{"id":8480,"date":"2013-05-02T03:15:13","date_gmt":"2013-05-02T07:15:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/geekstronomy.com\/?p=8480"},"modified":"2013-05-02T03:15:13","modified_gmt":"2013-05-02T07:15:13","slug":"vids-ron-ely-discusses-the-upcoming-video-release-of-doc-savage-tarzan-for-warner-archive-collection","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/geekstronomy.com\/?p=8480","title":{"rendered":"Vids: Ron Ely discusses the Upcoming Video Release of Doc Savage, Tarzan for Warner Archive Collection"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the late 1960s and early 70s, few actors stood as tall in their he\"660x660_DocSavage\"<\/a>roic roles as Ron Ely.<\/p>\n

From television\u2019s Tarzan to the big screen\u2019s Doc Savage: The Man of Bronze, Ely\u2019s 6-foot-4-inch muscular frame made the scenery cower when he stepped before a camera.<\/p>\n

The 74-year-old actor stands just as tall today, commanding audiences
\nwith his tales of those golden days of pulp fiction on film. Warner
\nArchive Collection has brought Ely\u2019s best-loved roles back into the
\nspotlight, making the classic titles available on DVD and through its
\nnew live-streaming service, Warner Archive Instant.<\/p>\n

Premiering on NBC in 1966, Edgar Rice Burroughs\u2019 immortal
\ncreation, Tarzan, took to the nation\u2019s TV screens for the first time. Still
\nin the capable hands of producer Sy Weintraub, the TV Tarzan
\n(the aforementioned Mr. Ely) continued the more recent (and more
\nauthentic)interpretation of Lord Greystoke as a sophisticated, articulate
\njungle adventurer as seen in the Tarzan films of Gordon Scott, Jock
\nMahoney and Mike Henry. Also carried over from the big screen was young
\nactor Manuel Padilla (Tarzan and the Valley of Gold, Tarzan and the
\nGreat River), now playing the jungle lord\u2019s kid sidekick alongside
\nCheetah,the simian one.<\/p>\n

Based on the first of Kenneth Robeson\u2019s 181\u00a0 adventure packed books, Doc Savage: The Man of Bronze hit the screen with all its gee-whiz, gung-ho spirit intact. And its bold protagonist, who along with having a herculean body is also a surgeon, linguist and inventor, remains determined to do right to all and wrong to no one. Ely plays
\nthe strapping Savage in this high-camp, big-heroics tale of his trek into the Valley of the Vanished to confront the power-hungry Captain Seas (Paul Wexler). And behind the camera are pros who know how to get the most out of this entertainment bronze mine: veteran fantasy film producer George Pal (The War of the Worlds, The Time Machine) and director Michael Anderson (Around the World in 80 Days, Logan\u2019s Run).<\/p>\n

Once reluctant to embrace his cult hero status, Ely has joined Warner Archive Collection at two major events over the past six months \u2013 at the Paley Center for Media in Los Angeles, and WonderCon in Anaheim \u2013t0 celebrate those cherished productions of 40-plus years ago.<\/p>\n

In addition to Ely\u2019s starring roles, Warner Archive Collection is now
\noffering a number of classic films and television series representative of the pulp heroes of yesteryear. Included amongst those productions are the Tarzan Collections (the most recent featuring films of the 1960s: Tarzan Goes to India, Tarzan\u2019s Three
\nChallenges, Tarzan and The Valley of Gold, Tarzan and the Great River, Tarzan and the Jungle Boy) and Bomba The Jungle Boy, Volume One.<\/p>\n

The Bomba release includes six of these rare films, which were released from 1949-51. \"1000x1000_Tarzan_S1P2\"<\/a>Monogram pictures made an inspired choice when it opted to adapt the Stratemeyer Syndicate’s (Nancy Drew, the Hardy Boys and Tom Swift) series of books with Bomba the Jungle Boy and paired it up with Tarzan’s own now grown \u201cBoy,\u201d Johnny Sheffield. Under the leadership of newbie producer Walter Mirisch, the series skillfully blends stock photography, imaginative scripts and teen romance to deliver A-list fun on a B-list budget (and proving to be a smash hit for the studio). Fellow former child-star Peggy Ann Garnerprovides for Bomba’s jungle distraction in the inaugural installment, while other guests of note to be found in the first six films in the series include Allene Roberts, Donald Woods, Paul Guilfoyle, Sue England, Woody Strode, and Donna Martell. Silent-to-TV-era
\njourneyman Ford Beebe directs all six.<\/p>\n

But back to Mr. Ely, who took some time in conjunction with his
\nappearance at WonderCon over Easter weekend to answer a few questions.
\nHeed the words of Tarzan
\n\u2026<\/p>\n

