Pulled the plug on his wife

In the TV series that made him famous, Dan Haggerty portrayed a character who lived a solitary life and was accustomed to fending for himself. But the producers actually toyed with the idea of creating a wife for him.

In an interview, Haggerty revealed how the network conducted a poll among the audience to determine whether they wanted his character to have a romantic interest, and the audience voted against it. The reason the audience didn’t want him to have a wife or family seemed to stem from idolizing him as a monk or priest figure, someone who would take care of anyone and everyone he came across.

In real life, Haggerty tied the knot twice. His first marriage was to Diane Rooker in 1959. The couple exchanged vows in Las Vegas when they were both 17 years old.

Dan and Diane attended school in the same Los Angeles suburb. Their paths crossed when Diane was crowned homecoming queen and Dan stood out as a star football player at a rival school.