Friday, November 11, 2005

Jungleland #1


I'm late this morning, stayed up last night reading Bandwagon, great issue.
Must get up early in the morning tho since a company named Tentmakers Enterprises is filming a documentary at the Ringling Museum and I have been invited to make a few comments. I believe it is in connection with their new additions to debut in February.
I think I will take Pat and Ryan with me.

Posted by Buckles at 11/11/2005 08:02:00 AM

15 comments:

GaryHill said...

Kinda looks like a old shopping strip mall? Buckles, you really need to get with The History Channel and do a series on Circus History! All the info you have would make quite a few Great Shows! Best, Gary

11 November, 2005 08:40
Anonymous said...

Does Lumpy have to stay home? How is the little Empress doing? Are you using her for a babe magnant? I know how you elephant men are.

11 November, 2005 19:57
Buckles said...

IX-NAY on the UMPY-LAY, the women of the household have informed me on no uncertain terms that she will be called "Kay".
The boys have soccer practice this morning, looks like it will be me and Howard Tibbals against the world.

12 November, 2005 06:23
Anonymous said...

During the Richards and Horne era, this was the main entrance of the Compound, as it had been for Goebel's Lion Farm prior to 1946. When I arrived, in 1965, this front section, facing Thousand Oaks Blvd., was not used by the public. They bought tickets beside the front entrance, which was a massive, hinged gate that rolled inward on a track for truck access. Some of the staff entered through a man-door by the office, and crossed a bridge leading to the interior. I parked around back and entered through the slaughterhouse gate. This road continued through another gate at the hippo pool, allowing for semi traffic throughout the park. Only a few of the man-doors were chained and locked, but with security what it is today, readers will be surprised to know not one of these main gates in my years there was ever guarded or locked. Anyone could walk or drive into Jungleland around the clock.

12 November, 2005 12:35
Anonymous said...

Is this were they filmed the 1966 television series"Dakatari"?
Was Ralph Helfer's Modoc in that?

12 November, 2005 17:21
Anonymous said...

No, DAKTARI, GENTLE BEN, the FLIPPER series, and CLARENCE, THE CROSS-EYED LION, were not done at Jungleland. These were productions of a movie animal competitor, Ivan Tors. I saw the 7th Clarence. He and his six predecessors had their eyes surgically altered to cause stobismus (crossed eyes) by the Tors company to create a film novelty, much like Kenny Feld's excoriated creation of his "Unicorn". Tors escaped catching the heat such as later embarrassed Kenny. The 7 Clarences all died slowly of overdoses of drugs, to keep them sufficiently docile to allow Judy the Chimp to jump on them and pull their manes. A Tors employee told me this, leading to my personal observations.

13 November, 2005 18:46
GaryHill said...

Back in summer of 73, I had driven Dr.Martin Dinnes DVM's mobile vet truck from the old World of Animals in Mesquite to Los Angeles for him and I stayed as his guest for a week working with him on his rounds in Cal. I got to meet Tippi Hedren and go to her compound Shambala. We also went to ,I think it was Africa USA, where I had a "Clarence "walk up behind me an breath down my neck! I don't know what number he was but he had the run of the offices! Judy the chimp was under my care in Grand Prairie, Tx at the old Lion Country Safari that the Hunts at International Animal Exchange used as a holding area for lots of animals. She (Judy) had three tits, made her stand out! Thats where I worked with Abu the male african and Bubbles the asian female. Best, Gary

14 November, 2005 13:11
Buckles said...

Many years ago when I was still just a groom and truck driver for my dad. We played the Texas dates one Fall and the rumor among the prop crew was that the lady lion trainer had three breasts as well.
Being a foolish youth, on long drives and with nothing else to think about, I would ponder their alignment.

14 November, 2005 13:34
Anonymous said...

For a concise history of our Compound in Thousand Oaks, see my response to question #301 on the CHS Discussion Board, saving my re-hashing it here. It's source includes my own years there, correspondence with Kathleen Goebel and Alma Goebel Heil, and history by the late local librarian, Pat Allen. The 20th Century-Fox execs never could pull off the "New Jungleland", and bowed out. Goebel dissolved the deal with Heinz and Lutz Ruhe when they squandered the money. Mr. Ed was not a resident with us. All the MGM lions were, however, until we closed in '69, including the 3 Jackie lions trained by Mel Koontz. My favorite in the MGM logo was Frank Philips's black-maned Pascha. I saw them running to the car carrying Zoltan Hargitay, Jayne Mansfield's son, right after the mauling by Sammy lion, on November 25, 1966. All the Weissmuller TARZAN films, his later JUNGLE JIM series, and the Lex Barker TARZANS, were with Compound animals. The movies using our animals are too numerous to include here. I was told by Benny Bennett, Mabel Stark, and Dick McGraw of everyone who worked cats there, from the greats to the 40-milers. All day, during our work, and way into the nights over many cold beers, we talked of them all, but no one told me of Harry Haag. I would have remembered, connecting the name to the great old wagon-show operator. Perhaps he was on another payroll elsewhere, especially if he drew $17.50 an hour. Our head trainers made union pay of $6.65 1/2 per hour on our last picture, '67s DR. DOLITTLE.
To Gary: I was a Lion Ranger at Grand Prairie, in '76. My late cousin referred me to Joe Cannon, DVM. Lion Country was a very bad place to be that summer.

14 November, 2005 19:24
GaryHill said...

Roger, I was there in late 78 and they wanted to send me to Japan for two years. I declined and went to Farriers School instead. So thats what I do today. The GP Park had some bad times those last years. They did make a movie "Day of the Animals" or something to that effect, at the park. We were open to the public and I put on a free show with the elephants when we had a crowd big enough to entertain! The Hunts were stockpileing animals for the Japan Park. Best, Gary

15 November, 2005 17:21
Anonymous said...

What about the old Selig zoo,which dates back to the silient movies.
When were the animals moved to the Griffith Park zoo in Los Angles?
R.L

15 November, 2005 17:57
Anonymous said...

The old Selig zoo in Los Angles
was where Lincoln Park is today.
It was opened in 1913 by
William Selig who owned a motion picture company and needed a place for the animals he used in the films.
The zoo area covered 32 acres
and cost one million dollars in 1913.Reportly they had over 700 species(?) of animals there.
Anyway,there are a couple of interesting web sites that have old photographs and postcards of the old Selig zoo(including some elephants).
R.L

15 November, 2005 19:23
Anonymous said...

Interesting enough,the nucleus of the Selig zoo animals were former performing animals of the Frank Bostock show(he died in 1912)
The Bostock performing animals were sold to David Horsley for Centaur films which at that time was based in Bayonne New Jersey,the outfit moved to Los Angles and became the Selig zoo.
Bostock shows famous lion tamer,Jack Bonavita was the head trainer.
Frank Bostock's non-performing animals became the nucleus of the Prospect Park Zoo in NYC.
(I got all this info from a web page over at www.thegalloper.com)

15 November, 2005 19:49
Anonymous said...

I also used to care for Judy the Chimp from Daktari when the place in Grand Prairie was called International Wildlife Park in 1979. She was a very good girl. I remember asking her to gather up her orange peels and she would do it without hesitation. She would then bring them to me and hand them through the fence. She mostly stayed inside, and was turning gray. She also played the alien pet on Lost In Space.

15 October, 2010 06:09
Anonymous said...

Mr. Ed was never associated with Jungleland. He lived across the street from us on Saticoy St. in North Hollywood. His trainer was Les Hilton, who was a part owner in the company that owned him. When Les moved to Burbank, Ed lived there until his death.

30 June, 2012 17:39

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