I get a lot of e-mails from people asking me about television shows, made-for-TV movies or miniseries they remember from years or decades past. I try to answer each question as best I can. Every now and then I like to dig through my inbox and pull out a few choice e-mails to answer here at Television Obscurities for everyone to read. Keep reading for today’s questions and answers.

That would be CBS’s It’s About Time, a one season wonder that aired from 1966 to 1967. I’ve written an article about It’s About Time where you can read all about the show, watch video clips and listen to the theme song.

The short answer is, yes, Gene Edwards played Grizzly Adams in a movie called Grizzly Adams: The Legend Continues (also known as The Legend of Grizzly Adams). The long answer is decidedly more complex. According to the Internet Movie Database the very first person to portray Grizzly Adams was John Huston, who appeared as Grizzly in 1972’s The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean (he also directed the film). Dan Haggerty would play Grizzly on the big screen in 1974 and on television from 1977 to 1978; he would reprise the role in a made-for-TV movie released in 1982.

So how does Gene Edwards fit into the picture? For starters, he was Haggerty’s stunt double during the production of The Life and Times of Grizzly Adams. On May 12th, 1987 United Press International reported that actor Gene Edwards and Don Shanks were at the Cannes Film Festival in France promoting their new movie, The Legend of Grizzly Adams, which would hit theaters in the United States in August [1].

According to the UPI article, the film was produced by Shapiro Entertainment and had been filmed in Utah and Washington. Edwards stated that “I love the character and love to play it. It comes naturally because I was raised with animals on a dairy farm in Wisconsin, north of Green Bay” [2]. Shanks, who played Nakoma in the 1977-1978 series, explained the appeal of Grizzly Adams: “Kids don’t have heroes anymore unless it’s somebody who shoots somebody or wrecks a car. Adams is a good, wholesome hero and I think that’s what the public wants” [3].

The two wore their costumes and posed with a hired bear on the beach. Unfortunately, the bear was rather tame but apparently was willing to wear a Grizzly Adams t-shirt for the cameras. As if that wasn’t strange enough, The Advertiser (an Australian publication, I believe) reported two years later on May 18th, 1989 that because Dan Haggerty was on probation for drug related problems, a new television movie currently being filmed would instead start Gene Edwards, his stunt double. Titled Grizzly Adams, The Legend Lives On, the movie was said to be in production in Florida and would go on the air later that year [4].

Thus, it appears the earlier UPI article was wrong about why Gene Edwards and Don Shanks were at Cannes. They were promoting the idea for a new Grizzly Adams film rather than one that had already been completed. Supporting this is a June 29th article in The Orlando Sentinel reporting that Grizzly Adams – The Legend Lives On had been filmed in Arizona during May and was currently undergoing post-production in Florida [5]. It was the first movie for independent Bulls on the Run Productions Inc. and would be ready for review by distributors at the start of August. A sequel was already being planned, however, and there was talk of a television series.

On December 5th, the paper reported that Bulls on the Run was planning to team up with a Soviet production company, Paritet Films, to make a sequel, in a way, to Grizzly Adams – The Legend Lives On called Misha – The Lost Son of Grizzly Adams [6]. The plot of the movie would follow Misha, the son of Grizzly Adams and the daughter of a Russian sea captain, as he searches for his father in the United States. The sea captain, who didn’t approve of his daughter’s marriage, took her and Misha back to Russia.

To promote the new movie, Soviet Children’s Fund would gather 2,000 orphaned or handicapped children in two Soviet cities in front of a hundred journalists (half of which would fly in from the United States); a portion of profits from the movie would be donated to the charity [7]. But even as plans for Misha – The Lost Son of Grizzly Adams went forward, Grizzly Adams – The Legend Lives On had yet to be released. Quest Entertainment Co. bought the worldwide rights to that film in mid-December [8].

In May of 1990, Paritet Films and Washington Films Associates (its agent in the United State) sued producer Thomas Tedrow, a partner in Bulls on the Run, for lying about having created the character of Misha, which meant the money spent promoting the film was a wash [9]. Tedrow insisted he was responsible for creating Misha and had the documents to prove it. But Paritet cut him out of the proposed movie deal and hoped to proceed without him (Tedrow threatened to sue if they did) [10].

Misha – The Lost Son of Grizzly Adams was never made. And as far as I can tell, Grizzly Adams – The Legend Lives On was never released in theaters, instead going direct to video in 1990. If anyone can say otherwise, please let me know. I’ve written an article about The Life and Times of Grizzly Adams that you can read here.

Works Cited:
1 Herman, Arthur. “Bear flogs film.” United Press International. 12 May 1987: PM Cycle.
2 Ibid.
3 Ibid.
4 Cullen, Jenny. [No Title]. Advertiser. 18 May 1989: [Page Unknown].
5 Hinman, Catherine. “Grizzly Film Has Winter Park Ties.” Orlando Sentinel. 29 Jun. 1989: E.2.
6 Hinman, Catherine. “Grizzly Goes Hunting on Soviet Bear’s Turf.” Orlando Sentinel. 5 Dec. 1989: E.1.
7 Ibid.
8 Strother, Susan G. “Show Business.” Orlando Sentinel. 18 Dec. 1989: 22.
9 Quinn, Christopher. “Russians Sue Writer in Spat Over Movie.” Orlando Sentinel. 10 May 1990: B.1.
10 Quinn, Christopher. “Misha Is Alive, Ready for Filming, Producers Say.” Orlando Sentinel. 22 May 1990: B.1.