Page 77 – LIFE

This Rescued Lion Became a National Sensation—and Father to 33 Cubs

January 14, 2020August 18, 2015 by

The story of Frasier the lion might have ended gruesomely. At the age of 19—the human equivalent of 75—and no longer of use to the Mexican circus that owned him, he faced a preemptive death. But fate twisted kindly for the aging lion. In 1972, he ended up south of Los Angeles at Lion Country Safari, along with a group of other wild cats that had been sent north for a new life.

From the way LIFE Magazine described him, the staff at Lion Country likely expected Frasier to live out his days in a lazy retirement. “He is underweight and splay-footed,” the editors wrote. “His fur resembles an old moth-balled coat, and he sleeps 19 hours a day. The muscles in his tongue are so shot that it unreels from his mouth like a slobbery red carpet.”

But, as LIFE interjected, “appearances aren’t everything.” Frasier was quickly placed on a special diet replete with vitamins, and he began to put on some weight. Much to his handlers” surprise, he then became a hit with the lionesses. Within one day of meeting him, the same lionesses that refused to mate with several young guns “were sprawled protectively around Frasier,” bringing him choice meats at mealtime and waiting to eat until he was finished. Seven weeks later, they were all pregnant. Within 16 months, he had fathered 33 cubs.

LIFE called him “the country’s reigning sex simba.” Frasier fan clubs sprung up, sending the lion more than 1,500 letters each month and purchasing t-shirts and bumper stickers emblazoned with his face.

Frasier’s virility was not entirely unusual for a lion, and its continuation into old age may be explained, at least in part, by a life in the circus, where there were no other lions to compete with. When Frasier died of pneumonia in July, 1972, members of the Scottish Fraser clan performed traditional funeral rites, donning kilts and playing dirges on the bagpipes. He was buried beneath a cross on the grounds of Lion Country.

Liz Ronk edited this gallery for LIFE.com. Follow her on Twitter @lizabethronk.

Frasier the lion, 1972.

Ralph Crane The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Frasier with his lionesses and cubs.

Ralph Crane The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Frasier rested alongside some of his lionesses and cubs.

Ralph Crane The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Frasier enjoyed a nap.

Ralph Crane The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

With most of his tongue muscles shot, Frasier’s tongue hung out of his mouth most of the time.

Ralph Crane The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Frasier merchandise included sweatshirts, buttons and bumper stickers.

Ralph Crane The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

A lioness and cubs nuzzled in close to a sleeping Frasier.

Ralph Crane The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Most days, Frasier slept for around 19 hours.

Ralph Crane The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Frasier and several lionesses stood together at the Lion Country Safari, located south of Los Angeles.

Ralph Crane The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Frasier with his lionesses and cubs.

Ralph Crane The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Frasier watched a school bus full of children drive by the Lion Safari.

Ralph Crane The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

More From the Scene of That Famous V-J Day Kiss in Times Square

January 14, 2020August 14, 2015 by

Alfred Eisenstaedt’s photograph of a sailor kissing a woman in Times Square, after news broke of the Japanese surrender in World War II, has lived a storied life since it was taken on August 15, 1945. Often called “The Kiss,” it became the iconic image of celebration at war’s end, a black-and-white bookend separating an era of darkness from the beginning of a time of peace. It has also in recent years received a sort of #metoo infamy, after the woman in the photo said that the kiss was nonconsensual.

But “The Kiss” was not the only photograph taken that day, nor was Eisenstaedt the only photographer navigating the boisterous New York City festivities. Another LIFE photographer, William C. Shrout, brought a different set of negatives back to the office that day, with his own perspective on the people’s response to peace.

While Shrout’s photos have much in common with Eisenstaedt’s—kisses abounded that day—they capture one thing that Eisenstaedt couldn’t easily have captured: images of Eisenstaedt himself. In one photo, Eisenstaedt kisses a reporter, his camera slung over his shoulder, in a pose not unlike that of the famous kiss he photographed that day. In another, he and that women walk toward Shrout, bright smiles on their faces.

Shrout’s images of a host of other anonymous embraces help put that famous kiss in context. And Shrout’s images of the man behind that photo remind us that, even if a photojournalist is meant to be an impartial witness to history, he is also a part of the history he is witnessing.

Liz Ronk edited this gallery for LIFE.com. Follow her on Twitter @lizabethronk.

