Friday, November 03, 2006

Titans of the Tigers #5


Robert Baudy 1966

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

As far as I know, Robert Baudy was the first in America to present a hind leg walking tiger.

Anonymous said...

I doubt that Jimmy, but those four or five Siberians were magnificant. This is the act that Zeke Walsh helped Baudy train when they got together after she left Cuneo cage bear act. They also offered an excellent uncaged leopard act.

Anonymous said...

Zeke never got the credit she earned for the training she did. I met her when they had the uncaged leopard act. Two completely different personalitys. I always thought Zeke was the greatest. I posed for four photos with Baudys first tiger for a newspaper in Canada at the CNE. Thats same tiger nailed Baudy later. In the photos the tiger is licking my face and another laying with its head in my lap. God I was young.

Buckles said...

Barbara says he came from Charly Baumann.

Anonymous said...

I know that Eloise had a hind leg walking tiger when I first saw her in 1966, but I had always been told that Baudy had the first one here in the U.S. ( I first saw Baudy's act in '63 )

If anyone knows of any other early hind leg walking tigers (or lions) that preceded Baudy, I would be interested to know. I am sure that Charlotte had a great deal to do with training that act.
When I last saw the act in '69, there were 8 tigers, plus 3 leopards (one black) for the un-caged act.

Jim Clubb, are you reading this ?

Anonymous said...

On hind leg walking tigers. I think you would have to go back to Louie Roth, Mabel Stark, Bob McFurson and Mathis, Court and others. I have found the case to be in my time, Everything has pretty much has been done before. Especially a trick that has become quite common among tiger acts today.

Anonymous said...

In his fast paced tiger act Gunther had a tiger that walked quickly backwards on its hind legs and then immediately he brought one out to walk foreward. One matinee he looked out of the cage to me standing on the track just as he was going into that segment and smiled and I immediately sensed what he was about to do. He brought the one out and right away the other and did the front and back together. Its a horse liberty trick and we laughed all the way back to the dressing room. Thats how skillful, sharp and coordinated he was. It was then part of the act. But the training leading up to that moment is what counted. You don't train that trick overnight unless you are Gebel-Williams. Incudentally they both went into a ground sit up for the finish.

Anonymous said...

For those who wonder who Gunther was, or what he did, this story from Johnny, say's it all remarkably. I had someone tell me one time, that Gunther tried 3 tigers, in a show, before he got one to walk on it's hindlegs. In actuality, he was training the other 3 "in the show". Wade Burck