Thursday, August 25, 2005

Clyde Beatty-Wallace Bros. Circus 1943/ Bill Woodcock and "Anna May"


This is my dad again with "Anna May" about to take her into the arena for Harriet Beatty's riding lion and tiger act.
He liked this elephant so well that later he would name another elephant after her and that
"Anna May" would become a member of our family for over fifty years.

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

how did your dad get into the elephant business

Buckles said...

That's a good question, and I think an interesting story. I'll start sending out some pictures and anecdotes in the morning.

Anonymous said...

Is that the same Anna May that appeared in the movie GUNGA DIN with Carey Grant and Gary Cooper?

Buckles said...

I wasn't aware there was an "Anna May" in Gunga Den. That film was released in 1939 and filmed the year before while the Al G. Barnes Circus still wintered out there.They usually supplied all the elephants for the epic films.

Buckles said...

On this subject however, Gordon Taylor just sent me a copy of a recently published biography of Anna May Wong. It's extremely interesting.

Anonymous said...

I checked some of the info I have,the original Anna May
was with the John G. Robinson show
around 1913 and later was kept at the old Selig zoo at Los Angeles.
I think she also appeared in a lot of those old Tarzan movies too
during the 1930's.

Buckles said...

The "Anna May" you refer to was at the Selig zoo in the 1910's and appeared in a lot of silent movies but the elephants in the 1930's Tarzan Movies were supplied by the Al G. Barnes Circus that wintered in California.

Anonymous said...

I think possibly I meant to say the silient Tarzan movies starring Elmo Lincoln.
Reportly the guy who played Korack son of Tarzan in a silent movie was either attacked or killed by a elephant too.