RIP Grizzly Adams

The Nightly News was on in the background as I was struggling with some papework, I always struggle with paperwork , that is nothing new, when I heard the Dan Haggerty  had died.   Grizzly Adams can't die!  No Grizzly Adams can't die, he is a fictional character, but the man who brought him to life can.  I felt the loss, of a part of my history, my generation's history.  Being a Mountain man or woman, and living off the land, living in harmony with nature, a solitary and contemplative life in the shadow of the Rockies, it was a dream, a goal for some in my generation.  Now all these years later, after having lead a simple life in the shadow of the Appalachians, trying to live off the land is difficult, but living a contemplative, simple life as close to the land as possible is as close as perfection as I will ever get.  

Just a mountain man and his  grizzly bear, but it made for  great TV back in 77-78.  Everyone  I knew watched it and talked about it, wondered what it would be like to be him, and were pretty sure that there was no way a grizzly could  ever really be like Ben, but hoped anyway.  It fit the times, not those long ago time it was set in, but the times we were living in then. Those times that influenced some of use to try and make their lives as close to the land as possible, it was optimistic, and so were we, it had Mad Jack, and his mule, and the "Maniac" book, some times I still hear someone call the Almanac the Maniac book, and sometimes I wish for a button bracelet like Dan Haggarty wore.  

I know very little about Dan Haggerty, I know he loved motorcycles and once owned a restaurant, one year he did a New Year Eve show,  his home got picked by American Pickers, and he was briefly in a SyFy movie.   And he left behind in Grizzly Adams a legacy

Actor Dan Haggerty Has Died at 74

• By JONAH LUSTIG
• VANESSA WILKINS

Jan 15, 2016, 11:02 AM ET

Frank Carroll/Getty Images

Pictured in this undated photo is Bozo the Bear as Ben and Dan Haggerty as James 'Grizzly' Adams in the TV show "The Life and Times of Grizzly Adams" in the episode, "A Bear's Life." more +

 Dan Haggerty, who fans know as Grizzly Adams, died early Friday morning at the age of 74 from cancer, ABC News has confirmed with the actor's manager Terry Bomar.

Haggerty starred as Grizzly Adams in the 1974 film "The Life and Times of Grizzly Adams" and the subsequent TV series of the same name, which ran from 1977 to 1978.

"Dan Haggerty, a beloved Father and friend, has died at 4:30 this morning at St Joseph Hospital in Burbank, CA, surrounded by his family that loved him. He had fought a long hard battle with cancer of the spine that was discovered in August of this year," Bomar wrote in a press release.

He continued, "All the awards pale in comparison to his huge laugh and wonderful sense of humor that made everyone laugh with him. He would light up any room he entered. He loved life, loved his family, loved his friends and fans."

The actor, who was originally from Wisconsin, then went on to appear in several films and TV shows, including "Charlie's Angels" in 1981 and "The Love Boat" in 1983.

Some of Haggerty's most recent projects included an appearance in "Axe Giant: The Wrath of Paul Bunyan" and "Dead in 5 Heartbeats," both released in 2013.