an American crime drama series that aired on ABC from 1982 to 1985. Created by Lawrence Gordon, the series was produced by Aaron Spelling....
Tarzan
Character: Tarzan
Tarzan is a series that aired on NBC from 1966 – 1968. The series portrayed Tarzan as a well-educated character, one who, tired of civilization, had returned to the jungle where he had been raised. The show retained many of the trappings of the classic movie series, including Cheeta, while excluding other elements, such as Jane, as part of the "new look" for the fabled apeman that producer Sy Weintraub had introduced in previous motion pictures starring Gordon Scott, Jock Mahoney, and Mike Henry...
Blacke's Magic
Character:
Blacke's Magic is an American crime drama series that aired on NBC from January to May 1986. The series stars Hal Linden as magician Alexander Blacke who, with some help from his con-man father Leonard, solves mysteries that get in the way of his performances. The series aired for a total of thirteen episodes and featured crimes that tested logic against seemingly magical crimes. The stories were not so much whodunits as "how-he-do-its," for Alex Blacke often had to turn detective to solve the m...
The Hat Squad
Character:
The Hat Squad is a crime drama television series that ran for only one season on CBS, during the 1992–1993 season. 13 episodes were made, but only 11 of them aired....
Renegade
Character:
Framed for murder, Detective Reno Raines becomes a fugitive bounty hunter who fights crime while trying to clear his name. His troubles began after he testified about police corruption, leading Lt. Donald Dixon to set him up....
Stars in der Manege
Character: Self
...
Steve Canyon
Character: Pete Randall
Steve Canyon is a commander for the U.S. air force. His assignment is to go to various bases to troubleshoot problems...
The Courtship of Eddie's Father
Character: Ronald
The Courtship of Eddie's Father is an American television sitcom based on the 1963 movie of the same name, which was based on the book written by Mark Toby. It tells the story of a widower, Tom Corbett, who is a magazine publisher, and his son, Eddie, who believes his father should marry, and manipulates situations surrounding the women his father is interested in. ABC had acquired the rights to the story; the series debuted on September 17, 1969, and was last broadcast on March 1, 1972. Bixby ...
The Love Boat
Character: Ted Cole
Passengers who search for romantic nights aboard a beautiful ship travelling to tropical or mysterious countries, decide to pass their vacation aboard the "Love Boat", where Gopher, Dr. Bricker, Isaac, Julie, and Captain Stubing try their best to please them, and sometimes help them fall in love. Things are not always so easy, but in the end, love wins....
Die Rudi Carrell Show
Character:
...
The Love Boat
Character: Steve Swaggart / Darryl Brewster
Passengers who search for romantic nights aboard a beautiful ship travelling to tropical or mysterious countries, decide to pass their vacation aboard the "Love Boat", where Gopher, Dr. Bricker, Isaac, Julie, and Captain Stubing try their best to please them, and sometimes help them fall in love. Things are not always so easy, but in the end, love wins....
Marker
Character:
Marker is an American hour long television drama that premiered on the UPN on March 20, 1995. It is set in and was filmed in Hawaii. The series focuses on Richard DeMorra, a man given a strange inheritance from his late father: markers which were given in the past by his father to those who had helped him achieve his success. He receives these once per episode from one of those people, leading him on varied adventures as he tries to follow through on his father's legacy. Other members of the c...
Renegade
Character: Reverend McClain
Framed for murder, Detective Reno Raines becomes a fugitive bounty hunter who fights crime while trying to clear his name. His troubles began after he testified about police corruption, leading Lt. Donald Dixon to set him up....
Sea Hunt (1987)
Character: Mike Nelson
After 26 years, the series returns with Ron Ely stepping into Lloyd Bridges' role as former Navy frogman Mike Nelson. This time, Mike is joined by his daughter Jennifer (Kimber Sissons), an oceanography student, on his underwater adventures....
Movie Credits
The Night of the Grizzly
Character: Ted Curry
Marshall "Big Jim" Cole turns in his badge and heads to Wyoming with his family in order to settle on some land left him by a relative. He faces opposition both from a neighbor who wants that land for his own sons, and from a grizzly bear nicknamed "Satan" who keeps killing Cole's livestock....
Tarzan's Jungle Rebellion
Character: Tarzan
In this exciting jungle adventure the esteemed archaeologist, Dr Singleton, and his daughter, Mary, travel to mystical Africa in search of an ancient artifact: the fabled Blue Stone of Heaven. Imbued with the unfathomable power to bestow its holder with immense strength, the statuette attracts corrupt Colonel Tatakombi, who, blind with greed, intends to spark an uprising, and turn the natives against Tarzan. Can mighty Tarzan avert the jungle rebellion?...
