Friday, August 17, 2018

MIXED CATS


Posted by Chic Silber at 8/17/2018 12:13:00 AM

5 comments:

Chic Silber said...


"The One And Only"

(pick him up) a spot cue

17 August, 2018 00:22
Roger Smith said...

Clyde Beatty and the famous, maybe infamous, Nero, the lion who attacked him in January, 1932, in the outdoor arena at Peru, Indiana. From a critical bite to the leg, doctors traced the virulent microbe to infectious material in Nero's teeth, resulting in hemorrhagic septicemia that kept Beatty laid up for 16 weeks. Some believe his time at Dukes Memorial Hospital was more like 12 weeks, but the circus publicists named the threat as "Jungle Fever", and the wire services ate it up. When the story shot world-wide, another angle sealed Beatty's fame. Most stories did not say "Lion Trainer Injured"--they led with "Clyde Beatty Attacked by Lion". They used his name instead of a generic reference. The "jungle fever" angle won heavy ink for weeks, and his friend Ernest Hemingway urged him to write a book while the story was hot. Edward Anthony, who wrote the first Frank Buck adventures, turned out THE BIG CAGE. Universal Studios head Carl Laemmle snapped up the film rights, and shot it that winter, for a 1933 release of the same title. Legions of fans had already known of Beatty, but this first book and film created for him indelible fame to a global public.

17 August, 2018 03:37
Bob Momyer said...

I remember he also had a radio show in the late '40s or early '50s. I am not certain if he actual played himself on the show or an actor stood in for him.

17 August, 2018 09:22
Roger Smith said...

BOB: In 1949, Commodore Productions, who produced the Hopalong Cassidy franchise, syndicated THE CLYDE BEATTY RADIO SHOW. The concept is credited to Commodore's co-producer, Shirley Thomas (aka Mrs. Walter White, Jr.). The show scripted 52 episodes, of which some 46 are known to exist in broadcast quality. The theme music, THE CLYDE BEATTY RADIO MARCH, was composed by Hollywood veteran Albert Glasser. The show had two complete runs of the original episodes--the era was from December 11, 1950 to January 18, 1952. It was primarily sponsored by Kellogg's Rice Krispies, and aired on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, at 5:30 p.m. on the Mutual Broadcasting Network. I don't think I missed a single program.

Beatty himself did not act on the show, but did visit the Cherry Street Studios where it was taped. Vic Perrin played Beatty, and Eve McVeagh played Harriett Beatty. Although Harriett had died on October 25, 1950, before the show began, she was portrayed throughout the run with no mention of her passing. Most of the top radio actors won roles on the show, including Parley Baer. It was my privilege to have long-distance conversations with Perrin just months before his passing from cancer. He told me many details of this production, and sent me autographed photos. Perrin, a respected character actor, was a regular on Jack Webb's films and TV shows for his Mark VII Limited company.

The Beatty radio show segued into a TV series for him, and vague history in the old BILLBOARD states some 15 episodes were filmed. During one shoot, Beatty was clawed by a leopard. But internal squabbles between Shirley Thomas and husband Walter White, Jr., arose over who was head of Commodore, and the company collapsed in court battles. William Boyd, who starred as Hopalong Cassidy, was able to buy the world rights to his character from Commodore, and became among Hollywood's top 3 or 4 richest actors. Beatty already had the rights to his own real name, but even though he starred in Commodore's 1953 movie, PERILS OF THE JUNGLE, the TV series itself was never resurrected.

You can listen to select episodes of the show on Old Time Radio sites throughout the net, and with diligence it is still possible for you to collect the ones left available. Check also the histories written of the show, one of the best of which is penned by our own reader here, ERIC BEHEIM.

18 August, 2018 23:35
Bob Momyer said...

Thanks for all the history Roger.

19 August, 2018 06:39

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