Lion Tamer Traditional Cache
Motrin Man: Time to let this one go.
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P & G
Will your name be added to this list of famous Lion Tamers?
The First Lion Tamers
Lord of the Rings
Gunther Gebel-Williams (1934-2001) made his American debut with Ringling Brothers Circus in 1969, becoming a huge star. In the 1970s, he starred in a famous American Express commercial with a leopard casually draped over his shoulders. Said to have treated his animals with respect, many credit him with changing the "man versus beast" mentality that had long dominated the circus. His final performance was in 1998.¬
In 1819, a French circus performer named Henri Martin entered a cage with a tiger, shocking the audience when he emerged without a scratch. Martin, a retired horse trainer, soon taught the tiger to obey a series of simple commands. He eventually incorporated lions into his act as well, becoming the first famous lion tamer. Martin earned the big cats' trust by introducing himself to the cage little by little, over time.
The first American lion tamer, Isaac Van Amburgh, stepped into the ring with a lion, tiger and leopard in 1833. Known for his extreme theatrics, Van Amburgh would act out scenes from the Bible -- he would bring a lamb or even a child from the audience into the cage with him. Many historians credit Van Amburgh with being the first man to put his head in a lion's mouth [source: Thayer].
Van Amburgh became quite famous, at one point performing for Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom.
Clyde Beatty became the next big name in lion taming in the mid-1920s, at the peak of wild animal acts. His act, like Van Amburgh's, showcased lions as snarling, terrifying beasts over which he exerted control. He was also famous for using the chair method of lion taming.
Chistopher ¬Walken, Lion Tamer
The famous and eccentric actor Christopher Walken once worked in a circus as part of a lion taming act. He said of the lion tamer, "He must not have been very good. He had scars all over his back" [source: Rodrick}
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