Bruno, also called Ben or Gentle Ben (1962 − ), was a male black bear actor best known for playing the leading role of Ben the bear in the 1967–1969 CBS television series, Gentle Ben.TV Guide News, "Who Were the Stars of Gentle Ben?", TVGuide.com, November 15, 2005, accessed May 26, 2015. He also played the adult Ben in the feature film prelude to the TV series, Gentle Giant (1967).UPI, "Gentle Ben," Independent Press-Telegram (Long Beach, Cal.), April 30, 1967, Tele Vues section, p. 9. In 1968, Bruno received a first-place PATSY Award for his work on the Gentle Giant film and a second-place award for his work on the TV series.Beck, Ken, and Jim Clark. The Encyclopedia of TV Pets: A Complete History of Television's Greatest Animal Stars. Rutledge Hill Press, 2002, p. 90-92 & passim. . After the Gentle Ben series ended, Bruno made another well-received appearance in the 1972 John Huston-directed film The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean, starring Paul Newman.Mavis, Paul. "The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean (Warner Archive)" (DVD review), Dvdtalk.com, September 6, 2012, accessed May 26, 2015.
He is not related or otherwise connected to the earlier bear actor also named "Bruno the Bear" who appeared in several Mack Sennett comedies and similar comedy films, such as Her Week-End starring Gale Henry, during the 1910s and 1920s.Balducci, Anthony. The Funny Parts: A History of Film Comedy Routines and Gags. McFarland and Co., 2011, p. 48. .
Early life Bruno was acquired by Ralph Helfer's Africa U.S.A. animal ranch sometime before 1965. Africa U.S.A., at that time located in Soledad Canyon near Saugus, California, provided trained animals to Hollywood for film and television work, including many Ivan Tors productions.Amory, Cleveland. "Animal Kingdom, USA: Out in California flourishes a wild animal domain located just this side of Unbelievable." TV Guide, April 23, 1966, p. 4, archived online at daktaritvshow.wordpress.com, accessed May 26, 2015. According to Ken Beck and Jim Clark, Bruno and a brother were orphaned in Wisconsin as cubs, and later acquired by Helfer from a private party. It was reported during the Gentle Ben series run that Bruno (who at that point had been renamed "Ben" for the run of the show"'Gentle Giant' Star Changes Name For Marquee Lure", Daily Republican (Monongahela, Penn.), February 16, 1968, p. 10.) had been "discovered" in White Lake, Wisconsin, and that he was 6 years old in 1968, making his birth year 1962.Penton, Edgar. "'Gentle Ben' Is Believable Bear: CBS-TV Program Clicks", El Paso Herald-Post, February 24, 1968, Showtime section, p. 11."Pair a Natural: Bear, Boy Pals Work For Series", Daily Courier (Connellsville, Penn.), January 13, 1968, p. 13. Ralph Helfer confirmed in 1970 that one of the bears who appeared in Gentle Ben was obtained from Ivan Walters' game farm in White Lake."Pelky Dies; Had Raised Bear on 'Gentle Ben' Show," Milwaukee Journal, January 10, 1986, Part 2, p. 4.
Anthony "Tony" Pelky, owner of the Chain Lake Game Farm near Lakewood, Wisconsin, and his son claimed during Pelky's lifetime and in his 1986 obituaries that Pelky was the "man who raised Gentle Ben" from a cub. According to Tony Pelky, "Gentle Ben" and his two brothers were born near Lakewood in 1962. Shortly after their birth, their mother was killed by a hunter and the cubs were adopted and bottle-fed by the hunter's son. A local game warden took the cubs as wards of the state and offered one cub to Pelky. (According to the Milwaukee Journal, the other two cubs were given to a game farm near Langlade, Wisconsin, and eventually appeared on the Ivan Tors-produced TV series Daktari, which was filmed primarily at Africa U.S.A. using its animals.) Pelky said that the cub, which he named "Smokey", was "the tamest bear he ever saw" although the bear had no training. Smokey, who eventually grew to an adult size of 650 pounds, would allow a man to put an arm in his mouth without biting and would back away from a dog rather than fight.Joslin, Jean T. "Ben Was Gentle Smokey Before He Left Wisconsin," Milwaukee Journal, January 7, 1970, "Green Sheet" section, p. 1.
According to the Pelkys, Africa U.S.A. trainers heard about the bear, were impressed by his docile temperament and large size, and purchased him from Pelky for either $500 or $600."Rub Elbows With Deer", The Post-Crescent (Appleton, Wisc.), July 12, 1970, p. E-3. The Pelkys said that they later recognized the bear shown in the opening theme sequence of Gentle Ben, which was Bruno, as the bear they had sold.UPI, "Original Owner of Gentle Ben Dies," January 10, 1986, archived at www.upi.com/Archives, accessed May 25, 2015. However, Pelky also said that the sale took place in 1968 whereas Bruno was reportedly acquired by Africa U.S.A. in 1962 and was living at the Africa U.S.A. ranch by 1965. A 1967 interview with Gentle Ben actor Dennis Weaver refers to a bear named "Smokey" that "alternate[d] with Bruno as Gentle Ben" in the series.Stone, Judy. "Umm, That's a Real Bear Hug," The New York Times, September 17, 1967, p. D27.
