Posted By thecircusblog on May 6, 2012
Billie Richards and Trader Horne took over Jungleland in the mid 1950’s. The trainers and other performers stayed on so there was not much of a change. The changes that were made was in name recognition and in their advertisement, but mostly it was business as usual. Both men were good business men. They came up with the idea that maybe they should put together a movie about wild animals. However, in their first year the compound was foremost in their minds, making a go of it which would entail a new and better image.
Throughout the years there had been many different owner and leasers but Jungleland always went back into the hands of Louie Goebel the originator and builder of the Jungleland compound. Maybe this time Horne and Richards might pull it off.
Mr. Goebel was the head of the animal department at Universal Studio in 1923. He saw that there was a good future in wild animals. He traveled out into the country north of Los Angeles and bought raw land in Thousand Oaks, Calif. There Louie developed Goebel’s Wild Animal Farm. Now he was on the way to becoming a successful importer and exporter of wild animals: buying, selling, and leasing them. And so the movie people came to him. It was a top location for jungle movie, hence the name Jungleland came about.
Bob Cline has made an important comment. Thanks.
Category: Billie Richards, World Jungle Compound |
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Posted By thecircusblog on May 6, 2012
As you can see here in the compound’s flyer, the World Jungle Compound featured an array of great wild animal trainers. Many of those trainers did a lot of studio work, adding to the income of the newly formed partnership. On another note, I believe it was Trader Horne that invented the little baby plastic and rubber elephant that children could ride for a dime. The little elephant would safely rock back and forth. These elephants were found at the entrance of many different markets and stores as well at the Jungle Compound. They were very popular but the maintenance on them caused their downfall. It seemed that the mechanism was too complex. That did not stop their ideas nor there business tenacity, which included new ideas on making a wild animal film.
Category: Billie Richards, World Jungle Compound |
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Posted By thecircusblog on May 6, 2012
Trader Horne is on the left and Billie Richards on the right. This photo taken at the World Jungle Compound. The following posts feature some of their movie production notes.
Category: Billie Richards, World Jungle Compound |
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Posted By thecircusblog on May 6, 2012
These documents and many of the photos were given to me by Billie Richards nephew Jerry Osborne.
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Posted By thecircusblog on May 6, 2012
Category: Billie Richards |
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Posted By thecircusblog on May 6, 2012
This is what is known as a deal memo, made out before an actual contract.
Category: Billie Richards, World Jungle Compound |
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Posted By thecircusblog on May 6, 2012
Finally, after some time and a lot of money the movie was made. For an unknown reason the picture was never released. The movie video version is now in the hands of Jerry Osborne, but the soundtrack is nowhere to be found. Why they were separated no one will ever know. I have been talking with Jerry about finding the soundtrack. I think I might know where it could be…. Update later…
Category: Billie Richards |
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Posted By thecircusblog on May 6, 2012
Trader Horne is gone now, but many of his ideas live on.
Category: Billie Richards, JungleLand Compound, World Jungle Compound |
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Posted By thecircusblog on May 6, 2012
Billie Richards the little man was a big entrepreneur and he loved show business. No matter how hard Billie and Trader tried, the compound became too much for them. I do not know the date that The World Jungle Compound went back to Louis Goebel the founder of Jungleland, but the above-ground facilities were sold again in 1963 to Roy and Marie Kabat and Tex Scarborough, a partner for the amount of $2.4 million. The greater majority of the money came from Marie Kabat’s father. Here again the struggle to make Jungleland work.
Category: Billie Richards |
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