London, May 5 : American actor Gordon Scott who is renowned for his portrayal of Tarzan in five films has passed away at the age of 80.

According to a spokesman for St Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, the actor died of post-heart surgery complications.

Actress and director Betty Thomas, in whose house the 'Tarzan' star spent his last years, visited Scott before the death and revealed the actor's fighting spirit against his ailment.

"He opened one eye for a moment and gave me a wink," BBC quoted Thomas, as saying.

She insisted that her husband Roger and she were a big fan of Scott and invited him to stay with the couple.

"My husband has been a fan of his since he was a child. When we were in Hollywood about eight years ago, we looked him up. We invited him for a visit. He came and never left," she said

Danton Burroughs, grandson of Tarzan creator Edgar Rice claimed that Scott played the role of the vine-swinging king of the jungle just as Rice had dreamt of.

"He was an absolutely wonderful Tarzan, who played the character as an intelligent and nice man who carried himself well, much as my grandfather had originally written it," Burroughs said.

Scott was a lifeguard at the Sahara Hotel in Las Vegas when he was discovered by Hollywood producer Sol Lesser.

He worked in 24 movies including 'Tarzan's Hidden Jungle' (1955), 'Tarzan and the Lost Safari' (1957), the first Tarzan film which was released in colour, 'Tarzan's Fight For Life' (1958), 'Tarzan's Greatest Adventure' (1959), 'Tarzan the Magnificent' (1960) in which Scott's successor in the Tarzan role, Jock Mahoney, played the villain.

After the Tarzan movies, he came in Westerns and gladiator films.

Scott fell in love with co-star Vera Miles during the production of his first film and the two married in 1954 but separated after four years.