‘Grizzly Adams’ Star Dan Haggerty Dead at 74

Dan Haggerty, star of a 1970s hit film and TV series depicting mountain-man and bear-whisperer Grizzly Adams, died Thursday of cancer at age 74.

In 1985, Haggerty was sentenced to 90 days in jail and three years’ probation for selling cocaine to two undercover police officers. He discovered he had cancer a few months ago when he underwent surgery for back pain, according to TMZ.

Speaking after the actor’s tragic death his week, his manager said: “He had cancer and had been fighting since July, and he had a great Thanksgiving and a great Christmas, and he died with his kids around him and people who love him”.

Haggerty’s large stature, full beard, and long hair made him immediately appear to be the ideal actor to play Grizzly Adams, but he was only offered the part after another actor did not work out. The series was capped by a feature-length finale, The Capture of Grizzly Adams, which aired in 1982.

A low-budget movie, The Life and Times of Grizzly Adams became one of the biggest hits of 1974. “I told him, ‘I love you, man.’ The last thing I heard him say was, ‘I love you'”.

In 1856 he returned to San Francisco with a collection of live wild animals as a museum attraction, and four years later, NY where showman P.T. Barnum, founder of the famous Barnum and Bailey Circus, signed him up. As a Malibu, California-based stuntman and performer before the show started, he had a leopard, a cougar and a tiger on the ranch he shared with his wife and daughters. He opened a restaurant in Los Angeles but then suffered significant injures during a motorcycle.

He is survived by his five children, Megan, Dylan, Cody, Tracey and Don.