His Legend Lives On
Posted By thecircusblog on December 29, 2012
I believe this photo was taken in 1960. It is a great shot of Clyde Beatty. Thanks Randy for sharing it with the circus blog.
Thanks Harry and Randy for your comments, also Mike Cecere for his comment.
Thank you Miss Denson for your comment.
About the author
thecircusblog
My name is Ivan M. Henry and I am the 4th generation of a circus/show business dynasty. I hope you enjoy the blog.Comments
5 Responses to “His Legend Lives On”
Leave a Reply
Please note: Comment moderation is currently enabled so there will be a delay between when you post your comment and when it shows up. Patience is a virtue; there is no need to re-submit your comment.
I share this with the dates provided by Roger Smith, I look forward to cutting up Jackpots with Roger soon. Thanks again Ivan for networking me with Roger.
Here is Mr. Beatty in about 1960 and it is hard to beleive from this photo the way he looked then and down the road on July 19, 1965, Mr Circus would be gone.
His fame lives on with us fans as ther will never be another to equal him with his showmanship in the big cage.
Thanks for the memories.
Harry in Texas
IVAN Great stuff CLYDE BEATTY WAS THE REASON A LOT OF US GOT INTO Circus/Animal business. Not only the noteriety of being the main act in a show, or the star of movies,But to be close to the jungle beasts and have the wherewithall to own , feed and protect them. Any animal person will tell you that, they are our children, our lives, our reason to go onto the next day in this crazy world we live in. Beatty did it big and with STYLE. A
Hi! What a great photo, thanks for sharing!
I am one of Dave Hoovers many sisters. Dave was one of the many people that Mike Cecere refers to…ones that entered the circus world after watching Clyde in the movies and at the circus. Dave, in fact, took over Clyde’s act after his untimely death.
He was humbled and honored to step into Clyde’s shoes aware of what a large pari they were to fill! Clyde truly was ‘the great one’ and Dave spoke and wrote fondly of him until his own death.
There needs to be a correction here, although I see the dates above as being 2 years ago. Dave Hoover did not take over the Clyde Beatty act, but he did buy it. He joined Beatty-Cole with his own act for the ’66 season. Jungleland bought the remnants, which is what they were, of the Beatty act. We got 7 of the cats. The lions were Sultan, Caesar, Congo, Duke, and 27-year-old Simba. The tigers were Judy, and the rollover Princess. Jungleland’s owner knew absolutely nothing of the business and had no idea what they were getting when the truck arrived with Red Hartman as the act presenter. Red’s chronic drunkenness had cost him the Beatty show when he failed too many times throughout the seaon to work the act. Tommy Clarke and his prop crew had to go out before the seated audience and tear the cage down, as there would be no cat act. The heat back at the ticket window had Frank McClosky bring Hoover on for ’66. Out here, Red’s perpetual alcoholism at last got him fired. He took a bus to a prop boy”s job in Texas. Jungleland’s manager, Roy Kabat, never paid Hoover for Princess, and he sent Big John Richards out to look for her. She was still here, but when the Compound was auctioned off, in ’69, Princess was not tagged for the sale, and was never seen again by anyone of us who knew her. Hoover remained on the Beatty show for many seasons, when inevitable changes also saw him moved over. Long story, but long enough for now.