Joe Lara: 'Tarzan' Actor Dead at 58 After Tragic Plane Crash in US
- Joe Lara was among seven people, including his wife, killed in a plane crash on Saturday into a Tennessee lake
- Their private jet plunged into Percy Priest Lake just minutes after take-off and recovery efforts were unsuccessful
- The actor and his wife Gwen have left behind three children; he was 58 and his wife was 66 at the time of their passing
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The star of Tarzan: The Epic Adventures - Joe Lara - has passed away after a small plane he was travelling in crashed into a Tennessee lake.
Source: Instagram
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According to TMZ, the accident happened on Saturday, 29 May and Joe was among seven people, including his wife Gwen Lara, lost in the crash. The private jet is reported to have left Smyrna Airport outside Nashville and was headed to Palm Beach International Airport in Florida.
However, it plunged into Percy Priest Lake just minutes after takeoff, and after hours of searching that went into the night, authorities later noted that there were no survivors. The families of the seven deceased passengers were notified and investigations opened into finding the cause of the accident.
Joe is best known for his role as Tarzan in the Tarzan Manhattan movie in 1989 and its succeeding TV series Tarzan: The Epic Adventures, the king of the jungle, from 1996 to 1997.
He has also appeared in other films, including American Cyborg: Steel Warrior, Steel Frontier, Warhead, The Magnificent Seven, Baywatch and Tropical Heat, among others.
Joe and Gwen got married in 2018 and founded the faith-based diet Weigh Down Workshop and the Remnant Fellowship Church.
Gwen was an author and also the founder of the faith-based diet programme. Gwen was 66 and Joe 58; they are survived by three children.
In similar news, Briefly News reported that South Africans awoke to tragic news on Sunday morning 23 May. A statement released by Kalawa Jazmee Records revealed that Emanuael Mojalefa Matsane had passed away in a car accident.
Matsane was more popularly known as Mjokes. South Africans took to social media to share their reactions to the tragic news. #RIPMjokes was trending on Twitter, Briefly News took a look at some of the messages shared by his fans:
"Condolences to loved ones, family, team, friends, colleagues and the music industry as a whole. #ripmjokes"
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Source: Briefly News
Kelly Lippke (Senior Editor) Kelly Lippke is a copy editor/proofreader who started her career at the Northern-Natal Courier with a BA in Communication Science/Psychology (Unisa, 2007). Kelly has worked for several Caxton publications, including the Highway Mail and Northglen News. Kelly’s unique editing perspective stems from an additional major in Linguistics. Kelly joined Briefly News in 2018 and she has 14 years of experience. Kelly has also passed a set of trainings by Google News Initiative. You can reach her at kelly.lippke@briefly.co.za.
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