During the 1930s, ’40s and ’50s, Clyde Beatty enjoyed a celebrity status that, today, we only associate with leading athletes and movie stars. In addition to top billing in the circus world, he was the subject of several best-selling books, starred in a number of hit motion pictures, and was called upon give major product endorsements. The basic premise of The Clyde Beatty Show was best summed up in the announcement that opened each episode: “The world’s greatest wild animal trainer Clyde Beatty with an exciting adventure from his brilliant career. The circus means thrills, excitement, and snarling jungle beasts. The circus means fun for young folks and old. But under the Big Top you see only a part of the story. The real drama comes behind the scenes where 500 people live as one family; where Clyde Beatty constantly risks death in the most dangerous act on earth. This master of the big cats has journeyed to Africa and India, hunting down his beasts in their native jungle. All of this is part of the Clyde Beatty Show.”