Ron Harper, ‘Planet of the Apes’ star, dead at 91

“Planet of the Apes” star, Ron Harper, has died. He was 91.

Harper’s daughter, Nicole Longeuay, confirmed to Fox News Digital that her father handed away peacefully from pure causes on March 21.

Ron had an extended profession in Hollywood. From 1961-1962, Harper starred on the police present, “87th Precinct.” Following that, Harper appeared on “Wendy and Me” from 1964-1965. 

“Planet of the Apes” star, Ron Harper, has died. He was 91. (Getty Images)

The actor appeared on two different tv exhibits, “The Jean Arthur Show” and “Garrison Gorillas” earlier than touchdown his stand-out function as astronaut “Alan Virdon” on the “Planet of the Apes” tv collection.

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The present got here on the heels of the five-movie movie franchise by the identical title. According to the Hollywood Reporter, the collection didn’t carry out nicely and was canceled after 14 episodes.

“Planet of the Apes” actor Ron Harper posed for a portrait in circa 1960. (Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)

“Our ‘Planet of the Apes’ stories degenerated into ‘The Fugitive’ with fur. I think that’s one of the things that curtailed what should have been a longer run,” Harper instructed Tom Weaver for his guide, “I Talked With A Zombie,” in line with the Hollywood Reporter.

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Following “Planet of the Apes,” Harper appeared alongside Marty Krofft in “Land of Lost” in 1976 for the third and closing season. Ron portrayed the household’s Uncle Jack in the sci-fi collection.

Ron Harper handed away from pure causes on March 21. He was pictured right here on July 13, 2013. (Albert L. Ortega/Getty Images)

Harper was solely in a single season, however appeared as a visitor on the collection a number of instances over the following years.

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“The stories were very good,” Harper stated in an interview in 2005, in line with the Hollywood Reporter. “Each generation of children as they come up and are exposed to it like those stories and remember them, pass them right on. I have about three tapes, and I’ve been showing them to my daughter since she was 5. And she still, of all my series, loves ‘Land of the Lost’ best.”

Harper was born on Jan. 12, 1933. After graduating from highschool, Ron earned a scholarship to Princeton University earlier than being provided a fellowship at Harvard Law School, the Hollywood Reporter stated.

Ron Harper, Roddy McDowall and James Naughton on the set of the tv collection, “Planet of the Apes,” in 1974. (Silver Screen Collection/Getty Images)

“I kept saying to myself, ‘Should you waste your good education being an actor?’ And that little voice within me kept saying things like, ‘What do you want to take that fellowship to Harvard Law for? Be an actor. Starving is fun,’” Harper stated in 1966, in line with the outlet. (*91*)

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In addition to his daughter, Nicole, Harper is survived by his granddaughters Ronnie and Harper and his ex-wife, Shirley. Prior to his marriage to Shirley, Harper married Sally Stark.

Fox News Digital’s Larry Fink contributed to this report