Grizzly Adams Star Dan Haggerty Dies at 74

His parents wanted him to be a priest, but Haggerty proved a “wild child” who “went off track and became fast and furious”, Bomar told he paper.

While a fixture in Hollywood, the mountain man preferred to raise his family on a ranch on the outskirts of Los Angeles. The actor has died at 74. Along with his work in front of the camera, the actor also served as an animal handler and trainer, and worked as a stuntman on the 1966 Tarzan TV series.

After Grizzly, Haggerty continued to act in film and television.

Dan Haggerty, who starred in the 1970s TV series about a rugged and shaggy character living in the wilderness with his grizzly bear pal, has died. Prior to landing his signature role, Haggerty played a bit part as a hippie in Dennis Hopper’s classic 1969 road movie Easy Rider and assisted in building the various motorcycles used throughout the film.

While on the run, he adopts an orphaned grizzly bear and names him Ben.

“Grizzly Adams was my friend for 20 years, the Bunnys loved him, he loved to drink with the Bunnys and told fantastic jokes”.

A short-lived TV show of the same name debuted in 1977.

Unfortunately, Haggerty’s star began to decline after Grizzly Adams wrapped.

Meanwhile, his life wasn’t without controversy, with the star arrested in 1985 after selling cocaine to two undercover police officers. Besides the TV series, he also appeared in multiple TV movies based on the Grizzly Adams story. The actor who played Grizzly Adams has succumbed to cancer, leaving behind two daughters, Tracy and Megan, and three sons, Cody, Dylan, and Don, as well as two grandchildren and five siblings.