Saturday, January 23, 2021

CATFOLK #7


 

5 comments:

Chic Silber said...


I know very little about

Jules Jacot so I hope

somebody might fill in

Jim Alexander said...

Jules presented his first cat act in 1911. There's a list of the shows and the years in Baraboo. By the early 1930's we was a trainer on the Corporation shows. When circus times got tough he went to Mexico and presented a cat act on the backend of his new wife's family carnival. In 1942 he came back to the United States to train big cats at the St. Louis Zoo. He was at the Zoo until to end of 1955 when he partnered with Paul Kelly to present cat acts in circuses. That didn't workout well and Jules went to Jungleland in CA. STL Zoo Director Vierheller sent chimp trainer Mike Kostial out to CA to ask Jacot to return to the Zoo in 1962. (Jules would have been about 70 years old.) Jules trained and presented big cats at the Zoo thru 1969. He was replaced by a young guy trying to do a sea lion show. In 1970 Jules took two lions and four leopards to the Glen Oak Zoo in Peoria, IL for the summer. It would be his last season, he died in January 1971.

Jim Alexander said...

This photo was taken at the St. Louis Zoo Lion Arena in the early 1960s. The lion is King Solomon, aka Pee Wee, one of two lions Jules brought with him from CA. Don't know where the crown and glasses are but the cane is in my closet.

The Lion Arena is no more. In its location a new primate exhibit will open this year.

Unknown said...

Saw the "young guy" that replaced him in St Louis (great show) and Jules in Thousand Oaks (also enjoyed the show) Bob Kellogg

Jim Alexander said...

Wow Bob, you made my day. I remember your visit, after an elephant workshop in Springfield, MO. Got to catch up.