Thursday, November 17, 2005

Early Al G. Barnes/ Louis Roth

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Mr. Woodcock,would it be possible to have a discusion forum at this web site?
I noticed you can only ask questions under a photograph.
I was wondering if you had any old photographs you could post of the
elephants of the old Selig zoo which use to be located where Licoln Park is today(now tennis courts) 4800 Mission road in Los Angles.
John G. Robinson use to be the zoo superintendent back in the 1910's.
Reportly they recieved there earliest elephant from "Big Otto'
were they use to film movies near Jacksonville Florida,also reportly Frank Bostock's elephants went to the Selig zoo around 1914.

Anonymous said...

I just needed to mention,the Big Otto was Big Otto Breitkreutz.
Was he a circus man?
The short silent movie,
Lost in the Jungle
was filmed in 1911 at Jacksonville Florida.
It starred Tom Santschi
The elephant I believe,was the famous"Almost human' elephant "Toodles", which I believe was a former elephant exhibit by Samuel Lockhart.
Would you have a photogrpah of "Toodles'?
thank you
K.C

Anonymous said...

Charles A. Bennett, our venerable Uncle Ben at Jungleland, worked closely with Louis Roth from 1933 to 1945. Those dozen years established Ben as the most respected cat man in the Compound. Every day for five years, in mentoring my apprenticeship, Ben would cite the ways of Louis Roth. He said decisively, "Old Louie knew more about the big cats than any man who ever walked in this country." Today, few of us remain who understand how circus animal trainers broke in and earned the core knowledge of the work. Roth profoundly influenced a young Clyde Beatty, thoroughly schooled Mabel Stark (his wife of four years)and the Barnes show trainers, generously tutored Uncle Ben, and thereby passed it on for the last time to this grateful exponent of the Old School.