Daniel Francis Haggerty (November 19, 1942 – January 15, 2016) was an American actor who was best known for playing the title role in the film and television series ''

The Life and Times of Grizzly Adams ''The Life and Times of Grizzly Adams'' is a 1974 independent feature film produced by Charles E. Sellier Jr. and Raylan D. Jensen for Sunn Classic Pictures. The film's popularity led to an NBC television series of the same name. The title ...

''.

Early life

Haggerty was born in Pound,

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

. His parents separated when he was three. He ran away from military school several times. He lived with his father in

Burbank, California Burbank is a city in the southeastern end of the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Located northwest of downtown Los Angeles, Burbank had a Census-estimated population of 102,755 as of 2023. The city was ...

Acting career

Haggerty was cast in a small non-speaking role as a bodybuilder in the 1964 film '' Muscle Beach Party'' and also as a bodybuilder in the 1965 romantic comedy musical '' Girl Happy''. He also worked as a stuntman on the 1966 television series ''

Tarzan Tarzan (John Clayton, Viscount Greystoke) is a fictional character, a feral child raised in the African jungle by the Mangani great apes; he later experiences civilization, only to reject it and return to the wild as a heroic adventurer. Creat ...

'', and as set builder on various other projects. More stunt work followed, as well as supporting roles in numerous low-budget biker and wildlife films of the era, such as '' Angels Die Hard'', '' The Adventures of Frontier Fremont'', and ''Terror Out of the Sky''. In addition to his

bit part In acting, a bit part is a role in which there is direct interaction with the principal actors and no more than five lines of dialogue, often referred to as a five-or-less or under-five in the United States, or under sixes in British televisio ...

as a

hippie A hippie, also spelled hippy, especially in British English, is someone associated with the counterculture of the 1960s, counterculture of the mid-1960s to early 1970s, originally a youth movement that began in the United States and spread to dif ...

in '' Easy Rider'', he also assisted in building the

motorcycle A motorcycle (motorbike, bike; uni (if one-wheeled); trike (if three-wheeled); quad (if four-wheeled)) is a lightweight private 1-to-2 passenger personal motor vehicle Steering, steered by a Motorcycle handlebar, handlebar from a saddle-style ...

s featured in the film. Grizzly Adams 1977

His experience with animals also brought him work as an animal trainer and handler in films produced by Walt Disney Studios. Haggerty directed white tigers, wolverines, eagles, and wild boar in the 1974 feature film '' When the North Wind Blows'' for

Sunn Classic Pictures Sunn Classic Pictures, also known as Sunn International Pictures, Schick Sunn Classic Pictures, and Taft International Pictures was an independent U.S.-based film distributor, founded in 1971. The company was notable for family films and document ...

, which also produced ''

'', a wildly popular film released the same year, in which he portrayed the title character Grizzly Adams.(via Google Books) From the latter film evolved the NBC television series of the same name which ran from 1977 to 1978, and Haggerty became known to movie-goers for his portrayal of nature-loving James Capen "Grizzly" Adams. Haggerty starred in the television film ''

Condominium A condominium (or condo for short) is an ownership regime in which a building (or group of buildings) is divided into multiple units that are either each separately owned, or owned in common with exclusive rights of occupation by individual own ...

'' (1980), which also starred

Barbara Eden Barbara Eden (born Barbara Jean Morehead; August 23, 1931) is an American actress and singer, who starred as the title character in the sitcom ''I Dream of Jeannie'' (1965–1970). Her other roles included Roslyn Pierce opposite Elvis Presley in ...

Ralph Bellamy Ralph Rexford Bellamy (June 17, 1904 – November 29, 1991) was an American actor whose career spanned 65 years on stage, film, and television. During his career, he played leading roles as well as supporting roles, garnering acclaim and award ...

and

Stuart Whitman Stuart Maxwell Whitman (February 1, 1928 – March 16, 2020) was an American actor, known for his lengthy career in film and television. Whitman was born in San Francisco and raised in New York until the age of 12, when his family relocated to ...

