Leo in person at the Strand
Leo the Lion, MGM’s famous mascot, held court in front of the Sturgis Strand Theatre on June 4, 1929. At 11:45 a.m. his trainer, Melvin Koontz, displayed “His Majesty’s” talents for kids young and old. He would wrestle with the lion and entice him to do his famous roar.
The original MGM movies with the roaring lion at the beginning was the real thing. There were eight different MGM lions over 33 years. Jackie, the actual name of the lion who came to Sturgis, was the second MGM lion mascot and the first roaring lion – now the iconic image.
Jackie’s nickname was “Leo the Lucky” because he had cheated death six times over his career. He survived a ship wreck, two train derailments, an explosion at a MGM set, an earthquake and a plane crash in the Arizona desert. After the crash, he survived four days in his cage while the pilot went for help.
Jackie died at age of 20 in 1935 which was a long life for a captive lion. His legacy lives on whenever a MGM movie is on the screen. Leo, aka Jackie, is there roaring.
