SALT LAKE CITY — Stan Ellsworth, the Harley-riding star of the BYUtv show “American Ride,” has been diagnosed with COVID-19, according to a post on the Utah Eagle Forum Facebook page.
The organization’s president, conservative political activist Gayle Ruzicka, announced Ellsworth’s diagnosis on May 16.
“My dear friend Stan Ellsworth is in the hospital in an induced coma. He has Coronavirus and is on a ventilator,” Ruzicka wrote. “His prognosis is not good and a miracle is needed. … Stan’s love for God, Family and Country shows in all that he does and stands for. He spoke at the Utah Eagle Forum Convention for the past two years and we are praying that he will be with us again next year.”
On “American Ride,” which premiered in 2011, Ellsworth detailed significant events in American history and traveled to the places where those events unfolded. The show, which ran for 117 episodes through 2016, won a regional Emmy Award for best host, according to byu.edu.
“We were deeply saddened to learn about Stan’s condition,” Michael Dunn, managing director of BYUtv, told the Deseret News. “Stan’s one-of-a-kind style and talents put ‘American Ride’ on the map for us. From the unique vantage point of his Harley, Stan literally drove American history home for our viewers, young and old alike. On behalf of our entire staff we join with his fans everywhere in saying that we pray for his recovery.”
Stan Ellsworth’s wife, Stacy Ellsworth, posted an update on her husband Monday morning saying that his medical condition has “stabilized.”
“On behalf of Stan and our family, I want to say thank you for your prayers, fasts, and help,” Stacy Ellsworth wrote on her husband’s Facebook page. “We have felt the power of your love and the blessings from your faith. Stan is receiving the best medical care and although he isn’t out of the woods, his medical condition has stabilized. Your prayers are welcome and needed.”
Ellsworth was born in Salt Lake City and earned a degree in history at Brigham Young University and a master’s in psychology at the University of Utah before going on to be an NFL linebacker for the Detroit Lions and Seattle Seahawks, according to his profile on the World Footprints website. He later returned to his Utah roots and taught history at Highland High School in Salt Lake City for nearly 10 years.
Utah confirmed 146 new cases of COVID-19 but no new deaths on Monday, the Deseret News reported. It marks the first in four days without deaths reported, leaving the state’s toll at 80.
Utah now has 7,384 confirmed cases since the pandemic began, according to the Deseret News.