QUESTION:
\nWhat are you impressions of pulp heroes?<\/p>\n

RON ELY:
\nWhen I was a kid, we had radio, we had Saturday morning serials,
\nandwe had comic books. It wasn\u2019t like today \u2013 we had a limited array
\nof things, but those things especially appealed to kids. I loved
\ncomicbooks, and I read a lot of them. Archie, Superman, Captain Marvel
\nthose types.<\/p>\n

Part and parcel of being a kid back then was to latch
\nonto larger than life heroes. It wasn\u2019t until we became adults that our hero
\nimage became more adult and humanized with flaws. Back then, they had
\nno flaws \u2013 our heroes were the biggest, the baddest, and the
\nmost honorable. All those principles set in motion everything that
\nfollowed suit for me.
\nDoc Savage was one of the most successful series of\u00a0 books \u2013 the character was one of the triumvirate of great action heroes, along with Tarzan and Superman. Those three really set the standard for pulp heroes. It\u2019s interesting that Warner Archive has all three of them
\nthey\u2019re like a superhero factory. I can\u2019t think of anybody that can compare.<\/p>\n

QUESTION:
\nAs a kid, who were your heroes?<\/p>\n

RON ELY:
\nI grew up in Amarillo, Texas, so my heroes were cut
\nfrom the same cloth that I saw all around me. Cowboys like John Wayne and
\nBob Mitchum. One of the joys of getting into this business was that
\nI actually got to know some of my heroes. Those western, heroic
\ncharacters occupied my interests in film more than any others. I loved
\nthe comic book and pulp heroes, but for me, you couldn\u2019t beat John
\nWayne.<\/p>\n

QUESTION:
\nWhat does it mean to you to be a hero?<\/p>\n

RON ELY:
\nIt\u2019s sort of a funny thing being called a hero, because
\nit\u2019s not something I wanted to do. But it just kept coming for me. I
\ndon\u2019t really understand why, but I appreciate it because I think it
\nmight have grown out of my sticking to the solid, basic principles I
\nlearned growing up. Those important characteristics tend to exist more in
\nthe superhero characters than other flawed adult characters. I
\nalways enjoyed playing the flawless characters because, whereas some
\nfolks find them corny, I appreciate the morals, the lessons, and all
\nthose things that superheroes are designed to be and represent.<\/p>\n

QUESTION:
\nWhat has prompted you to come out of your shell a
\nbit and embrace the fans and the fan conventions?<\/p>\n

RON ELY:
\nI used to hate being around the fans \u2013 I avoided it like the plague. I
\nenjoyed the anonymity. That\u2019s why I pretty well dropped off the face\"TV-Tarzan<\/a>
\nof the Earth for quite a long time. But getting back out into the
\npublic again has been one of the most rewarding experiences that I can
\nimagine. Those fans are diehard. They hang on, they don\u2019t let go. They
\nbelieve in Doc and Tarzan \u2013 they believe in them in a way that makes
\nyou want to know more about them.<\/p>\n

It was surprising to me to find out the fans are still there, to discover the fan base is so enormous. It surprised to see younger people in that mix who weren\u2019t around when I made Tarzan. It\u2019s a kick for me. I enjoy seeing those people and hearing what they have to
\nsay.
\nThey embrace these characters for the right reasons. It\u2019s not
\na character like in Die Hard \u2013 characters like Doc Savage, Tarzan
\nand Superman are more pure superheroes. There\u2019s a special group
\nof characters, and a special group of people that remain true to
\nthose\u00a0 characters as fans.<\/p>\n

For more information on Warner Archive Collection new and current releases, go to http:\/\/shop.warnerarchive.com<\/a>\/<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In the late 1960s and early 70s, few actors stood as tall in their heroic roles as Ron Ely. From television\u2019s Tarzan to the big screen\u2019s Doc Savage: The Man of Bronze, Ely\u2019s 6-foot-4-inch muscular frame made the scenery cower … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[2770,46,1606,30,2771,216,980,784],"class_list":["post-8480","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-vids","tag-doc-savage","tag-documentary","tag-edgar-rice-burroughs","tag-nbc","tag-ron-ely","tag-warner-brothers","tag-warner-home-entertainment","tag-warner-home-video"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/geekstronomy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8480","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/geekstronomy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/geekstronomy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/geekstronomy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/geekstronomy.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=8480"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/geekstronomy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8480\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8484,"href":"https:\/\/geekstronomy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8480\/revisions\/8484"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/geekstronomy.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=8480"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/geekstronomy.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=8480"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/geekstronomy.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=8480"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}