Clyde Beatty
Encyclopedia
Clyde Beatty joined the circus as a cage cleaner as a teen and became famous as a lion tamer
and animal trainer
. He also became a circus
impresario
who owned his own show that later merged with the Cole Bros. Circus to form the Clyde Beatty-Cole Bros. Circus.
s, tiger
s, cougars, and hyena
s, sometimes brought together all at once in a single cage in a potentially lethal combination. At the height of his fame, the act featured as many as 40 lions and tigers of both sexes.
There have been suggestions that Beatty was the first lion tamer to use a chair in his act, but in an autobiographical book Beatty himself disclaimed the credit: "It was in use when I was a cage boy and had been used long before."
Beatty's fame was such that he appeared in films from the 1930s to the 1950s and on television until the 1960s. He was also the star of his own syndicated radio series, The Clyde Beatty Show, from 1950 to 1952. The weekly programs featured adventures loosely based on his real-life exploits. However, the stories were no doubt more fictitious that real, and Beatty actually appeared in name only. In fact, Vic Perrin
, not identified as such to the radio audience, impersonated him on the show. His "fighting act" made him the paradigm of a lion tamer for more than a generation. Beatty was once mauled by a lion named Nero. The tamer was in the hospital for ten weeks as a result of the attack. However, he remained undaunted and actually faced Nero down in a cage for the film The Big Cage
. He is one of the caricatures at Sardi's restaurant in New York City
created by Alex Gard
which is now part of the Billy Rose Theatre Collection
at the New York Public Library
.
In the 1997 film Fast, Cheap & Out of Control, lion tamer Dave Hoover cites Beatty as a major influence on his career. Director Errol Morris
uses several clips from Beatty's films during his interviews with Hoover.
Clyde Beatty was born in Bainbridge
, Ohio
, United States
, and died of cancer in 1965 at age 62 in Ventura, California
, and was interred in the Forest Lawn Cemetery
in Hollywood Hills
.
Beatty's family, which resides in southern Ohio, consists of the Roger Beatty family: Dawn, Jordan, Avary, and Owen. And Roger's sister Brenda Hull and his brother Duane Fairley.
Lion taming
Lion taming is the practice of taming lions, either for protection, whereby the practice was probably created, or, more commonly, entertainment, particularly in the circus. The term is also often used for the taming and display of other big cats such as tigers, leopards, jaguars, cheetahs, and pumas...
and animal trainer
Animal training
Animal training refers to teaching animals specific responses to specific conditions or stimuli. Training may be for the purpose of companionship, detection, protection, entertainment or all of the above....
. He also became a circus
Circus
A circus is commonly a travelling company of performers that may include clowns, acrobats, trained animals, trapeze acts, musicians, hoopers, tightrope walkers, jugglers, unicyclists and other stunt-oriented artists...
impresario
Impresario
An impresario is a person who organizes and often finances concerts, plays or operas; analogous to a film producer in filmmaking, television production and an angel investor in business...
who owned his own show that later merged with the Cole Bros. Circus to form the Clyde Beatty-Cole Bros. Circus.
Biography
Beatty became famous for his "fighting act," in which he entered the cage with wild animals with a whip and a pistol strapped to his side. The act was designed to showcase his courage and mastery of the wild beasts, which included lionLion
The lion is one of the four big cats in the genus Panthera, and a member of the family Felidae. With some males exceeding 250 kg in weight, it is the second-largest living cat after the tiger...
s, tiger
Tiger
The tiger is the largest cat species, reaching a total body length of up to and weighing up to . Their most recognizable feature is a pattern of dark vertical stripes on reddish-orange fur with lighter underparts...
s, cougars, and hyena
Hyena
Hyenas or Hyaenas are the animals of the family Hyaenidae of suborder feliforms of the Carnivora. It is the fourth smallest biological family in the Carnivora , and one of the smallest in the mammalia...
s, sometimes brought together all at once in a single cage in a potentially lethal combination. At the height of his fame, the act featured as many as 40 lions and tigers of both sexes.
Beatty's fame was such that he appeared in films from the 1930s to the 1950s and on television until the 1960s. He was also the star of his own syndicated radio series, The Clyde Beatty Show, from 1950 to 1952. The weekly programs featured adventures loosely based on his real-life exploits. However, the stories were no doubt more fictitious that real, and Beatty actually appeared in name only. In fact, Vic Perrin
Vic Perrin
Vic Perrin was an American actor and voice artist. He is best remembered as the "Control Voice" in the original version of the TV series The Outer Limits ....
, not identified as such to the radio audience, impersonated him on the show. His "fighting act" made him the paradigm of a lion tamer for more than a generation. Beatty was once mauled by a lion named Nero. The tamer was in the hospital for ten weeks as a result of the attack. However, he remained undaunted and actually faced Nero down in a cage for the film The Big Cage
The Big Cage
The Big Cage is a 1933 circus film released by Universal Pictures starring Clyde Beatty and Anita Page and featuring Raymond Hatton, Wallace Ford, Andy Devine and Mickey Rooney, with Walter Brennan and Louise Beavers in bit roles....
