The Unofficial Home
Page for Bart the Bear,
Great Grizzly Actor, 1977 - Present
Pictured above: Bart The Bear with his trainer and drama coach, Doug Seus.
Formerly, the Vital Ground Foundation made available a short biography of Bart on its Web site. Unfortunately for Bart's fans, this bio is no longer published there. However, here are some excerpts of the bio to give you an idea of Bart's special history:
"Bart was born to captive, orphaned, wild bears at a U.S. Zoo. The Zoo was unable to keep the 1 1/2 lb baby Bart, and he could not be returned to the wild. When he was 5 weeks old Doug and Lynne decided to take him. They bottle fed the 6 lb baby in their kitchen until he was 11 months old and weighed 300 lbs. Too big for the kitchen, they built a special bear house for Bart at their ranch.
"That was 20 years ago and now Bart is a fully grown bear. He's 9' 6", weighs 1480 lbs and instead of a bottle eats about 60 lbs of food a day. Grizzlies in captivity, or those that make it past 15 in the wild, live about 30 to 35 years. Bart is in his prime. No one knows how long a bear like Bart can live protected from the rigors of the wild, perhaps 40 or 45 years.
"Doug and Lynne's relationship with Bart is based on love and affection, creating life long bonds of friendship. When Doug and Bart are working on a 'behavior' such as 'play dead' or 'peekaboo' Doug is asking Bart to act. No force, drugs or tranquilizers are ever used. Doug and Lynne's method is based on rewards. What works? Pesto, apples, Hawaiian Punch (yes really), and carrots.
"Bart the bear lives with Doug and Lynne Seus at the Wasatch Rocky Mountain Wildlife Ranch. With their children, Sausha, Jed, and Clint they run the ranch and are Bart's acting coaches. Now that Bart is fully grown, Doug and Lynne are busy training the next generation. The kids are Tank, and Bubba. Tank and Bubba are now 2 yrs 9 months old, 6' 2" tall, and weigh a mere 475 pounds.
"Besides bears Doug and Lynne train wolves and dogs. They have all been seen extensively throughout the movie world. Doug and Lynne often donate the use of their trained animals for educational and conservation appeals."
He's A Very Good Bear, Praise
for Bart
Pictured above: Bart The Bear presents the Best Achievement in Sound Effects Editing Oscar on February 10th, 1998.
"They don't give Oscars for best supporting bear, and Bart is probably not on the American Film Institute's short list for a life achievement award. But his performance here [in The Edge], the capstone of an illustrious career, is a milestone in ursine acting. Here's hoping the big guy didn't have to work for scale." - Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times
"Bart the Bear of 'The Bear' fame was a big hit with me. At least I believed he was a bear." - Biff, Movie Raters
"Bart...gives the most realistic performance in 'The Edge'. You've heard the expression, 'This job is a real bear.' Well, Bart is a real bear. And, to his credit, he's completely believable as a real bear." - Mark Dawidziak, Ohio.com
"Bart is the John Wayne of bear actors," Lee Tamahori, quoted in Jam
"The uncanny skills of both the bear and his trainer make 'The Edge's' fight scenes rank among the most convincing and terrifying animal-man confrontations ever put on film.," Michael Wilmington, quoted in Chicago Tribune
the uncanny skills of both the bear and his trainer make "The Edge's" fight scenes rank among the most convincing and terrifying animal-man confrontations ever put on film."Bart...growls ferociously and moves with fierce single-mindedness. You definitely would not want to be around him when he's angry or hungry, which is practically all the time." - Philip Wuntch, Dallas Morning News
Bart the Bear's Movies
Bart has appeared in TV shows, commercials and in all these movies.
More Links
To learn more about Bart the Bear, check out these cool sites:
Vital Ground - Bart's favorite charity
Bart: Poet, Lover, Omnivore, Friend (Outside Magazine)
Move Over Babe: An Exclusive Interview with Bart the Bear (Nuvo-Online)
Or surf these related sites:
Yahoo! Animal Entertainers category - I'm still waiting to see Bart listed there!
![bearxing2[1].gif (538 bytes)](bearxing21.gif)
What's his greatest performance of all?
If you're a fan of Bart the Bear, please sign this Guestbook.
Tell the whole world which performance you think is Bart's greatest. Since this Web page debuted in February, 1999, dozens of Bart's fans have found it and shared their love for this fine animal with the world. Thank you all for visiting.
View Bart's Guestbook
If you have the means, may I suggest you make a donation to Vital Ground, Bart's favorite charity. Vital Ground is a non-profit foundation devoted to habitat conservation for grizzly bears and their habitat in Montana. If you go to the Vital Ground site, you can order Bart T-shirts and get autographed photos (by Bart's trainers - not Bart, I assume, although I'd donate more to get a paw print!).
One more thing. Some folks have asked for more photos of Bart. I'm afraid I don't have any (I'm just a fan of his). If any of Bart's fans out there have any pictures or additional information about The Big Guy, feel free to send me an e-mail, and I'll share what I can with the world, or post your pictures of Bart on the Web and I'll add a link to them.
You are visitor
since 2/22/99
Original content is © Copyright, 1999, by Joe Perez.
Last updated on August 24, 1999.
Photos of Bart the Bear, and the name 'Bart the Bear', may be trademarks or copyrighted by their owner(s), who bear (pun intended) no responsibility for this Web site.
