According to his daughter Kirsten Casale Ely, the actor died on September 29 at his Los Alamos, California, home.
The 6’4″, powerful actor contributed to the creation of Tarzan, the fictional character created by novelist Edgar Rice Burroughs in the early 20th century.
In the action movie Doc Savage: The Man of Bronze, released in 1975, he also portrayed the title role.
In interviews, he claimed to have performed his own stunts on Tarzan and to have worked closely with the chimps, tigers, and other creatures that were companions of the naked character.
“A former American football star named Mike Henry was first considered for the role, but he disliked chimps, and as soon as he arrived on site.
Ely was cast as Henry’s last-minute replacement when he suffered a jaw injury from a monkey attack during the pilot’s filming.
When they offered me the position after our Monday meeting, I immediately thought, “I don’t want to fall into that bear trap.” Ely told the Express, “You do Tarzan, and you are stamped for life.”