Gunther Gebel-Williams - Revision history

Djando: /* See Also */

2026-05-26T02:04:20Z

‎See Also

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‎See Also

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‎See Also

Djando: /* Image Gallery */

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‎Image Gallery

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2025-05-24T06:21:41Z

‎Picture Gallery

Djando at 05:13, 8 September 2020

2020-09-08T05:13:22Z

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2019-09-03T02:19:32Z

‎Picture Gallery

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2019-04-23T00:45:26Z

‎Picture Gallery

Djando: /* Gunther in America: Circus Super Star */

2019-04-18T18:36:12Z

‎Gunther in America: Circus Super Star

Djando: /* Enter Gunther Gebel-Williams */

2019-04-18T18:30:05Z

‎Enter Gunther Gebel-Williams

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 * Video: [[Gunther_Gebel-Williams_Video_1966|Gunther Gebel-Williams, elephant act]], at the Cirque d'Hiver in Paris (1966)
 * Video: [[Gunther_Gebel_-_Tiger_and_Elephants_Video_(1966)|Gunther Gebel-Williams, tiger and elephants]], at the Cirque d'Hiver in Paris (1966)
-* Video: [[Gunther_Gebel_Tiger_Video_(1985)]], at Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus (1985)
+* Video: [[Gunther_Gebel_Tiger_Video_(1985)|Gunther Gebel-Williams, tiger act]], at Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus (1985)
 == Suggested Reading ==

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 * Video: [[Gunther_Gebel-Williams_Video_1966|Gunther Gebel-Williams, elephant act]], at the Cirque d'Hiver in Paris (1966)
 * Video: [[Gunther_Gebel_-_Tiger_and_Elephants_Video_(1966)|Gunther Gebel-Williams, tiger and elephants]], at the Cirque d'Hiver in Paris (1966)
-* Video: [[Gunther Gebel-Williams, tiger act]], at Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus (1985)
+* Video: [[Gunther_Gebel_Tiger_Video_(1985)]], at Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus (1985)
 == Suggested Reading ==

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 * Video: [[Gunther_Gebel-Williams_Video_1966|Gunther Gebel-Williams, elephant act]], at the Cirque d'Hiver in Paris (1966)
 * Video: [[Gunther_Gebel_-_Tiger_and_Elephants_Video_(1966)|Gunther Gebel-Williams, tiger and elephants]], at the Cirque d'Hiver in Paris (1966)
 == Suggested Reading ==

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 File:Gunther_G_Williams_Tiger_and_Elephants.jpeg|Gunther with Bengali, Kongo, and Thaila at Circus Williams (c.1965)
 File:Circus_Williams_Elephants_(c.1965).jpg|Gunther Gebel-Williams and the Williams Elephants (c.1965)
-Image:Gilbert_Houcke.jpg|Gilbert Houcke
+File:Gilbert_Houcke_Knie.jpg|Gilbert Houcke
 File:Gunther_Gebel-Williams_(1969).jpg|Gunther Gebel-Williams (1969)
 Image:Gunther_Gebel-Williams_(1970).jpg|Gunther Gebel-Williams with Prince and Kongo (1970)

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 * Hans-Jürgen & Rosemarie Tiede, ''Die Hohe Schule der Raubtierdressur'' (Kaufbeuren, Freizeit News Verlag, 1997) - ISBN 3-928871-04-8
-== Picture Gallery ==
+==Image Gallery==
 <Gallery>
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 File:Circus_Williams_Elephants_(c.1965).jpg|Gunther Gebel-Williams and the Williams Elephants (c.1965)
 Image:Gilbert_Houcke.jpg|Gilbert Houcke
 Image:Gunther_Gebel-Williams_(1970).jpg|Gunther Gebel-Williams with Prince and Kongo (1970)
 File:Gunther_Gebel_1973.jpg|Gunther Gebel-Williams and his son, Mark Oliver (1973)

← Older revision		Revision as of 05:13, 8 September 2020
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−	[[Image:Gunther_Gebel-Williams_and_giraffe.jpg\|\|right\|~~250px~~]]	+	[[Image:Gunther_Gebel-Williams_and_giraffe.jpg\|\|right\|400px]]
	==Animal Trainer==		==Animal Trainer==

