Clyde Beatty-Cole Bros. Circus

Clyde Beatty-Cole Bros. Circus, vintage 3.5 x 5 inch glossy candid snapshot. Credited to Robert D. Good of Allentown, PA.

Clyde Beatty (June 10, 1903 - July 19, 1965) joined the circus as a cage cleaner as a teen and became famous as a lion tamer and animal trainer. He also became a circus impresario who owned his own show that later merged with the Cole Bros. Circus to form the Clyde Beatty-Cole Bros. Circus.

Beatty became famous for his "fighting act," in which he entered the cage with wild animals with a whip and a pistol strapped to his side. The act was designed to showcase his courage and mastery of the wild beasts, which included lions, tigers, cougars, and hyenas, sometimes brought together all at once in a single cage in a potentially lethal combination. At the height of his fame, the act featured as many as 40 lions and tigers of both sexes, and Beatty had his own rail car in the 35-car circus train.

Verso bears original handwritten ID notations and credit stamping. In very good condition.