Ely starred on the series "The Aquanauts" in 1960–1961, in the western adventure film "The Night of the Grizzly" (1966) opposite Clint Walker, and later appeared in Jürgen Goslar's slavery movie "Slavers" (1978). In the 1980s, he hosted the musical game show "Face the Music", as well as the 1980 and 1981 Miss America Pageants, replacing longtime host Bert Parks. Later in the decade, Ely starred in a 1987–1988 revival of the 1960s adventure series "Sea Hunt" as Mike Nelson, the role played by Lloyd Bridges in the original series.