Friday, May 02, 2008

"Master of the Jungle Killers" #2


img004, originally uploaded by bucklesw1.

Posted by Buckles at 5/02/2008 06:48:00 AM

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Would anybody have a date for this photo? It looks like Ramon and Tommy Napoli to me and that would have been in the early to mid 60's.
Tommy said that he had trouped with Boom Boom 2 different years.
Bob Kitto

02 May, 2008 20:14
Anonymous said...

As stated in the first photo: "and one other photo of Beatty made that day, June 26, 1961, in Chicopee Falls, Mass."

03 May, 2008 01:12
Roger Smith said...

If you pay close attention, you will notice the Old School trainers had learned to study their animals just before the act. Mr. Beatty scanned their moods from their ears (up or laid back), to their tails (idly swinging or lashing in agitation), and he went in knowing more of what to expect from each one. Importantly, after the act, some of you may have noticed him passing along the cages waving to each cat just returned from the act. Part of this, as explained to me later, was to ackowledge the animal rather than ignore him. Part of it was to say, in effect, after the fury of the performance, "Good. You're home. Wasn't that fun!"

Indeed, Bob, that's Ramon Escorcia, and Tommy Napoli, first trumpet, at right. When Mr. Beatty was off the show for his surgery, I rode with Tommy, who drove 96 Bible Wagon, and we became fast friends. He later returned to California, married, had two children, and became a mail carrier. We visited out here at Jungleland. Tommy was a good guy. Earlier that season, he drove 78 Cat Wagon, and always stopped at a diner. When George Scott, Beatty's animal man, would protest that he was too dirty to go in, Tommy would always tell him, "If they can't serve you, they can't serve me. Let's eat."

03 May, 2008 14:30
Anonymous said...

Roger,
In '64, we were in Peoria and were playing on some lot that had a race track and Tommy had at one time driven stock cars, so he asked me if he could drive my '61 New Yorker around a few times.
He scared the shit out me, but was really a good driver.
Bob Kitto

03 May, 2008 19:45

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