Zoo Bear Once Was Stand-in For Television`s `Gentle Ben` - tribunedigital-sunsentinel
Zoo Bear Once Was Stand-in For Television`s `Gentle Ben`
June 10, 1985|By Maria Goodavage, Staff Writer
WEST PALM BEACH — Dennis Weaver has plenty of stories to tell about his show business career, but thanks to a bear who has since retired to the Dreher Park Zoo, they pale in comparison to the adventures he had in the Gentle Ben television series.
``He was a big hunk of bear, and those kind of bears can push you over with a tap of the paw or if they hug you too hard,`` Weaver said. ``Before I knew it, I was on the ground with a big ol` bear on top of me when Hammer decided to get frisky.``
Hammer, who delighted audiences as the black bear who performed the water scenes in the popular CBS TV series that aired from September 1967 to August 1969, has been locked behind bars at the zoo since he arrived in 1969. Living at the zoo hasn`t exactly been a grisly experience for Hammer, but he`s no longer getting the star treatment he became used to as a Gentle Ben stand-in. The bear seen most was called Bruno.
Instead of letting himself sink into a state of self-pity, he immerses himself in the stuff that made him famous -- water.
``He loves water so much that we can`t keep his pool filled because he sits in it all day,`` zookeeper David Daeumler said. ``He`ll sit there with his nose submerged and he`ll blow air out of his nose and just watch the bubbles.
``He`ll stay in the water so long that his feet crack and then he has to walk on the side of his paws. Bears enjoy water to a certain extent, but Hammer overreacts to it for some reason,`` Daeumler said.
The portly 20-year-old bear rocketed to stardom as Weaver`s sidekick, but when the TV show succumbed to mediocre ratings, Hammer`s chances for continued fame bit the dust. Weaver`s career continues to soar, but he has not forgotten the bear who provided him with more than one unforgettable moment.
``That bear and I had several adventures together. He had some kind of personality,`` said Weaver, who took time from a cross-country singing tour to reminisce about the days of Gentle Ben.
``He also had some kind of left hook,`` Weaver said.
It turns out that the fictional Gentle Ben -- who, like Lassie, was played by several animals, depending on the stunt -- may not have been so gentle after all. At least not when the part called for Hammer, the water bear.
``He never meant to let his strength get in the way. He just didn`t know how strong he was, and he loved to play,`` said Weaver, who portrayed a game warden, Tom Wedloe, in the Florida Everglades. In the show, Wedloe`s son, Mark, rescued Ben from the same hunter who killed Ben`s mother and was about to shoot a much bigger Ben for his meat more than a year later.
Wedloe and his son adopted Ben, who by chance ended up participating in most of the game warden`s adventures. While Hammer`s acting ability looks picture- perfect on the TV set, the out-takes of the series, which was filmed on location in Florida, probably would show him constantly creating minor disturbances.
Weaver says that he doesn`t know who caused more problems on one shoot -- him or Hammer.
``The producer, Ivan Tors, thought that if the media ever found out what happened, the whole series would be down the drain. I don`t know why he felt that way, but none of this ever leaked to the press. Until now,`` Weaver said. ``I think it`s safe to say it won`t hurt our ratings now.``
He said that one day the entire cast was on an airboat, which he had just learned to operate. With Hammer on board, the boat got a little heavy. When Weaver tried to turn the boat around in deeper water, the whole thing sank.
``Everyone jumped out. Clint Howard (who played Mark) had a chain around his stomach, so he`s the first person I tried to help out of the water. After that, the producer was shouting, `Get the bear!` so I started after him.
``He was paddling around having a good time. When I went to grab him, he must have thought I was playing because he just reached out and swatted me. He finally paddled to land,`` Weaver said.
All the bears on the show were declawed and most of their teeth were removed, so Weaver said no one ever got seriously injured.
Although Hammer hardly had a tooth, that didn`t stop his sweet tooth from influencing most of his actions, Weaver said. Hammer was partial to sweets and could be encouraged to do anything on the set by the promise of a doughnut, a soda pop or honey.
But there was one scene where Hammer had to eat hot dogs. ``There was no way around it; it was part of the script,`` according to Weaver.
``I thought he would love them. He really had a bottomless pit, at least for sweets. For some reason, he wouldn`t go near the hot dogs. Nothing anyone would do could get him to eat them.``
Eventually, Weaver said, they had to use another bear.
Weaver said he may have looked like Hammer`s best friend on the set, but he never got too friendly with the bear.
``I only hung out with him while I was working. It was a little difficult to be around him in my time off, especially when I was downwind, if you get my drift,`` he said.
Hammer has changed a little since the show went off the air, Daeumler said. He`s fatter now because, when he isn`t reveling in his pool or walking with his cagemate, Suzy, he either sleeps or eats. Honey is still one of his favorite sweets, but Daeumler says doughnuts and soda are out of his diet. Sweet potatoes and avocados, however, are among his favorite foods.
Daeumler hopes the zoo can raise enough money to expand the bears` cage soon so they can get back into shape.
``The cage is one of the worst in the zoo. It`s small and they don`t get to exercise at all, so Hammer has really packed on some weight,`` he said.
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