PEMBROKE PARK, Fla. – "Tarzan" actor Steve Sipek, who made national headlines after his pet tiger escaped and was shot dead by a state wildlife officer in 2004, has died. He was 77.
Sipek died Saturday in Florida, where the Croatian-born actor spent the latter years of his life after opening an animal sanctuary in rural Loxahatchee.
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He made national headlines 15 years ago when his pet Bengal tiger, Bobo, escaped from the compound and was shot to death by a Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission officer after a two-day search.
"They murdered my Bobo," a tearful Sipek, his shirt smeared with blood, told reporters in July 2004.
Sipek again made headlines in 2012 after two tigers and a leopard were seized from his home. He was arrested for failing to have proper licensing.
A judge later ruled that Sipek's animals could be transferred to a facility in Okeechobee.
Sipek, whose screen name was Steve Hawkes, played Tarzan in a 1969 Spanish-language film version of the Edgar Rice Burroughs character. He also starred in its 1972 sequel, suffering burns to more than 90% of his body during filming.
A cause of death wasn't revealed.