Clyde Beatty was born on June 10, 1903, in Bainbridge, Ohio and joined the Howes Great London and Van Amburgh’s Wild Animal Circus after he graduated from High school in 1921.Then he worked for the Gollmar Bros. and Wild Animal Act from 1922 to 1924. There he developed a lion and tiger act of 25 animals while under the tutelage of trainers Louis Roth and John “Chubby” Guilfoyle. In 1925 Beatty went to work for the Hagenbeck-Wallace Circus which wintered in Peru, Indiana. He married aerialist Harriett Evans in 1933.

In 1935 Beatty formed the Cole Bros. and Clyde Beatty Circus and they wintered their circus in Rochester, Indiana. Beatty incorporated his own circus as the Clyde Beatty Circus, located in Rochester, Indiana in 1938. Harriet signed as a director, as did Indianapolis attorney F.E. Schortemeier.

Instead of staying in Rochester Clyde and Harriett moved to Ft. Lauderdale with their wild animal show. He continued his popular act around the country and in the movies; he wrote a few books about his life, and there was even a radio show based on his life from 1950 to 1952. In1945 he bought the Wallace Bros. Circus and renamed it the Clyde Beatty Circus, and in 1957 the Clyde Beatty Cole Bros. Circus was formed.

Clyde Beatty died in 1965 in Ventura, California of cancer.

Source: Fulton County Handbook, Cole Bros Clyde Beatty Circus