BEATTY, CLYDE (RAYMOND)

born June 10, 1903, Bainbridge, Ohio, U.S. died July 19, 1965, Ventura, Calif. Clyde Beatty training lions, c. 1932. American trainer of wild animals, known for his "fighting act," designed to show his courage and mastery of the ferocious animals under his control. In one of the most daring acts in circus history, he mixed 40 lions and tigers of both sexes and also used dangerous combinations of tigers, lions, leopards, pumas, hyenas, and bears. Beatty left home at the age of 18 to be a circus cage attendant. A year later he had his own animal act. From 1925 through 1934 he toured with the Hagenbeck-Wallace Circus. From 1931 through 1934 he appeared with the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus in its New York City and Boston appearances. He also performed with the Cole Bros. Circus from 1935 through 1938. Beatty bought a circus in 1945 that later merged with Cole Bros. (1958) to form the largest tent show on the road in the United States at that time. He appeared in several motion pictures, including The Big Cage (1933) and Ring of Fear (1957).