George William " Bill" Grunkemeyer was born July 27, 1942 to George and Prudence Grunkemeyer. He attended Sheridan schools and graduated from the University of Wyoming with a BS in microbiology. He was an avid outdoorsman who loved fishing, hiking, camping and skiing. It was these interests that led him into the field of film.

In the late 1960s,  Bill had the opportunity to work with Jim Simon, a  previous Outdoor  Hall of Fame inductee, a noted  biologist  and filmmake r who was working with the Wyoming Travel Commission after several years of filming with the True -Life Adventure series  produced by Walt Disney. During that summer Bill realized his passion was film production with an emphasis on wildlife and the outdoor subjects.

In the mid-l 980s Bill formed a company he called Grunko Films, producing videos featuring hunting, fishing and wildlife. He produced over 40 outdoor and wildlife videos as well as 35 episodes for his television series, Experience the Wild. His career took him from the top of the Arctic to the tip of South America.

Bill worked for all major television networks and won numerous awards for his own productions as well as his camera work for other companies. The National Wildlife Federation And the Wyoming Wildlife Federation twice named him "Communicator of the Year" for Wyoming.

Bill passed away in 2003, a victim of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis-Lou Gehrig's Disease.  However, his work has been archived with the state of Wyoming, which includes more than 1000 hours of wildlife, hunting, fishing, and outdoor adventure.