. He is one of the caricatures at Sardi's restaurant in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
created by Alex Gard
Alex Gard
Alex Gard , born Alexey Kremkoff in Kazan, Russia, was a cartoonist. He contributed weekly drawings to the drama section of The New York Herald Tribune, and was hired to create caricatures of Broadway and other celebrities at Sardi's Restaurant in New York City.Restaurant owner, Vincent Sardi, and...
which is now part of the Billy Rose Theatre Collection
Billy Rose
William "Billy" Rose was an American impresario, theatrical showman and lyricist. He is credited with many famous songs, notably "Me and My Shadow" , "It Happened in Monterey" and "It's Only a Paper Moon"...
at the New York Public Library
New York Public Library
The New York Public Library is the largest public library in North America and is one of the United States' most significant research libraries...
.
In the 1997 film Fast, Cheap & Out of Control, lion tamer Dave Hoover cites Beatty as a major influence on his career. Director Errol Morris
Errol Morris
Errol Mark Morris is an American director. In 2003, The Guardian put him seventh in its list of the world's 40 best directors. Also in 2003, his film The Fog of War: Eleven Lessons from the Life of Robert S. McNamara won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature.-Early life and...
uses several clips from Beatty's films during his interviews with Hoover.
Clyde Beatty was born in Bainbridge
Bainbridge, Ross County, Ohio
Bainbridge is a village in Ross County, Ohio, United States, along Paint Creek. The population was 1,012 at the 2000 census.Bainbridge is the location of Pike Lake State Park...
, Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, and died of cancer in 1965 at age 62 in Ventura, California
Ventura, California
Ventura is the county seat of Ventura County, California, United States, incorporated in 1866. The population was 106,433 at the 2010 census, up from 100,916 at the 2000 census. Ventura is accessible via U.S...
, and was interred in the Forest Lawn Cemetery
Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Hollywood Hills)
Forest Lawn – Hollywood Hills Cemetery is part of the Forest Lawn chain of Southern California cemeteries. It is at 6300 Forest Lawn Drive in the Hollywood Hills neighborhood in the Hollywood district of Los Angeles, California, on the lower north slope at the far east end of the Santa Monica...
in Hollywood Hills
Hollywood Hills
The Hollywood Hills is an affluent and exclusive neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, in the southeastern Santa Monica Mountains. It is bound by Laurel Canyon Boulevard to the west, Vermont Avenue to the east, Mulholland Drive to the north, and Sunset Boulevard to the south.-Hollywood Hills...
.
Beatty's family, which resides in southern Ohio, consists of the Roger Beatty family: Dawn, Jordan, Avary, and Owen. And Roger's sister Brenda Hull and his brother Duane Fairley.
Filmography
- The Big CageThe Big CageThe Big Cage is a 1933 circus film released by Universal Pictures starring Clyde Beatty and Anita Page and featuring Raymond Hatton, Wallace Ford, Andy Devine and Mickey Rooney, with Walter Brennan and Louise Beavers in bit roles....
(1933) - The Lost JungleThe Lost JungleThe Lost Jungle is a Mascot movie serial.A semi-sequel to this serial, Darkest Africa, was released by Republic Pictures in 1936...
(1934 serial) - The Lost Jungle (1934)
- Darkest AfricaDarkest AfricaDarkest Africa is a Republic movie serial. This was the first serial produced by Republic Pictures and was a loose sequel to a Mascot Pictures serial called The Lost Jungle, also starring Clyde Beatty. Mascot, and other companies, had been taken over in 1935 by Consolidated Film Laboratories and...
(1936 serial) - Cat College (1940)
- Jungle WomanJungle WomanJungle Woman is a 1944 horror film released by Universal Pictures. The movie features Evelyn Ankers, J. Carrol Naish, Samuel S. Hinds, Lois Collier, Milburn Stone, Douglass Dumbrille, and Acquanetta...
(1944) - Here Comes the Circus (1946, documentary short)
- Africa ScreamsAfrica ScreamsAfrica Screams is a 1949 comedy film starring Abbott and Costello and directed by Charles Barton.-Plot:Diana Emerson is in the book department of Klopper's Department store looking for a copy of the book Dark Safari, written by the famed explorer Cuddleford...
, also known as Abbott and Costello in Africa (1949) - Perils of the JunglePerils of the Jungle (1953 film)- Cast :*Clyde Beatty as Clyde Beatty*Stanley Farrar as Grant*Phyllis Coates as Jo Carter*John Doucette as Gorman*Leonard Mudie as Grubbs*Joel Fluellen as Kenny*Roy Glenn as Korjah*Olaf Hytten as Mac*Tudor Owen as Commissioner*Shelby Bacon as Boy King...
(1953) - Ring of FearRing of Fear (film)Ring of Fear is a 1954 film starring Clyde Beatty and Mickey Spillane as themselves. With a deranged killer on the loose in his circus, lion tamer Beatty calls in mystery writer Spillane to solve the case.-Cast:*Clyde Beatty as Himself...
(1954) - The Greatest Show on EarthThe Greatest Show on EarthThe Greatest Show on Earth is a 1952 drama film set in the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus. The film was produced, directed, and narrated by Cecil B. DeMille, and won the Academy Award for Best Picture...
(1952)