Bart the Bear
Encyclopedia
Bart the Bear was an Alaska
n Kodiak Bear
that appeared in several Hollywood film
s. Previously, Bart's mother appeared in the films Grizzly
and Day of the Animals
. Animal trainers Doug Seus and Lynne Seus of Wasatch Rocky Mountain Wildlife, Inc., in Heber City, Utah, trained Bart. He grew to 9' 6" (2.90 m) tall and weighed 1,500 pounds (680 kg) throughout his life as an adult
.
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.
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, presented the piece.
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. 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
.
Alaska
Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
n Kodiak Bear
Kodiak Bear
The Kodiak bear , also known as the Kodiak brown bear or the Alaskan grizzly bear or American brown bear, occupies the islands of the Kodiak Archipelago in South-Western Alaska. Its name in the Alutiiq language is Taquka-aq. It is the largest subspecies of brown bear.- Taxonomy :Taxonomist C.H...
that appeared in several Hollywood film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
s. Previously, Bart's mother appeared in the films Grizzly
Grizzly (film)
Grizzly is a 1976 horror film directed by William Girdler. The film is about an 18-foot man-eating Grizzly bear that terrorizes a National Forest. The film stars Christopher George, Andrew Prine and Richard Jaeckel...
and Day of the Animals
Day of the Animals
The Day of the Animals is a 1977 American horror film thriller directed by William Girdler and based on a story written by Edward L. Montoro...
. Animal trainers Doug Seus and Lynne Seus of Wasatch Rocky Mountain Wildlife, Inc., in Heber City, Utah, trained Bart. He grew to 9' 6" (2.90 m) tall and weighed 1,500 pounds (680 kg) throughout his life as an adult
Adult
An adult is a human being or living organism that is of relatively mature age, typically associated with sexual maturity and the attainment of reproductive age....
.
John Candy
John Candy
John Franklin Candy was a Canadian actor and comedian. He rose to fame as a member of the Toronto branch of The Second City and its related Second City Television series, and through his appearances in comedy films such as Stripes, Splash, Cool Runnings, The Great Outdoors, Spaceballs, and Uncle...
, Dan Aykroyd
Dan Aykroyd
Daniel Edward "Dan" Aykroyd, CM is a Canadian comedian, actor, screenwriter, musician, winemaker and ufologist. He was an original cast member of Saturday Night Live, an originator of The Blues Brothers and Ghostbusters and has had a long career as a film actor and screenwriter.-Early...
, Annette Bening
Annette Bening
Annette Carol Bening is an American actress. Bening is a four-time Oscar nominee for her roles in The Grifters, American Beauty, Being Julia and The Kids Are All Right, winning Golden Globe Awards for the latter two films...
, Ethan Hawke
Ethan Hawke
Ethan Green Hawke is an American actor, writer and director. He made his feature film debut in 1985 with the science fiction movie Explorers, before making a supporting appearance in the 1989 drama Dead Poets Society which is considered his breakthrough role...
, Steven Seagal
Steven Seagal
Steven Frederic Seagal is an American action film star, producer, writer, martial artist, guitarist and reserve deputy sheriff. A 7th-dan black belt in Aikido, Seagal began his adult life as an Aikido instructor in Japan...
, Gregory Peck
Gregory Peck
Eldred Gregory Peck was an American actor.One of 20th Century Fox's most popular film stars from the 1940s to the 1960s, Peck continued to play important roles well into the 1980s. His notable performances include that of Atticus Finch in the 1962 film To Kill a Mockingbird, for which he won an...
, Tchéky Karyo
Tchéky Karyo
-Early life:Karyo was born in Istanbul to a Greek mother and Sephardic-Jewish father and raised in Paris, France. He studied drama at the Cyrano Theatre and later became a member of the Daniel Sorano Company, playing many classical roles.-Career:...
, Brad Pitt
Brad Pitt
William Bradley "Brad" Pitt is an American actor and film producer. Pitt has received two Academy Award nominations and four Golden Globe Award nominations, winning one...
