Even without TBRU in town, Bear Hamilton’s name says it all … or maybe it doesn’t

MARK STOKES  | Illustrator
mark@markdrawsfunny.com
Name and age: Bear Hamilton, 49
Spotted at: Kroger on Cedar Springs
Occupation: Theatre technician
Beginnings: Born to a Marine Corps officer father and New England schoolteacher mother, Bear’s early years were nomadic, living in North Carolina, Virginia, California and Okinawa, Japan. Living overseas left an indelible impression. Maturity came to him early. He sported a beard and already had a pipe smoking habit by the time he was in high school: “My peers found me odd and different and reminded me of that on nearly a daily basis.”
The world is his stage: This 6-foot-11, 250-lb. hunk of a man always dreamed of being an actor and singer, and now performs in plays and musicals across North Texas (he’s played Daddy Warbucks in Annie, Tevye in Fiddler on the Roof, Jud Fry in Oklahoma!, Bill Sykes in Oliver! and a slightly crazed-looking biker on billboards around the Metroplex), and he leads Black Hat Saloon, a country rock band.
Bear likes to cook, camp and fish. He loves classic cars, trucks and Harley-Davidson motorcycles. He has an eclectic taste in movies, and a large DVD and videotape collection to prove it. It’s no secret that he enjoys good food and has a wide, varied taste for it. He also enjoys a good pipe or cigar, often with a glass of bourbon or a good beer.
Bear It all: Bear looks to be the quintessential gay bear, though he doesn’t wear his sexuality on his sleeve. “I see myself as a man first, a homosexual second. I don’t feel any more ‘pride’ in being a homosexual any more than being male, or white, or a person of size. What pride I have comes from the achievements I’ve made. My faith plays an important role, but I don’t usually profess it. I am grateful for my faith family who embrace me for what I am and who I am.” As he stares down the barrel of his 50th birthday, Bear has been reminded of late how much life changes with one of his favorite sayings: “Life is what happens when you’re busy making other plans.”
This article appeared in the Dallas Voice print edition March 18, 2011.