Grizzly Adams
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Grizzly Adams is the main character from The Life and Times of Grizzly Adams, a 1974 film. Produced by Sunn Classic Pictures, the movie spawned a television series of the same name in 1977. The title character was loosely based on an actual trapper, James Adams.
Grizzly Adams is a woodsman who fled into the mountains when he was wrongly accused of murder. While struggling to survive, Adams discovers an orphaned grizzly bear cub whom he takes in and calls Ben. The bear, despite his huge adult size, becomes Adams' closest companion. Adams has an uncanny link to most of the indigenous wildlife of the region, who have no fear of him. In return, he resolves never to harm another animal whenever possible.
In the television series, Adams has two human companions, an old trader named Mad Jack and a Native American named Nakoma. Together, they help various visitors while protecting the wildlife. The series is also notable for its theme song, "Maybe" by Thom Pace, which is a wistful ballad about the hope for peace in a land of rugged beauty.
The series concluded with a 1982 TV movie called The Capture of Grizzly Adams where a bounty hunter used Adams' hitherto unknown daughter to draw him back to civilization. In the end, Adams proves his innocence.
Dan Haggerty portrayed Grizzly in the initial movie and series, as well as in the 1982 followup. Two subsequent projects, not well known, starred other actors in the main role and were not produced by Sunn.
External links
- Internet Movie Database
- The Life and Times of Grizzly Adams (http://imdb.com/title/tt0074797/) (the original movie)
- The Life and Times of Grizzly Adams (http://imdb.com/title/tt0075525/) (the series)
- The Capture of Grizzly Adams (http://imdb.com/title/tt0083718/)