[citation needed] During the filming of Tarzan, Ely did almost all of his own stunts,[2] and received over two dozen injuries, including two broken shoulders and several lion bites.

[3] Ely's height (6'4")[citation needed] and athletic build also won him the title role in the film Doc Savage: The Man of Bronze (1975), as well as various guest shots.

[citation needed] Ely starred on the series The Aquanauts in 1960–1961, in the western adventure film The Night of the Grizzly (1966) opposite Clint Walker, and later appeared in Jürgen Goslar's slavery movie Slavers (1978).

[citation needed] He wrote two mystery novels featuring private investigator Jake Sands: Night Shadows (1994) and East Beach (1995).

[7] In 1984, Ely married Valerie Lundeen, who won the Miss Florida USA title in 1981,[7] and they had three children.