After the "Gentle Ben" series ended, Bruno moved back to California with trainer Ron Oxley and continued his acting career, making a well-received appearance in the 1972 film "The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean" with Paul Newman. Bruno reportedly died in 1980 or 1981. Buck entertained visitors for many years at the Homosassa Springs Attraction in Florida (now part of Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park). Hammer retired from acting in 1969 and became the first black bear at the Dreher Park Zoo (later renamed the Palm Beach Zoo) in West Palm Beach, Florida, where he lived for almost 20 years. Derrick Rosaire Sr. continued to exhibit his bear named "Gentle Ben" throughout the 1970s. The fate of the other bear actors involved in "Gentle Ben" and the "Gentle Giant" pilot film is not currently known.