On Friday, we lost a beloved actor and animal lover, Dan Haggerty. He’s famous for playing the gentle mountain man in “The Life and Times of Grizzly Adams.” Haggerty was loved for his big beard and his bear friend, Ben. He died at 73 in Burbank, California, because of spine cancer.
Before becoming famous, Haggerty was known in Hollywood for doing stunts and handling animals. But everything changed when he met a producer. The producer asked him to act in a few scenes for a movie about a woodsman and his bear. Haggerty agreed, but he had one condition: he wanted to be in the whole movie.
The movie, based on Charles Sellier Jr.’s book, was a big surprise. It was made with only $165,000 but made almost $30 million in cinemas. Because of this success, they made a TV show based on it. Haggerty played the same role, a guy who loves nature and protects the wilderness.
“The Life and Times of Grizzly Adams” connected with people because it was warm and heartfelt. It was about a man who’s wrongly accused of a crime and goes to live in the woods, where he makes friends with animals and adopts a baby bear. A review in The New York Times said the show “warms the heart” because it mixes enjoying nature with touching emotions.
Haggerty playing Grizzly Adams made fans love him, and he even won a People’s Choice Award in 1978 for being the most popular actor in a new series. The show did so well that they made more movies like “Legend of the Wild” in 1978 and “The Capture of Grizzly Adams” in 1982.
Haggerty had a tough start in life. He was born in 1942 in Los Angeles, and his parents split up when he was just 3 years old. He had a rough time growing up and even ran away from military school a few times. Eventually, he went to live with his dad, who was an actor, in Burbank.
In his early acting days, Haggerty was in different movies, like “Muscle Beach Party” in 1964 and he had a small part in the famous movie “Easy Rider” as part of a hippie group. He really loved nature and lived on a ranch in Malibu Canyon with all sorts of animals. Because of this, he got jobs training animals and doing stunts for TV shows like “Tarzan” and “Daktari.”
Haggerty always took roles that showed his love for nature. From movies like “Where the North Wind Blows” in 1974 to “Grizzly Mountain” in 1997, he played characters who were a lot like Grizzly Adams. He also acted in scary movies like “Terror Night” in 1987 and “Elves” in 1989.
But his life had some tough times too. In 1985, he got in trouble with the law and went to jail for 90 days for selling drugs to undercover cops. And in 1977, there was a scary moment when someone accidentally set his famous beard on fire in a restaurant. He got burned badly on his arms, but he healed quickly, using what he knew about taking care of animals.
Even though he’s gone, we’ll never forget Dan Haggerty. He’ll always be the kind mountain guy who made us happy when we watched him on TV. His character as Grizzly Adams and his love for nature will always stay with us.
Dan Haggerty’s kids Megan, Tracy, Dylan, Cody, and Don are still here, and they’ll carry on his legacy. He’s left behind something that will keep inspiring people for a long time.
