Casey Anderson | |
---|---|
Born | |
Alma mater | Montana State University |
Spouses | |
Children | 3 |
Career | |
Show | Expedition Wild |
Network | National Geographic Channel, Nat Geo WILD, and syndication |
Show | America the Wild with Casey Anderson |
Network | Nat Geo WILD |
Country | U.S.A. |
Website | caseyanderson |
Casey Anderson is an American filmmaker, wildlife naturalist, and television presenter known for translating human relationships with the natural world and wild animals to various audiences. He has been a host and executive producer of the Nat Geo WILD channel television series, Expedition Wild and America the Wild with Casey Anderson, and for raising Brutus the Bear, a grizzly bear that he rescued and adopted as a newborn cub. [1] Brutus and Anderson have appeared in many films, documentaries, television commercials, and live educational shows across the United States.
Casey Anderson was born and raised in East Helena, Montana. He is a fifth-generation Montanan and was interested in animals from an early age. [2] [3] He attended Montana State University in Bozeman, Montana, in 1995 and studied wildlife biology. [4]
After college, Anderson worked for the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks as a wildlife rehabilitation technician, and for several privately owned wildlife parks as an animal keeper and trainer. [4] In 2002, he adopted an orphaned grizzly bear cub, Brutus, from an overcrowded wildlife park named Yellowstone Bear World [5] where the cub was destined to spend his life in the park; the bear lived in a sanctuary Anderson built just for him near Anderson's home, until February 2021 when he died at 19 years old. [6]
Anderson is the founder of Montana Grizzly Encounter Rescue and Educational Sanctuary in Bozeman, Montana. [2] Anderson founded the sanctuary in 2004 as a place to raise Brutus, rehabilitate grizzlies rescued from bad captivity situations, [7] and aid in the study of grizzlies. Brutus lived at the sanctuary, along with several other grizzlies. [8]
Anderson served as the handler for Brutus, who has appeared in a number of television commercials, documentaries, and films. Anderson wrote a book, The Story of Brutus: My Life With Brutus the Bear and the Grizzlies of North America (Pegasus Books, 2010), about his relationship with Brutus, the founding of the Montana Grizzly Encounter sanctuary, and his observations about life in the wild and the preservation of bears.
Anderson has been involved in film and television production since the 1990s. He worked as an actor, crew member, animal wrangler, and/or consultant for several programs produced by syndication company Associated Television International (ATI), including leading two expeditions to Botswana's Okavango Delta for the ATI series Untamed!. [4] [9]
In 2006, Anderson starred along with his bear Brutus in "Expedition Grizzly," an episode of the documentary series Wild for National Geographic Channel. The episode, for which Anderson was also associate producer, focused on his relationship with Brutus and a year-long project they undertook to observe and understand the habits of wild grizzly bears living in Yellowstone National Park. He subsequently became the regular host and producer for the long-running wildlife documentary series Expedition Wild, which has covered many different animals including mountain lions, wolves, wolverines, and several species of bears. Some episodes have also focused on the wildlife of particular areas such as Yellowstone and the Grand Canyon. Originally airing on the National Geographic Channel and later on its sister station Nat Geo WILD, Expedition Wild has been widely syndicated, including on ABC as part of Litton's Weekend Adventure , on The CW, and online via Hulu.
In 2013, Anderson became the executive producer and host of a new Nat Geo WILD documentary series, America the Wild with Casey Anderson, which featured Anderson traveling across North America, focusing on the particular wildlife and ecosystems of different regions. Episodes of America the Wild have also aired in syndication under the Expedition Wild title.
In the spring of 2015, Casey established VisionHawk Films, [10] [11] a production company based in Bozeman, Mt. [12] His company has produced three films with the Smithsonian Channel, "The Mountain Lion and Me", [13] "Into the Puma Triangle", [14] and "Growing Up Grizzly: a tale of two orphans". [15] With VisionHawk Films [16] Casey has been nominated for a Primetime Emmy in 2022 for Cinematography with Legends of Ice Mountain [17]
Anderson was formerly an executive producer and host at Grizzly Creek Films, the production company that was responsible for creating the series Expedition Wild and America the Wild. [18] As of July 2015, Anderson is currently an executive producer and part owner of VisionHawk Films, a new Montana-based film production company specializing in epic Natural World History filmmaking. [16]
Anderson frequently appears as himself on reality television shows, particularly those involving nature and animals. He was a featured survival expert on the Discovery Channel reality show Dude, You're Screwed , [19] and guest starred (with his then-wife Missi Pyle) on a 2010 episode of Dog Whisperer with Cesar Millan on the Nat Geo Channel. He has been a recurring guest on talk shows including Late Night with Conan O'Brien , Conan , Fox & Friends , and Good Morning America , presenting a variety of animals including bears, baby coyotes, a wolf, a bobcat [20] and a Eurasian eagle-owl.
In 2013, Anderson appeared on two episodes of the reality show Ke$ha: My Crazy Beautiful Life as "Casey", a "bear man" who was Kesha's possible new romantic interest. The second episode ended with the couple deciding not to pursue a relationship. [21]
In 2018, Anderson appeared with Josh Gates on Gate's show "Expedition Unknown: Hunt for the Yeti". They traveled together via helicopter to the area in Butaan where Anderson had pictures of Yeti tracks. No actual Yeti was observed, however, a footprint was documented and other peripheral evidence was observed.
