Bart the Bear
| Bart the Bear | |
|---|---|
 Bart with trainer Doug Seus, 1997 |
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| Born | January 19, 1977 Baltimore, Maryland, U.S. |
| Died | May 10, 2000 (aged 23) Park City, Utah, U.S. |
| Occupation | Bear Actor |
| Years active | 1980 – 2000 |
Bart the Bear (19 January 1977 - 10 May 2000) was an Alaskan Kodiak Bear that appeared in several Hollywood films. Previously, Bart's mother appeared in the films Grizzly and Day of the Animals.[1] Animal trainers Doug Seus and Lynne Seus of Wasatch Rocky Mountain Wildlife, Inc., in Heber City, Utah, trained Bart.[2] He grew to 9' 6" (2.90 m) tall and weighed 1,500 pounds (680 kg) throughout his life as an adult.[2]
John Candy, Dan Aykroyd, Annette Bening, Ethan Hawke, Steven Seagal, Gregory Peck, Tchéky Karyo, Brad Pitt, Alec Baldwin and Anthony Hopkins all appeared in films opposite the bear, the latter even twice. All of them were reportedly impressed with how well the bear was trained.[citation needed]
In 2000, Bart died of cancer at the age of 23 while filming the television documentary Growing Up Grizzly (2001). Brad Pitt, who appeared in Legends of the Fall with Bart, provided narration.
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[edit] Legacy
Bart was the "spokes-bear" for the Animal Cancer Center at Colorado State University but his greatest role was as ambassador for the Vital Ground Foundation. Vital Ground has procured threatened wildlife habitat along the Rocky Mountain front and on Kodiak Island.
Little Bart the Bear is Bart's namesake. Little Bart, born 2000 in Alaska, is another unrelated Kodiak raised by Doug and Lynne Seus. He has appeared in Dr. Dolittle 2, along with his sister Honey-Bump Bear, and in an episode of both CSI and Scrubs. In leg 9 of The Amazing Race 8 he gave teams the clue they needed to continue the race.[citation needed] He also had a prominent role in the 2004 film Without a Paddle, the 2007 film Into the Wild, and Did You Hear About the Morgans?. Tank the Bear, born in January 1995, is a Grizzly bear also raised by Doug and Lynne Seus. He is most notable for his role as portraying Archie the bear in Dr. Dolittle 2, co-starring alongside Little Bart and Honey-Bump. He also appeared in Growing Up Grizzly co-starring alongside Brad Pitt and in Growing Up Grizzly 2 alongside Jennifer Aniston.
[edit] Filmography
- Windwalker (1980)
- The Clan of the Cave Bear (1986)
- The Great Outdoors (1988)
- The Bear (1988)
- White Fang (1991)
- The Giant of Thunder Mountain (1991)
- On Deadly Ground (1994)
- Legends of the Fall (1994)
- Walking Thunder (1997)
- The Edge (1997)
- Meet the Deedles (1998)
[edit] Television
- Louis L'Amour's Down the Long Hills (1986)
- Lost in the Barrens (1990)
- The Young Riders - episode Decoy (1990)
- In 1998, Bart made an appearance at the 70th Academy Awards as part of a salute to animal actors.
Into The Wild
[edit] Commercial
[edit] References
- ^ Biography for Bart the Bear at The Internet Movie Database (accessed April 7, 2010)
- ^ a b Bart the Bear at Wasatch Rocky Mountain Wildlife (accessed April 7, 2010)
