ROCKFORD, Tenn. (AP) — Stan Brock, the founder of an organization that uses mobile medical clinics to bring health care services to people in remote, underserved areas of the U.S. and around the world, has died in Tennessee. He was 82.

Remote Area Medical said in a news release that Brock died Wednesday. RAM spokesman Robert Lambert told the Associated Press that Brock had been active until he suffered an illness a few weeks ago. Lambert said Brock died peacefully at home in Rockford, Tennessee.

Brock started the first RAM clinic in the U.S. in May 1992 in Sneedville, Tennessee. Since then, more than 740,000 people have received free dental, vision and medical care from Brock’s clinics and the group’s volunteers in the Appalachia region and other areas of the U.S.

The organization was initially founded to provide free medical care in Guyana and other developing countries, the news release said. It still operates an air ambulance program in Guyana.

RAM also responds to natural disasters, such as Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico last year, Hurricane Matthew in Haiti in 2016 and the Nepal earthquakes in 2015, according to the organization’s website.

Brock was born in Preston, Lancashire, England, in 1936. He moved to the former British Guiana — which is now Guyana — in 1952 to become a cowboy, cattle ranch operator and aircraft pilot.

Brock came to the U.S. in 1968 and gained fame by appearing on NBC’s “Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom,” alongside Marlin Perkins. Brock also appeared in films including “Escape from Angola,” released in 1976, and “Galyon: The Indestructible Man,” from 1980.

Brock also influenced the passage of the Tennessee Volunteer Medical Services Act of 1995, which allows health professionals with out-of-state licenses to cross state lines and provide free care.

Lambert said Brock was “truly a philanthropist.”

“Without Brock, RAM would not have been able to prevent pain and alleviate suffering for so many people,” the news release said. “While Brock’s death is a great loss to the organization, RAM will continue championing his legacy and caring for those in need.”

RAM said a service honoring Brock will take place in coming weeks. Details will be announced on the organization’s social media pages and website.

Copyright 2018 The Associated Press.