William Joseph Lara (October 2, 1962 – May 29, 2021) was an American actor, martial artist, and musician, known for the role of
Tarzan
Tarzan (John Clayton, Viscount Greystoke) is a fictional character, a feral child raised in the African jungle by the Mangani great apes; he later experiences civilization, only to reject it and return to the wild as a heroic adventurer.
Creat ...
Lara was born William Joseph Lara on October 2, 1962 in
San Diego
San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...
,
California
California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
to Diane (née Wesolowski) and William Lara. He was raised in
Newport Beach, California
Newport Beach is a coastal city of about 85,000 in southern Orange County, California, United States. Located about southeast of downtown Los Angeles, Newport Beach is known for its sandy beaches. The city's harbor once supported maritime indu ...
.
Acting and modeling career
In 1981, Lara began his modeling career and traveled to many European countries including
Italy
Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
,
France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
, and
Switzerland
Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...
. Lara played
Tarzan
Tarzan (John Clayton, Viscount Greystoke) is a fictional character, a feral child raised in the African jungle by the Mangani great apes; he later experiences civilization, only to reject it and return to the wild as a heroic adventurer.
Creat ...
Brion James
Brion Howard James (February 20, 1945 – August 7, 1999) was an American character actor. He portrayed Leon Kowalski in '' Blade Runner'' and appeared in '' Southern Comfort'', '' 48 Hrs.'', ''Another 48 Hrs.'', '' Silverado'', '' Tango & Cash'', ...
and
Bo Svenson
Bo Svenson (born 13 February 1941) is a Swedish-American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter, known for his roles in American genre films of the 1970s and 1980s.
Early life
Svenson was born in Sweden, the son of Birger Ragnar Svensson ( ...
in 1995. Lara starred in the 1999
Menahem Golan
Menahem Golan (; May 31, 1929 – August 8, 2014, originally Menachem Globus) was an Israelis, Israeli film producer, screenwriter, and director. He co-owned The Cannon Group with his cousin Yoram Globus. Cannon specialized in producing low-to-mid ...
Billy Drago
Billy Eugene Burrows (November 30, 1945 – June 24, 2019), known professionally by his stage name Billy Drago, was an American television and film actor. Drago's films, where he was frequently cast as a villain, included Clint Eastwood's wester ...
. In 2000, Lara portrayed the role of Detective Miller in Very Mean Men directed by Tony Vitale alongside actors
Matthew Modine
Matthew Avery Modine (born March 22, 1959) is an American actor and filmmaker. He shared the Venice Film Festival‘s Volpi Cup for Best Actor as part of the ensemble cast of Robert Altman film ''Streamers'' (1983). He went on to play lead rol ...
,
Ben Gazzara
Biagio Anthony "Ben" Gazzara (August 28, 1930 – February 3, 2012) was an American actor and director of film, stage, and television. He received numerous accolades including a Primetime Emmy Award and a Drama Desk Award, in addition to nomina ...
, and
Martin Landau
Martin James Landau (; June 20, 1928 – July 15, 2017) was an American actor. His career began in the 1950s, with early film appearances including a supporting role in Alfred Hitchcock's '' North by Northwest'' (1959). His career breakthrough c ...
.
Musical career
He stopped acting after 20 years in 2002 to pursue a career in
country music
Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and American southwest, the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is p ...
. 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
Michael may refer to:
People
* Michael (given name), a given name
* he He ..., a given name
* Michael (surname), including a list of people with the surname Michael
Given name
* Michael (bishop elect)">Michael (surname)">he He ..., a given nam ...
song "
Everything
Everything, every-thing, or every thing, is all that exists; it is an antithesis of ''nothing'', or its complement. It is the totality of things relevant to some subject matter. Without expressed or implied limits, it may refer to . The uni ...
" on August 18, 2019 in honor of him and his wife Gwen's one year wedding anniversary.
Remnant Fellowship Church productions
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.
Personal life
Lara met actress
Natasha Pavlovich
Natasha Pavlovich (born March 14, 1968) is a Serbian-American actress, business woman, pilot, former model and beauty pageant titleholder. Pavlovich represented Yugoslavia in the Miss Universe 1991 competition where she reached the semi-finals ...
in 1984 and dated on an 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
Gwen Shamblin Lara (February 18, 1955 – May 29, 2021) was an American church leader known for the Weigh Down Workshop, her Christian dieting program. She founded Remnant Fellowship Church in 1999 and oversaw its ministry until her 2021 death ...
on June 23, 2018. They married on August 18, 2018 in a
Remnant Fellowship Church
Gwen Shamblin Lara (February 18, 1955 – May 29, 2021) was an American church leader known for the Weigh Down Workshop, her Christian dieting program. She founded Remnant Fellowship Church in 1999 and oversaw its ministry until her 2021 death ...
wedding ceremony. Together they lived in
Brentwood, Tennessee
Brentwood is a city in Williamson County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 45,373 as of the 2020 United States census.certified pilot holding multi-engine commercial and
instrument rating
Instrument rating refers to the qualifications that a pilot must have in order to fly under instrument flight rules (IFR). It requires specific training and instruction beyond what is required for a private pilot certificate or commercial pilot c ...
s along with a
type rating
A type rating is an authorization entered on or associated with a pilot license and forming part thereof, stating the pilot's privileges or limitations pertaining to certain aircraft type. Such qualification requires additional training beyond ...
for the
Cessna Citation I
The Cessna 500 Citation I is a small business jet produced by Cessna, the basis of the Citation family.
The Fanjet 500 prototype was announced in October 1968, first flew on September 15, 1969, and was certified as the 500 Citation on September ...
.
Death
On May 29, 2021, Lara died when a
Cessna Citation I
The Cessna 500 Citation I is a small business jet produced by Cessna, the basis of the Citation family.
The Fanjet 500 prototype was announced in October 1968, first flew on September 15, 1969, and was certified as the 500 Citation on September ...
business jet registered to JL & GL Productions LP crashed into
Percy Priest Lake
J. Percy Priest Lake is a reservoir in north central part of Tennessee. It is formed by J. Percy Priest Dam, located between miles six and seven of the Stones River. The dam (easily visible from Interstate 40) is located about east of do ...
near
Smyrna
Smyrna ( ; , or ) was an Ancient Greece, Ancient Greek city located at a strategic point on the Aegean Sea, Aegean coast of Anatolia, Turkey. Due to its advantageous port conditions, its ease of defence, and its good inland connections, 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
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is an independent U.S. government investigative agency responsible for civil transportation accident investigation. In this role, the NTSB investigates and reports on aviation accidents and inci ...
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
Aviation International News (AIN Media Group / The Convention News Company) is a periodical and newspaper publisher about aviation, published through its website and in hard copy.
History
The Convention News Company was founded by aviation edi ...
'' and ''
WSMV-TV
WSMV-TV (channel 4) is a television station in Nashville, Tennessee, United States, affiliated with NBC. It is owned by Gray Media alongside low-power Telemundo affiliate WTNX-LD (channel 29). The two stations share studios on Knob Road i ...
'' 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
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is an independent U.S. government investigative agency responsible for civil transportation accident investigation. In this role, the NTSB investigates and reports on aviation accidents and inci ...
'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
Cable News Network (CNN) is a multinational news organization operating, most notably, a website and a TV channel headquartered in Atlanta. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable ne ...
'' 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.