| 1 | The beginning |
Unlike some showbiz bears, Bart wasn’t rescued from the wild. He was born in Baltimore zoo on January 19, 1977, and at the age of 5 weeks, weighing 1 pound, he was purchased by film industry animal trainers Doug and Lynn Sues. A husband and wife team, they made their start in 1971 by training wolves, before expanding to racoons, foxes and cougars. The shift to bears was logical, and Bart was shipped to Salt Lake City via air freight. Doug and Lynn drove to the airport to meet their new companion, armed with bottles of high fat feeding formula to kickstart his growth right away (which they’d personally developed).
In 1977, it much easier to adopt a bear compared to the modern era of tighter regulations. When they arrived home, they petted Bart all night like a newborn baby. Doug apparently dove into training Bart with all the energy he could muster, becoming consumed by the obsession to the point of madness. Lynne, meanwhile, acted more like a calming mother figure. It was a simple praise and reward system, but according to Lynn it was already clear that Bart was “special”.
| 2 | The early years |
Like any actor, Bart the Bear had to work his way up the greasy pole of showbusiness. Of course, being a bear with superhuman strength, he got to the top of that pole faster than anyone else, and his acting debut was in the 1981 film Windwalker, a Native American themed Western. His role? Simply “the bear”. His moment comes when the titular Windwalker character played by Trevor Howard wakes up in his tent, only to find a huge, clawed hand draped over his shoulder. A battle with a terrifying wild bear commences, in the unpredictable wilderness of the American west.
A predictable role for a cinematic bear then, and things got worse by Clan Of The Cave Bear in 1986. The film is a prehistoric epic set 35,000 years ago, but Bart is again in savage beast mode, stumbling around a cave and killing one primitive human who decided that a 4 inch knife would work against a cave bear. Bart’s character then reaches a sorry end himself after two caveman pin him down to the rocky floor and start stabbing him repeatedly. That said, Bart’s performance was stellar, particularly the death scene.
Things improved slightly in Benji the Hunted from 1987, about a dog surviving in the wilderness of Oregon. This time, Bart arrives on the scene to give chase to Benji (the hunted), before losing interest and surviving till the end of the film. His superbly performed role was credited simply as “bear”. By 1987, Bart’s career was going full steam ahead.
| 3 | Bart was truly gigantic |
Even if he wasn’t “the biggest bear” as occasionally claimed, because what would be the chances that the largest bear ever happened to become a Hollywood actor, Bart was a true giant. Bart stood 9.6 feet tall on his hind legs, and weighed 1500 pounds.
It’s all down to his Kodiak island origins. Situated on the west coast of Alaska, its bears are famous for becoming massively tall and fat. It’s a combination of natural genetics and the bountiful supply of salmon swimming around the island’s shores, meaning that they never go hungry during their teenage growth spurts, making it a bona fide bear paradise. Kodiak bears are second only to polar bears in overall bear size, significantly larger than the average grizzly bear at 600 pounds and 6.5 feet. Bart didn’t quite match the largest wild Kodiak ever recorded, a 1656lb bear shot by hunters in 1892, but was significantly larger than the average bear roaming Kodiak Island (1000lb/8ft).
At 5 weeks old, Bart weighed only 5 pounds, far less than the average human baby, but he soon caught up – big time. Take a look at this video from the 1998 Oscars hosted by Michael Myers, where Bart’s head appears to be the size of a small boulder.
| 4 | The Edge performance |
Happily for Bart, he never achieved the unwanted status of washed up actor. Perhaps his most riveting performance came just 3 years before his sad death. “The Edge”, released in 1997, concerned a billionaire played by Sir Anthony Hopkins who teams up with wildlife photographer Alec Baldwin to shoot a documentary, who end up lost in the Alaskan wilderness after their plane crash lands.
After establishing camp, they find themselves pursued by a gigantic bear, portrayed with vivid intensity by seasoned showbiz veteran Bart the Bear. Unfortunately, he ends up impaled on a spear, but according to Richard Corliss’ review for Time magazine: “Bart the grizzly, who starred in 1989’s ‘The Bear’ deserves a Best Supporting Actor Award for his ferocious work“.
In total, Bart has 4 minutes, 37 seconds of screen time, but his presence looms large over the film. The film crew had to get inventive with the practical effects, as one scene involves Hopkins and company crossing a gaping ravine on a log, before a hungry Bart the Bear appears and pounces. In reality, a small wooden log is far too fragile for a bear’s weight. Instead, the special effects team constructed a lifelike artificial log designed to hold all 1500 of Bart’s pounds.
Similarly, the chase scenes didn’t actually involve Bart running for miles. The trainer utilised an “on your marks, get set, go” system where multiple short dashes were spliced together to create the illusion of a marathon.
| 5 | Never hurt a fly |
The only time Bart the Bear ever hurt a human being was when Jean-Jacques Annaud entered his cage against the explicit orders of the trainers. Annaud was directing the 1988 film The Bear and wanted to pose for publicity pictures, but instead, Bart the Bear became confused, and took a hasty swipe which resulted in claw marks to Annaud’s backside. These wounds had to be drained with a tube for 2 whole months. Nevertheless, Annaud retained the greatest respect for Bart the Bear and didn’t hold a grudge, calling him “the John Wayne of bears”. Bart repaid him by giving the performance of his life. In fact, 50 bear actors were auditioned for “The Bear” and Bart was deemed to be the best one, so properly trained he was.
During the filming of the Edge in 1997, the only injuries were nothing to do with bears. Instead, Sir Anthony Hopkins fell into a frigid Alaskan river and had to be airlifted to hospital for hypothermia treatment. Later, he fell and slipped a disk, leaving him in pain for the rest of the shoot, but Bart the Bear never once hurt a soul.
