The wife of Tarzan actor Ron Ely has been stabbed to death in their California home - before police shot dead the couple's son who was suspected of carrying out the attack.

Valerie Lundeen Ely, 62, was found with multiple stab wounds at the property in Santa Barbara after officers responded to a 911 call shortly after 8pm on Tuesday evening, the Santa Barbara County sherrif's office said.

Officers spoke to Ron Ely - who played the title character in the 1960s TV series Tarzan - and identified the couple's son, Cameron Ely, as the suspect.

Image: The 81-year old had been married to his wife Valerie for 35 years

Police searched the property and found the 30-year-old outside the home in Hope Ranch, a suburb of luxury homes outside Santa Barbara.

He "posed a threat" to officers and was shot dead after four officers fired their weapons at him, a sheriff's office spokesman said.


The spokesman did not say what he had done that was threatening, but added none of the officers were injured.

There was no report of Ron Ely being injured as authorities confirmed he was at the home during the stabbing and shooting.

An earlier sheriff's statement said an elderly man in the house was taken to hospital for evaluation.

Ely is best known for his portrayal of Tarzan in the US television series from 1966 to 1968 and for his lead performance in 1975 film Doc Savage: The Man of Bronze.

The tall, musclebound actor was not quite as well-known as Olympic swimmer Johnny Weismuller, who played Tarzan in the 1930s and 1940s Tarzan films. But Ely formed the image of the shirtless, loincloth-wearing character many of the baby boom generation associate the character with.

Image: Ron Ely played pulp fiction character Doc Savage in the 1975 movie

Ely said he did his own stunts on the show, working with tigers, chimps and other wild animals that were Tarzan's friends and servants.

His acting career also included smaller roles in 1958 musical South Pacific and TV shows Fantasy Island, Wonder Woman and The Aquanauts.

Ely retired from acting between 2001 and 2014 to concentrate on raising his children before returning to the small screen to play an Amish elder in the Lifetime movie Expecting Amish.

He and his wife Valerie, a former Miss Florida, had two other children together, Kirsten and Kaitland.

Both daughters have previously written about their admiration for their parents on social media.