When you visit our main office in Statesville, NC, you’ll notice some really cool photos of various speed, custom car, and generally neat vehicular things on the wall. Among those things is a photo of a lion in a sidecar on a “Wall of Death” silodrome dubbed a “Lion Drome”. Peaking in popularity in the 1930’s, Joe Pelaquin, Ethel and Earl Purtle, Marion Perry, “Fearless” Egbert, Marjorie and Lolita Kemp and others kept this sideshow activity going for years from the 1910’s all the way to the 1960’s.
While there were various other tamers who employed this gimmick, and the animal rights portion of the show might be up for debate, a low-speed version of the stunt can be seen in THIS VIDEO.
We’ve also compiled a few photos of this silliness for your viewing pleasure:
Article from Popular Mechanics
Ethel Purtle and King
Ethel Purtle and King
Unknown driver/lion
Unknown driver/lion (possibly Joe Pelaquin)
A silodrome “Wall of Death” similar to the “Liondromes”.
And of course, becoming a celebrity made the lions quite popular with the ladies…
