‘Grizzly Adams’ Star Dan Haggerty Has Died Of Cancer At 74

Let’s just get this out of the way: cancer sucks. Just this week, cancer has taken David Bowie, Alan Rickman and now Dan Haggerty, who many knew as “Grizzly Adams.” The actor has died at 74.

While the only reference many of us may have had to Grizzly Adams comes from the Happy Gilmore line: “Grizzly Adams DID have a beard,” the impact the character had on a generation of people growing up in the ’70s is undeniable.

No, for anyone who watched him on their TV screens, Haggerty will not be remembered by a regrettable Lee Trevino cameo, but for his ’70s hit TV show The Life And Times Of Grizzly Adams. Spawned from the movie of the same name, The Life And Times Of Grizzly Adams shot Haggerty into relative superstardom with his best friend Ben the bear, and they were both a really big deal. Like, a really big deal.

To put it in perspective, The Life And Times Of Grizzly Adams movie had the eighth highest box office of 1974, sharing the prestigious list with Blazing Saddles, Young Frankenstein, The Towering Inferno and Benji. The Grizzly Adams TV series lasted for two years and 37 episodes full of family fun and relatively high ratings. Today, the show is clearly dated, but you can get caught up in Grizzly’s weird adventures without even realizing it. I was on the edge of my seat when Grizzly was hanging out with the raccoon on his bed like it was no big deal.

Bowie, Rickman and Haggerty… God is having an awesome 4-player, split-screen game of Rocket League right now.