In 1951, MGM was filming the movie Fearless Fagan. The film’s star was not a human, but a real-life lion named Fearless Fagan. To promote the movie, a series of publicity photos were taken featuring the lion and various MGM stars. One of the most famous of these photos was with the studio’s “aquabelle,” Esther Williams.
The lion was owned by Floyd C. Humeston, who raised Fagan from a cub. In the early 1950s, Humeston was drafted into the Army and couldn’t find a suitable caretaker for his pet lion. He first raised suspicions when he requested an emergency 14-day furlough to take care of his giant pet. Without a permanent home for Fagan, Humeston then asked to bring his pet with him to training at California’s Fort Ord. The request denied, Fagan lived briefly at the Monterey Humane Society before being placed in a circus.
The trials and tribulations of Fagan and his 24-year-old owner were chronicled in LIFE magazine in 1951. MGM producer Sidney Franklin Jr. read the story and saw an opportunity for a movie. The film version of Humeston’s story, starring Fagan himself, was released in 1952.
While Esther Williams did not star in the movie Fearless Fagan, her involvement in the photos, taken by photographer Loomis Dean, helped create a memorable moment in Hollywood history.
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