Question #104185. Asked by star_gazer.
Last updated Aug 19 2019.
IT’S believed the lion that roars at the start of Metro Goldwyn Meyer films was born in Dublin Zoo. But is this true, and, if so, how did a Dublin lion make it to Hollywood? Historian Catherine de Courcy examines the strange claim in a piece entitled Dublin Zoo and the MGM Lion, which appears in the current edition of Zoo Matters.
There must have been more than one MGM lion. The role, like that of Tarzan and James Bond, would have been played by various ‘actors’ over the years. The first feline star was filmed in the early 1920s, in black and white. With developments in film technology, new ‘takes’ would have been needed. Colour film, 35mm and wide-screen formats, stereo sound and digital techniques would all have rendered previous sequences redundant. The maximum average lifespan of a lion is 24 years, so half a dozen actors may have performed the role.
Until the 1920s and 30s, Dublin’s lions were housed indoors and it seems unlikely an animal could have been satisfactorily filmed, given the lighting demands of cameras then. In 1941, the zoo opened an outdoor lion facility. With a landscaped, rocky backdrop and the animals separated from the public by a moat, the cats would have been more photogenic. In 1947, a camera team filmed one named Stephen, and de Courcy says this may have inspired the MGM story. There is still a possibility, she says, that the original star did hail from Dublin. According to an entry in online encyclopaedia Wikipedia, a lion named Slats featured from 1924 to 1928. He was said to have been born in Dublin in 1919. No birth certificate for Slats could be found among the zoo’s records, but two cubs were born that year. One remained in Dublin; the other appears to have been sold. Could the exile have been Slats?
http://www.irishexaminer.com/lifestyle/outdoors/richard-collins/putting-lions-in-the-picture-129914.htmlMGM Grand Lion Habitat Review -- Nestled in the heart of the MGM Grand, the lions of this Las Vegas resort are clearly the kings of this neon jungle. Separated from the lions by only one and a half inches of glass, visitors can watch as these majestic creatures feed, play, groom themselves and sleep. Informational placards are strung along the glass wall outside the exhibit, offering interesting facts about the lions. When they're not on display, the lions live on an 8.5-acre ranch located 12 miles from the MGM Grand. They are cared for by exotic animal trainer and conservationist Keith Evans. The lions are bathed and blown dry before being transported in a specially designed van to the MGM Grand each day.
http://myfavoriteanimalpostcards.blogspot.com.au/2014/01/the-lion-habitat-at-mgm.html https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leo_the_Lion_(MGM)Slats became the official Studio mascot and was sent out to do over 2,000 personal appearances throughout the country, including a stay at the Chicago World's Fair in 1933. Slats died in 1936 and is buried on Phifer’s old animal farm in Gillette, New Jersey. He was born in Sudan.
http://gothphotographer.blogspot.com.au/2010/09/mgm-logo-history.html https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gay%27s_Lion_Farm http://mashable.com/2015/03/30/mgm-lion/ https://miepvonsydow.wordpress.com/2014/01/13/the-life-and-times-of-the-mgm-lion/