Junior Ruffin

Manuel Ruffin (Prince Bogino): Clyde Beatty Prodigy Emanuel Ruffin was born on April 28, 1938, in Los Angeles, California. Who could imagine the impact this young African-American man from a non-circus family would have on the circus world? Clyde Beatty became a model to young Manuel, who decided at an early age that he wanted to become a wild animal trainer. So seldom are dreams matched with reality, but Clyde Beatty, who referred to him as “Junior”, sensed the teenager’s potential, so, with parental permission, he took him on as his cage boy for the Clyde Beatty Wild Animal Circus in Los Angeles. By the age of 14 he became Beatty’s chief assistant, breaking and training lions and tigers. Some of his tricks even included the roll-over and jumping through hoops of fire. Billed as “Prince Bogino, America’s foremost trainer of savage jungle beasts”, Manuel performed with elephants as well as big cats in the steel arena. In 1958, when he was just 20, he worked on his own with lions, tigers, and bears plus African and Asian elephants. The animals respected his no-nonsense approach, while he maintained the Clyde Beatty style with the bounce, or fighting cat act. In addition to performance, Mr. Ruffin has served as superintendent of transportation for Ringling Bros., and Barnum & Bailey’s Blue Unit. When Ringling made him train boss for their Monte Carlo Circus, he became the highest ranking African-American department head in their over 100 year history. During his lifetime Manuel Ruffin has broken many barriers and created serious interest with the media. He was featured in Ebony magazine in October, 1964, National Geographic in March ,1972 (with Hoxie Bros.), and he received a six-page spread in Playboy in 1973. He was also the subject of several other magazine and newspaper articles, TV and radio programs, and a portion of Gene Plowdon’s acclaimed book, Mud Show. “Junior” Ruffin will long be remembered as a great performer, organizer, and circus consultant. His many contributions laid the groundwork for the very successful, multimillion dollar UniverSoul Big Top Circus. In his retirement, Manuel has been entertaining audiences with his unique style of story-telling, and we are privileged to have him speak on December 6th. Don’t miss this special evening of guaranteed enjoyment. Thanks to Rob Houston of Philadelphia for contributing information for this article. (from Circusvern)