Jr. Patriot Report

by John Stumpner

Bikers come from many different backgrounds. One of the more unusual bikers was Dan Haggerty. While many bikers work at various trades, such as mechanics or in construction, Dan was an animal trainer, stuntman and actor.

Some sources say that Dan Haggerty was born in Pound, Wisconsin in 1942 and his family moved to the Los Angeles area shortly after. One of his first jobs after he grew up wasn’t really a job at all, as he started out as a Malibu Hippie or beach bum. Eventually, he started working as a stuntman and animal trainer in movies. He would usually work with wild animals like tigers and bears. Dan trained and worked with animals for various Hollywood movie companies and Walt Disney. He also had parts in various movies. His large frame, long hair and bushy beard made him look like a mountain man and made him perfect for the role of Grizzly Adams in several movies and a TV series. In Grizzly Adams, and several similar roles, Dan’s character had a pet grizzly bear (full grown) and befriended all the animals in the forest. Unlike many working in Hollywood, Dan preferred to live on a ranch outside of town with the various wild animals he was training and working with.

As much as he liked working with wild animals, Dan Haggerty also liked hot rods and motorcycles. Not only did he work with wild animals in the movies he also worked with the motorcycles in some movies. In the classic motorcycle movie, “Easy Rider,” Dan did some stunt riding, helped design and maintain the motorcycles, and even had a small bit part as a hippie.

An interesting bit of information is that Dan Haggerty’s Grizzly Adams character was based on an actual mountain man (John Boyden Adams) that went by the name of Grizzly Adams. This Grizzly Adams, like Dan Haggerty, trapped and trained wild animals for circuses and animal shows in the mid 1800’s. At the time, Adams was thought to know more about the California Grizzly Bear than anyone else and, late in his life, Adams showed his bears and other animals in P.T. Barnum’s Circus.

Bikers come from all walks of life and different backgrounds. This shows that being a biker isn’t so much in what you do or what you ride, but more about being free to live the way you want to. ABATE of Wisconsin continues to work to make sure that we can all continue to live free.

John