, Alec Baldwin
Alec Baldwin
Alexander Rae "Alec" Baldwin III is an American actor who has appeared on film, stage, and television.Baldwin first gained recognition through television for his work in the soap opera Knots Landing in the role of Joshua Rush. He was a cast member for two seasons before his character was killed off...
and Anthony Hopkins
Anthony Hopkins
Sir Philip Anthony Hopkins, KBE , best known as Anthony Hopkins, is a Welsh actor of film, stage and television...
all appeared in films opposite the bear, the latter even twice. All of them were reportedly impressed with how well the bear was trained.
In 2000, Bart died of cancer at the age of 23 while filming the television documentary Growing Up Grizzly (2001). Brad Pitt
Brad Pitt
William Bradley "Brad" Pitt is an American actor and film producer. Pitt has received two Academy Award nominations and four Golden Globe Award nominations, winning one...
, who appeared in Legends of the Fall
Legends of the Fall
Legends of the Fall is a 1994 epic drama film based on the 1979 novella of the same title by Jim Harrison. It was directed by Edward Zwick and stars Brad Pitt, Anthony Hopkins and Aidan Quinn. The film was nominated for the Academy Awards for Best Cinematography, Best Art Direction , and Best...
with Bart, presented the piece.
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
Dr. Dolittle 2
Dr. Dolittle 2 is a 2001 American comedy film, and the theatrical sequel to the 1998 film Dr. Dolittle. The continuing tale of the doctor who can talk to the animals—this time, it's Dolittle versus Darwin when the animals launch a labor strike to protect their forest from unscrupulous human...
, along with his sister Honey-Bump Bear, and in an episode of both CSI
Crime scene investigation
Crime scene investigation may refer to:* Forensic science, science used in determining facts during legal proceedings* CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, a US television series...
and Scrubs
Scrubs (TV series)
Scrubs is an American medical comedy-drama television series created in 2001 by Bill Lawrence and produced by ABC Studios. The show follows the lives of several employees of the fictional Sacred Heart, a teaching hospital. It features fast-paced screenplay, slapstick, and surreal vignettes...
. In leg 9 of The Amazing Race 8
The Amazing Race 8
The Amazing Race 8 is the eighth installment of the reality television show The Amazing Race...
he gave teams the clue they needed to continue the race. He also had a prominent role in the 2004 film Without a Paddle
Without A Paddle
Without a Paddle is a 2004 comedy film about three reunited childhood friends going on a trip up a remote river in order to search for the body of a long lost thief and his loot...
, the 2007 film Into the Wild
Into the Wild (film)
Into the Wild is a 2007 American biographical drama film directed by Sean Penn. It is an adaptation of 1996 non-fiction book of the same name by Jon Krakauer based on the travels of Christopher McCandless across North America in the early 1990s. The film stars Emile Hirsch as McCandless with...
, and Did You Hear About the Morgans?
Did You Hear About the Morgans?
Did You Hear About the Morgans? is a 2009 American romantic comedy film directed and written by Marc Lawrence. Golden Globe winners Hugh Grant and Sarah Jessica Parker portray the film's protagonists, Paul and Meryl Morgan, a recently separated New York power couple on the verge of divorce until...
. Tank the Bear, born in January 1995, is a Grizzly bear
Grizzly Bear
The grizzly bear , also known as the silvertip bear, the grizzly, or the North American brown bear, is a subspecies of brown bear that generally lives in the uplands of western North America...
also raised by Doug and Lynne Seus. He is most notable for his role as portraying Archie the bear in Dr. Dolittle 2
Dr. Dolittle 2
Dr. Dolittle 2 is a 2001 American comedy film, and the theatrical sequel to the 1998 film Dr. Dolittle. The continuing tale of the doctor who can talk to the animals—this time, it's Dolittle versus Darwin when the animals launch a labor strike to protect their forest from unscrupulous human...
