Dan Haggerty, Who Played Grizzly Adams

Dan Haggerty, who gained widespread recognition for his portrayal of the kind mountain man with a striking beard and his bear friend Ben in the NBC television series and 1974 film “The Life and Times of Grizzly Adams,” passed away on Friday in Burbank, California. His age was 73 years.

Terry Bomar, his manager and friend, stated that spinal cancer was the cause of death.

Dan Haggerty was creating a name for himself in Hollywood as an animal handler and stuntman before landing his famous part. When a producer requested him to appear in a few opening moments for a film about a woodsman and his bear, it was his big break. The plot, which is based on a novel by Charles Sellier Jr., centers on a man who flees to the woods after being wrongfully convicted of murder, becomes friends with the local wildlife, and takes in an abandoned bear.

Haggerty accepted to do the part, but he had one requirement: he had to appear in the whole film. Despite having a relatively low budget of $165,000, the film’s remake brought in close to $30 million at the box office. Because of this popularity, a television series was created, and in February 1977, Haggerty went back to playing the character of the wild and outdoorsy wilderness guardian.

The audience responded well to the show. It lukewarms the heart, as The New York Times’ John Leonard observed in his review. A large lump in the throat and a lot of communing with nature are experienced when a man and a bear hide out in a log cabin. Haggerty won a 1978 People’s Choice Award for being the most well-liked actor in a new series because of the series’ warm and sympathetic tone, which won over a lot of viewers.

The series also yielded two follow-ups: “Legend of the Wild,” which was broadcast on television in 1978 and eventually released in theaters in 1981, and “The Capture of Grizzly Adams,” a 1982 television film in which Adams ultimately exonerates himself of the false charge.

Born in Los Angeles on November 19, 1942, Daniel Francis Haggerty had a difficult upbringing. He had a turbulent childhood, breaking out of military school several times before coming home with his actor-father in Burbank when his parents divorced when he was three years old.

Haggerty was married twice in his personal life. When he was 17, he got married to Diane Rooker, but they later got divorced. In 2008, he lost his second wife, Samantha Hilton, in a horrific motorbike accident. His children, Don, Megan, Tracy, Dylan, and Cody, survive him.

In his debut motion picture, “Muscle Beach Party” (1964), Haggerty portrayed bodybuilder Biff. After that, he played supporting parts in motorcycle and wildlife movies. He was a hippie commune member in “Easy Rider.” He also played the role off-screen, living with a variety of wild creatures he had either tamed or rescued on a small ranch in Malibu Canyon.

His expertise with animals led to positions as an animal trainer and stuntman for television shows including “Daktari” and “Tarzan.” He kept taking on parts like “Where the North Wind Blows” (1974) and “The Adventures of Frontier Fremont” (1976) that highlighted his affinity for the natural world. His love of outdoor parts brought him roles evoking Grizzly Adams to movies like “Grizzly Mountain” (1997) and “Escape to Grizzly Mountain” (2000).

Haggerty had appearances in a number of horror movies later in his career, such as “Terror Night” (1987) and “Elves” (1989). He was involved in court in 1985 and was given a 90-day jail sentence for distributing cocaine to police officers who were undercover.

Tragic incidents also occurred in his life. Haggerty suffered third-degree burns to his arms when a diner carrying a burning drink unintentionally caught his renowned beard on fire in 1977 when he was dining. Despite being admitted to the hospital and supposed to stay for a month, he left after just ten days, claiming to have expertise of curing animals.

“The first couple of days I just lay in the dark room drinking water, like a wounded wolf trying to heal myself,” he said, reflecting on his injury, to People magazine.

Salma Hayek Looks HOT in New Bikini Photos, and We Can’t Believe She’s 57

ưSalma Hayek recently treated her followers to a collection of fresh bikini snapshots, sharing her stunning looks and her family’s response to the photos. Fans in the comments couldn’t help but shower her with praise for her confidence and beauty.

Salma recently shared some new photos where she’s wearing a cool dark blue bikini adorned with patterns, along with some stylish gold necklaces. In the pictures, she’s posing on a ladder attached to a boat, and it looks like someone from her family is spraying water at her. Salma jokingly captioned the photos, “When your family won’t let you take a bikini pic in peace.”

Salma is quite comfortable sharing her beach experiences on social media. In fact, she calls it liberating. She mentioned, “I had to lose a lot of weight and exercise to get into the bikini towards the end of last year. I’m glad I took a lot of pictures, I have no shame on it because it was the first week of the vacation.”

Salma’s recent photos sparked immediate interest from the public, drawing thousands of comments. One admirer remarked, “I thought these photos were from 20 years ago! Looking amazing as always.” Another chimed in, “…you are looking absolutely incredible in that bikini 👙 so inspirational.”

She let out the secret behind her fit body.

Salma revealed that she doesn’t exercise much because she has super long workdays, often stretching to 16 or even 20 hours. Instead of hitting the gym, her trainer showed her how to keep her muscles engaged throughout the day. Salma explained, “She taught me how to hold my body in a way where the muscles are activated all day long.”

Salma Hayek, who’s now widely celebrated as an icon, faced challenges earlier in her career. Surprisingly, she was restricted from showcasing her comedic talents because she was considered “too hot.”

Preview photo credit From Dusk Till Dawn / Dimension Films and co-producerssalmahayek / Instagram

Related Posts

Be the first to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.


*