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.
After All The Heartbreak, Jason Momoa Found New Love, And You’ll Surely Recognize Her
Since Jason Momoa revealed his new girlfriend to the world on Instagram on Monday, the pair has been the talk of the internet.
Though some may be surprised, he has been making subtle references to their long-simmering romance to followers for some time.
When he was still married to Lisa Bonet, the 44-year-old actor got to know the 32-year-old actress on the set of the 2021 Netflix movie Sweet Girl. But there’s a catch!
Momoa and his husband separated for more than five years, although they were still legally wed.
Bonet and Momoa formally separated on October 7, 2020, therefore there was no conflict between them when he and Arjona started dating.
On January 8 of this year, Bonet filed for divorce, and the next day, their cases were settled amicably.
Momoa went all out, creating a carousel of pictures from their most recent trip to Japan, now that he could finally show them all how much he loved them.
He referred to Arjona as “mi amor” in the letter, but if you’re not sure what that means, just look at their adorable pictures of one another.
Their close embrace is depicted through their body language in the second picture, where her hand is softly resting on his arm and his arms are wrapped around her. It’s not laughing!
The writer said, “Japan, you are a dream come true; you blew my mind.” We sincerely thank everyone who opened their homes to us so that we could embark on yet another amazing journey with our beloved and make memories with both old and new friends. Motorbikes and mayhem on the highway. Warm regards, J.’
In 2019, Arjona wed attorney Edgardo Canales; however, little is known about their separation or if a divorce was requested.
Despite the impression that Arjona is a relatively new member of the Momoa family, his stepdaughter Zoë Kravitz chose her to be the director of Blink Twice, which will be released in theaters on August 23 and stars Channing Tatum.
Given that Kravitz and Tatum are now engaged, the wedding is probably going to be spectacular, and Momoa, Bonet, and Lenny Kravitz will probably be there.
Following 13 years of dating, Bonet and Momoa made the decision to tie the knot in October 2017.
The 15-year-old boy Nakoa-Wolf and the 16-year-old daughter Lola are being reared by the ex-couple behind closed doors.
They didn’t declare their split on Instagram until January 2022, writing, “We’ve all felt the strain and adjustments of these revolutionary times. “A revolution is taking place, and our family is not an exception… feeling and growing from the seismic shifts occurring,” said the joint statement.As a result, we inform our families of our impending divorce. We share this not because we think it’s important to draw attention to ourselves, but rather so that we can live morally and authentically in our day-to-day lives.
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