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 controversial statement made by an online influencer is that she is “too pretty” to work for the rest of her life.
With a recent TikTok post, well-known influencer Lucy Welcher, who has a sizable online following, started a social media firestorm. The dispute? Welcher said she is “too pretty” to work in a conventional setting.
The Influencer’s Backlash and the Go-Viral Video
Welcher, who is well-known for her opulent lifestyle videos, expressed her dislike of working a regular nine to five job in the now-deleted video. She bemoaned the thought of having to get up early every day and asked herself if her attractive appearance was a match for the grind. Many viewers found offense at this careless comment.
The influencer received a lot of backlash for her post. Welcher came under fire from commenters for being conceited and superficial. They emphasized the value of having a strong work ethic and the erroneous belief that someone’s beauty should absolve them of social responsibility. A user satirically pointed out Welcher’s conceited sense of importance, while another drew attention to the discrepancy between work ethic and attractiveness.
Welcher tried to douse the fires when he saw the outcry. She said she was being unfairly targeted, so she removed the old video and uploaded a new one. She answered online accusations about her lifestyle with a sarcastic response. She refuted rumors that she lived in a home, had expensive automobiles, or earned enormous sums of money.
A Second Opinion: Comedy or Ongoing Debate?
A few days later, Welcher uploaded a “remake” of the original video, as if reveling in the publicity. This time, some viewers took her words as a joke, which resulted in a more positive response. Supporters flocked to the influencer’s defense; some even jokingly agreed with the idea that one’s beauty serves as an excuse to avoid work.
Reimagining of the most despised video I’ve ever created: #SephoraGiveOrKeep #workable #funny
The difficulties with humor on social media are made clear by this episode. Welcher’s initial video didn’t go well because it lacked context. The incident serves as a reminder of how easily messages can be misconstrued while communicating online, emphasizing the importance of being explicit in all communications, even when comedy is included.
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