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Actor Ron Ely, who made history as the first person to play the Tarzan character in a television series, has passed away. He was 86 years old. His death comes five years after a tragedy that took the lives of his wife and son.

On Instagram, a post shared by Ely's daughter, Kirsten, announced that the actor had died. His death comes five years after a tragedy that took the lives of his wife and son, and after opening up on the painful loss of her father, Kirsten noted how it brought her a small sense of comfort that the three are now reunited.

View this post on InstagramA post shared by K I K I E L Y (@blonderambitions)

"The world has lost one of the greatest men it has ever known - and I have lost my dad," her post reads in part. "My father was someone that people called a hero.

Ron Ely, best known for his starring role as Tarzan in the 1960s NBC television series Tarzan, has died, his daughter Kirsten confirmed to TMZ, telling the outlet her father passed away peacefully at his home surrounded by family on September 29. He was 86.

His daughter shared an emotional tribute to her father on Instagram.

“The world has lost one of the greatest men it has ever known – and I have lost my dad,” Kirsten wrote.

“My father was someone that people called a hero. He was an actor, writer, coach, mentor, family man and leader. He created a powerful wave of positive influence wherever he went. The impact he had on others is something that I have never witnessed in any other person – there was something truly magical about him. This is how the world knew him.

“I knew him as my dad – and what a heaven sent honor that has been.

Ron Ely, the hunky and handsome Texas native who portrayed the Lord of the Jungle on the first Tarzan series for television, has died, his daughter Kirsten told Fox News Digital. He was 86.

He died Sept. 29 at the home of one of his daughters near Santa Barbara, The New York Times reported.

Ely also hosted the Miss America pageant in 1980 and 1981, stepping in for longtime emcee Bert Parks, and presided over a syndicated game show called Face the Music around that time.

The 6-foot-4, blue-eyed Ely had appeared opposite Clint Walker in The Night of the Grizzly and with Ursula Andress in Once Before I Die in films released in 1966 when he was hired to don the loincloth in a new NBC series executive produced by Sy Weintraub.

Ely was offered the Tarzan gig after former NFL linebacker Mike Henry, who had played the Edgar Rice Burroughs creation in three ’60s films,...

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