Bart the Bear
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Bart the Bear (January 19, 1977 – May 10, 2000), was a male Alaskan Kodiak Bear who appeared in several Hollywood films. Previously, Bart's mother appeared in the films Grizzly and Day of the Animals.[citation needed] Animal trainers Doug Seus and Lynne Seus of Wasatch Rocky Mountain Wildlife, Inc., in Heber City, Utah trained Bart.[citation needed] He grew to 9' 6" (2.90 m) tall and 1800 pounds (816 kg) as an adult.[citation needed]
John Candy, Dan Aykroyd, Steven Seagal, Anthony Hopkins and Alec Baldwin all appeared in films opposite the bear. 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. Bart died during the filming of television documentary Growing Up Grizzly (2001). Brad Pitt, who appeared in Legends of the Fall with Bart, presented the piece.
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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 Kodiak raised by Doug and Lynne Seus. He has appeared in Dr. Dolittle 2, and in an episode of both CSI and Scrubs.[citation needed] He also had a prominent role in the 2004 film Without a Paddle and the 2007 film, Into the Wild.
[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.