Anderson and Brutus both made their feature film acting debuts in the independent film Iron Ridge (2008), a wilderness rescue drama filmed location in Montana using an all-Montana cast and crew and financed by Montanans. Anderson played a hunter from the city who travels, with a friend, deep into the backcountry of Montana, while Brutus played a bloodthirsty grizzly bear encountered by one of the hunters in the wild. [22] [23] [24] Although Anderson played a supporting role, he and Brutus were prominently featured in the advertising for the film. [25] [26]
Anderson married Stephanie Gazda in August 2016. [27] The couple live in Paradise Valley, Montana with their two daughters and son. [28]
Anderson was previously married to actress Missi Pyle from 2008 to 2011. They met in 2007 during the making of the film Pretty Ugly People (2008), in which Pyle starred, Brutus had a small role, and Anderson worked as animal trainer. Brutus the Bear was best man at their wedding, which was held in September 2008 at Holland Lake Lodge in Montana where the couple met. [29] [30] [31] In 2013, Pyle confirmed in an interview that the couple had broken up. [32]
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
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2008 | Iron Ridge | Jake Munro |
Year | Title | Episode | Episode Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2006 | Wild | Season 1 | "Expedition Grizzly" | Himself | With Brutus the Bear |
2010–2014 | Expedition Wild | Seasons 1-4 | Multiple episodes | Himself (host) | Some episodes also feature Brutus the Bear |
2010 | Dog Whisperer with Cesar Millan | Season 7, episode 3 | "Ellie and J.J. and Oscar" (alternate title: "Grizzly Dogs") | Himself (guest) | With Missi Pyle |
2013-2015 | America the Wild With Casey Anderson | Seasons 1-2 | Multiple episodes | Himself (host) | |
2013 | Ke$ha: My Crazy Beautiful Life | Season 2, episode 7 Season 2, episode 8 | "Bearman" "Meet the Fam" | Himself (as "Casey") | |
2014-2015 | Dude, You're Screwed | Season 2 | Multiple episodes | Himself (cast member) | |
2017 | The Grand Tour | Series 2 | Episode 3 | Himself (Guest) | With Hugh Bonneville |
2018 | Monster Encounters | Season 1 | Himself (Host) | ||
2018 | The Mountain Lion and Me | Film | Tracking a mountain lion | Himself (Guest) | Smithsonian Channel [13] |
2020 | Into the Puma Triangle | Film | A pride of pumas | Himself (Guest) | Smithsonian Channel |
2022 | Growing Up Grizzly - A Tale of Two Orphans | Film | Casey, Max & Pepper | Himself (Guest) | Paramount Plus & Smithsonian Channel |
National Geographic is an American pay television network and flagship channel owned by the National Geographic Global Networks unit of Disney Entertainment and National Geographic Partners, a joint venture between The Walt Disney Company (73%) and the National Geographic Society (27%), with the operational management handled by Disney Entertainment.
Timothy Treadwell was an American bear enthusiast, environmentalist, documentary filmmaker, and founder of the bear-protection organization Grizzly People. He lived among coastal brown bears in Katmai National Park, Alaska, for 13 summers.
Missi Pyle is an American actress and singer. She has appeared in a number of films, including Galaxy Quest (1999), Josie and the Pussycats (2001), Bringing Down the House (2003), Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story (2004), Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005), Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay (2008), The Artist (2011), Gone Girl (2014), Captain Fantastic (2016), and Ma (2019).
The Charles M. Russell National Wildlife Refuge is a National Wildlife Refuge in the U.S. state of Montana on the Missouri River. The refuge surrounds Fort Peck Reservoir and is 915,814 acres (3,706.17 km2) in size. It is the second-largest National Wildlife Refuge in the lower 48 states of the United States, and the largest in Montana. Created in 1936, it was originally called the Fort Peck Game Range. It was renamed in 1963 after Montana artist Charles M. Russell, a famous painter of the American West. In 1976, the "range" was made a "refuge".
The Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center is a non-profit organization dedicated to conservation, research, education, and animal care. The center is located on about 200 acres (81 ha) at the head of Turnagain Arm and the entrance to Portage Valley, Milepost 79 of the Seward Highway, about 11 mi southeast of Girdwood. The center is in the Municipality of Anchorage on the approximant border of the Kenai Peninsula and the Kenai Mountains to the south and the Chugach Mountains to the north.
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Stephan K. Miller was an American animal trainer, wrangler, and stunt double who was killed by a bear while making a promotional video.
Gordon John Buchanan is a Scottish wildlife cameraman, filmmaker and presenter. His work includes the nature documentaries Tribes, Predators & Me, The Polar Bear Family & Me and Life in the Snow.
Brutus, also called Brutus the Bear, was a grizzly bear who was adopted as a newborn cub by the naturalist Casey Anderson, star of the National Geographic documentary Expedition Grizzly.
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American Prairie is a prairie-based nature reserve in Central Montana, United States, on a mixed grass prairie ecosystem with migration corridors and native wildlife. This wildlife conservation area is being developed as a private project of the American Prairie Foundation (APF). This independent non-profit organization aims to include over 3 million acres (12,000 km2) through a combination of both private and public lands.
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Operating as a nonprofit environmental land trust, The Vital Ground Foundation protects and restores North America's grizzly bear populations by conserving wildlife habitat. Founded in 1990, Vital Ground operates in the belief that the grizzly bear, an umbrella species, is nature's barometer of a healthy and complete ecosystem, and that conserving grizzly bears and their habitat is key to ensuring diverse and healthy landscapes.
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Bart the Bear 2, also called Bart the Bear II, Bart 2, Bart II, or Little Bart was a male interior Alaskan grizzly bear who appeared in several films and television series, including An Unfinished Life, Into the Wild, Evan Almighty, We Bought a Zoo, Game of Thrones, and most recently Into the Grizzly Maze. His trainers were Doug Seus and Lynne Seus of Wasatch Rocky Mountain Wildlife, Inc., in Heber City, Utah. Bart 2 was named after the earlier Seus-trained Bart the Bear, although the two bears are not related.
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