Him Tarzan. Me Sad.

Another one of those childhood hero types has left us today.

Ron Ely played the King of the Jungle in 57 episodes of Tarzan from 1966 to 1968, the same years that saw Adam West play Batman.

 

That's 1966 ripped. Shatner and West had similar frames.

Live action Tarzan wasn't a staple of my childhood and what I did see was a mix of Ely reruns and the occasional Weismuller movie.  I was more familiar and more a fan of the Filmation cartoon, but if a Tarzan show was available, I'd watch.

 

This and Zorro were the BEST.

Ely also had a couple of notable roles later on in his career.  He was never really a huge star even during his Tarazn days, but he was one of the best looking and fittest men in Hollywood at the time, making him perfect for the role of Doc Savage.

 

You can see he's in even better shape here.  70's ripped, literally.

If you're not familiar, Doc Savage is a proto-superhero who predates the advent of "real" superheroes like Superman and Batman by half a decade.  He's a regular human who has trained his mind and body to the peak of physical and mental ability and surrounds himself with a team of experts in various fields who help him solve mysteries and stop crime.  He operates out of his "Fortress of Solitude" in the Empire State Building.  And if that name is familiar, it's because Superman appropriated it for his own "Fortress of Solitude" years later.

The filmmakers of Doc Savage: Man of Bronze took a camp approach, in the vein of the Batman show of the 60s and the movie was a flop.  I've seen it and it's not bad.  There's a fan edit floating around on the web that "de-camps" it and makes a decent movie out if it.  

Ely had a bunch of guest roles on tv through the 70s and 80s but never really found great success.  Notably, he appeared on the Linda Carter Wonder Woman show and did a single episode of the 2001 Sheena: Queen of the Jungle show, much to the delight of Tarzan fans.

Had there been a Superman show made in the late 60s or early 70s, Ely would have likely been the front runner for the lead, standing 6'5" (or 6'3" depending on your source) and rocking an impressive physique for the day, his charming smile and gentle delivery would have been perfect.  He did get the chance in his most notable guest role on the Superboy show when he got the opportunity to play Superman, if only a retired, sweater wearing, silver fox version of the Man of Steel. 

 

Nobody ever rocked the Superman spit curl better.  In a cardigan!

Ely played Superman when Superboy got the chance to meet his older self in one of that show's few standout episodes.  Ely knocked it out of the park.

Ely's later life was marred by the tragic stabbing of his wife by his son in 2019.  His son was later shot to death by law enforcement.

His star never shone as brightly as many of his contemporaries, but he represents some fond memories to me and I shall mourn his passing.