‘Grizzly Adams’ star Dan Haggerty dies at 74

While Haggerty wasn’t as legendary as Bowie or prolific as Rickman, he still affected pop culture and his loss is felt by legions of fans-those who know him as Grizzly Adams.

Haggerty, with his rugged looks and trademark beard, was well-known in the ’70s as Grizzly Adams, a character based on a real-life California mountain man who trained grizzly bears in the 1800s.

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The actor had a lifelong affinity for wild animals and worked as a trainer for Walt Disney Studios.

Haggerty played outdoorsman James Capen “Grizzly” Adams, who befriends a bear he raises as a cub, in the 1974 surprise box office hit The Life and Times of Grizzly Adams.

“The Life and Times of Grizzly Adams” star Dan Haggerty is dead at 74, according to multiple reports.

Haggerty also guest starred in numerous TV shows such as CHiPs, Charlie’s Angels and The Love Boat.

Later, Haggerty played a modern-day version of Grizzly named Jeremiah in the films “Grizzly Mountain” and “Escape to Grizzly Mountain”. Haggerty reprised his role in both a 1981 film and 1982 TV movie.

In 1985, Mr. Haggerty was sentenced to 90 days in jail and three years of probation after being convicted of selling cocaine to an undercover police officer.

Haggerty’s last movie credit, appropriately enough, was a cameo in the 2013 flick about a different mountain man, “Axe Giant: The Wrath of Paul Bunyan”. He is survived by five children.

His wife, Samantha, died after in a motorcycle accident in 2008.