In the Spotlight
FRITZ SCHULZ
The German wild animal trainer Fritz W. Schulz (1910-2010) was one of Australia's most celebrated circus personalities. He had a long and brilliant career that spanned six decades on three continents; upon his death in 2010, he was the last surviving member of a group of exceptional cat trainers who had worked for the legendary Alfred Court. Court had described Schulz as a “honest and courageous guy, who had what it takes to become a great trainer." Fritz W. Schulz was born on December 10, 1910 in Krampe, a small village near the town of Grünberg in Silesia (today Zielona Góra, in Poland). His father, Wilhelm, was a weaver; his mother, Maria (née Weinart) had died when Fritz was six years old. Following in the footsteps of his uncle, Christoph Schulz, who had become a famous wild animal trapper for the firm of Carl Hagenbeck, Fritz apprenticed as a butcher. But he shared with his uncle a passion for wild animals—and not particularly dead ones! (
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