"𝗕𝗢𝗥𝗡 𝗪𝗜𝗧𝗛 𝗔 𝗪𝗛𝗜𝗣 𝗜𝗡 𝗛𝗜𝗦 𝗛𝗔𝗡𝗗," 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗦𝗧𝗢𝗥𝗬 𝗢𝗙 𝗠𝗔𝗡𝗨𝗘𝗟 𝗞𝗜𝗡𝗚, 𝗕𝗥𝗢𝗪𝗡𝗦𝗩𝗜𝗟𝗟𝗘'𝗦 𝗬𝗢𝗨𝗡𝗚 𝗟𝗜𝗢𝗡 𝗧𝗔𝗠𝗘𝗥 𝗢𝗙 𝟭𝟵𝟯𝟰

 

By Rene Torres

In 1934, Manuel King was 11 years old, and a fifth grader in a Brownsville grammar school.

The young King was literally born with a whip in his hand, the mastery of which he developed to grow up to become one of the youngest lion tamers in the world.

Manuel was the son of a veteran animal trainer, William A. King, who was a breeder of wild animals in a preserve near Brownsville. His father was well known as the “Snake King” of the Texas-Mexican border.

At a young age, Manuel got an eye-catching gift from his father. He was given ten newborn lion cubs for his birthday. 

From this point on they became inseparable, playing and growing as one.

Just like most prodigies have a personal trainer, Manuel was under the tutelage of John. C. Guilfoyle, who with decades of experience in working with animals proved to be Manuel’s perfect mentor.

John described Manuel as totally unafraid of the lions and had trouble convincing him that safeguards were essential. 

John had to remind him that these were no longer his playful cubs, but treacherous and sometimes hungry carnivores.

The young Manuel had a talent given to few and inherited a profession that kept him in constant danger. He would walk boldly into a lion cage outfitted with a cracking whip, light chair, and a blank cartridge pistol.

In the cage…

The lions would not react until his sharp demands were given, and what followed was silence from the bleachers as the crowd anticipated the worst was yet to come.

But to their surprise, the animals obediently followed his instructions and started rolling barrels across the floor, romped on a seesaw and roared in mock rage. 

He was a midget standing among lions, yet, at barely four feet tall, his cracking whip got immediate attention.

When the lions grew restless, he would crack the whip over them and when one would try to move toward him, he would shove out the light chair. 

If these tactics would not work, he would fire his pistol, which prompted the lions to scurry back to their places.

The Climate…

His finale brought the crowd to their feet as Manuel delivered a captivating ending with his most trusted brute; Yo-Yo. 

Manuel and Yo-Yo would furnish a thrilling climax to the exhibition. He would put on a make-believe fight, and at his word, Yo-Yo roared exceedingly and revealed his dangerous fangs and swung out threadedly with his paws.

The only trusted assistant in the cage with Manuel was Trixie, his pet sheep dog born at the same time as the cubs and raised with them.

If the lions became grouchy, Trixie would jump between them and immediately got results. It just took a sharp bite on their delicate noses, and it would send them hurriedly back to their spots.

The boy tamer became well-known playing to larger audiences around the country and Hollywood took notice.

On the big scene…

The movie serial “Darkest Africa,” was released in 1936 and according to Republic Pictures, that filmed the movie, Manuel gave a fine performance. 

The main star in the movie though, was Clyde Beatty, perhaps the foremost lion trainer in the world.

Early in the movie Manuel loses his parents and grows up in the jungle simulating Tarzan. 

The film crew invaded Brownsville for several weeks to take shots of the scenes that included the lions.

The success of the movie led to a five-year contract offer for Manuel—but the elder King turned it down, stating: "He's going to be just a kid like any other boy. The lions and movie stuff will be just a game to him and that’s the way we are going to work it.”

The young King, along with his lions, grew and lived a long fruitful life as a circus professional.

He died in 2016 at the age of 92.

Note: While in Hollywood, Manuel was rubbing elbows with other child movie stars. He was invited to attend a party along with Jackie Cooper and Mickey Rooney.

Excerpts were taken from Brownsville Herald archives of 1934 and from an unnamed magazine writer of 1934.