June 21
 Ronald Pierce Ely's Birthday
 

Ron Ely must gave thanked God for Workman's Comp while he was staring in the 1966-68 NBC TV series Tarzan. The 6'4" athletic actor kept on insisting that he do his own stunts which led to a total of 15 serious injuries including:
 

seven stitches to the head from a lion bite. broken nose in a water fight.  dislocated jaw in a fight.  claw marks from leopard and puma fight.  right shoulder separation in vine swinging accident. wrenched neck and disc in vine swinging accident.  left shoulder separation from vine breaking during swing.  right biceps muscle torn in lion fight.

Ron was the 15th screen Tarzan and  won the part over 300 competitors. He tried to make the role closer the the the original series of books by Edgar Rice Burroughs Burroughs who created his Tarzan character as an archetypal feral child raised in the African jungles by apes who later returns to civilization only to largely reject it and return to the wild as a heroic adventurer. After Ron won the role as Lord of the Apes, he said  "Ever read the original Tarzan stories? They're beautiful. About an educated man who returns to the environment he knows best, the jungle. There he seeks truth, honor, and man's lost humanity to man. This Tarzan is the part I've been waiting for all my life."

AfterTarzan was cancelled by NBC, Ron starred in  in two films made from that series in 1970. Ron then went to Germany where he made a few action films that were popular with the Germans. However, in Germany, David Hasselhoff is also considered a major star. Ron's other semi-memorable film role was as Doc Savage, the Man of Bronze (1975) . He then capped his show biz career as the host  of TV's  "Miss America" pageant on from 1979-81 annd starred in the 1987 Canadian-filmed revival of Sea Hunt. Ron primarily left the big and small screens in the 90s when he began to write mystery novels .

So to celebrate Ron's birthday, we suggest watching Tarzan's Deadly Silence (1970) and enjoying a plate of  tasty Tarzan Strips
 

Tarzan Strips

1. Line 2 baking trays with baking paper. Place flour on a plate. Whisk eggs in a shallow bowl. Combine cornflake crumbs, parsley and soup mix in another shallow bowl. Lightly coat chicken in flour, shaking off excess. Dip in egg, followed by crumb mixture, pressing crumbs on with fingertips to secure. Place chicken on prepared tray.
2.  Refrigerate for 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 400º F
3. Spray chicken with oil. Bake for 20 minutes, turning halfway during cooking, or until golden and cooked through.
4. Serve with sweet chili sauce or tomato sauce.