Buckles Blog: Park Elephants #2

Thursday, April 25, 2013

Clyde Beatty Jungle Zoo & Circus at Ft. Lauderdale.

"What a contraption! Looks like Albert Fleet and "Sid"."

Roger Smith said...: Fleet was among the most valuable animal men ever around Beatty, but like many we remember, was largely unsung, known only to insiders. In one of the 1930s Kelty shots of Beatty in the Garden, Fleet is seen working the Safety Cage. He trained and worked acts of lions, and I believe was accomplished with seals. Photos with a lion group show he had his time out here at the Compound during the Richards and Horne era. I doubt that I will be corrected in claiming for Fleet that only he could handle and work the volatile Beatty chimps, Mickey and Minnie.; 29 April, 2013 00:59
John Herriott said...: He had some missing fijngers from days with chimps. They tell that one day going in the tent the Con Colleano wire jacks were guyed out to multistaked "dead men" to make it as tight as Colleano like that Mickey the chimp in one swipe knocked the whole thing over.johnny Beatty had quite a few old timers around him, I recal visiting the show and lined up with the elephants for the trek to the train was famous old wild animal trainer John Helliott. He also had George Smith as a mgr. and also FrankOrman. Also we recall Joe Appelgaite and other old show guys.; 29 April, 2013 08:28

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