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.
Queen Camilla’s ex-husband secretly finds love with TV host at 84 – and you might recognize her
According to sources, Andrew Parker-Bowles, the ex-husband of Queen Camilla, is well on his way to rediscovering love with a face that most people in the UK are familiar with.
It has been reported that the 84-year-old former Royal Horse Guards officer is seeing 79-year-old TV broadcaster and actress Anne Robinson, 14 years after the death of his second wife, Rosemary Dickinson, in 2010.
Naturally, Parker-Bowles’s first marriage—a 22-year union with Camilla, who is currently the wife of Charles, the King of England—is arguably the most well-known.
A year before the former married Rosemary Dickinson, in 1995, Andrew and Camilla got divorced, and in 2005, Camilla famously got married to Prince Charles.
It was commonly known that during his marriage to Camilla, Andrew had several extramarital encounters, some of which he had with people she regarded as friends.
Following the death of his second wife, Rosemary, Andrew’s love life has mainly flown beneath the radar until recently. 2023 saw a lot of reports implying that he was dating TV host Anne Robinson; Robinson now seems to have verified the rumors.
The journalist responded to the topic of whether or not she was romantically engaged with Camilla’s ex-husband with her customary snappiness in an open interview.
Indeed. Complete halt. “Take care of yourself,” disclosed the former host of Weakest Link.
Retired Army Brigadier Andrew and Anne reportedly reside in England’s Cotswolds. The two are claimed to have first connected over a lunch with mutual acquaintances last year, but they have mainly managed to keep their developing connection quiet since then.
Regarding Anne, the 78-year-old has been without a partner for approximately 17 years after divorcing her previous spouse, John Penrose, in 2007.
“I’d say that like everything else I’ve done, it’s always worth the risk,” she remarked of her romance with Andrew. “I really believe that taking chances might surprise you. both in a personal and professional capacity.
In fact, the majority of internet comments appear to be supportive, with people expressing gratitude that Andrew and Anne discovered one other later in life.
“We need more love stories like this, 8479,” one Facebook commenter said.
Another individual commented, “She looks better than his ex-wife and hopefully has a better personality.”
“It’s obvious he has a type,” a third individual joked.
Camilla and Charles, meanwhile, recently flew out to Aberdeen, Scotland to mark their 19th wedding anniversary. The couple was pictured in photos taken at Aberdeen Airport last month after taking a plane from London.
After the shocking news of her husband’s cancer diagnosis, Queen Camilla has been a rock for him. Her popularity among the British public has also increased since the difficult beginning of her royal career following the loss of the cherished Princess Diana.
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