Call of the Wild Man’s Ernie ‘Turtleman’ Brown Jr was in a “very bad accident.”
A message from the TV star’s official Facebook page begged for prayers.
On March 15 a message from his official TV Facebook page stating there was an accident read: PRAY FOR THE TURTLEMAN NOW!: PLEASE!”
“Bad accident.
“Very bad.”
Ernie starred on Call of The Wildman in 2011 and was also a regular on The Tonight Show With Jay Leno during that time.
The reality show ran for four seasons, from 2011 to 2014, and the late Neal James was also a series regular and a fan favorite.
The reality show followed Ernie aka ‘The Turtleman’ and Neal, his best friend, who helped Ernie catch wild animals in central Kentucky.
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It’s currently not clear what accident Ernie was involved in, but fans flooded the comments with their concern and to wish him a speedy recovery.
“Always sending prayers for God to heal his children,” one fan wrote.
“Prayers for Turtleman may he come through this,” wrote another.
Neal James, the bushy-bearded “Banjo Man” from the Animal Planet series died at age 55 in 2019.
He had been battling cardiac issues, according to the Washington County Coroner’s Office in his home state of Kentucky, per USA Today.
The show followed the dealings of a Kentucky nuisance animal removal business.
Brown and James would catch and release the animals.
A Mother Jones report in 2014 revealed that the show trapped and caged wild animals to be used in highly scripted and staged sequences, including a zebra having been sedated before being captured by Ernie.
The report supposedly hurt ratings of the now-ended show.
ERNIE’S IMPRESSIVE LIFE
Ernie, however, is also a charitable figure.
He has done meet-and-greets at Children’s museums, including one appearance where he sold 750 tickets.
“His fans are so dedicated, they’ll come and stand in line for an hour,” a board member at The Discovery Center in West Virginia told Times West Virginian.
Turtleman is married to his longtime accomplice, Suzanne Brown, who calls herself “Turtleman’s Girl” on her Instagram.
The couple shares two daughters.
