PALM DESERT, Calif., March 16, 2004 (PRIMEZONE) -- Read the most incredible stories of wild animals and their trainers -- from a gorilla going ape over Coca-Cola (much to the amusement of CC's CEO, Douglas Daft) to the famous Jungleland animal park in Thousand Oaks, California. Here is one book that out-speaks all other "hairy-tales," Fagan and Floyd, a biography by published author Audrey Peyton, which follows the extraordinary life of wild animal trainer Floyd Humeston and his first love, a noble lion named Fagan.
Floyd bought Fagan at Jungleland (known as the World Jungle Compound at the time of the purchase) for $125 when the lion was just four days old. Under Floyd's training, Fagan grew to have a sparkling career, which included the honor of being one of the roaring lions at the start of many pictures in the MGM Studio's logo. He was a phenomenon in the early '50s in his own hit movie, Fearless Fagan, starring Janet Leigh, Keenan Wynn, and Carleton Carpenter, which earned $12,000,000 at the box office -- a sizeable sum for 1952. Fagan was also one of the rare guests of Time magazine's West Coast editor, Eldon Griffiths, now Sir Eldon Griffiths, the latter having been knighted by Queen Elizabeth in 1988. Sir Eldon, a close friend of Floyd in the '50s when he wrote an article for Time about the lion and his master, was a brave man: He boarded Fagan in his garage in Brentwood until his neighbors started to complain about the lion odor oozing out from under the door.
Throughout the relationship between Fagan and Floyd, during which time Fagan is stolen from a train and left to die in an abandoned house, the reader is taken on a kaleidoscope of adventures, from the glitter of Hollywood to the disgraces of Disneyland, including a side story of the paranoia of President Andrew Jackson's connection (and Floyd Humeston's collection) of Hard Times Tokens. Packed with astonishing incidents, danger, and amazing circus animals from elks to elephants, leopards to lions, this book illustrates the fascinating bond between big cats and their trainers.
About the Author
After authoring three suspense novels, one futuristic novel, and running a successful business, Audrey Peyton pens Fagan and Floyd, her first biography. In writing this book, Peyton had some surprising incidents of her own, which include a personal phone call from actress Janet Leigh in answer to Peyton's research letter to her, a pleasant conversation with Carleton Carpenter, Miss Leigh's co-star in Fearless Fagan, and a gracious invitation to Sir Eldon Griffiths's home to discuss his involvement with Fagan and Floyd back in the '50s -- what class these three people showed! Unfortunately, Peyton's research at Disneyland's Club 33 showed less class. This biography is a product of the author's lifetime fascination with lions and her pleasant dreams of Fagan while writing about him.
Fagan and Floyd -- By Audrey Peyton
Publication Date: August 1, 2003
Trade Paperback; $22.99; 307 pages; 1-4010-7785-4 --
Cloth Hardback; $32.99; 307 pages; 1-4010-7786-2
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