Gunther Gebel-Williams

Gunther Gebel-Williams

Gunther Gebel-Williams (September 12, 1934 - July 19, 2001) was an animal trainer for Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus.

Early life

Gebel was born in Schweidnitz, Lower Silesia, Germany. As a child he and his mother became refugees when the communists took over Silesia. His father was missing in the Soviet Union, and he and his mother started working for Zirkus Williams in Germany. When the Zirkus' owner suddenly died, his widow asked Gunther to train and to take over which began his career as animal trainer. Gunther Gebel took on the additional family name of Williams.

Career

Williams was a well-known circus animal trainer. He came to prominence during the early days of television when the circus was still a popular form of entertainment. His appearances on television shows like the Ed Sullivan Show and The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, in addition to his work with the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, accelerated his renown as a tamer primarily of lions and tigers.

On November 19 1994, Gebel-Williams was arrested in St. Louis, Missouri, for screaming and threatening a police officer with a whip he used on his tigers because the police were giving traffic tickets to circus customers. Fact|date=October 2007

Death

He died on July 19, 2001 in Venice, Florida under the name "Gunther Gebel". [cite news |first= |last= |authorlink= |coauthors= |title=Animal trainer Gebel-Williams dies |url=http://archives.cnn.com/2001/US/07/20/gebelwilliams.obit/index.html |quote=Gunther Gebel-Williams, the world-renowned circus animal trainer, died of cancer Thursday at his home in Venice, Florida. He was 66 years old and had been undergoing treatment for a brain tumor, a spokeswoman for the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus said. |work=CNN |date=July 20, 2001 |accessdate=2008-07-20 ]

External links

* [http://www.ringling.com/ggw/ Article about Gunther Gebel-Williams at Ringling.com]

References

[http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/WolfFiles/Story?id=92814&page=2]


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