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Ron Ely, who played Tarzan on an NBC television series from 1966 to 1968, has died. He was 86.

The Texan actor also starred in it Doc Savage: The Man of Bronze and was later known for hosting the broadcast of the Miss America pageant.

His death was announced by his daughter, Kirsten, in a statement to Fox News Digital. “The world has lost one of the greatest men it has ever known – and I have lost my father,” she said.

She continued, “My father was someone people called a hero. He was an actor, writer, coach, mentor, family man and leader. Wherever he went, he created a powerful wave of positive influence.

“The impact he had on others is something I’ve never seen in anyone else – there was something truly magical about him. This is how the world knew him.”

“I knew him as my father – and what a heavenly honor that was. For me he hung the moon.”

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Ronald Pierce Ely was born in Hereford, Texas on June 21, 1938. He began his film career with a small role as Navigator in the 1958 film version of the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical. South Pacific Ocean.

In 1966 he won the leading role in the Tarzan television series. He portrayed the character as an educated man who rejects civilization and returns to the African jungle where he grew up. Ely was known for performing all of his own stunts in the series, and frequently suffered injuries including two broken shoulders and several lion bites.

Ely’s 6-foot-4 height and good looks were also used in his starring role in the 1975 pulp action film. Doc Savage: The Man of Bronze. In the 1980s he presented a game show, Face the musicand twice hosted the Miss America Pageants in 1980 and 1981.

His first marriage, to high school sweetheart Helen Janet Triplet, lasted from 1959 to 1961. He reportedly dated a string of high-profile fellow actors, including Ursula Andress, Barbara Bouchet and Britt Ekland.

In 1984, he married a former Miss Florida, Valerie Lundeen, and they had three children: Kirsten, Kaitland and Cameron.

In October 2019, Lundeen was found stabbed to death in a residential community on the Santa Barbara coast. When police arrived on the scene, they shot the couple’s son, Cameron, 24 times, killing him. Ely later sued the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department, saying they failed to try to save the lives of his family.