Alec Baldwin feared that Bart was so docile and well behaved that the film wouldn’t work, that the atmosphere of terror would be impossible to create. He argued that Bart should send the director Lee Tamahori a basket of fruit every day for their skill in making him seem so aggressive.
| 6 | Oscar controversy |
One classic story surrounding Bart is that the Academy Awards came under serious pressure to nominate him for best supporting actor in 1988. His performance in The Bear was so astonishing that its quality had to be recognised, his ardent supporters claimed. Nevertheless, the academy sniffily claimed that only human beings may be given a reward, a member of the homo sapiens species. The nomination slammed headfirst into a wall of bureaucracy. In response, bears have boycotted the Oscars ever since…
However, Bart did get his “revenge” at the 1998 Oscars, hosted by Michael Myers when he presented the award for best special effects editing. After some words from Myers, the curtain was drawn back to reveal a gigantic-looking Bart sitting calmly with an envelope in his mouth. As Myers approached, Bart dropped the envelope in what trainer Doug Sues later said was a practical joke. Quickly, he scooped up the envelope and handed it to Myers, who had a big fat smile on his face, but was probably terrified inside. The whole performance was part of an idea to recognise animal actors and their contribution throughout Hollywood’s history. No confirmation on whether Bart the bear ran riot backstage eating all the food though…
| 7 | Toughest role to date |
Fans of Bart the Bear are forever divided over whether The Edge or The Bear is his defining moment as a motion picture actor. Released in 1988 and set during the 19th century, French director Jean-Jacques Annaud conceived of an epic wilderness adventure featuring a bear which adopts an orphaned young cub, stalked by a hunter who gradually recognises the value of animal life. It was perfect for the increasingly skilful Bart the bear.
However, he required heavy training for the role, because in the wild, it’s highly unnatural for a male bear to care for small cub, even one related by blood. In fact, the natural tendency is to commit cannibalism. The ingenious solution was to gift Bart a teddy bear the exact size and colour of the cub. The trainers waited patiently, calculating the precise moment, before finally introducing Bart to the real bear, which to their relief, he greeted affectionately.
In the end, the entire production hinged on Bart the Bear. Jim Henson of The Muppet Show fame was hired to create 5 animatronic bears to stand in for Bart in scenes when 100% lifelike movement was less important. However, after transportation to the film set on the slopes of the Italian Dolomites, it became obvious that the animatronics didn’t resemble the actual bears, and they ultimately made up only seconds of screen time.
| 8 | Lived a long life |
In October 1998, Bart was diagnosed with cancer of the left paw and had two operations to remove the tumours. However, when the cancer returned, Bart gradually lost his strength and appetite, to the extent that he refused even pain medication.
In May 2000, Bart was euthanised after a happy life and an illustrious career. He was buried on the farm of his beloved trainers Doug and Lynn Sues.
Till the end, Bart the Bear continued to be a force for good in the world by becoming the spokesbear of the Animal Cancer Centre of Colorado State University. He was also the spokesbear for the Vital Ground Foundation, which protects endangered wildlife across the habitats of the Rocky Mountains, Kodiak Island and Gobi desert in China.
| 9 | Celebrity buddies |
During the making of the Edge, it’s said that Sir Anthony Hopkins formed a close bond with Bart. The actors had previously collaborated on Legends Of The Fall in 1997, a historical drama set in the wilderness of Montana (Bart’s character survived this film), also starring Brad Pitt.
Hopkins would often sit inside Bart’s enclosure and “talk with him” for hours. Backstage footage even shows Hopkins wrestling Bart, having the time of his life. Whenever possible, he would star in the scenes with Bart directly in place of a stunt double. According to Lynn Sues, wife of Doug Sues the trainer: “Tony Hopkins was absolutely brilliant with Bart…He acknowledged and respected him like a fellow actor“.
The bond was so strong that Sir Hopkins became active with the same Vital Ground Foundation that Bart was a spokesbear for (founded by his trainers Doug and Lynn Sues). In 2000, he narrated this video encouraging Americans to help preserve the nation’s vast wilderness areas. In 2007, Brad Pitt joined the Vital Ground mission, having experienced the consummate professionalism of Bart himself while filming Legends of the Fall in 1997. He too released a video, discussing the dramatically decreased grizzly bear numbers in the lower 48 states, and asking viewers for donations, lending some star power to the bear-protecting mission.
| 10 | Bart the bear 2 |
Just a few weeks before Bart died in 2000, Doug Sues adopted another young bear cub. This bear quickly proved to have the same gentle temperament as Bart, and was thus named Bart the Bear 2. This Bart is almost as gigantic as the original, standing at 1300 pounds in weight and 8.6ft in length. However, there’s one thing Bart 2 had that his predecessor didn’t – a sister! Her name is Honeybump, and the two bears were orphaned at 1 year old when their mother was shot by hunters close to Paxton, Alaska.
Like the original Bart, they were given to Doug Sues by the Alaska Fish and Game Authority that collected them from the harsh Alaskan interior, where miraculously, they had survived alone for 2 days. The two Barts were unrelated, as Bart the 1st originated from Kodiak Island, but since 2005, Bart 2 has been finishing what his predecessor started.
One of the highlights of Bart 2’s career so far is Into The Grizzly Maze (2015) starring Billy Bob Thornton. It’s a typical bear attack film, where two estranged brothers reunite in Alaska and, you guessed it, go for a 2 day trek into the wilderness. The twist is that unusually, the famous actors get killed off before the jobbing B-listers. It gained atrocious reviews, but Bart 2’s performance was widely acknowledged as the highlight of the film. He was even granted a name in the credits: “red machine”.
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