Joe Lara, 'Tarzan: The Epic Adventures' Star, Presumed Dead at 58 After Plane Crash
Joe Lara, the star of Tarzan: The Epic Adventures, is presumed dead following a plane crash on Saturday. He was 58.
The actor (real name William Joseph Lara) and his wife, Gwen Lara, were two of seven people on the plane, according to Rutherford County Fire & Rescue; all are presumed dead.
The group took off in a Cessna Citation 501 from Smyrna Airport, south of Nashville, on Saturday morning, per authorities. The plane crashed into Percy Priest Lake near Smyrna, Tennessee, at about 11 a.m. local time on Saturday.
The Rutherford County Government in Tennessee identified those on board the plane as William J. Lara, Gwen S. Lara, Jennifer J. Martin, David L. Martin, Jessica Walters, Jonathan Walters and Brandon Hannah, all of Brentwood, Tennessee.
By Sunday afternoon, crews had found several parts of the plane as well as human remains in a debris field that was about half a mile wide, officials said. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is investigating the crash, while on-scene operations will continue Sunday until dark and resume on Monday morning.
Joe first starred as Tarzan in the 1989 TV Movie Tarzan in Manhattan, before reprising his role in 22 Tarzan: The Epic Adventures episodes from 1996 to 2000. He also had credits in shows and movies like Baywatch, Tropical Heat, Steel Frontier and more.
In 2018, Joe married Lara, who was famous for founding the Christian weight loss group Weigh Down Ministries in 1986. In 1999, she founded the Remnant Fellowship Church in Brentwood, Tennessee.
Joe and Gwen are survived by two children.
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