Joe Lara

• Name — Joe Lara • Birth Name — William Joseph Lara • Born — 2 October 1962 • Birthplace — San Diego, California, U.S. • Died — 29 May 2021 • Place of death — Percy Priest Lake, Tennessee, U.S. • Occupation — Actor, musician • Years Active — 1988–2021 • Partner — Natasha Pavlovich (1984–2015) • Children — 1 William Joseph Lara (October 2, 1962 – May 29, 2021) was an American actor, martial artist, and musician, known for the role of Tarzan in the American TV series Tarzan: The Epic Adventures.

Lara was born William Joseph Lara on October 2, 1962 in San Diego, California to Diane (née Wesolowski) and William Lara. He was raised in Newport Beach, California.

In 1981, Lara began his modeling career and traveled to many European countries including Italy, France, and Switzerland. Lara played Tarzan in the 1989 TV movie Tarzan in Manhattan and in the 1996–1997 follow-up TV series Tarzan: The Epic Adventures. He also appeared in numerous action films, including American Cyborg: Steel Warrior alongside actors Nicole Hansen and John Saint Ryan in 1993 and Steel Frontier alongside actors Brion James and Bo Svenson in 1995. Lara starred in the 1999 Menahem Golan action film Lima: Breaking the Silence portraying Victor alongside actor Billy Drago. In 2000, Lara portrayed the role of Detective Miller in Very Mean Men directed by Tony Vitale alongside actors Matthew Modine, Ben Gazzara, and Martin Landau.

He stopped acting after 20 years in 2002 to pursue a career in country music. In 2009, Lara became active in music. Lara released his debut country album entitled "Joe Lara: The Cry of Freedom" on October 20, 2011. Lara released a cover version of the 2007 Michael Buble song "Everything" on August 18, 2019 in honor of him and his wife Gwen's one year wedding anniversary.

On September 9, 2019, Lara and his wife Gwen began a Youtube series entitled Life with Gwen and Joe. The final episode entitled "Honoring the Christian Martyrs" was released on November 20, 2020.

Lara met actress Natasha Pavlovich in 1984 and dated on and off for several years until 2015 and were briefly engaged. Together they have one child, a daughter (b. 2010). Lara became engaged to Christian author and pastor Gwen Shamblin on June 23, 2018. They married on August 18, 2018 in a Remnant Fellowship Church wedding ceremony. Together they lived in Brentwood, Tennessee. Lara was a certified pilot holding multi-engine commercial and instrument ratings along with a type rating for the Cessna Citation I.

On May 29, 2021, Lara died when a Cessna Citation I business jet registered to JL & GL Productions LP crashed into Percy Priest Lake near Smyrna. His wife, her son-in-law, and four members of Lara's church also died in the crash. The cause of the accident was investigated by the National Transportation Safety Board and concluded that the cause was the result of pilot error. Reports in the immediate aftermath of the accident indicated that Lara's aviation medical certificate had expired in 2019, but Aviation International News and WSMV-TV subsequently found that Lara held a valid medical certificate when the crash occurred. While it was initially unclear who was flying the aircraft when it crashed (also on board was a pilot who lacked the required type rating to fly the Citation), the National Transportation Safety Board's preliminary report stated that "the pilot held a commercial pilot certificate with ratings for airplane single-engine land, multiengine land, and instrument airplane", and "The pilot held a type rating for the airplane with no restrictions. His most recent Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) second-class medical certificate was issued on November 12, 2019, with the limitation that he "must wear corrective lenses". This information along with a CNN article on June 15, 2021, stating, "The pilot, who was among the seven killed, had a commercial pilot certificate and a private pilot certificate and had logged 1,680 total flight hours, 83 of those in the plane involved in the crash" has led some reports to conclude the pilot could only have been Lara.

• Year — Title — Role — Notes • 1989 — Tarzan in Manhattan — Tarzan — Television film • 1990 — Gunsmoke: The Last Apache — Wolf — Television film • 1992 — Danger Island — Matt — Television film • 1993 — Tropical Heat — Devon Madsen — Episode: "Tess" • 1993 — Baywatch — Frank Randall — Episode: "Tentacles: Part 2" • 1996–1997 — Tarzan: The Epic Adventures — Tarzan — Lead role • 1997 — Operation Delta Force — Johan Nash — Television film • 1998 — Conan the Adventurer — Kamikon — Episode: "The Cavern" • 1998 — In Search of Tarzan with Jonathan Ross — Himself — Television film • 2000 — The Magnificent Seven — Pace McCormick — Episode: "Penance"

• Title — Album details • Joe Lara: The Cry of Freedom — * Released: October 20, 2011 * Label: Independent * Formats: Digital download, CD