Dan Haggerty, who gained widespread recognition for his portrayal of the kind mountain man with a striking beard and his bear friend Ben in the NBC television series and 1974 film “The Life and Times of Grizzly Adams,” passed away on Friday in Burbank, California. His age was 73 years.
Terry Bomar, his manager and friend, stated that spinal cancer was the cause of death.
Dan Haggerty was creating a name for himself in Hollywood as an animal handler and stuntman before landing his famous part. When a producer requested him to appear in a few opening moments for a film about a woodsman and his bear, it was his big break. The plot, which is based on a novel by Charles Sellier Jr., centers on a man who flees to the woods after being wrongfully convicted of murder, becomes friends with the local wildlife, and takes in an abandoned bear.
Haggerty accepted to do the part, but he had one requirement: he had to appear in the whole film. Despite having a relatively low budget of $165,000, the film’s remake brought in close to $30 million at the box office. Because of this popularity, a television series was created, and in February 1977, Haggerty went back to playing the character of the wild and outdoorsy wilderness guardian.
The audience responded well to the show. It lukewarms the heart, as The New York Times’ John Leonard observed in his review. A large lump in the throat and a lot of communing with nature are experienced when a man and a bear hide out in a log cabin. Haggerty won a 1978 People’s Choice Award for being the most well-liked actor in a new series because of the series’ warm and sympathetic tone, which won over a lot of viewers.
The series also yielded two follow-ups: “Legend of the Wild,” which was broadcast on television in 1978 and eventually released in theaters in 1981, and “The Capture of Grizzly Adams,” a 1982 television film in which Adams ultimately exonerates himself of the false charge.
Born in Los Angeles on November 19, 1942, Daniel Francis Haggerty had a difficult upbringing. He had a turbulent childhood, breaking out of military school several times before coming home with his actor-father in Burbank when his parents divorced when he was three years old.
Haggerty was married twice in his personal life. When he was 17, he got married to Diane Rooker, but they later got divorced. In 2008, he lost his second wife, Samantha Hilton, in a horrific motorbike accident. His children, Don, Megan, Tracy, Dylan, and Cody, survive him.
In his debut motion picture, “Muscle Beach Party” (1964), Haggerty portrayed bodybuilder Biff. After that, he played supporting parts in motorcycle and wildlife movies. He was a hippie commune member in “Easy Rider.” He also played the role off-screen, living with a variety of wild creatures he had either tamed or rescued on a small ranch in Malibu Canyon.
His expertise with animals led to positions as an animal trainer and stuntman for television shows including “Daktari” and “Tarzan.” He kept taking on parts like “Where the North Wind Blows” (1974) and “The Adventures of Frontier Fremont” (1976) that highlighted his affinity for the natural world. His love of outdoor parts brought him roles evoking Grizzly Adams to movies like “Grizzly Mountain” (1997) and “Escape to Grizzly Mountain” (2000).
Haggerty had appearances in a number of horror movies later in his career, such as “Terror Night” (1987) and “Elves” (1989). He was involved in court in 1985 and was given a 90-day jail sentence for distributing cocaine to police officers who were undercover.
Tragic incidents also occurred in his life. Haggerty suffered third-degree burns to his arms when a diner carrying a burning drink unintentionally caught his renowned beard on fire in 1977 when he was dining. Despite being admitted to the hospital and supposed to stay for a month, he left after just ten days, claiming to have expertise of curing animals.
“The first couple of days I just lay in the dark room drinking water, like a wounded wolf trying to heal myself,” he said, reflecting on his injury, to People magazine.
A father sparks an online debate after rocking his daughter’s head for 45 minutes to help her sleep during a flight
These days, it’s not unusual to see people debating various topics on the internet.
It could be argued that it was unavoidable, as gathering millions of people in one location and allowing them the liberty to voice any opinion, no matter how diametrically opposed, would inevitably lead to spirited discussions.
Although contentious images and films are becoming commonplace on the internet, that doesn’t mean they aren’t worth seeing when they occur. We have discussed a lot of these subjects here at Newsner in the past. We thought it would be worthwhile to share the image of a father and his sleeping daughter on an airplane that had garnered a lot of comments.
The argument started when Reddit user u/therra123 posted a picture of a father and daughter cuddling on the r/MadeMeSmile discussion thread.
An image of a girl curled up in her aisle seat on a flight was submitted by the user. Her father had put his palm under her cheek, preventing her from resting her head on the armrest, which, as anyone who has ever used one will tell you, is a rather crude and merciless pillow.
“This man held his hand in this position for 45 minutes so his daughter could sleep well,” says the caption for the image on Reddit.
We have to say at this point that, in our judgment, this is just a father going about his business. Although the message was appropriately dubbed “heartwarming moments,” some Redditors didn’t agree.
The father was harshly criticized for his behavior; some people just said that he should have done a better job.
With thousands of comments and almost 60,000 votes, the post became viral immediately. Reactions included things like:
“I think there must be a better way to handle this.”
“Don’t you have your blanket?” said another. Bringing a blanket is the most crucial item to remember.
“This demonstrates a clear lack of creativity in problem-solving,” said a third person. forty-five minutes and you were unable to come up with a workable answer. Hey!
A fourth person wrote, “Seriously. Simply roll up a hoodie to create an instant pillow. Alternatively, here’s an absurd suggestion: ask a flight attendant for a cushion and blanket.
However, other people showed the father and his gesture more tolerance. Interestingly, we also find ourselves in this category!
How about you? Did you find it inappropriate that the father used this flight to serve as his daughter’s makeshift pillow? Let us know how you feel by leaving a comment.
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