Ron Harper, ‘Planet of the Apes’ star, dead at 91

“Planet of the Apes” star, Ron Harper, has died. He was 91.

Harper’s daughter, Nicole Longeuay, confirmed to Fox News Digital that her father passed away peacefully from natural causes on March 21.

Ron had a long career in Hollywood. From 1961-1962, Harper starred on the police show, “87th Precinct.” Following that, Harper appeared on “Wendy and Me” from 1964-1965. 

“Planet of the Apes” star, Ron Harper, has died. He was 91. (Getty Images)

The actor appeared on two other television shows, “The Jean Arthur Show” and “Garrison Gorillas” before landing his stand-out role as astronaut “Alan Virdon” on the “Planet of the Apes” television series.

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The show came on the heels of the five-movie film franchise by the same name. According to the Hollywood Reporter, the series did not perform well and was canceled after 14 episodes.

“Planet of the Apes” actor Ron Harper posed for a portrait in circa 1960. (Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)

“Our ‘Planet of the Apes’ stories degenerated into ‘The Fugitive’ with fur. I think that’s one of the things that curtailed what should have been a longer run,” Harper told Tom Weaver for his book, “I Talked With A Zombie,” according to the Hollywood Reporter.

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Following “Planet of the Apes,” Harper appeared alongside Marty Krofft in “Land of Lost” in 1976 for the third and final season. Ron portrayed the family’s Uncle Jack in the sci-fi series.

Ron Harper passed away from natural causes on March 21. He was pictured here on July 13, 2013. (Albert L. Ortega/Getty Images)

Harper was only in one season, but appeared as a guest on the series several times over the following years.

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“The stories were very good,” Harper said in an interview in 2005, according to the Hollywood Reporter. “Each generation of children as they come up and are exposed to it like those stories and remember them, pass them right on. I have about three tapes, and I’ve been showing them to my daughter since she was 5. And she still, of all my series, loves ‘Land of the Lost’ best.”

Harper was born on Jan. 12, 1933. After graduating from high school, Ron earned a scholarship to Princeton University before being offered a fellowship at Harvard Law School, the Hollywood Reporter said.

Ron Harper, Roddy McDowall and James Naughton on the set of the television series, “Planet of the Apes,” in 1974. (Silver Screen Collection/Getty Images)

“I kept saying to myself, ‘Should you waste your good education being an actor?’ And that little voice within me kept saying things like, ‘What do you want to take that fellowship to Harvard Law for? Be an actor. Starving is fun,’” Harper said in 1966, according to the outlet. “And like the fool that any actor has to be, I listened to that dumb little voice.”

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In addition to his daughter, Nicole, Harper is survived by his granddaughters Ronnie and Harper and his ex-wife, Shirley. Prior to his marriage to Shirley, Harper married Sally Stark.

Fox News Digital’s Larry Fink contributed to this report