. Haggerty played a hydrology expert trying to warn residents that their Florida condos were about to be demolished in an approaching hurricane. In 1981, he appeared in an episode of '' Charlie's Angels'', called "Waikiki Angels," as Bo Thompson. He guest-starred as ''Sawdust Radell'' on ''

The Love Boat ''The Love Boat'' is an American romantic comedy-drama television series created by Wilford Lloyd Baumes that originally aired on ABC from September 24, 1977, to May 24, 1986. In addition, three TV movies aired before the regular series pre ...

'' in 1983 ("World's Greatest Kisser"). That year, he also appeared briefly in David Carradine's 1983 film '' Americana'' and provided a fighting dog for the production. In the film, he not only played the role of the dog's trainer, but also assisted in set design and the restoration of a broken down carousel, which figured prominently in the film. Haggerty made a

cameo appearance A cameo appearance, also called a cameo role and often shortened to just cameo (), is a brief guest appearance of a well-known person or character in a work of the performing arts. These roles are generally small, many of them non-speaking on ...

as an attorney in '' Terror Night'' (1987) with John Ireland and Cameron Mitchell, starred in ''Night Wars'' (1988) as a Vietnam veteran who is a psychologist dealing with nightmares of his fellow veterans. He has appeared in low budget horror Cult Classics such as, ''

Elves An elf (: elves) is a type of humanoid supernatural being in Germanic folklore. Elves appear especially in North Germanic mythology, being mentioned in the Icelandic ''Poetic Edda'' and the ''Prose Edda''. In medieval Germanic-speakin ...

(1989)'' and the Linda Blair film '' The Chilling'' in 1989. He starred in the 1989 fil
''Spirit of the Eagle''.
Haggerty played lead roles in the films '' Repo Jake'' (1990) and in 1997 played himself in a film titled "Motorcycle Cheerleading Mommas." Though not much is known about this film, "Motorcycle Cheerleading Mommas" was one of the last movies to be ever shot at the historica
Iverson Movie Ranch
in California. In 1995's ''Grizzly Mountain'', he starred as a modern-day version of Grizzly Adams and worked with bears, foxes, and hawks in the film. He reprised his role in ''Escape to Grizzly Mountain'' (2000). Haggerty was featured as a character in

Al Franken Alan Stuart Franken (born May 21, 1951) is an American politician, comedian, and actor who served from 2009 to 2018 as a United States senator from Minnesota. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he worked as an ...

's 1999 political satire novel, '' Why Not Me?''. Haggerty continued to work as both an actor and

infomercial An infomercial is a form of television commercial that resembles regular TV programming yet is intended to promote or sell a product, service or idea. It generally includes a toll-free telephone number or website. Most often used as a form of di ...

spokesman. One of his endorsements was for the Pap-Ion Magnetic Inductor (PAP-IMI), a device alleged to have health benefits. He had only been hired as a spokesperson and was found not to be part of the fraud that later embroiled the manufacturer. In '' Big Stan'' (2007), he played Tubby, and appeared as a lumberjack foreman in '' Axe Giant: The Wrath of Paul Bunyan'' (2013). Haggerty also performed several voice-overs and can also be seen in music videos by Hank Williams Jr. and Rogues of the Empire. Haggerty appeared on the U.S. television show '' American Pickers'' in its episode "California Kustom", which aired on

History History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the Human history, human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some t ...

on February 25, 2013.

Personal life

Haggerty married Diane Rooker in 1959 at a Las Vegas wedding chapel in the Silver Slipper Hotel when they were 17. The couple had two daughters, Tracey and Tammy. They divorced in 1984, after which Haggerty married Samantha Hilton. Haggerty and Hilton had two sons, Dylan and Cody, and one daughter, Megan. They were married until Hilton's death following a motorcycle accident on August 10, 2008. Haggerty lived on a small ranch in Malibu Canyon with an assortment of wild animals that he had tamed at birth or rescued from injury. At a restaurant in 1977, a patron with a flaming cocktail set Haggerty's beard on fire. As he attempted to extinguish the flames, Haggerty received third-degree burns on his arms. Production on ''The Life and Times of Grizzly Adams'' television series was halted while Haggerty recovered. In 1991, Haggerty was hospitalized after a motorcycle accident left him in a coma. In 1985, Haggerty received a jail sentence of 90 days and three years' probation after being convicted of selling cocaine to an undercover police officer.

