The Tarzan star's death “reunites” him with his wife, his son, who was killed in 2019, and his daughter

Ron Ely, the handsome, affable 6-foot-2 actor who starred as “Tarzan” on a 1960s TV show, has died at age 86, five years after his wife and son died in a devastating accident died in a family tragedy.

Ely's daughter Kirsten Ely revealed to TMZ that her father died peacefully at home surrounded by his family on September 29th. She also paid an emotional tribute to the Texas-born TV actor in a lengthy Instagram post, calling her “brilliant,” “funny,” “stoic and sensitive” father her “role model and inspiration.”

Kirsten Ely also mentioned the grief he has been living with since October 15, 2019. That's when his 30-year-old son, Cameron Ely, fatally stabbed his mother, 62-year-old Valerie London Ely, at the family home outside Santa Barbara. A short time later, Cameron Ely was shot in the driveway of the home by Santa Barbara County sheriff's deputies.

The autopsy of Ely, a star high school athlete who once played football for Harvard, revealed that he was in the early stages of CTE, or chronic traumatic encephalopathy, a degenerative brain disease that can be caused by repeated blows to the head, according to reports Noozhawk.com reported.

“My greatest comfort is knowing that my father is with my mother and brother,” Kirsten Ely wrote on Instagram, explaining her belief that the three were reunited through death. “It is also my greatest sadness because I miss them all so much that it is burned into my soul. I will wear all of my favorite pieces with pride – lovingly held in my heart – until we all meet again.”

Kirsten Ely did not give a cause of death, but the actor was recovering from a stroke when his wife and son were killed.

A year after the incident, the Santa Barbara County District Attorney's Office ruled that the fatal shooting of Cameron Ely was “justified” even though he was unarmed, Noozhawk.com reported. Cameron Ely was shot 22 times. In a report, the district attorney's office said that while officers attempted to take a disheveled-looking Cameron Ely into custody in the driveway, he lunged toward the officers again. He also leaned forward at the waist and claimed, “I have a gun.”

According to Noozhawk.com, Cameron Ely's actions and officers' belief that he violently stabbed his mother and could still be armed caused officers to “fear” for her life, the prosecutor's report said. The family also told investigators that Cameron Ely's behavior had long been “erratic,” “unstable” and “volatile,” but had become “more concerning” in the days leading up to Oct. 15, 2019, the report said . One sister said her brother's behavior was “clearly delusional,” while the other sister refused to visit the house because she was afraid of him.

A short time later, Ron Ely, Kirsten Ely and his other surviving daughter, Kaitland Ely-Sweet, disputed the prosecutor's account at a news conference outside the family home, Noozhawk.com also reported. Kirsten Ely said her brother “did not pose a threat” when officers encountered him, and her attorney, Oakland civil rights attorney John Burris, said, “The shooting itself was unjustified.” Burris said deputies “were unjustified.” “Use of deadly force and denial of medical care,” which resulted in the deaths of Ron Ely's wife and son.

After the deaths of his wife and son, Ely's die-hard fans, as well as people who were just discovering him for the first time through news of the tragedy, wondered how this could have happened.

According to his IMDB page, Ely first gained fame as Tarzan on the NBC series, which ran for two seasons from 1966 to 1968. In interviews he explained how he did his own stunts for the show.

Ely then launched a busy Hollywood career, starring in the 1975 action film Doc Savage: The Man of Bronze and appearing in series such as Wonder Woman, Fantasy Island and The Love Boat. in the 1970s and the syndicated show “Sheena” in the early 2000s. He also hosted the Miss America pageant in 1981 and 1982 and turned to writing, publishing two crime novels in the 1990s.

After a brief marriage to his high school sweetheart that ended in divorce in 1961, Ely remained single until he met Valerie, who was crowned Miss Florida USA in 1981 and competed in the Miss USA beauty pageant. Ely and Valerie married in 1984 and had two daughters, Kirsten and Kaitland and then Cameron.

Published accounts of the Ely family over the decades indicate that the actor and his wife of 35 years created a loving home for their son and daughters in Santa Barbara's exclusive Hope Ranch neighborhood. In interviews, Ely spoke about how he gave up acting to devote himself full-time to being a hands-on father.

Cameron Ely also seemed to be successful. After inheriting his father's good looks and athletic ability, he attended Phillips Exeter Academy, earned a spot at Harvard, and joined the elite university's football team as a quarterback in 2007. He reportedly graduated from Harvard University in 2012 with a bachelor's degree in psychology, but it is not clear what he did after he left college, other than Ron Ely said that year that his son was alive again at home.

On Instagram, Kirsten Ely said her father was an actor, author, coach, mentor, family man and leader. “He created a strong wave of positive influence everywhere he went,” she said. “The effect he had on others was something I had never experienced in another person – there was something truly magical about him.”

Kirsten Ely described how his life was marked by “relentless perseverance, endless devotion to his family and friends, the courage to do the right thing, and the sacrifice to achieve the dreams of those he loved.”

“It was also a story full of joy and love – something that everyone close to him got to experience,” said Kirsten Ely. “Once you knew my father’s love, the world became a brighter and more meaningful place.”