''The Life and Times of Grizzly Adams'' is a 1974 independent feature film produced by

Charles E. Sellier Jr. Charles Edward Sellier Jr. (November 9, 1943 – January 31, 2011) was an American television producer, screenwriter, novelist and director, best known for creating the American book and television series ''The Life and Times of Grizzly Adams'' ...

and Raylan D. Jensen for Sun Classic Pictures. The film's popularity led to an NBC television series of the same name. The title character, played by Dan Haggerty, was loosely based on California mountain man

John "Grizzly" Adams John Boyden Adams (also known as James Capen Adams and Grizzly Adams) (October 22, 1812 – October 25, 1860) was a famous California mountain man and trainer of grizzly bears and other wild animals he captured for menageries, zoological gardens ...

(1812–1860).

Plot

The film portrays the somewhat fictional Grizzly Adams as a frontier

woodsman Woodsman (also, woodsmen, pl.) is a competitive, co-ed intercollegiate sport in the United States, Canada and elsewhere based on various skills traditionally part of forestry educational and technical training programs. In North America, the s ...

who fled into the mountains in the year 1853, after he was accused of a murder he didn't commit. While struggling to survive, Adams saves an orphaned

grizzly bear The grizzly bear (''Ursus arctos horribilis''), also known as the North American brown bear or simply grizzly, is a population or subspecies of the brown bear inhabiting North America. In addition to the mainland grizzly (''Ursus arctos horri ...

cub he adopts and names Ben. The bear, while growing to its huge adult size, becomes Adams' closest companion. Consistently kind and gentle, Adams discovers and demonstrates an uncanny ability to gain the trust of most of the indigenous wildlife of the region, and he helps, sometimes rescues, takes in and tames many species. Originally a hunter, with his learned affection for wildlife Adams resolves never to harm another animal whenever possible. Adams also gains two human friends, an old mountain man trader named "Mad Jack" (

Denver Pyle Denver Dell Pyle (May 11, 1920 – December 25, 1997) was an American film and television actor and director. He was well known for a number of TV roles from the 1960s through the 1980s, including his portrayal of Briscoe Darling Jr. in s ...

) who is often featured with his mule ("Number Seven"), and a Native American by the name of "Nakoma" ( Don Shanks). Adams, Mad Jack, and Nakoma help myriad mountain visitors while protecting wildlife at the same time. NBC aired the series finale of the TV series on February 21, 1982, by way of a two-hour

TV movie A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made for ...

called ''The Capture of Grizzly Adams''; it presents an ending diverging from the 1974 TV movie portrayal. A hateful rancher, whose partner Adams allegedly killed, uses Adams' daughter Peg, who was not seen or mentioned since the 1974 film, in a ploy to lure the fugitive mountain man back to civilization and kill him. In the end, Adams exposes the rancher for the murder for which he was himself accused, proving his innocence.

Cast

TV series

* Dan Haggerty as James Capen 'Grizzly' Adams *

as Mad Jack * Don Shanks as Nakoma * John Bishop as Robbie Cartman * Bozo (a grizzly bear) as Ben (named after

Benjamin Franklin Benjamin Franklin ( April 17, 1790) was an American polymath who was active as a writer, scientist, inventor, statesman, diplomat, printer, publisher, and political philosopher. Encyclopædia Britannica, Wood, 2021 Among the leading int ...

) In addition to Ben, there were many other named animals in the TV series, the most prominent being ''Number 7'', Mad Jack's ornery

mule The mule is a domestic equine hybrid between a donkey and a horse. It is the offspring of a male donkey (a jack) and a female horse (a mare). The horse and the donkey are different species, with different numbers of chromosomes; of the two po ...

. Bart the Bear, then a bear cub, made one of his first acting appearances in the series playing Ben as a cub.

1974 film

*Lisa Jones as Young Peg *Marjorie Harper as Adult Peg * William Woodson as Narrator

''The Capture of Grizzly Adams''

* Sydney Penny as Peg Adams * Kim Darby as Kate Bradey *

Chuck Connors Kevin Joseph Aloysius "Chuck" Connors (April 10, 1921 – November 10, 1992) was an American actor, writer, and professional basketball and baseball player. He is one of only 13 athletes in the history of American professional sports to have p ...

as Frank Briggs *

G. W. Bailey George William Bailey (born August 27, 1944) is an American actor. Although he appeared in many dramatic roles, he may be best remembered for his "crusty" comedic characters such as Staff Sergeant Luther Rizzo in ''M*A*S*H'' (TV series 1979–19 ...

as Tom Quigley *

Noah Beery Jr. Noah Lindsey Beery (August 10, 1913 – November 1, 1994) was an American actor often specializing in warm, friendly character roles similar to many portrayed by his Oscar-winning uncle, Wallace Beery. Unlike his more famous uncle, however, Be ...

