Environmentalist who documented his life among the Alaskan bears and worked to promote their welfare, until one turned on him.
He was a frustrated actor when in 1989 he had an epiphany, packed his bags, and spent the next 13 years living with bears.
In the middle of the attack on him by an unfamiliar bear his girlfriend turned on the camera, recording the sound, though the lens cap stayed on.
He was one of five children born to Val and Carol Dexter of Long Island, New York.
His story became the subject of Werner Herzog's documentary, Grizzly Man.
