I created the FizzlyWizzly character over twenty years ago and thought it would be a fun project to write a picture book for children. The idea was to create an adventure for a young grizzly bear, who gets lost in the woods and has to learn to be resourceful. After completing the first painting, I realized I needed a live model and took 3 trips to the Discovery Wildlife park in Red Deer, Alberta. At the time, the park was hosting some special Hollywood visitors: movie star grizzly bears, who had just completed a Pepsi commercial. The bears’ owners used the Park to give them a little “r&r” between acting gigs. All three were rescued as orphans in Montana and Yellowstone National Park.

There were three bears, Betty and Veronica,both female, and one male, Alley Oop. They were housed individually in large open pens, and it was easy to photograph them through the wire. Their trainers would provide guided tours, tell the bears’ story, and offer the opportunity to meet them (at a distance, of course). What is difficult to show in the photos is how really big they really were. Alley Oop weighed 1100 Lbs, and was as big as an old-fashioned Volkswagen “Beatle”. Betty and Veronica, both females, weighed in between 600 – 700 Lbs.

Which one inspired Fizzly Wizzly the Grizzly?  Well, he is really an amalgamation of Alley Oop, Betty and Veronica. Known as the “Hollywood Bears”, they became famous making appearances in movies and commercials years ago. Betty and Veronica eventually moved to the Central Park Zoo in New York, where they died of old age in 2020 and 2021. Alley Oop passed away in 2017, at the age of 27 (equivalent to 80 human years). Betty and Veronica were known for coming when called, standing for belly rubs and offering their paws for nail trims. Alley Oop was known as a “Gentle Giant” and was often given to kissing visitors upon his retirement at the Discovery Wildlife park.