Duane “Dog” Chapman made a name for himself as a bounty hunter, becoming famous in 2003 when he captured Andrew Luster, heir to the Max Factor cosmetics fortune. Luster was accused and later convicted of multiple sexual assaults using the date rape drug GHB.
A year later, Chapman was given a television show, Dog the Bounty Hunter. It aired on A&E from 2004 until 2012.
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After that, he and his late wife, Beth, starred in a similar show, Dog and Beth: On the Hunt, which aired on CMT from 2013 until 2015. His most recent series, Dog’s Most Wanted, aired in late 2019 on WGN America.
Chapman is no stranger to controversy. He was charged with third-degree murder in 1976 and spent 18 months in jail. More recently, his first TV show was temporarily taken off the air in 2007 when he was recorded repeatedly using a racial slur in a private telephone conversation that made its way online.
Still, he undoubtedly found significant success. At one point, he had an estimated net worth of around $6 million. However, he’s now fallen on hard times.
Dog Has Faced Significant Difficulties in His Life
He’s suffered a lot of loss in his life. His son, Zebadiah, died at just 30 days old in 1980. His daughter, Barbara Katy, lost her life in a car crash in 2006. In 2022, his “right-hand man,” David Robinson, died after collapsing during a Zoom call at his home.
But the loss of his wife, Beth, contributed most to Chapman’s downfall. She was diagnosed with stage two throat cancer in September 2017. The disease was initially pushed successfully into remission, but it returned and spread to her lungs.
After being placed in a medically induced coma, Beth died from complications from the illness on June 26, 2019. She was just 51 years old.
The medical bills for Beth’s care left Chapman on the brink of being broke, and he nearly lost his home. Thankfully, that didn’t happen. Sporadic appearances on shows like The Masked Singer (on which he suited up as an armadillo) will certainly assist in fixing that unfortunate financial predicament.
Chapman has since remarried. He met Francie Frane six months after Beth’s passing. Like Chapman, Frame had recently lost her partner.
The couple tied the knot on September 2, 2021. It’s Chapman’s sixth marriage overall.
Soon after Beth’s passing, Chapman experienced chest pains and was diagnosed with a pulmonary embolism – a potentially fatal blockage of the arteries. He refused treatment for the condition and was told by the prominent physician and television personality Dr. Oz that he was a ticking timebomb who was doing himself and his loved ones a disservice by ignoring the ailment.
At 71, as he adjusts to life without a television contract and embraces his latest marriage, those around him hope he remains healthy and happy despite his concerning diagnosis and recent monetary woes.
