Dick Proenneke Speaks
Any time I think about Dick Proenneke I associate him with the voice of the narrator from Alone in the Wilderness. The folksy and plain stated narration blended with the beautiful images of Alaska and the skillful self-sufficiency of Dick Proenneke make Alone in the Wilderness worthy of repeated viewing. I’ll watch it every couple of weeks or whenever my stress level starts to rise. The film resets my brain chemistry to neutral every time.
Well that voice isn’t Dick’s. The narration is done by Bob Swerer. Bob produced Alone in the Wilderness along with Alaska Silence and Solitude, which documents a trip Bob made to visit Dick Proenneke at his cabin in 1997.
You’ll hear both Dick and Bob’s voices in this clip from Alaska Silence and Solitude.
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Posted in Woods
June 19th, 2008 at 10:44 am
I saw this movie about Dick Proenneke several years ago on Public Television. Wonder if he’s still out there? I’d love to visit this cute cabin.
June 19th, 2008 at 11:17 am
Sadly, Dick died back in 2003 at age 87. His cabin is still there to visit though; it’s now a museum in the Lake Clark National Park. I hope to visit it myself one day.
May 29th, 2009 at 8:29 pm
I just happened to find Alone in the Wilderness showing on GPB. I enjoyed it so much. I loved how he was able to see a bowl, build a bed, know how to maintain a life of pleasure and supply his needs. I so appreciate this chonology of his life and experiences.
October 10th, 2009 at 7:55 pm
I have read Dick’s book twice and seen the video at least 50 times. I do a little exotic wood carpentry as a hobby, I was so amazed at the hinges on the cabin door I just had to build a set, I put them on a saw cabinet I built. Every time I open that cabinet I think of that ole wood wizard, truly a man’s man. When I watch the video I think, that could have been me. I guess Dick is kind of a hero to me, he made it, I didn’t….Dave.
May 11th, 2010 at 9:26 pm
I have just recently seen Alone in the Wilderness, and I will watch it many times. It is amazing what one man will do just to live a simple life and be so isolated from civilization. I wonder if any of us could endure the same lifestyle Dick Proenneke has? He is a true inspiration to mankind!!
June 6th, 2010 at 9:18 pm
Right up my alley. For me, I would never come back to civilization, if that’s what you call it. I call it a F@#$ing rat race full of greedy slobbering idiot’s. Ya, that’s right, I despise human being’s.I’m so sick of what we’ve become, I’d do this in a heart beat just to escape, if only I could. I won’t disclose as to why. Just know I can’t. AS you can tell how I feel about this world, you can be sure if I could, it would be.Oh man oh man, to live that life would be pure paradise.