Actor Ron Ely, best known for his role as Tarzan in the popular 1960s television show of the same name, has died. He was 86.

Ely's daughter Kirsten Casale Ely confirmed his death in an Instagram post, writing: “The world has lost one of the greatest men it has ever known – and I have lost my father.”

“My father was someone people called a hero. He was an actor, author, coach, mentor, family man and leader,” she wrote. “He created a strong wave of positive influence everywhere he went. The effect he had on others is something I've never experienced in another person – there was something truly magical about him. That’s how the world knew him.”

“I knew him as my father – and what a heavenly honor that was. He hung the moon for me,” she said.

“Tarzan” ran on television from 1966 to 1968 and featured a more educated, articulate jungle lord. According to reports in the New York Times, BBC and USA Today, the actor was known for doing most of his own stunts, which often resulted in broken bones, torn muscles or being attacked by animals.

Ely began his career as a supporting actor in such popular TV shows as Father Knows Best, How to Marry a Millionaire and The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis before landing the title role in Tarzan.

He later played another pulp hero, Doc Savage, in the 1975 film Doc Savage: The Man of Bronze.

He then made guest appearances on a number of popular shows, including “The Love Boat,” “Marcus Welby, MD” and “Fantasy Island,” before retiring in 2001. In 2014 he appeared in the television film “I Expect Amish.”

He also hosted the game show “Face the Music,” hosted the Miss America pageant in 1980 and 1981, and wrote two crime novels in the 1990s.

In October 2019, tragedy struck when Ely's wife, Valerie Lundeen Ely, was stabbed to death by their son Cameron in their California home.

When police arrived, they shot Cameron, who they said posed a threat.

Ely and his family later filed a lawsuit, saying the shooting was unjustifiable and that Cameron had raised his hands, signaling he would surrender. A jury decided in 2022 that the police acted in self-defense.