Joe Lara, Star Of ‘Tarzan: The Epic Adventures’, Dies At 58 In Plane Crash

Actor Joe Lara has died in a plane crash near Nashville. He was 58.

The Hollywood Reporter reports that Lara, his wife Gwen Lara and five others perished when a Cessna C501 crashed into a lake after taking off from Smyrna Rutherford County Airport in Tennessee. Rutherford County Fire Rescue Capt. Joshua Sanders said in a news conference that there were no survivors.

Lara was best known for portraying the title role in “Tarzan: The Epic Adventures”, which aired in syndication from 1996 until 1997.

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Lara’s association with Tarzan spanned actual lated nearly a decade; he first played the character in the 1989 CBS TV movie “Tarzan in Manhattan”.

Lara’s big screen credits include “Sunset Heat” (1992), “American Cyborg: Steel Warrior” (1993), “Final Equinox” (1995) and “Doomsdayer” (2000), in addition to appearing on such TV series as “Baywatch” and “Conan”.

Lara was also a singer, songwriter and guitarist, and in 2009 released his debut album Joe Lara: The Cry of Freedom.

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