Bob Harte “The Last Alaskans” Bio: Son, Daughter, Net Worth, Cause of death, Cancer, Funeral. Bob Harte was born on 23 January 1951, in Jersey City, New Jersey, USA, and was a reality television personality, best known for being one of the stars of the reality television show “The Last Alaksans” which aired on Animal Planet and also Discovery Channel. He was considered as one of the most skilled trappers in the state and became popular due to his very risky profession. He passed away in 2017.
The Wealth of Bob Harte
How rich was Bob Harte? As of late-2018, sources inform us of a net worth that is at $600,000, earned largely through a successful career in truth television. He also earned a significant amount of wealth through working as a trapper, and participating in government organized programs. All of his achievements ensured the position of his wealth.
Early Life
Bob developed a love for sports at a young age, and played a lot of baseball growing up. He also found a strong interest in fishing, and spent a lot of his time developing his skills at the hobby. He mentioned that his grandfather was his role model, and who supported him throughout all the decisions he made in life. He grew up with three brothers, mainly raised by his grandfather.
He helped with a construction business and learned how to make decisions on his own. He had read about Alaska, and how different it was from home, and aspired to experience it for himself. At the age of 21, he quit of college and transferred to the state, supporting himself through trapping, a method of remotely catching an animal using a device, often used for hunting, fur trading, wildlife management and pest control.
Over the following decades he would grow to love his life in Alaska, and certainly enjoyed his work as a trapper. Despite being far from his family, he didn’t really miss them too much as they often visited him. His skills would not go unnoticed, and he was eventually invited to a Russia/America trapper exchange program.
Projects and Television Career
The Russia/America exchange program was an effort to help build political and cultural ties between the 2 nations. He proved beneficial to the program thanks to his skills in trapping, as he was also well versed in carpentry and building along with hunting and as a general outdoorsman. He had created his own trap line in Alaska which he managed for most of his life. Eventually, his unusual lifestyle and career caught the attention of television producers, who would invite him to become a part of “The Last Alaskans”. The show follows four families who live in Alaska, particularly in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
The show competed a total of three seasons from 2015 to 2017, having eight episodes each except for the latest season which had 10 episodes. While it has not yet aired since 2017, the show has not declared itself over, and may aim to produce more seasons, though Harte will no longer be included. The second season of the show was called “The Last Alaskans: Remote Access” while the third one was “The Last Alaskans: No Man’s Land”.
Personal Life
For his personal life, it is known that Bob started a relationship with Nancy, and both eventually married; they had a daughter, and a son from Nancy’s previous marriage, and the two also decided to adopt another son. During his free time, he sat in a chair in front of his cabin drinking coffee, or beer he brewed himself.
Beyond his passion for Alaska, he cared deeply about his family, and often made decisions that would benefit them, especially his daughter. According to interviews and reports, he survived a lot of near death experiences as a result of the nature of his work. Despite that, he never looked back as he knew that it was exactly the kind of life he wanted. He was also a Christian and mentioned that it was the Holy Spirit that helped him survive in the harsh conditions of Alaska.
Health Issues and Death
Harte was noticeably absent during the third season of “The Last Alaskans”, which led to a lot of speculation. It was later released through a public statement that he had decided not to continue with filming because of several health issues. His deteriorating health was later revealed to be a byproduct of cancer, and he wanted to take time off to recover from the disease, but he was not able to survive, and died on 22 July 2017, with an official statement later released by Discovery through their social media pages. Many fans of the show were shocked to hear the news, and saddened to see one of the beloved cast members of “The Last Alaskans” go.
He is survived by his children and wife as well as several pet dogs. According to his obituary, his favorite spot to go to was a place he called the Throne, which is a high rocky outcrop overlooking the river near his cabin. He loved spending time there, sitting on the throne and taking in the view.
It was stated that his last night was spent sitting on a campfire with friends, telling stories, and sharing beers. Some of the crazy events he survived include getting run over by his own motorcycle, crashing ‘plane twice, brain surgery, and accidentally shooting himself. Characters such as Bob Harte do not come along very often, much less entertain us by gracing our TV screens.
