Steve Irwin: 1962-2006

Exuberant environmentalist Steve Irwin, 44, seen here in an undated photo released by Animal Planet, died Sept. 4, 2006, on the Great Barrier Reef in Australia after being stabbed in the heart by a stingray's barb while he was on a filming expedition for the network.

In a file photo taken March 9, 2006, Steve Irwin holds a Taipan snake, the world's most venomous snake, at the Singapore Zoological Gardens in Singapore. Irwin never carried anti-venom with him. "The secret that I use is 'don't get bitten,'" he told CNN in 2002.

The always energetic Steve Irwin, right, at the Penfolds Icon Gala in Los Angeles in January of 2006, shakes hands with a fellow Aussie, Hugh Jackman.

Steve Irwin, famous for his Animal Planet TV show "The Crocodile Hunter," holds his infant son, Robert, in front of a 13-foot crocodile during a feeding on Jan. 2, 2004, at his reptile park in Brisbane, Australia. Irwin took heat from the public after the terrifying stunt. "I apologize for scaring people," Irwin later told Larry King. "That was never my intention."

In this file photo from the 2004, croc-lover Steve Irwin holds his infant son while feeding a crocodile. "I would be a bad dad if I don't teach my kids about the dangers in my backyard," Irwin told Matt Lauer in response to criticism about the incident.

Actress Catherine Zeta-Jones, left, and "Croc Hunter" Steve Irwin were guests on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" on June 9, 2004. Though Irwin didn't bring any of his reptilian friends with him on stage, he gave Zeta-Jones the willies when he talked about his broken finger.

Steve Irwin entertains a crocodile at the Australia Zoo in this file photo taken in 2003. The conservationist was famous for leaping onto the back of a croc, holding its jaws with his hands and tying the reptile's mouth shut with a rope.

Steve Irwin attended the premiere of "Master and Commander" on Nov. 11, 2003 in L.A. Irwin's trademark word was "Crikey!"

Actor Russell Crowe and Steve Irwin were Jay Leno's guests on "The Tonight Show" on November 6, 2003. "My parents actually guided me in the direction that I've gone ... I was running around in the wilderness since the day I was born," Irwin said on "Larry King Live."

Russell Crowe and Jay Leno wrangle Steve Irwin's friends at NBC Studios on November 6, 2003. "If you love the snake, and if you sincerely love it, it will ooze out through your hands ... if you can avoid being hit in the first 30 seconds, pretty soon the snake will understand that you're not trying to kill it," Irwin said in 2002.

Steve Irwin holds up a model train at the launch for the new Ghan train service in Sydney, Australia, on June 19, 2003. "What a little beauty!" Irwin said of the train emblazoned with his image.

Steve Irwin pretends a model train is a snake at the new Ghan train launch event in Sydney in 2003. "Mate, it's going to be awesome seeing this thing travel across the Australian Outback," Irwin said of the new train service.

Steve Irwin and Dame Edna Everage (aka Barry Humphries) perform during a live broadcast for the Discovery Channel filmed at the Australia Zoo on June 13, 2003. The baby koala was given the name Dame Edna at the televised ceremony.

Steve Irwin and Dame Edna Everage perform in Beerwah, Australia in 2003. Irwin's parents Bob and Lyn established the Australia Zoo in 1970.

Steve Irwin wraps an anaconda snake around Jay Leno's neck on "The Tonight Show" on Feb. 4, 2003. Irwin, who died Sept. 4, 2006, in Australia, is survived by his wife, Terri, and their two children, daughter, Bindi Sue, 8, and son, Bob, 2.

Steve Irwin poses with Australian football players James Hird and Paul Salmon in Melbourne, Australia on Sept. 10, 2002. Irwin was a fan of the Australian Football League's Essendon Bombers.

Steve Irwin and his wife Terri at the San Francisco Zoo on June 26, 2002. "He left this world in a happy and peaceful state of mind. He would have said, 'Crocs Rule,'" Irwin's friend John Stainton said on Sept. 4, 2006.

Steve Irwin cuddles up to a three foot long alligator at the San Francisco Zoo on June 26, 2002. "I've been rescuing crocodiles since I was a small boy ... people are pushing further and further into croc habitat, so I'm called on to rescue them," Irwin told CNN's Wolf Blitzer in 2002.

Steve Irwin attended Nickelodeon's 15th Annual Kids' Choice Awards on April 20, 2002 in Santa Monica, Calif. "I'm very passionate about all of the world's predators and those animals deemed dangerous," Irwin told NBC's "Extra."

Athlete Marion Jones, right, and Steve Irwin inspect Basil, a python weighing more than 100 pounds, during a tour of Irwin's zoo in Australia on Aug. 30, 2001.