, 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
Jennifer Aniston
Jennifer Joanna Aniston is an American actress, film director, and producer, best known for her role as Rachel Green on the television sitcom Friends, a role which earned her an Emmy Award, a Golden Globe Award, and a Screen Actors Guild Award.Aniston has also enjoyed a successful film career,...
.
Filmography
- WindwalkerWindwalker (1980 film)Windwalker is a 1981 western adventure film, based on a novel by Blaine M. Yorgason, starring Trevor Howard and Nick Ramus. It was shot in various outdoor locations in Utah. To maintain authenticity to the story, the film's dialogue is subtitled in English with Cheyenne and Crow languages spoken...
(1980) - The Clan of the Cave BearThe Clan of the Cave Bear (film)The Clan of the Cave Bear is a 1986 film based on the book of the same name by Jean M. Auel and was directed by Michael Chapman.-Plot:The film stars Daryl Hannah as Ayla, a young Cro-Magnon woman who was separated from her family during an earthquake and found by a group of Neanderthals...
(1986) - The Great OutdoorsThe Great Outdoors (1988 film)The Great Outdoors is a 1988 American comedy film starring Dan Aykroyd and John Candy. Annette Bening and Stephanie Faracy co-star. Robert Prosky and Lewis Arquette have supporting roles...
(1988) - The Bear (1988)
- White FangWhite Fang (1991 film)White Fang is a 1991 American adventure film directed by Randal Kleiser, starring Ethan Hawke, Klaus Maria Brandauer and Seymour Cassel. Based on the novel White Fang by Jack London, it tells the story of the friendship between a Yukon gold hunter and a wolfdog.White Fang is portrayed by a wolfdog,...
(1991) - The Giant of Thunder MountainThe Giant of Thunder MountainThe Giant of Thunder Mountain is a 1991 drama film starring Richard Kiel and Noley Thornton . Bart the Bear also appeared in the movie. The screenplay was jointly written by Richard Kiel, Chrystle Fiedler, and Tony Lozito. It was directed by James W...
(1991) - On Deadly GroundOn Deadly GroundOn Deadly Ground is a 1994 environmental action-adventure film, co-produced, directed by and starring Steven Seagal, and co-starring in an all-star cast, Michael Caine, Joan Chen, John C. McGinley, R. Lee Ermey, Kenji Nakano, and Billy Bob Thornton in one of his early appearances. The film held a...
(1994) - Legends of the FallLegends of the FallLegends of the Fall is a 1994 epic drama film based on the 1979 novella of the same title by Jim Harrison. It was directed by Edward Zwick and stars Brad Pitt, Anthony Hopkins and Aidan Quinn. The film was nominated for the Academy Awards for Best Cinematography, Best Art Direction , and Best...
(1994) - Walking Thunder (1997)
- The Edge (1997)
- Meet the DeedlesMeet the DeedlesMeet the Deedles is a 1998 American comedy film directed by Steve Boyum and starring Paul Walker and Steve Van Wormer. It was the first theatrically released film to be produced by DIC Entertainment since 1986 . Its name is a play on the Beatles album Meet The Beatles...
(1998)
Television
- Louis L'AmourLouis L'AmourLouis Dearborn L'Amour was an American author. His books consisted primarily of Western fiction novels , however he also wrote historical fiction , science fiction , nonfiction , as well as poetry and short-story collections. Many of his stories were made into movies...
's Down the Long Hills (1986) - Lost in the BarrensLost in the BarrensLost in the Barrens is a children's novel by Farley Mowat, first published in 1956. Some editions used the title Two Against the North....
(1990) - The Young RidersThe Young RidersThe Young Riders is an American Western television series created by Ed Spielman that presents a fictionalized account of a group of young Pony Express riders based at the Sweetwater Station in the Nebraska Territory during the years leading up to the American Civil War...
- episode Decoy (1990) - In 1998, Bart made an appearance at the 70th Academy Awards70th Academy AwardsThe 70th Academy Awards were noted for their high ratings and the 11 wins obtained by the Best Picture Titanic. Billy Crystal hosted the ceremony for the sixth time, and received an Emmy award for his performance....
as part of a salute to animal actors.