Montegut, LA - Fuzzy Foret, the legendary trapper from Montegut, La., known by admirers for his bare hands wrangling of everything from marsh hens to the mystical Nutria-Man, has died at 104.
Survived by his wife, children, illegitimate offspring, grandchildren,
great-grand children (with too many baby-daddies to list here) we acknowledge
the passing of a man larger than the trapping lifestyle itself.
Fuzzy, also known for his animal trapping radio show on KJIN-AM is said to have laid the ground work for sports shows such as American Sportsman, American Gladiator, and the reality show Swamp People.
Not much of a family man but certainly a lady’s man, Fuzzy often got drunk after a long day at work, or night if he was poaching, spending many hours in Dupree’s Bar. (I met Fuzzy there as a young reporter. He had a wad of hundreds and three women on each arm that had all their teeth. Fuzzy had lost all but two of his in a string of bar fights but the residents loved him. He was very charismatic.)
Local legend has it that Fuzzy once trapped the mystical
Nutria-Man, the story brought to life in the acclaimed motion picture Terror in the Swamp.
The story passed down for generations states that Fuzzy was out early or up late, one of the two. But, he does remember while checking his lines seeing the beast walking in a clearing of cypress. Fuzzy was so excited; he gave chase leaving his gun in the pirogue. Nutria-Man, alarmed, got snared in one of the lines. Not wanting the beast to get away Fuzzy jumped on the giant rodent and wrestled him to the murky water but didn’t realize Nutria-Man would over power him, take all his clothes, and leave him for dead. Well, that’s what he said when the game wardens found him naked by his boat.
It’s not to say that Fuzzy didn’t have his problems. His love for the water sparked him to join the navy but his career was cut short when on the way to Houma, the city close to his home, he stopped to help a sugar cane farmer whose wagon was broken down on the side the road. Unbeknownst to him, Fuzzy had had a liaison with the farmer’s daughter. A fight ensued and Fuzzy was beat almost to death. He recovered, but from then on he didn’t seem to think straight, thus the nickname Fuzzy.
Yes my friend, gone is a legend, François Ferdinand “Fuzzy” Foret. On his passing, Troy Landry from the hit television show Swamp People said, “It’s a sad day. The marsh will never smell the same.”
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