THE BEAR FACTS!

   WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 27TH.
            THE BEAR FACTS!

    My wife and I went to see the movie
"The Revenant" last evening. I can truly
say I felt connected to this film!
     I don't think there's any secret in the
fact that the main character in this story
is attacked and mauled by a bear. That
alone had me thinking I had seen this
story before. And I was right!
     A similar movie "Man In The
Wilderness", staring Richard Harris,
was produced in 1971.
     What I didn't know then was that
both movies are loosely based on the life
of Hugh Glass, a Pennsylvania born
fur trapper and frontiersman who was
attacked by a bear and was left for dead
by his companions!
     I know another Pennsylvania guy
who was attacked by a bear. In fact, I
saw it!
     Back in the early 60's when I was
working at WTHT in Hazleton the
folks who ran the Hazleton Drive In
Theater brought a gentleman who
trains bears for the movies to our
studios to do an interview about his
appearance at the theater that night.
     He was accompanied by "Rosie"
a 200 plus pound bear that was
jammed into a control room with
2 DJ's. the station and Drive In
Theater Manager, and the
trainer. When claustrophobia got
to the animal it reached by biting
my colleague Frank Merman on
his upper thigh!
     I'll never forget telling the
hospital nurse that I was delivering
the victim of a bear attack. You
will please note I didn't leave him
for dead!
     Nor will I forget my assignment
that night! I was the MC for the
trainer, Rosie, and a second bear
he brought to the drive in! 
     Fortunately Frank survive the
bite and I survived the show
without a scratch!
     Hope any future encounters
and in the movies and that all
your NEWS is good!

(Frank Murman/Post BearAttack)