A former Hollywood star who played Tarzan on television in the 1980s and 1990s was among the victims of the plane crash that left his Christian diet guru wife and five other members of their church dead in a Tennessee lake on Saturday.
Joe Lara, 58, was the husband of 66-year-old Gwen Shamblin Lara, founder of the controversial Remnant Fellowship church and author of “The Weigh Down Workshop.”
A native of San Diego, Joe Lara played the legendary jungle hero in the 1989 CBS made-for-TV flick “Tarzan in Manhattan” and again in the short-lived spin-off series “Tarzan: The Epic Adventures” that aired from 1996 to 1997.
He and his wife, who married in 2018, crashed into Percy Priest Lake moments after take-off from nearby Smyrna, Tennessee along with her son-in-law Brandon Hannah, and longtime Remnant members David L. Martin, Jennifer J. Martin, Jessica Walters and Jonathan Walters, all of Brentwood, Tennessee, authorities said.
All are believed to have perished in the crash. Investigators on Sunday continued to scour the lake for the bodies of those on board, none of whom were legally licensed to fly the 39-year-old Cessna 500 series plane, the Nashville Tennessean reported.
The medical certification on Joe Lara’s license had expired in 2017, according to federal records. Live tape of the unknown pilot’s communication with the control tower suggested a mechanical failure, the Tennessean said.
His wife’s Remnant Fellowship has grown to as many as 1,500 members and 150 congregations since its founding in 1999, according to the local paper.
Shamblin Lara controversially believed being overweight is a sign of greed and gluttony. She also preached strict obedience of parents and corporal punishment of children.
In 2003, two members of the church were convicted of beating their 8-year-old son to death with a glue stick, the Tennessean said.
Shamblin Lara’s group posted bond for the couple, who both received life in prison.
With Post wires