'Tarzan' Star Joe Lara Presumed Dead At 58 After Plane Crash: Report

Joe Lara, star of the '90s television series "Tarzan: The Epic Adventures," is presumed dead after a plane crash Saturday. He was 58.

Lara, whose real name is William Joseph Lara, and his wife Gwen Shamblin Lara, a diet guru and founder of the Remnant Fellowship Church, were two of the seven people on the plane that crashed in Tennessee, Entertainment Tonight reported, citing the Rutherford County Fire & Rescue. All are presumed dead.

The other crash victims were identified as Jennifer J. Martin, David L. Martin, Jessica Walters, Jonathan Walters and Brandon Hannah. All of them were from Brentwood, Tennessee.

The group took off in a small Cessna C501 jet from Smyrna Rutherford County Airport at about 11 a.m. local time Saturday, the Federal Aviation Administration said in a statement to The New York Times. The plane, which was headed to Palm Beach International Airport in Florida, crashed into Percy Priest Lake near Smyrna, Tennessee.

Local rescue crews had found several parts of the plane and human remains Sunday afternoon in a debris field about half a mile wide, officials from the Rutherford County Government in Tennessee said in a statement posted on Facebook.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is investigating the crash, while the on-scene operations will resume Monday morning.

Lara and his wife, 66, are survived by her two adult children from her first marriage, Michael Shamblin and Elizabeth Hannah, as well as a daughter from the actor's previous relationship and several grandchildren, E! News reported. Elizabeth also lost her husband Brandon in the crash.

Lara played the lead in the 1989 TV movie "Tarzan in Manhattan," which marked his breakout role. He went on to star in the 22-episode syndicated series "Tarzan: The Epic Adventures."

He appeared in several other action-fantasy projects over the years, including "Steel Frontier," "Sunset Heat," "Gunsmoke: The Last Apache," "American Cyborg: Steel Warrior" "The Magnificent Seven," "Baywatch" and "Tropical Heat."

Lara married Gwen in 2018. She founded the Remnant Fellowship Church in 1999, as well as the Weigh Down Workshop — a weight loss program that was very popular among churchgoers in the '80s and '90s. Gwen used Bible studies to help people lose weight and quit drinking, Deadline noted.

In recent years, she and Lara appeared in a self-produced YouTube series called "Life With Gwen and Joe."

Last week, Gwen was still active on Twitter. In one tweet, she posted about giving up extra food to get back blessings.

"When you give up the extra food you want, you get back jewels and blessings! So believe what Jesus said and follow in his steps—this week and forevermore!" she wrote.