Did ‘Cocaine Bear’ Actually Happen?

No, no, no, don't eat that, don't eat that. A bear ingests 77 pounds of cocaine and spreads terror on a drug-fueled rampage. A bear did cocaine! The horror comedy film Cocaine Bear hits theaters this weekend. But as outlandish as the film sounds, it turns out it's inspired by a true event. In 1985, a former cop turned drug runner was piloting a plane, carrying $15 million worth of cocaine. When his plane crashed, a black bear in a Georgia forest found the massive amounts of cocaine and gobbled it all down. In real life, the 175-pound black bear overdosed and died.

He's now a stuffed animal and a popular attraction at a mall in Lexington, Kentucky. We have the Cocaine Bear on display at the Kentucky for Kentucky Fund Mall. We were seeing thousands of people come to visit him every month and people coming from all over the world. Cocaine Bear was directed by actress Elizabeth Banks. As for that bear, that's mostly computer-generated. But stuntman Alan Henry played a crucial part. You are the star of a movie, but no one will recognize you.

He wore a bear mask and black lycra on set and acted out the role of a wild animal on cocaine. Walk and run and climb and jump and all sorts, yes, on all fours. After the goofball cult hits, snakes on a plane and sharknado, audiences seem eager to see a murderous bear on cocaine. I love this sort of wild bunkers. Check reality at the door. Go get some popcorn. Enjoy the set of movies.

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