Talk:Dan Haggerty

Birth Name
The Los Angeles Times says

"An earlier version of this text incorrectly stated that Dan Haggerty was born Gene Jajonski".

The Oconto County Time Herald says

"He was born Gene Jajonski on Nov. 19, 1941, in Pound, Wisconsin".

The Hollywood Walk of Fame website says

"He was born in Hollywood, growing up amid the Southern California bodybuilding lifestyle. Online biographies and newspapers suggest that he was born Gene Jajonski in Pound, WI."

In 1978, People magazine wrote

"Dan, too, was a renegade as a kid, repeatedly running away from the military school where his parents (who separated when he was 3) had dispatched him. Finally, at 16, he settled with his Hollywood technician dad and stepmom in Burbank. [Working] as an ironworker and then a leather craftsman (he still sews his own TV costumes), Haggerty raised his family, which grew from two daughters to a menagerie once he moved to a little ranch in Malibu Canyon."

Does anyone have a reliable source on this?

While checking these references, I also found a page for "NPC Bodybuilding Competitor Daniel Hagerty". Not the same spelling, but we should be aware that there may be some confusion. Dan Haggerty did appear in Muscle Beach Party (1964) as "Biff", so it is pretty certain that he was a bodybuilder. He can be seen here: at 1:15; Dan is on the left wearing the white tank top that says "Biff" on it. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Guy Macon (talk • contribs) 00:57, 19 June 2013 (UTC)
 * The "real name" Jajosnki thing is highly questionable and unconfirmed, with multiple sources saying different things about it. Something like that should not be inserted unless it is firmly established. Kindzmarauli (talk) 20:10, 15 January 2016 (UTC)

Birth place
Where was Dan Haggerty born? Some sources mentioned Los Angeles, California; other sources mentioned Pound, Wisconsin. Very confusing. Thank you-RFD (talk) 16:07, 17 January 2016 (UTC)
 * LA Times and NY Times, which IMO are the most reliable, both give Los Angeles. I think the Pound, WI place came from IMDB, which appears to have spread through to other obits. Connormah (talk) 00:44, 18 January 2016 (UTC)


 * I removed Dan Haggerty's name from the Pound, Wisconsin article with the comment that readers should look at the talk page of this article. Many thanks-RFD (talk) 12:42, 18 January 2016 (UTC)
 * This Los Angeles Times article has his birthplace at Pound, WI. I also heard that he was originally from Pound on a large radio station fairly nearby (but that's not as reliable). I'm confused. How can the same newspaper have him listed as being from different places?? Did he live in Pound for a short time before he was 3 years old? Royalbroil Alt  18:40, 25 January 2016 (UTC)
 * It's not established as Los Angeles. The article has been edited to reflect the two locations provided by multiple reliable sources. Kindzmarauli (talk) 19:03, 25 January 2016 (UTC)
 * I've never seen two location listed before but it makes sense in this case. Well done and thank you! Royalbroil Alt  18:14, 26 January 2016 (UTC)

Easy Rider controversy and cocaine / tax evasion issues
Not to speak ill of the dead, but is there some reason his 1985 arrest and conviction for selling cocaine to an undercover officer and his tax evasion issues the same year are not mentioned? It was a big deal at the time because of his "family friendly" TV image as Grizzly Adams. Seems like from an NPOV standpoint, these things should be mentioned as they come into play in later articles about his motorcycle sales as well. Refs I found:

http://articles.latimes.com/1985-04-05/local/me-27248_1_officers-entrapped

https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1346&dat=19850607&id=k7kwAAAAIBAJ&sjid=1fsDAAAAIBAJ&pg=2807,2592804&hl=en

Also the article should mention his involvement in the last few years in the controversy of the authenticity of the "Easy Rider" Captain America motorcycle. He was called on to authenticate which one was the "real" one and which was the replica, after he had apparently sold two separate bikes claiming that each was the "real" one that he had rebuilt. Here's two refs.

http://www.latimes.com/business/autos/la-fi-hy-uneasy-riders-20141017-story.html

http://www.maxim.com/entertainment/battle-over-captain-america-chopper-easy-rider

TheBlinkster (talk) 04:57, 18 January 2016 (UTC)
 * WP:UNDUE ? Kindzmarauli (talk) 18:52, 25 January 2016 (UTC)

Birth year?
Looks like there is also a question mark over his year of birth (in addition to his place of birth and legal name). Three of the obituaries cited give his date of birth as 19 November 1942, not 1941 as the article here currently states. It could be just a coincidence, but FamilySearch has a record of a David Francis Haggerty born in Los Angeles on 19 November 1942, mother's maiden name Leonhardt. Could this be our man? Muzilon (talk) 10:43, 18 April 2017 (UTC)
 * Different sources report it as either 1941 or 1942, just as different sources report his birth place as either LA or a town in Wisconsin. I edited the article to better show this discrepancy. The Familysearch research can't be used, unfortunately, as it's not a secondary published source and would probably be considered original research. EnPassant (talk) 16:06, 25 October 2018 (UTC)

Birth place (again), LA Times is an unreliable source
You should decide what to choose, 2 sources out of 4 said it was Pound, while the other 2 said Los Angeles. I've removed the myfoxboston link, since it didn't tell the birth date directly (only age). So now 2 sources out of 3 say that it was Los Angeles.

LA Times isn't a reliable source: MarMi wiki (talk) 00:09, 6 December 2022 (UTC)
 * Birth place: Pound, LA (and nearly with the same date)
 * 41, few months later he's 43 (I'm assuming it's the age?)
 * 1975, "working on the film “The Christmas Tree,” which starred William Holden" - that film had premiere in 1969...