After Bruno arrived at Africa U.S.A., he was declawed and his teeth were removed,Goodavage, Maria. "Zoo Bear Once Was Stand-in For Television's 'Gentle Ben'," Sun-Sentinel, June 10, 1985, available online at sun-sentinel.com, accessed May 29, 2015.UPI, "All You Need Is a Coke and Stout Heart", Redlands Daily Facts, December 31, 1965, p. 2. and he was trained for acting work using Helfer's "affection training" system, a method which seeks to establish a bond between animal and trainer by the trainer giving affection and attention, rather than relying on physical punishment or food rewards.Woolery, George W. Children's Television: The First Thirty-Five Years, 1946–1981, Part II: Live, Film and Tape Series. Scarecrow Press, 1983, p. 193. .Helfer, Ralph. The Beauty of the Beasts. Open Road Media, 2014 (originally published by Tarcher, 1990). . Throughout his career, his weight (which may have fluctuated) was reported at different levels between 600 and 800 pounds, and his height has been variously stated as 7, 7 1/2. or just over 8 feet tall.Boyle, Hal. "'Gentle Ben' Star Promising Actress," Daily Chronicle (Centralia, Wash.), March 15, 1968, Editorial section, p. 4.TV Acres staff, "Grizzly & Wild Bears: Gentle Ben", TVAcres.com, accessed May 27, 2015.Molloy, Paul. "'Melting' Star Is Problem For 'Gentle Ben' Producer", San Antonio Express, October 15, 1967, TV magazine section, p. 13.
Career Early career Bruno made his film debut in 1965 in the Ivan Tors/ MGM film Zebra in the Kitchen, about animals set free from a zoo.Paietta, Ann C., and Jean L. Kauppila. Animals On Screen and Radio: An Annotated Sourcebook. Scarecrow Press, 1994, p. 290. . He also appeared on Tors' hit television series Daktari as a guest star, playing a sick circus bear who escapes into the African bush.Sansano, Patrick. "Daktari – Saison 2 – 11. Tirez à vue (Shoot to Kill)" (episode guide) , theavengers.fr, accessed May 28, 2015. An April 1966 article by Cleveland Amory in TV Guide described Bruno as "a 7-foot, 700-pound black bear, perhaps the biggest 'working' bear in the world and yet so gentle children can ride him.'"
Before he became known as the star of Gentle Ben, Bruno narrowly escaped death or serious injury at least twice. On December 29, 1965, record rains caused an 8-foot-deep flash flood at the Africa U.S.A. compound in Soledad Canyon. The vast majority of animals were saved, but Bruno was washed away and could not be found after the floodwaters subsided. The Ivan Tors production unit, via radio and newspapers, asked area residents not to shoot him on sight, and assured the public that he had no teeth and was "harmless and just loves Cokes or fruit." A few days later, Bruno returned to the ranch of his own accord and scratched at his cage to be let back in. He was several pounds lighter and covered with mud, but in good health.Helfer's account in Beauty and the Beasts appears to conflate the 1965 flood with another separate flood that occurred in 1969 in which Bruno was not involved. Contemporaneous news sources support that the flood that affected Bruno occurred in December 1965."Wild Animals On Loose: Swept Away By Los Angeles Floods", Eureka Humboldt Standard, January 18, 1966, p. 2.
On July 12, 1966, a runaway Southern Pacific locomotive (or according to some accounts, a flatcar carrying a steam-powered crane) suddenly derailed and crushed several cages in the Africa U.S.A. compound, killing a railroad employee. Bruno's cage was demolished, but he was unharmed because his trainers had taken him out of the cage for a walk shortly before the accident occurred.UPI, "Trainman Killed, 18 Animals Hurt In Wreck", Redlands Daily Facts, July 13, 1966, p. 1.
Gentle Ben Bruno rose to fame when he appeared in the leading role of the adult Ben the bear in Tors' 1967 feature film Gentle Giant and the 1967–1969 CBS television series based on the film, Gentle Ben. The film and series concern the adventures of a large male bear named Ben and his human companion Mark Wedloe, a little boy whose father is a wildlife officer in the Florida Everglades. Bruno traveled to Florida to film the series, and had difficulty adjusting to the heat, causing him to lose weight and necessitating trips back to Africa U.S.A. to get him back in shape. Following a January 1969 flood which severely damaged Africa U.S.A., he was permanently relocated to Florida.Annino, J.G. Florida's Famous Animals: True Stories of Sunset Sam the Dolphin, Snooty the Manatee, Big Guy the Panther, and Others. Morris Book Publishing, 2008, p. 21. .
Although several bears were used to play the adult Ben depending on the desired behavior for a scene (for example, different bears were used for running, fighting, and swimming), Bruno was the favorite due to his large size, relatively docile temperament, broad range of behaviors, facial expressions, and ability to work well with children. Helfer said that "Bruno did most of his own work," including riding the airboat shown in the series, doing his own "attacks", and "grabbing the bad guy." According to actor Clint Howard, who co-starred as Mark in the film and series, Bruno, along with a bear named Buck that was used for running scenes because Bruno did not like to run, did 75% of the work. Howard, who was a young child between 6 and 10 years old when working with Bruno,Howard, Rance. "Clint Howard Tames a Gentle Giant", in Tales from the Casting Couch (ed. Michael Viner and Terrie Maxine Frankel). Phoenix Books, 1995, p. 215. said that he never had any trouble working with him except once when Bruno sat on him and had to be gotten off by the trainers.
Bruno was known for his prodigious appetite, with Coca-Cola, fruit and Tootsie RollsMadsen, Axel. John Huston: A Biography (eBook edition). Open Road Media, 2015 (original publication Doubleday, 1978), p. 248.Loper, Mary Lou. "Bachelors Grin and Bear It at Circus Ball," Los Angeles Times, March 26, 1973, p. F1. being among his favorite foods. When a script called for him to reject his food, he continued to eat despite being fed large meals beforehand and the crew covering the food used in the scene with cold cream and Chanel No. 5. He also frequently stole cigarettes from the cast and crew and ate them. Helfer said, "We had a game we played during lunch. We would run around [Bruno] in a circle, and he would catch us in his arms, and we would wrestle, which was fun. When he got tired, he would sit on you."