'Tarzan' Star Joe Lara Dead at 58 Following Plane Crash

Joe Lara, the star of 'Tarzan: The Epic Adventures,' and his wife, have died after a small plane he was on crashed into Tennessee's Percy Priest Lake.

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BEVERLY HILLS, CA - JANUARY 22: Actor Joe Lara attends the 6th annual "Living Legends of Aviation" awards ceremony at the Beverly Hilton Hotel on January 22, 2009 in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo by Jason LaVeris/FilmMagic) *** Local Caption ***

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Joe Lara, the star of Tarzan: The Epic Adventures, has died after a small plane he was on crashed into a lake.

As reported by TMZ, a Cessna 501 private jet with Lara, his wife, and a few others aboard crashed shortly after take-off into the Percy Priest Lake in Tennessee. After an all-night search, all seven of the passengers were found deceased, Lara included. The TV star played the character of Tarzan on the 1996 series Tarzan: The Epic Adventures from ‘96 to ‘97. Lara also starred in the 1989 CBS movie Tarzan in Manhattan.

Lara had starred in other fantasy efforts throughout the years as well, including Sunset Heat, Gunsmoke: The Last Apache, American Cyborg: Steel Warrior, Baywatch, and CBS’ The Magnificent Seven. Among the deceased was also Lara’s wife Gwen Shamblin, who founded the Remnant Fellowship Church and created the Weigh Down Workshop, a weight loss routine that was popular in the ‘90s. The two got married in 2018, and the pair leave behind two children. Lara was 58 and Shamblin was 66.

Newschannel 5 Nashville reported that the plane dropped out of the sky after only being in the air for about 90 seconds. ATC radio recordings also showed that when the pilot was directed to turn, an alarm sounded off in the cockpit. Pilots told NewsChannel 5 that it sounded unusual, while other pilots noted that sound was normal for a takeoff routine.

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