Difference between revisions of "Alfred Beautour"

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(Created page with "==Cat Trainer== * Video: Alfred Beautour, leopard act, at Paris's Cirque d'Hiver (1973) Beautour, Alfred[[Cate...")
 
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==Cat Trainer==
 
==Cat Trainer==
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''By Dominique Jando''
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Alfred Beautour (1924-2014) was a celebrated cat trainer in Europe, where he was active for a little more than three decades, from 1956 to 1989. Also known as Fred or Fredo, he was born September 23, 1924 in Bourg-Achard, near Rouen, France, the scion of an old French circus family whose origins date back to the 19th century. His father, Adolphe, managed a medium-size circus known before WWII as ''Australian Circus'', and after the War, ''Britannic Circus'', ''Cirque Continental'', or ''[[Cirque Beautour]]''.
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Adolphe’s three sons participated in the show in various capacities, and Alfred began as an acrobat, eventually specializing on the horizontal bars. In time, all the Beautour brothers became animal trainers of great reputation: Lucien had a popular chimpanzee act that he presented with his wife as [[Luc et Bella]], and Emilien, who had a great personality in the ring, developed very well-known tiger act that he presented with a good dose of humor as [[Taras Boulba]].
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On November 10, 1951, Fredo Beautour had married Yolande [[Cirque Prin|Prin]], who came from another old French circus family, allied since 1948 to the [[The Bouglione Family|Bouglione]] family, France’s most prominent circus dynasty. It is at about that time that Alfred began to work with a group of lions, which he presented “en férocité” with much roaring and whip cracking, under the name of Fred Jackson—wearing a “Tarzan” loincloth in the fashion made famous in Europe at that time by [[Gilbert Houcke]].
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Yet it is the group of leopards he acquired in 1955 (and whose composition changed over the years) that truly made his international reputation. Leopard acts were (and remained) much less common than tigers, lions, and mixed animals acts, and Fredo Beautour’s act soon became much in demand. He was featured over the years in several of Europe’s major circuses—notably in France, Spain and Germany—and participated in 1987 in the [[International Circus Festival of Monte Carlo]], where he received the ''Prix Henry Thétard'', a prize awarded to outstanding cat trainers.
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It was a fitting recognition, since Fredo Beautour’s career in the cage was reaching an end. In 1989, he sold his leopards to the Italian Circo Wegliams of the Formisano Family, where they were presented for several years by [[Pascale Formisano]]. Then sixty-five years old, Alfred Beautour retired from the ring, and began a quiet sedentary life in his home, at Ambarès-et-Lagrave, a suburb of Bordeaux—where he passed away on February 17, 2014, at age ninety.
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==See Also==
  
 
* Video: [[Alfred_Beautour_Video_(1973)|Alfred Beautour, leopard act]], at Paris's Cirque d'Hiver (1973)
 
* Video: [[Alfred_Beautour_Video_(1973)|Alfred Beautour, leopard act]], at Paris's Cirque d'Hiver (1973)
  
 
[[Category:Artists and Acts|Beautour, Alfred]][[Category:Animal Trainers|Beautour, Alfred]]
 
[[Category:Artists and Acts|Beautour, Alfred]][[Category:Animal Trainers|Beautour, Alfred]]

Revision as of 04:51, 23 June 2014

Cat Trainer

By Dominique Jando


Alfred Beautour (1924-2014) was a celebrated cat trainer(English/American) An trainer or presenter of wild cats such as tigers, lions, leopards, etc. in Europe, where he was active for a little more than three decades, from 1956 to 1989. Also known as Fred or Fredo, he was born September 23, 1924 in Bourg-Achard, near Rouen, France, the scion of an old French circus family whose origins date back to the 19th century. His father, Adolphe, managed a medium-size circus known before WWII as Australian Circus, and after the War, Britannic Circus, Cirque Continental, or Cirque Beautour.

Adolphe’s three sons participated in the show in various capacities, and Alfred began as an acrobat, eventually specializing on the horizontal bars. In time, all the Beautour brothers became animal trainers of great reputation: Lucien had a popular chimpanzee act that he presented with his wife as Luc et Bella, and Emilien, who had a great personality in the ring, developed very well-known tiger act that he presented with a good dose of humor as Taras Boulba.

On November 10, 1951, Fredo Beautour had married Yolande Prin, who came from another old French circus family, allied since 1948 to the Bouglione family, France’s most prominent circus dynasty. It is at about that time that Alfred began to work with a group of lions, which he presented “en férocité(French) In a cage act, the presentation of big cats in a confrontational mode, stressing their dangerous nature — as opposed to ''en douceur''.” with much roaring and whip cracking, under the name of Fred Jackson—wearing a “Tarzan” loincloth in the fashion made famous in Europe at that time by Gilbert Houcke.

Yet it is the group of leopards he acquired in 1955 (and whose composition changed over the years) that truly made his international reputation. Leopard acts were (and remained) much less common than tigers, lions, and mixed animals acts, and Fredo Beautour’s act soon became much in demand. He was featured over the years in several of Europe’s major circuses—notably in France, Spain and Germany—and participated in 1987 in the International Circus Festival of Monte Carlo, where he received the Prix Henry Thétard, a prize awarded to outstanding cat trainers.

It was a fitting recognition, since Fredo Beautour’s career in the cage was reaching an end. In 1989, he sold his leopards to the Italian Circo Wegliams of the Formisano Family, where they were presented for several years by Pascale Formisano. Then sixty-five years old, Alfred Beautour retired from the ring, and began a quiet sedentary life in his home, at Ambarès-et-Lagrave, a suburb of Bordeaux—where he passed away on February 17, 2014, at age ninety.

See Also