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 File:Williamsbau_Koln.jpg|Circus Williamsbau, Cologne (1947)
 Image:Gunther_Gebel_-_Holdy_Barley_(1952).jpg|Günther Gebel at Circus Williams (1952)
 Image:Yvonne_Berman_(1968).jpg|Yvonne Berman (1968)
 Image:Gunther_Gebel_with_Bengali_and_Kongo.jpg|Gunther Gebel-Williams with Bengali and Kongo (c.1963)

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 File:Gunther_and_Mark_Oliver_Gebel.jpeg|Gunther and his son, Mark Oliver (c.1985)
 File:Gunther_Gebel-Williams_in_NYC.jpeg|Gunther in Central Park, New York City (c.1985)
 Image:Gunther_Gebel-Williams_and_giraffe.jpg|Gunther Gebel-Williams and Friend
 Image:Gunther_Gebel_statue.jpg|Gunther Gebel-Williams statue in Venice, Florida

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 In time, Gunther Gebel-Williams became vice-president in charge of animals for Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey. He was now a wealthy man, but the hard work had taken its tool. Gunther began to have health problems, and he decided that it was time for him to retire from performing. The 1989-1990 production of ''The Greatest Show On Earth'' marked Gunther’s widely advertised Farewell Tour. He gave what was heralded as the last of his 11,697 performances in the United States on November 18, 1990. The number, of course, doesn’t include his years performing with Circus Williams.
-Gunther returned to the ring, however: Once to replace his successor in the cage, Tyrone Taylor, then for a series of performances in ten U.S. cities in 1994, followed by a CBS-TV special, ''The Return Of Gunther Gebel-Williams''. His last public appearance occurred September 27, 1998 at Grand Rapids, Michigan, where he replaced his son, Mark Oliver, in the big cage, to allow him to be present at the birth of his own son.
+Gunther returned to the ring, however: Once to replace his successor in the cage, Tyrone Taylor, then for a series of performances in ten U.S. cities in 1994, followed by a CBS-TV special, ''The Return Of Gunther Gebel-Williams''. His last public appearance occurred September 27, 1998 at Grand Rapids, Michigan, where he replaced his son, Mark Oliver, in the big cage, to allow the latter to be present at the birth of his own son.
 After his official retirement in 1990, Gunther had written his autobiography (with Toni Reinhold), ''Untamed'', which was published the following year. In 1996, Gunther had to undergo heart surgery. Then, in July 2000, he had another surgical intervention, this time to remove a brain tumor, followed by sessions of chemotherapy. But the cancer did not remit; Gunther Gebel-Williams died in his home, in Venice, Florida, on July 19, 2001.

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 Gunther was indeed familiar with the work of Gilbert Houcke, who had been a major circus star in Europe since the 1950s, and had worked extensively in Germany. But he had now the opportunity to observe his work closely for a full month. Houcke had a great elegance in the ring, and a quiet and soft manner with his tigers. Although he had an extraordinary charisma as a performer, he always gave the spotlight to his feline partners, leaving an impression of connivance between him and them. His acts always had nice little touches of humor, too, and every now and then, the tigers looked as if they made fun of their trainer. There is no doubt that Gilbert Houcke was a major influence in Gunther’s subsequent style as a cat trainer.
-In 1968, Gunther purchased a group of eight tigers, with which he put together an act in the elegant style popularized by Houcke, and Charly Baumann after him&mdash;a style that would remain prevalent in Europe. But European circuses were entering a period of crisis; in the burgeoning age of television, they had a hard time finding a new voice. The lucrative post-war period was over, and running a major circus had become a very complex and expansive proposition indeed, whose financial rewards were quickly shrinking.
+In 1968, Gunther purchased a group of eight tigers, with which he put together an act in the elegant style popularized by Houcke (and Charly Baumann after him)&mdash;a style that would remain prevalent in Europe. But European circuses were entering a period of crisis; in the burgeoning age of television, they had a hard time finding a new voice. The lucrative post-war period was over, and running a major circus had become a very complex and expansive proposition indeed, whose financial rewards were quickly shrinking.
 === Gunther in America: Circus Super Star ===