Remembering John "Bear" Curtis

John "Bear" Curtis was never a household name, but he certainly rubbed shoulders with a few. Working security duty for many years at local concerts, the Vancouverite met and worked with the likes of Janis Joplin and the Grateful Dead. He was also a musician himself, when he wasn't busy working as a stuntman or costume designer.

He was also an actor. Curtis's list of credits on the Internet Movie Database reveals that he had on-screen time in many locally lensed TV shows and film productions, including MacGyver, Wiseguy, Stargate SG-1, The Outer Limits, Cold Squad, and Masters of Horror.

Curtis died on December 18, 2007. Friends and family (including his wife, Louise, and his son, Jesse), will gather to remember him on Saturday, January 12 from 5 to 10 p.m. at DaDeO's (3305 Cambie Street).

Oh, and if you still think you don't know who John "Bear" Curtis was, here's a blast from the past for you:

Yup, that was him: Sturdy Danny McGee!

Comments

2 Comments

Swuxx

Jan 10, 2008 at 5:24pm

Manbear was a man who offered love, honour and respect.He was a man, who was gentle, loving and in his silence you knew he connected not only with you, but with all of Creation.He stood in reflection, in appreciation and with an embrace for everything.He had the most beautiful smile.His life's journeys took him many places, but I had the honour and privilege of working alongside him him at the Longhouse.He was a friend, a brother and one who wholly accepted me just as I was. I know he appreciated me and Sam Shepard. I know his artistic talents were not only from his heart, but from the Creator.Each piece he created has a story to go with it.Each person whom he gifted, has a story about the gift they received from him.He's a beautiful man whose psirit is truly dancing and smiling upon each of us.

JBCFiend

Dec 14, 2009 at 11:38pm

So my brother and I were watching Stargate: SG-1 S1E01 Part 2, and we noticed this monster of a man. He was just an extra, but his scenes are so over the top awesome we couldn't help but do some more research. In one scene Howard Dean Anderson is seen shooting an alien weapon at a horde of oncoming enemies. Sharing the frame with him, with McGuyver himself, is a seven foot tall Nordic man wearing a fur coat. He is throwing small rocks at the gun wielding men. Just before escaping through the stargate back to earth, he is then filmed bear hugging a man from behind and crushing his ribs. In the credits he is casted as "Primitive ". His name...John Bear Curtis. JBC , as Mikey and I have been calling him, died tragically in 2007 from a chronic case of AWESOMENESS. If you IMDB him you will find out he also played a Nordic man in "The 13th Warrior" alongside Antonio Banderas. The best of all though is a film in which he is featured entitled "Arctic Blue", for which i am providing a link for the trailer. Arctic blue is the tragic story of a man...well, it's really not a story, at least not a cohesive one, and the movie is shit. That being said, JBC is a friggin Adonis in it. He literally throws a pickaxe 300 yards and pins a man into a boulder. This isn't some girly little chinese pick, this is a full blooded american miner's axe. When the point pierced the poor mans body and nailed him into solid granite, we heard the heavens shake. Thunder, Lightning, and other even sweeter natural phenomenon, shook the very ground on which we stood.

Rip JBC. I honor your legacy 3-5 times a week when i order form the Wendy's dollar menu.

John Bear Curtis: 28 April 1948 to 18 December 2007.
Goodnight sweet prince.