Actor Dan Haggerty, of TV’s ‘Grizzly Adams,’ dies at 74

Spawned from the movie of the same name, The Life And Times Of Grizzly Adams shot Haggerty into relative superstardom with his best friend Ben the bear, and they were both a really big deal.

The burly, bearded star of “Grizzly Adams”, Dan Haggerty, has died at age 74, according to the Hollywood Reporter.

The show only ran for two seasons, 1977-1978, but it packed such a memorable punch it tended to overshadow Haggerty’s lengthy list of credits dating back to the 1950s.

Grizzly Adams has been trending on Twitter since news of Haggerty’s passing broke, with one person tweeting: “Guy wearing Indian clothing, w/ that beard. hanging out with a bear?”

As well as his most famous role, Haggerty also guest starred on several TV shows including CHiPs and Charlie’s Angels, enjoying a career in film and television which continued until 2013.

“He fought hard”, Bomar said. He would light up any room he walked into – he had infectious laughter … But he did earn brief appearances in the Frankie Avalon/Annette Funicello classic Muscle Beach Party, Elvis Presley’s Girl Happy, and Easy Rider.

“I had lions and chimps and leopards and all kinds of things”, he said.

Fans will remember seeing him as outdoorsman James Capen “Grizzly” Adams in the box office hit, which saw him befriend a bear.

Mr. Haggerty played another mountain man in “Grizzly Mountain” (1997), which featured his children Dylan and Megan, and in a 2000 sequel, “Escape to Grizzly Mountain“. He just finished two new films “40 Nights” and “The Untold Story”. Haggerty suffered serious injuries in a motorcycle crash, and was charged with drug crimes and failure to pay taxes in the 1980s. His second wife, Samantha Hilton, died in 2008.