Eisenstaedt’s iconic photo: A jubilant American sailor clutched a dental assistant in a back-bending kiss at a moment of spontaneous joy about the long awaited WWII victory over Japan. Taken on V-J Day, 1945, as thousands jammed Times Square. In recent decades this iconic photograph has engendered condemnation, after Greta Zimmer Friedman, the woman being kissed by the sailor (believed to have been George Mendonsa) said that the kiss was nonconsensual. In 2019, shortly after Mendonsa died at age 95, a statue of the kiss in Florida was tagged with #metoo graffiti.

Alfred Eisenstaedt The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

V-J Day celebrations in Times Square, August 14, 1945.

William C. Shrout The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

LIFE photographer Alfred Eisenstaedt and a reporter during V-J Day celebrations in Times Square, August 14, 1945.

William C. Shrout The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

LIFE photographer Alfred Eisenstaedt kissed a reporter during V-J Day celebrations in Times Square, August 14, 1945.

William C. Shrout The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

The Endearing Deer of LIFE

January 14, 2020August 13, 2015 by

If there were a competition for saddest Disney movie, Bambi would be tough to beat. The 1942 animated film about a fawn whose mother is shot down by a deer hunter is, for unassuming tots, a brutal introduction to the hard knocks of life, its edges softened only by the cuteness of its woodland creatures and plucky orchestral soundtrack.

Bambi, like many of Disney’s disadvantaged heroes and heroines, ultimately perseveres to make a family of his own. In the spirit of persevering deer everywhere, here is a collection of LIFE Magazine’s most peaceful fawns, does, stags and bucks.

Liz Ronk edited this gallery for LIFE.com. Follow her on Twitter @lizabethronk.

November 8, 1954 cover of LIFE magazine

Gjon Mili The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Tourists fed deer in the Redwood Forest, 1945.

Nina Leen The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Mother and baby deer, 1946.

Dmitri Kessel The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Actor Claude Jarman Jr. held a baby deer for a scene in the movie “The Yearling,” 1947.

Walter SandersThe LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

A tule elk and key deer photographed circa 1940s.

Nina Leen The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Bucky the deer enjoyed life as a house pet, 1948.

Jon Brenneis The LIFE Images Collection/Shutterstock

A 15-month-old pet deer named Bucky lies next to a small kitten, 1948.

Jon Brenneis The LIFE Images Collection/Shutterstock

Two men fed deer on the 1,000 acre park at Knole, the ancestral estate of Lord & Lady Sackville in England, 1949.

Mark Kauffman The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

A deer stood in a wooded stream, with its reflection in the water, 1952.

Ralph Crane The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Italian actress Pier Angeli posed with a deer, 1954.

Allan Grant The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Italian actress Pier Angeli with a deer, 1954.

Allan Grant The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

A deer cooled his heels along the Oregon seashore, 1960.

Dmitri Kessel/The LIFE Picture Collection © Meredith Corporation

Rainbow trout rested in tributary of the Madison River while a fawn drank at water’s edge; the photo was taken by camera placed inside partially submerged glass enclosure, 1961.

George Silk The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Father and son fed a wild deer in Yosemite National Park, 1962.

Ralph Crane The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

A young boy played with a fawn and deer at a petting zoo, 1962.

Leonard McCombe The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Animal rescuer John Walsh held onto a deer which he rescued out of the flood waters in Suriname, 1964.

Stan Wayman The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

A deer with large antlers stood silhouetted against the sky, 1966.

Stan Wayman The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

A park ranger held a deer rescued from flooded section of the Everglades, 1966.

Lynn Pelham The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Deer on Gardiners Island, 1966.

Alfred Eisenstaedt The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

A white-tailed deer drank from the banks of Cheat River, 1967.

John Dominis The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

How to Vacation Like a Rockefeller: A Step-by-Step Guide

August 11, 2021July 31, 2015 by

When the question is how to vacation like a Rockefeller, the quick answer is to rewind history to about 1870 and found the largest oil refinery in the world. Short of that impossible task, however, it’s possible to take some hints from these photographs of Nelson Rockefeller and his family on vacation in Seal Harbor, Maine, in 1958. The captions in the story read as a cheeky how-to manual.

The images by Alfred Eisenstaedt accompanied a story about that year’s New York state gubernatorial election, in which voters faced a “Choice of Millionaires.” Rockefeller, who would go on to unseat W. Averell Harriman, was on vacation at his family’s estate near Acadia National Park—a park that, thanks to the family’s commitment to philanthropy and conservation, exists largely due to Nelson’s father, John.