as Sheriff Hawkins * June Lockhart as Mrs. Hawkins *Spencer Alston as Daniel Quigley *Peg Stewart as Widow Thompkins *Ken Kemp as Ezra Thompkins

Production

''The Life and Times of Grizzly Adams'' TV series was created by Charles E. Sellier Jr. and produced through Schick Sunn Classic Pictures, a company based in Park City, Utah and operated by its founding executives, Patrick Frawley, Charles E. Sellier Jr., and Rayland Jenson. Parts of the series were shot in the

Uinta National Forest Uinta National Forest is a national forest located in north central Utah, USA. It was originally part of the Uinta Forest Reserve, created by Grover Cleveland on 2 February 1897. The name is derived from the Ute word ''Yoov-we-teuh'' which ...

, Wasatch National Forest, and Park City. The low-budget independent studio successfully introduced innovative marketing and promotional methods. Its 1974 ''Grizzly Adams'' movie was a runaway success. Produced on a small $140,000 budget, the film grossed over $45 million at the domestic box office and $65 million worldwide. It was the 7th highest-grossing film of 1974. The 43% market share captured by a 1976 airing of the film on NBC led to network executives green-lighting the television series. The series drew a 32% market share, a significant figure to this day. The series also aired at a time when the

environmental movement The environmental movement (sometimes referred to as the ecology movement), also including conservation and green politics, is a diverse philosophical, social, and political movement for addressing environmental issues. Environmentalists a ...

was beginning to flourish. Bozo was purchased from a Kansas zoo, and trained by R.E. (Bob) Leonard. The show's theme song, “Maybe,” was written and sung by Thom Pace. The song was released as a single in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

, where it reached number one, and in 1980 won Germany's

Goldene Europa Goldene Europa award is the oldest German Television award for artists and entertainers. It was awarded from 1968 to 2003. In the years 1989 and 2001, there were no ceremonies. Since 1981, the gala was broadcast on television. The original sculpt ...

award for best song. At the beginning of each episode, part of the theme song is sung, while at the end, the entire theme song is sung. "Mad Jack" also introduces the circumstances of Grizzly Adams, referring to him as a "greenhorn", his friendship with Ben and all of the animals. After selling many products bearing the Grizzly Adams brand name, the brand was eventually trademarked by its creator, film producer, Charles E. Sellier, Jr. Following Sellier's death in early 2011, the brand rights were transferred to Grizzly Adams LLC. Production for the series also took place in Utah, with location work in

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

and Ruidoso, New Mexico, depending on weather conditions, due to the similarities in terrain. As with the film, animals were provided and trained by the Olympic Game Farm, housed at a second game farm built at

Woodland A woodland () is, in the broad sense, land covered with trees, or in a narrow sense, synonymous with wood (or in the U.S., the '' plurale tantum'' woods), a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunlight and limited shade (see ...

. A scaled-down version of Grizzly Adams' cabin, used to make Dan Haggerty appear taller, is currently located at the Olympic Game Farm in Sequim, Washington.

Home media

Shout! Factory Shout! Factory is an American home video and music company founded in 2002 as Retropolis Entertainment. Its video releases include previously released feature films, classic and contemporary television series, animation, live music, and comedy ...

, under license from CBS Home Entertainment, released both seasons in two region-1, 4-DVD sets: season 1 on November 6, 2012, and Season 2 on February 19, 2013. The same eight discs were reissued as ''Grizzly Adams: The Complete Series'' on May 31, 2016. The Season sets do not include the 1974 film ''The Life and Times of Grizzly Adams'', which led to the series. The Season 2 set does include ''Once Upon a Starry Night,'' which aired just after the regular series ended in 1978, but not ''The Capture of Grizzly Adams'', which aired in 1982. On November 12, 2013, CBS Home Entertainment released ''The Capture of Grizzly Adams'' on DVD in Region 1.DVD Announced for 'The Capture of Grizzly Adams' Wrap-Up Telefilm

Episodes

Season 1 (1977)

Season 2 (1977–78)

Sequels

Dan Haggerty also played Jeremiah, a modern-day version of Grizzly Adams, in the films ''Grizzly Mountain'' (1997) and ''Escape to Grizzly Mountain'' (2000).

References

External links

* * *
GrizzlyAdams.net
a detailed site with behind the scenes photos and episode summaries. {{DEFAULTSORT:Life And Times Of Grizzly Adams, The 1974 films 1974 drama films Films about bears Television series about bears Grizzly bears in popular culture Works about mountain men Films directed by Richard Friedenberg 1974 directorial debut films American biographical films American television films American independent films Paramount Pictures films NBC original programming Television series by CBS Studios 1977 American television series debuts 1978 American television series endings English-language television shows Television shows filmed in Utah Films shot in Utah 1970s American films