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.
Fans spot worrying detail in new photo of Martha Stewart, 82 – and everyone’s saying the same thing
She has received backlash, meanwhile, for a recent social media post that many have referred to as “tone-deaf” that she made while in Greenland.
When the 82-year-old posed for the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue in May of this year, she garnered a lot of good attention; but, the same kind of excitement wasn’t sparked by her most recent Instagram post.
On Tuesday, August 29, Stewart shared a photo of herself during a voyage that included a view of Greenland’s east coast. The TV personality and businesswoman is shown in one of several photos, one of which has the caption:
As we approach a magnificent fjord on the east coast of Greenland, Swan Hellenic Cruises’ inaugural Zodiac cruise draws to a close. Indeed, for our cocktails this evening, we were able to grab a tiny bit of iceberg.
Fans were instantly incensed at Stewart for using the “small iceberg” as a symbol for her drink, even though it was most likely not her intention for the post to offend.
Stewart’s mention of a little iceberg in relation to the “ice caps melting” in her comments section quickly drew criticism from many.
The ice caps are melting, Martha, according to one Instagram user. Keep them out of your drink.
“In general, I adore Martha and her excesses because she’s all about gorgeous houses, gardens, and food, but drinking iceberg cocktails while the world burns seems a little tone deaf,” another person commented.
So while the planet heats due to the wealth of a few thousand individuals, millionaires travel to the melting icebergs, scoop them up, and use them to keep their cocktails cold. That line seems like it belongs in a dystopian novel. A third said, “Can’t make this shit up, haha.”
We still need glacier ice for cocktails, despite global warming and the melting of ice caps? Talk about tone def. Been a devotee for years, but recently, I’m out when I can’t afford food because I’ve seen enough caviar,” remarked a fourth individual.
When Stewart bravely posed in provocative swimsuits for Sports Illustrated’s cover in May, she made history. The 81-year-old revealed her previous stringent health routine as well.
Stewart stated, “I didn’t starve myself, but I didn’t eat any bread or pasta for a couple of months,” in an interview with Today.
“It was incredible that I attended Pilates twice a week, and I continue to do so because it is so beneficial.” Either way, I live a clean lifestyle with a balanced diet, consistent exercise, good skincare, and other practices.
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