Profile of Dan Haggerty on Famous Like Me

Dan Haggerty was the burly, bearded star of TV's "Grizzly Adams". He was born in Hollywood, growing up amidst the Southern California bodybuilding lifestyle. He had early roles in "Muscle Beach Party" and the Elvis Presley film "Girl Happy". His ease in working with animals got him work as a trainer and handler for Walt Disney films, and he found steady work as a stuntman on the Ron Ely TV show "Tarzan".

Haggerty was a free spirit, living in the Malibu Canyons with his animals while making his own furniture and clothing. He also worked as a set builder on films. He custom-made the motorcycles featured in the film "Easy Rider" and had a bit part as a hippie. He showed up in several low-budget biker films of the era as both a supporting player and stuntman before being tapped to play the outdoorsman in the independent film "The Life and Times of Grizzly Adams". The picture was a surprise hit and spun off into a popular TV series that made Haggerty a household name.

While filming the TV series, Haggerty was burned on the face while attempting to consume an alcoholic drink known as a "Flaming Eddy". Haggerty was reported as inebriated at the time. The mishap delayed production of the tv show briefly during its second season.

His fame was fleeting, however, as a well-publicized drug arrest and motorcycle crash kept him from work. He appeared often during the late 1980s in the direct-to-video boom, but by the early 1990s devoted his energies to the Studio City restaurant "Haggerty's Bistro" and marketing his own barbecue sauce. He continued to work as both an actor and infomercial spokesman, though his rugged presence proved more enduring than any of his products.

He was also featured as a character in Al Franken's novel, Why Not Me?.

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