When planning your own Rockefeller-inspired vacation, be sure to dress your family in collars and cardigans, polish the 1931 convertible Model A Ford, check that everything’s shipshape on the sailboat and lay down new clay on your private oceanside tennis courts. Oh, and bring along one of LIFE Magazine’s most famous photographers to document it for posterity.

Liz Ronk edited this gallery for LIFE.com. Follow her on Twitter @lizabethronk.

Polish the 1931 Model A Ford.

Alfred Eisenstaedt The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Check the convertible cover in case of rain.

Alfred Eisenstaedt The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Ensure that even the youngest family members adhere to the unofficial dress code of collared shirts.

Alfred Eisenstaedt The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Build a pool with ocean views.

Alfred Eisenstaedt The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Pose for treasured family photos.

Alfred Eisenstaedt The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Get the sails ready for the open waters.

Alfred Eisenstaedt The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Wait for a nice and windy day to take out the boats.

Alfred Eisenstaedt The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Ensure that at least one person on the sailboat knows how to sail.

Alfred Eisenstaedt The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Get tennis rackets restrung for games on the private courts.

Alfred Eisenstaedt The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Ensure clay courts are swept and ready for a game.

Alfred Eisenstaedt The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Engage in family pastimes that bring generations together.

Alfred Eisenstaedt The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Ensure that grounds are well-manicured and decorated.

Alfred Eisenstaedt The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Bring along a famous LIFE photographer to document lazy summer days.

Alfred Eisenstaedt The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Make time for oceanside chats in the salty, fresh air.

Alfred Eisenstaedt The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Old Beauty: How Yellowstone Became the First National Park

February 24, 2020July 29, 2015 by

There is an origin story about Yellowstone National Park that involves weary explorers sitting around a campfire, extolling the beauty of the land they’ve just seen and vowing to ensure it becomes a public park for all to enjoy. It’s a vision of altruism and environmentalism that suits the founding of the world’s first national park only it’s not entirely true.

The members of the 1870 Washburn-Doane Expedition did likely gather for campfires as they explored the region’s geysers and rivers and waterfalls, and they did likely discuss the best use of the land they were exploring. But, as with so much of American history, there were significant corporate interests at play. Yellowstone might never have become the public parkland it is today if not for the Northern Pacific Railroad Company.

Before the explorers set out on their expedition, Northern Pacific was strategizing to expand across the Montana Territory. An influx of tourism in the region would be a boon to business, so a railroad financier, Jay Cooke, began lobbying for an expedition. To drum up excitement back East, one member of the expedition, a politician named Nathanial P. Langford, toured the country giving lectures about the beauty of Yellowstone. Meanwhile, Northern Pacific subsidized an artist to sketch images of the park for display in Washington, D.C.

In March of 1872, less than two years after the expedition, Congress enacted the Yellowstone Park Act, ensuring that the land would remain under the purview of the Department of the Interior rather than being divvied up among private individuals—an arrangement that would attract visitors to the area, which would be sure to benefit big business like the railroad company.

More than 70 years into the park’s existence, LIFE dispatched Alfred Eisenstaedt to photograph its geographic features, during a summer that was shaping up to be Yellowstone’s biggest yet for tourism. In that record year, 1946, the park had more than 800,000 visitors. In 2018, it had 4.1 million visitors. Though the idea might seem incongruous, all of the many millions of people who over the decades have encountered Yellowstone’s bison and watched Old Faithful blow have corporate interests to thank for one of America’s greatest natural wonders.

Liz Ronk edited this gallery for LIFE.com. Follow her on Twitter @lizabethronk.

Old Faithful, Yellowstone National Park, 1946.

Alfred Eisenstaedt The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Castle Geyser, Yellowstone National Park, 1946.

Alfred Eisenstaedt The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Norris Geyser Basin was a bowl-like area containing 30 geysers, most of which erupted every few seconds or minutes, so that there were always several in action.

Alfred Eisenstaedt The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Riverside Geyser was just as regular as Old Faithful, erupting every seven hours.

Alfred Eisenstaedt The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Spectators waited for Giant Geyser, which erupted every six to 16 days.

Alfred Eisenstaedt The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

A graffiti-covered sign at Yellowstone National Park, 1946.