Doc Savage: The Man of Bronze
Character: Clark 'Doc' Savage Jr.
In the Fabulous Thirties, Doc Savage and his five Amazing Adventurers are sucked into the mystery of Doc's father disappearing in the wilds of South America. The maniacal Captain Seas tries to thwart them at every turn as they travel to the country of Hidalgo to investigate Doc's father's death and uncover a vast horde of Incan gold....
The Mountains of the Moon
Character: Tarzan
A religious sect, cheated by an adventurer, wants to occupy an African territory not knowing that it is inhabited by a bloodthirsty tribe. Luckily Tarzan intervenes....
The Fiend Who Walked The West
Character: Deputy Jim Dyer
Lawmen free a convict to hunt his ex-cellmate....
Alleluja & Sartana Are Sons... Sons of God
Character: Hallelujah
Two conmen, posing as missionaries, are out to swindle the members of a church group in this slapstick western....
Cry of the Black Wolves
Character: Bill Robinson
A fur hunter living as a hermit in the Alaskan mountains is mistakenly suspected of the murder of a gold prospector. The murdered man's sister hires a gunslinger to catch the hunter, but after a dramatic confrontation, the two men become friends. Adventure movie based on Jack London's novel "Son of the Wolf"....
Slavers
Character: Steven Hamilton
A story about slave hunting, colonialism, revenge and love....
Once Before I Die
Character: Soldier
Stranded behind enemy lines when the Japanese attack the Philippines in late 1941, Lt. Bailey must lead a group of soldiers and their families to safety and the streets of Manila. During the perilous trek, Alex befriends a virginal young soldier whose only desire is to have sex once before he dies....
Mitgift
Character: Kurt
Edgar Burgman, after collaborating to assassinate the elder senator husband of Alice Young, the wife remarried. The woman, after a short period, doubts of love Edgar and convinces more and more that, having married out of interest, now wants to eliminate the possession of his great assets....
Tarzan and the Perils of Charity Jones
Character: Tarzan
Jai, the orphaned boy adopted by the Monkey Man, helps missionary Charity Jones bring an organ to a friendly tribe, but they are captured by hostile natives....
Expecting Amish
Character: Elder Miller
Expecting Amish tells the story of 18-year-old Hannah Yoder, who is ready to join the Amish Church and marry her boyfriend Samuel. But things change when she goes to Hollywood and gets a glimpse of the world beyond....
The Remarkable Mr. Pennypacker
Character: Wilbur Fielding
In early 1900s' Pennsylvania, Mr. Pennypacker has two company offices and two families with a combined total of 17 children. With an office in Harrisburg and an office in Philadelphia, he has successfully kept two separate homes. However, when an emergency requires his oldest son to find him, Mr. Pennypacker's dual life is revealed....
In Search of Tarzan with Jonathan Ross
Character: Himself
A look at Tarzan on the big and small screen with interviews with some of those who have played him....
Tarzan's Deadly Silence
Character: Tarzan
Tarzan tries to stop a bloodthirsty Colonel from taking over an African village with his soldiers of fortune. The ape-man has been rendered deaf by an exploding hand grenade, effectively limiting one of his keen senses. Tarzan relies on his telepathic powers to stop a lion. Woody Strode also appears in this film that combines two made for television episodes....
Tarzan Revisited
Character: Self
Tarzan: the super hero who never goes out of fashion. The son of British Royalty, he is raised by apes in the African jungle and finds his true love, Jane. Swinging through trees, communicating with wild animals, he is exotic, entertaining and accessible. This film recounts the birth of the character in the mind of Edgar Rice Burroughs and how each generation has reinvented and reinterpreted him....
South Pacific
Character: Navigator
Can a girl from Little Rock find happiness with a mature French planter she got to know one enchanted evening away from the military hospital where she is a nurse? Or should she just wash that man out of her hair? Bloody Mary is the philosopher of the island and it's hard to believe she could be the mother of Liat who has captured the heart of Lt. Joseph Cable USMC. While waiting for action in the war in the South Pacific, sailors and nurses put on a musical comedy show. The war gets closer and ...
Tarzan and the Four O'Clock Army
Character: Tarzan
Tarzan has to deal with slave traders who are making raids into African villages to get slaves....