Haggerty was a natural for the role of Grizzly Adams and starred in the 1974 independent film. In addition of playing the role of a dog trainer (he actually trained the dog himself) he also helped with set design which included restoring an old carousel for the film. In 1981, Haggerty appeared in David Carradine’s Americana. In 1969, Haggerty built motorcycles for the film, Easy Rider, and appeared in it as well in an uncredited role. His very first movie role was Biff, the muscle man in Muscle Beach Party (1964) and an uncredited bodybuilder in Elvis Presley’s Girl Happy (1965).Įarly in his career, Haggerty worked as a stuntman for the Tarzan TV series as well as numerous low-budget biker films of the 1970s. It wasn’t until after high school that Haggerty moved to Southern California and got involved in the muscle beach culture. Robin Crusoe (1966) and Monekys, Go Home (1967). Years later in Hollywood, Haggerty served as animal trainer for Walt Disney Studios working on films such as Lt. He even taught a black bear to do tricks for the audiences that came by. His family once owned and operated a wildlife attraction where he helped in raising wild animals. One the best things about The Life and Times of Grizzly Adams was that the hero was friend to many animals and they in turn respected him. However, more agree, including IMDB, that Haggerty was actually born Gene Jajonkski and grew up Pound, Wisconsin. While everyone gets the date of his birthday correct (November 19, 1941) some sources will claim that Haggerty was born Daniel Francis Haggerty and grew up in Hollywood. However, he was a lot more than a big friendly man with a beard. While many were saddened by the news this week that actor Dan Haggerty died, many others were wondering “who is Dan Haggerty?” and to tell them that he was the man who acted in the TV series, The Life and Times of Grizzly Adams, didn’t help much.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |