The Life and Times of Grizzly Adams
| The Life and Times of Grizzly Adams | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster |
|
| Directed by | Richard Friedenberg |
| Produced by | Charles E. Sellier Jr. Raylan D. Jensen |
| Written by | Lawrence Dobkin |
| Starring | Dan Haggerty Denver Pyle Don Shanks |
| Music by | Thom Pace |
| Cinematography | George Stapleford |
| Editing by | George Stapleford |
| Studio | Sunn Classic Pictures |
| Distributed by | Sunn Classic Pictures Sun International Paramount Pictures (current) |
| Release date(s) | November 13, 1974 |
| Running time | 93 min. |
| Country | United States |
| Budget | $250,000 |
| Box office | $45,411,063[1] |
| television series | |
|---|---|
 Dan Haggerty and Ben, 1977. |
|
| Created by | Charles E. Sellier Jr. |
| Starring | Dan Haggerty Denver Pyle Don Shanks |
| Narrated by | Denver Pyle |
| Theme music composer | Thom Pace |
| Opening theme | "Maybe" |
| No. of seasons | 2 |
| No. of episodes | 38 |
| Production | |
| Running time | 1 hour |
| Production company(s) | Sunn Classic Pictures |
| Distributor | CBS Television Distribution |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | NBC |
| Original run | February 9, 1977 – May 12, 1978 (two TV films aired later on) |
The Life and Times of Grizzly Adams is a 1972 novel by Charles E. Sellier Jr.. There is a 1974 film based on the novel, a two-season NBC television series, and a 1982 TV movie. The title character, played by Dan Haggerty, is loosely based on the actual trapper James "Grizzly" Adams.
Grizzly Adams (Haggerty) is a woodsman during the frontier era who flees into the mountains after he is 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's closest companion. Adams proves to have 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 had two human companions, an old trader named Mad Jack the Mountain Man (Denver Pyle, commonly featured with a mule named "Number Seven") and a native American named Nakoma (Don Shanks). Together, they helped various visitors while protecting the wildlife.
The series was concluded with a 1982 TV movie called The Capture of Grizzly Adams where a bounty hunter used Adams's daughter — not seen or mentioned since the 1974 film — to draw him back to civilization. In the end, Adams proved his innocence. NBC aired this 2 hour finale on February 21, 1982.
Contents |
Cast [edit]
- Dan Haggerty as James Capen 'Grizzly' Adams
- Denver Pyle as Mad Jack
- Don Shanks as Nakoma
- John Bishop as Robbie Cartman
- Bozo (a grizzly bear) as Ben (named after Benjamin Franklin whom Adams revered as a great man)
In addition to Ben, there were many other named animals in the series, the most prominent being Number 7, Mad Jack's ornery mule.
Gene Edwards—a stunt double for Dan Haggerty—later played Grizzly Adams in the otherwise unrelated 1990 film The Legend of a Grizzly Adams.
Production [edit]
Grizzly Adams was the creation of Sunn Classic Pictures, a company based in Park City, Utah operated by founder Charles E. Sellier Jr., who had written the book on which first the 1974 movie, and then the series, was based. The studio successfully made up for its lack of experience with lavish marketing and promotional budgets. The 1974 movie was a runaway success, produced on a $140,000 budget but which went on to earn $65 million at theaters. The 43% market share captured by a 1976 airing of this film on NBC caused network executives to greenlight a television series. This series drew a 32% market share, a figure which still remains very significant to this day. The enterprise also came at a time when the environmental movement flourished.
In a 1978 interview with TV Guide, Sellier said that the company used extensive market testing to produce the series, which was based on tests showing that audiences liked stories about men and animals in the wilderness; that bears were favorite wilderness animals; and that grizzlies were the favorite type of bear.[2] The actual filming locations for the television series took place in the mountains near Ruidoso, New Mexico.
The show's theme song, “Maybe,” was written and sung by Thom Pace. The song was released as a single in Europe, where it reached number one, and won Germany's Goldene Europa award for best song.[citation needed]
Episode list [edit]
| Prod.#[3] | Episode | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| — | The Life and Times of Grizzly Adams | November 13, 1974 |
| 701 | "Unwelcome Neighbor" | March 2, 1977 |
| 702 | "Beaver Dam" | April 27, 1977 |
| 703 | "Blood Brothers" | February 16, 1977 |
| 704 | "Adam's Cub" | February 9, 1977 |
| 705 | "The Fugitive" | February 23, 1977 |
| 706 | "Howdy-Do, I'm Mad Jack" | March 9, 1977 |
| 707 | "The Tenderfoot" | March 30, 1977 |
| 708 | "Home of the Hawk" | May 5, 1977 |
| 709 | "Adam's Ark" | March 16, 1977 |
| 710 | "The Redemption of Ben" | March 23, 1977 |
| 711 | "The Unholy Beast" | April 20, 1977 |
| 712 | "The Rivals" | April 6, 1977 |
| 713 | "The Storm" | May 12, 1977 |
| 714 | "The Trial" | October 26, 1977 |
| 715 | "Survival" | October 12, 1977 |
| 716 | "A Bear's Life" | October 19, 1977 |
| 717 | "The Choice" | December 21, 1977 |
| 718 | "Hot Air Hero" | September 28, 1977 |
| 719 | "Track of the Cougar" | December 14, 1977 |
| 720 | "The Search" | November 9, 1977 |
| 721 | "Marvin the Magnificent" | January 11, 1978 |
| 722 | "Woman in the Wilderness" | December 28, 1977 |
| 723 | "The Orphans" | November 2, 1977 |
| 724 | "Gold Is Where You Find It" | November 23, 1977 |
| 725 | "A Time of Thirsting" | January 18, 1978 |
| 726 | "The Seekers" | January 25, 1978 |
| 727 | "The Spoilers" | January 4, 1978 |
| 728 | "The Stranger" | April 5, 1978 |
| 729 | "The Runaway" | February 22, 1978 |
| 730 | "A Gentleman Tinker" | February 8, 1978 |
| 731 | "The World's Greatest Bounty Hunter" | May 12, 1978 |
| 732 | "The Littlest Greenhorn" | March 15, 1978 |
| 733 | "The Great Burro Race" | March 1, 1978 |
| 734 | "The Quest" | April 26, 1978 |
| 735 | "The Skyrider" | May 5, 1978 |
| 736 | "The Renewal" (two hours) | March 22, 1978 |
| 737 | Once Upon a Starry Night (two hours) Theatrically released as Legend of the Wild [4] |
December 19, 1978 November 1981 |
| — | The Capture of Grizzly Adams (two hours) | February 21, 1982 |
DVD releases [edit]
Timeless Media Group (under license from CBS Home Entertainment) released the first season on DVD in Region 1 on November 6, 2012.[5] The second and final season will be released on February 19, 2013.[6]
Referenced in pop-culture [edit]
Dan Haggerty also played Jeremiah—a modern day version of Grizzly Adams—in the films Grizzly Mountain (1997) and Escape to Grizzly Mountain (2000).
Television and film references to Haggerty's portrayal of Adams include SCTV (1980–1981 season), Clerks (1994 film), Happy Gilmore (1996 film), the "Brian Wallows and Peter's Swallows" episode of Family Guy (2002), and What Just Happened? (2008 film).
"Grizzly Adams" is also the name of a Mr. Bungle song from album The Raging Wrath of the Easter Bunny, and a professional German ice hockey team.
References [edit]
- ^ "Box Office Information for The Life and Times of Grizzly Adams". The Numbers. Retrieved July 7, 2012.
- ^ Chimpson, Janice C. (June 6, 1978). "Studio Cleans Up By Marketing Films Like Selling Soap.". The Wall Street Journal.
- ^ "The Life and Times of Grizzly Adams: Episode Guide". TV.com.
- ^ "Once Upon a Starry Night". BFI.org.uk.
- ^ TV Shows on DVD: The Life and Times of Grizzly Adams - Season 1
- ^ http://tvshowsondvd.com/news/Life-Times-Grizzly-Adams-Season-2/17725
External links [edit]
- The Life and Times of Grizzly Adams at the Internet Movie Database
- The Life and Times of Grizzly Adams (TV series) at the Internet Movie Database
- The Capture of Grizzly Adams at the Internet Movie Database
- GrizzlyAdams.net, a detailed site with behind the scenes photos and episode summaries.
- 1970s American television series
- Western (genre) characters
- NBC network shows
- Television series about animals
- Television series by CBS Paramount Television
- Western (genre) television series
- 1977 American television series debuts
- 1978 American television series endings
- 1974 films
- 1970s drama films
- Paramount Pictures films
- English-language television series
