Dan Haggerty, who is well-known for playing Grizzly Adams, captured a lifetime of events in the entertainment world and beyond in his final moments.
He departed from loved ones with dignity and humility, leaving a legacy of warmth, compassion, and cinematic enchantment that will last for many years.
Read on to learn his parting words to his best buddy and the reason he had to end his marriage to his wife.
Remember the television program Grizzly Adams? You’re becoming old! The nostalgia, oh! This was a long time before cell phones, laptops, and cable.
Naturally, without Dan Haggerty, the series would not have been the same because he seemed so at ease in the role.
I believe that the reason the show struck such a chord with viewers was that Grizzly Adams’ persona was an expression of Dan’s true self. Numerous touching accounts from fans, crew members, and other actors may be found while reading about him today. He was a cheerful, friendly, and compassionate soul.
Let’s go back to the beginning, though, and see how this legendary actor became the Grizzly Man and captivated a whole generation.
It turned out to be more difficult than expected for Dan Haggerty to fulfill his parents’ wish for him to become a priest. He was born in Los Angeles in 1942 and was a “wild child” from an early age. Terry Bomar, his best buddy, claims that he lost his way and became “fast and furious.”
Haggerty, whose real name was Gene Jajonski, fell in love with animals at a young age and started working on a ranch in the San Fernando Valley. There, he helped care for a range of animals while training them for different movies.
Furthermore, Haggerty was a powerful force. He started bodybuilding when he was a teenager and had a great body, which helped him get a job as a stuntman. On a number of shows, he also constructed sets and made furniture. Later in life, this combination of abilities would be quite useful.
He gradually started acting in low-budget movies. Because of his background with animals, he was also hired to manage and teach animals for Walt Disney Studios movies. Haggerty directed the 1974 feature picture When the North Wind Blows, which included eagles, wild boars, wolverines, and white tigers. The wild-haired Haggerty had to pursue a tiger across a freezing lake during filming the film, which attracted a lot of attention from everyone on site.
Haggerty would be ideal in the upcoming movie The Life and Times of Grizzly Adams, according to a coworker who couldn’t forget this episode. The low-budget independent film was a success, and the stout, friendly woodsman left a lasting impact. NBC, thus, desired more.
The result was a series that ran from 1977 to 1978. The show’s ideas about nature were quite apparent. In his role as James Capen “Grizzly” Adams, Haggerty had a genuinely enchanted bond with animals. Haggerty was a perfect fit for the part, and the 37-episode series launched him to stardom.
Following the series’ conclusion, Haggerty starred in The Capture of Grizzly Adams, a 1982 television film. But when he was caught for cocaine possession in 1984 and given a 90-day jail sentence, his career took a serious turn for the worst.
The actor was apprehended selling drugs to an undercover police officer who was a member of a task group that targeted well-known members of the Los Angeles entertainment industry.
Haggerty almost lost his life in a motorcycle accident a few months later. He was found guilty in court once more while in the hospital, this time for not paying taxes.Thankfully, he recovered really quickly, and it seems that his community service requirement from the court caused him to reevaluate his decisions.
I’m making an effort to support the system. In 1987, he told the Los Angeles Times, “The system has been good to me.”
Dan Haggerty was a man of initiative. He established “Cornucopia,” a leather store in Los Angeles, already in the 1960s. Additionally, he developed a Cajun barbecue sauce that was popular in the California region. All in all, Haggerty truly loved to eat. Shortly after being married, at the age of 17, he started preparing his own meals.
He joked, “I had to do it to survive.”
The actor briefly relocated to southern France in 1975 to work on the film “The Christmas Tree.” He made several local cooks his friends there and became quite interested in cooking. Learning the craft from the ground up, he attended classes at the Cordon Bleu School.
He made the decision to launch his own eatery, Haggerty’s Bistro, in the early 1990s.
The French-inspired restaurant, which was situated in Studio City, just over the hill from the hustle and bustle of Hollywood, offered a wide range of dishes, including Haggerty’s well-known “Log Sandwich,” which consists of a thinly sliced sirloin steak, provolone cheese, green peppers, onions, tomatoes, and Italian spices all served in a freshly made Italian roll.
Haggerty’s wife, his brother Jim, and their oldest daughter Tracey run the restaurant. Haggerty continued to prioritize his acting career. In addition to making cameos on Charlie’s Angels and The Love Boat, he played Grizzly Adams again in a number of television shows.
He suffered multiple fractures in 1991 after being in another motorcycle accident. There were rumors that he had passed away, but thankfully that was untrue.
pulled his wife’s plug.
Dan Haggerty played a man who lived alone and was used to getting by on his own in the television show that made him famous. However, the filmmakers genuinely considered making him a wife.
During an interview, Haggety disclosed that the network polled viewers to find out if they wanted his character to have a romantic interest, and the audience rejected the idea. The crowd apparently idolized him as a monk or priest figure who would look out for everyone he met, which is why they didn’t want him to have a wife or children.
Haggerty married twice in real life. In 1959, he married Diane Rooker for the first time. When they were both 17 years old, the couple exchanged vows in Las Vegas.
Diane and Dan went to school in the same suburb of Los Angeles. They met while Dan was a standout football player at a rival school and Diane was voted homecoming queen.
Nobody thought their relationship would endure, but those who had doubts were shown to be mistaken. Tammy and Tracey, their two daughters, were reared by them both. Together with their children and lions, wolves, and eagles, the couple resided in the Malibu mountains.
Dan and Diane got divorced in 1984.
Haggerty fell in love once more that year and wed Samantha Hilton. Their union produced a girl, Megan, and two sons, Dylan and Cody.
Until disaster befell the family, the couple remained blissfully wedded. In 2008, Samantha Hilton collided with a deer while riding a motorcycle.
According to the Globe, Samantha was traveling home from a meal without a helmet. Samantha, who was 53 at the time, was evacuated to the hospital after what was called a bizarre accident.
Regretfully, the doctors were powerless to help. Dan Haggerty was playing golf in Florida when he found out about the disaster. Haggerty instantly hurried home to be with his wife after receiving the heartbreaking news from his expectant daughter over the phone. Unfortunately, the doctors informed Haggerty that Samantha was no longer with them due to significant brain injury.
There was nothing more he could do but yank the plug.
Telling the physicians to let my lovely Sam drift off to her long sleep was the most difficult and devastating choice I’ve ever had to make. I cried like a kid.
A diagnosis of cancer
Haggerty was given even more heartbreaking news in August 2015: after a tumor was found after back surgery, he was given a spinal cancer diagnosis.
He and his loved ones were rocked by the news. He fought valiantly, but on January 15, 2016, in Burbank, California, the cancer finally took his life. He kept working until his death; according to his entry in the Internet Movie Database, he had three projects in post-production in 2016.
Many people were deeply saddened by Haggerty’s demise, even though his legacy as Grizzly Adams and his dynamic presence in the entertainment business would always be treasured and remembered.
By all means, he was not a choirboy. He was a pirate! He had contagious laughter and would brighten whatever space he entered, according to Terry Bomar, a longtime friend.
Last remarks
Their last discussion turned into an emotional one.
In 2016, Bomar told USA Today, “He had a great Thanksgiving, a great Christmas, and a decent New Year, and then he took a turn for the worse.” “I told him I loved him yesterday morning, and the last words I heard him say were ‘I love you.'” They put on the speaker phone.
We adored Dan Haggerty as Grizzly Adams; he was a legend to many generations. We shall always remember you, lovely sir. Rest in peace!
