Wild Animals with Humans

The story of several wild animals that lived human experiences, such as Zippy a chimpanzee who dressed, lived and traveled as a person and He interacted with numerous television presenters, celebrities and street people and won the coveted “Cleo Award” for an advertising spot for the manufacturer Xerox.

Zippy appeared in dozens of television shows in the 1950s. This chimpanzee dressed, lived and traveled as a person and interacted with numerous television presenters, celebrities and street people. Zippy was “discovered” by Bob Smith, “Buffalo Bob”, creator of the character in the famous series “Howdy Doody Show” while on vacation, in New Orleans, when Zippy stole a cherry from his drink. From his appearance in the series, Zippy became famous and was hired for many television shows of the moment such as “The Gary Moore Show,” The Ed Sullivan Show “and many more.

He also worked with Tarzan and made many commercials and his advertising for the manufacturer Xerox won the coveted “Cleo Award.” Zippy knew how to skate like a pro,

After his skating session, Zippy is relaxed smoking a cigarette, April 1955. Michael Rougier

Carole Womack was the woman who really acted as a mother for Zippy and accompanied him on most of his outings for live television performances, during the 50s and 60s. In 2008, Carole published a book about Zippy’s life and adventures that is available on Zippy the TV chimpanzee.

Tippi Hedren During the Filming of the Movie “The Great Roar.”

Nathalie “Tippi” Hedren is an American actress and is the mother of also actress Melanie Griffith. It was discovered by Alfred Hitchcock, who met her in an advertisement for a well-known drink. Nathalie Hedren starred in Hitchcock’s films “The Birds” and “Marnie, the Thief.” In 1981, he produced his own film, “The Great Roar,” a tape that featured dozens of African lions.

During the filming, several people were attacked by the animals, including Hedren herself and her husband, Noel Marshall. The actress describes the shooting of the film as “perhaps one of the most dangerous in the history of Hollywood. It is amazing that we survived.”

A Very Young Melanie Griffith Sharing a Bed With One of the Lions that Lived in the House

This film influenced for the actress to establish in Acton, California, a reserve of animals where she welcomes Hollywood pets, mainly used in films. Among these animals were two lions from Michael Jackson’s Neverland Ranch. Hedren lives there and, monthly directs visits to the place.

The Viki Chimpanzee Lighting a Cigarette for Dr. Keith J. Hayes, 1951

Vicki was a common chimpanzee raised by psychologists Keith and Catherine Hayes in their home for about seven years, in the same way that a human being is taken care of from birth. Various therapies were applied to push him to learn to speak like humans but, eventually, he was only able to express four words: mom, dad, top and cup. This success was very limited and was interpreted in principle as evidence that monkeys were not able to use human language.

However, other experiments in which chimpanzees were instructed in the use of sign language indicated that Viki’s achievements had been considerably hampered by the physiological limitations of chimpanzees to compose the sounds that form human speech. A large number of movies, Articles and books have been published about Vicki. Catherine Hayes wrote in 1951 a very popular book “A monkey in our house”, which gives many details of Vicki’s growth and its adaptation to a human family environment.

Alfred Hitchcock and the Lion of the Metro Goldwyn Meyer, in 1959

Alfred Hitchcock, the master of suspense, appears in this photograph with the lion of the Metro Goldwyn Mayer when he was promoting the film “With the death in the heels”, starring Cary Grant and Eva Marie Saint and considered one of Your best movies. As almost everyone knows, the Lion of the Metro is the mascot of the American film studio Metro Goldwyn Mayer (MGM). This lion is the most characteristic element of its logo, surrounded by a celluloid film in which the motto “Ars Gratia Artis” (art for art) is inscribed. Since 1924 five different lions have been used in the logo.

José Iturbi Playing the Piano Next to the MGM Lion

José Iturbi Foundation José Iturbi was a great pianist, composer and conductor, born in Valencia and died in Los Angeles in 1980. Valencia wanted to underline the musician’s ties with the city by giving his name to the Municipal Conservatory. Also in Valencia, an international piano competition is held every two years: the José Iturbi International Piano Competition.

Sam, a Little Squirrel Monkey, Enjoying a Beer in a Pub, 1958

Saimiri, popularly known as squirrel monkey, lives in the treetops of tropical forests in South and Central America. They eat fruits, eggs, insects, frogs and other small vertebrates that hunt with agility. They are small in size and the length of their body is 25 to 35 cm, with a weight between 750 and 1,200 grams.

Rajpur, a Tiger Cub, Looking for Something to Eat. New York, April 1944

Rajpur, a tiger cub, investigates a kitchen cabinet full of evaporated milk “Carnation”. Mrs. Martine, the wife of one of the guards at the Bronx Zoo, was taking care of the little puppy at home because her mother had been unconcerned about breastfeeding Rajpur.

Blondie, a 2-Year-Old Lion, Piggybacking a Girl. Texas, in 1955

Blondie, a 2-year-old lion, was adopted by the family of Charles Hipp who took care of him as a member of the family. Blondie accompanied them on most of their outings and was quite sociable as you can see in the photograph above, where she is walking and carrying the daughter of neighbors. Graham, Texas, on September 1955.

Irish Actress Mccalla with Her Chimpanzee, Characterized as “Sheena Queen of the Jungle”, in 1955

“Sheena Queen of the Jungle” is an American comic originally published by Fiction House. Sheena was Tarzan’s female counterpart and was the first female protagonist of a comic with her own title, with its premiere in 1937, which precedes even Wonder Woman of 1941. Sheena inspired a lot of jungle heroines in the comic and It was preceded in the literature by Rima, “The Jungle Girl,” introduced in the 1904 Green Mansions novel written by William Henry Hudson. Sheena was ranked number 59 on the list of “100 most attractive women in comics.” In the photograph, the Irish actress McCalla is characterized as “Sheena Queen of the Jungle” with her chimpanzee co-star next to whom she played the character in a television series.