Death

In August 2015, Haggerty was diagnosed with spinal cancer after a tumor was discovered during back surgery. He died of spinal cancer on January 15, 2016, in

Selected filmography

*'' Muscle Beach Party'' (1964) *'' Girl Happy'' (1965) *'' Easy Rider'' (1969) *'' Angels Die Hard'' (1970) *'' The Tender Warrior'' (1971) *'' Chrome and Hot Leather'' (1971) *'' Bury Me an Angel'' (1972) *'' The Pink Angels'' (1972) *'' Hex'' (1973) *'' Superchick'' (1973) *'' When the North Wind Blows'' (1974) *''

'' (1974) *'' The Adventures of Frontier Fremont'' (1976) *''Grizzly Adams: Once Upon a Starry Night'' (1978) *'' King of the Mountain'' (1981) *''The Capture of Grizzly Adams'' (1982) *'' Americana'' (1983) *'' Abducted'' (1986) *'' Terror Night'' (1987) *''Bloody Movie'' (1987) *''Nightwars'' (1988) *''

'' (1989) *'' The Chilling'' (1989) *''Spirit of the Eagle'' (1989) *''Ice Pawn'' (1989) *''Mind Trap'' (1989) *'' Repo Jake'' (1990) *''Chance'' (1990) *''Inheritor'' (1990) *''One Man War~ Macon County War (original title)'' (1990) *''Soldier's Fortune'' (1992) *'' The Magic Voyage'' (1994) *'' Cheyenne Warrior'' (1994) *''The Christmas Light'' (1995) *''Sign of the Otter'' (1995) *''The Little Patriot'' (1995) *''Abducted 2: The Reunion'' (1995) *''The Christmas Brigade'' (1996) *'' Grizzly Mountain'' (1997) *'' Born Champion'' (1998) *'' Puss in Boots'' (1999) *'' Escape to Grizzly Mountain'' (2000) *'' An Ordinary Killer'' (2003) *''Motocross Kids'' (2004) Pocket Angel (2005) *'' Big Stan'' (2007) *'' The Book of Ruth: Journey of Faith'' (2009) *''Casa de mi Padre'' (2012) *'' Axe Giant: The Wrath of Paul Bunyan'' (2013) *''Dead In 5 Heartbeats'' (2013) *''40 Nights'' (2016) *'' The Untold Story'' (2016) Movie dedicated to his memory.

Awards

* 1980 — Awarded the People's Choice Award for most popular actor. * 1986 — Awarded the

Harley-Davidson Harley-Davidson, Inc. (H-D, or simply Harley) is an American motorcycle manufacturer headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Founded in 1903, it is one of two major American motorcycle manufacturers to survive the Great Depression along with i ...

"Humanitarian of the Year" Award. * 1994 — Received a star on the

Hollywood Walk of Fame The Hollywood Walk of Fame is a landmark which consists of 2,813 five-pointed terrazzo-and-brass stars embedded in the sidewalks along 15 blocks of Hollywood Boulevard and three blocks of Vine Street in the Hollywood, Los Angeles, Hollywood dist ...

. * 2009 — Awarded a star in Kanab, Utah "Hollywood of the West." * Awarded

The Dove Foundation The Dove Foundation is an American non-profit organization based in Portland, Oregon, that issues film reviews, ratings and endorsements of movies that it considers suitable for family audiences, and that bases said reviews on their Christian v ...

's "Diamond Seal of Approval" for more than 1 million family videos sold. * Awarded the Paul Harris Fellowship from the

Rotary Foundation The Rotary Foundation is a non-profit corporation that supports the efforts of Rotary International to achieve world understanding and peace through international humanitarian, educational, and cultural exchange programs. It is supported solely ...

of Rotary International

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Haggerty, Dan 1942 births 2016 deaths American male television actors American male film actors Animal trainers Deaths from cancer in California Neurological disease deaths in California Deaths from spinal cancer Male actors from California Male actors from Los Angeles County, California Male actors from Wisconsin American stunt performers Entertainers from California People from Marinette County, Wisconsin