Dan Haggerty, who became well-known for playing the bear companion Ben and the good-hearted mountain man with a striking beard in the 1974 film “The Life and Times of Grizzly Adams” and the NBC television series, died on Friday in Burbank, California. His age was seventy-three.
His buddy and manager, Terry Bomar, said that the cause of death was spine cancer.
Before he got his well-known role, Dan Haggerty was making a reputation for himself in Hollywood as a stuntman and animal handler. His big break came when a producer asked him to act in a few opening scenes for a movie about a woodsman and his bear. Based on a novel by Charles Sellier Jr., the story revolves around a man who, after being falsely accused of murder, escapes to the woods, makes friends with the local fauna, and takes in an abandoned bear.
Haggerty agreed to do the role, but only under one condition: he had to be in the entire movie. Even with a very modest $165,000 budget, the movie’s remake made about $30 million at the box office. Haggerty returned to his role as the untamed and outdoor-loving forest guardian in February 1977 after the popularity of the role led to the creation of a television series.
The show was warmly received by the crowd. As John Leonard of The New York Times noted in his review, it lukewarms the heart. A man and a bear who hide away in a log cabin end up with a big lump in their throats and a lot of connecting with nature. Because of the series’ endearing and compassionate tone, which drew in a large number of viewers, Haggerty was awarded a 1978 People’s Choice Award for being the most popular actor in a new series.
Two follow-ups to the series were also produced: “Legend of the Wild,” which debuted in theaters in 1981 after airing on television in 1978, and “The Capture of Grizzly Adams,” a 1982 television movie in which Adams eventually clears himself of the false accusation.
Daniel Francis Haggerty was born on November 19, 1942, in Los Angeles, and had a challenging childhood. His youth was challenging as he repeatedly skipped military school and returned home to Burbank with his actor father after his parents’ divorce when he was three years old.
Haggerty’s personal life included two marriages. He wed Diane Rooker when he was seventeen, but the two eventually got divorced. He lost Samantha Hilton, his second wife, in a terrible motorcycle accident in 2008. Don, Megan, Tracy, Dylan, and Cody are his surviving children.
Haggerty played bodybuilder Biff in his first feature picture, “Muscle Beach Party,” released in 1964. Following that, he appeared in supporting roles in films about wildlife and motorcycles. He was a member of the hippie commune in “Easy Rider.” Living on a tiny ranch in Malibu Canyon with a variety of wild species he had either tamed or rescued, he also portrayed the character off-screen.
Because of his prowess with animals, he was hired as a stuntman and animal trainer for TV series including Tarzan and Daktari. He continued to play roles that emphasized his love of the natural world, such as those in “Where the North Wind Blows” (1974) and “The Adventures of Frontier Fremont” (1976). His passion for nature scenes landed him parts that evoked Grizzly Adams in films such as “Escape to Grizzly Mountain” (2000) and “Grizzly Mountain” (1997).
Later in his career, Haggerty made roles in several horror films, including “Terror Night” (1987) and “Elves” (1989). When he appeared in court in 1985, he received a 90-day prison sentence for selling cocaine to undercover police officers.
He also had tragic events in his life. In 1977, while dining, Haggerty’s famous beard was caught fire by a diner carrying a hot drink, resulting in third-degree burns to his arms. He was admitted to the hospital, where he was expected to stay for a month, but he left after just ten days, claiming to be an expert in animal healing.
He reflected on his wounds and told People magazine, “The first couple of days I just lay in the dark room drinking water, like a wounded wolf trying to heal myself.”
