Ron Ely, who played Tarzan in the 1960s TV series ... "They first tried to cast a former American football player called Mike Henry but he did not like chimpanzees and from the moment he got ...

Ely was offered the Tarzan gig after former NFL linebacker Mike Henry, who had played the Edgar Rice Burroughs creation in three ’60s films, abruptly quit after he was bitten in the jaw by a chimp.

In 1966 he won the lead role in the Tarzan TV series, for which he performed his own stunts and was bitten by lions in the ...

The part was initially set to go to former NFL linebacker Mike Henry, who earlier played Tarzan in three different films, but he abruptly quit after getting his jaw ripped open by a chimp.

He said in interviews he did his own stunts on Tarzan and worked directly with the tigers, chimpanzees and other animals that were the shirtless character's friends. "They first tried to cast a former ...

In 1966 he won the lead role in the Tarzan TV series, for which he performed his own stunts and was bitten by lions in the process. He took over the gig from former NFL linebacker Mike Henry ...

Ely was offered the Tarzan gig after former NFL linebacker Mike Henry, who had played the Edgar Rice Burroughs creation in three ’60s films, abruptly quit after he was bitten in the jaw by a chimp.