Dan Haggerty, best known for his role as the gentle mountain man with a luxurious beard and his bear companion, Ben, in the 1974 film The Life and Times of Grizzly Adams and the subsequent NBC television series, passed away on Friday in Burbank, California. He was 73 years old. The cause of death was cancer of the spine, as confirmed by his friend and manager, Terry Bomar.
Haggerty was initially working as a stuntman and animal handler when a producer invited him to act in some reshoots for a film about a woodsman and his bear. Based on Charles Sellier Jr.’s novel, the story follows a California man wrongfully accused of murder who escapes to the wilderness, where he befriends animals and tames an orphaned bear. Haggerty agreed to take on the role, but only if he could star in the entire film. The production was made on a budget of $165,000 and went on to gross nearly $30 million at the box office. It was later adapted into a television series, where Haggerty reprised his role as the eco-conscious guardian of the woods in February 1977.
John Leonard of The New York Times praised the show, stating, “It lukewarms the heart,” highlighting the charming interactions between man and bear in their log cabin, alongside the various animals they encountered. The series became a hit, earning Haggerty a People’s Choice Award in 1978 for being the most popular actor in a new series. Grizzly Adams also led to two sequels: Legend of the Wild in 1978 (later released theatrically in 1981) and The Capture of Grizzly Adams in 1982, where Adams returns to town to clear his name.
Daniel Francis Haggerty was born on November 19, 1942, in Los Angeles. His parents separated when he was just three years old, leading to a tumultuous childhood that included multiple escapes from military school before moving in with his father, an actor, in Burbank. At 17, he married Diane Rooker, but the marriage ended in divorce. His second wife, Samantha Hilton, tragically passed away in a motorcycle accident in 2008. Haggerty is survived by his children: Megan, Tracy, Dylan, Cody, and Don.
Haggerty’s film career began with Muscle Beach Party (1964), where he played a bodybuilder named Biff alongside Frankie Avalon and Annette Funicello. He later appeared in various biker and wildlife films, including a brief role in Easy Rider as a member of a hippie commune. In real life, Haggerty lived on a small ranch in Malibu Canyon, where he cared for a variety of wild animals he had either tamed or rescued. His expertise as an animal trainer and stuntman led to roles in television series such as Tarzan and Daktari.
Throughout his career, he starred in several outdoor-themed films, including Where the North Wind Blows (1974) and The Adventures of Frontier Fremont (1976). He also played a dog trainer in the David Carradine film Americana (1983) and portrayed a character similar to Grizzly Adams in Grizzly Mountain (1997) and Escape to Grizzly Mountain (2000). Later in his career, Haggerty appeared in horror films like Terror Night (1987), Elves (1989), and Axe Giant: The Wrath of Paul Bunyan (2013). In 1985, he was sentenced to 90 days in jail for selling cocaine to undercover police officers.
In 1977, a restaurant patron accidentally set Haggerty’s iconic beard on fire while carrying a flaming cocktail. He suffered third-degree burns on his arms and spent ten days in the hospital, where he described his recovery as a solitary experience, saying, “I just lay in the dark room drinking water, like a wounded wolf trying to heal himself.” Despite the pain, he rejected morphine and preferred to heal in his own way, ultimately leaving the hospital after just ten days.
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