Alfred Eisenstaedt The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Giant Geyser, Yellowstone National Park, 1946.

Alfred Eisenstaedt The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Morning glory pool, shining beautifully, was an extinct geyser.

Alfred Eisenstaedt The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Grotto Geyser showed the cone-like formation of whitish silica deposited around its opening during centuries of activity.

Alfred Eisenstaedt The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Jupiter Terrace was a series of grayish-white pools and falls formed by the action of large hot springs at its top.

Alfred Eisenstaedt The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

The Grand Canyon of Yellowstone was gouged deep into the soft volcanic rock by the rushing waters of the Yellowstone River, leaving fantastic shapes such as the 260-foot “needle” shown at lower left. The picket-fence effect along the top of the cliff is a layer of ancient lava hardened by cooling and shrinking into columns of basalt 25 feet high.

Alfred Eisenstaedt The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

The Lower Falls of Yellowstone River had a perpendicular drop of 308 feet, which was about twice the height of that of Niagara Falls.

Alfred Eisenstaedt The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Some tourists cooked over hot springs, despite the park officials frowning on this.

Alfred Eisenstaedt The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Visitors bought about three million postcards and scenic photo folders a year.

Alfred Eisenstaedt The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

The hut at Mammoth Hot Springs was made of old elk antlers, which were also sold to visitors as souvenirs.

Alfred Eisenstaedt The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

A mother moose and her baby at Yellowstone National Park, 1946.

Alfred Eisenstaedt The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Yellowstone National Park 1946

Alfred Eisenstaedt The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Bears, both black and grizzly, were common, particularly around garbage dumps.

Alfred Eisenstaedt The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Pillow covers of brightly-colored rayon satin, adorned with maps and the scenic wonders of Yellowstone, sold rapidly at $1.25.

Alfred Eisenstaedt The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Free pop, in the form of natural carbonated water with lemonade flavor, gushed in continuous streams from the rocks which lined the highway near Apollinaris Springs.

Alfred Eisenstaedt The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Cars lined up to enter Yellowstone National Park, 1946.

Alfred Eisenstaedt The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Trailer camps charged tourists $1 a day, and many visitors settled down in them, living on fish they caught. After a month visitors had to move on to another camp in the park.

Alfred Eisenstaedt The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Trailer park, Yellowstone National Park, 1946.

Alfred Eisenstaedt The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

This Las Vegas blackjack dealer and his wife spent the summer in a tent at Yellowstone.

Alfred Eisenstaedt The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Yellowstone National Park, 1946.

Alfred Eisenstaedt The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

A True Passing Fad: Castro Caps for Children, 1959

January 18, 2023July 24, 2015 by

If you were to observe a group of children playing war today, you might see them launching make-believe drones and deactivating imaginary IEDs. If you watched the same activity in 1968, you might have seen them parachuting out of cardboard-box helicopters or tossing plastic grenades. But in 1959, kids playing war were pint-sized guerrillas wearing flat-brimmed army hats and Castro beards made of dog fur.

In the spring of 1959, Fidel Castro was settling into his new role as Prime Minister of Cuba. Castro and his 26th of July Movement the revolutionary army named for the 1953 attack that began the Cuban Revolution had overthrown U.S.-backed dictator Fulgencio Batista and were now looking to implement a socialist agenda for Cuba. Meanwhile, in the U.S., a toy manufacturer was capitalizing on the news with a brand new product, as LIFE explained:

The hairy specter which once haunted Fulgencio Batista in Cuba is rising again incongruously to startle parents in the U.S. The latest novelty for moppets is a battle cap with fur chin strap which will turn any youngster, male or female, into a miniature version of Fidel Castro’s Cuban rebels.

Looking back on those days with the benefit of hindsight, the photographs of carefree youngsters take on a more sinister tint. To those who regard Castro as a totalitarian strongman with no concern for human rights, these images are disturbing: laughing children, ignorant of what was really going on in the world, costumed as a man who was busily tightening his control on a terrified nation. And the children may seem no less naive to those who view Castro as a hero dedicated to the fight against inequality and imperialism.

When LIFE published a selection of these photos in 1959, it was undoubtedly intended as a lighthearted story about children mimicking the serious business of adults in a complicated world. Castro was a mere two months into a half-century regime for which there were still high hopes, and the controversial policies he would implement in the ensuing decades were still unwritten history.

Liz Ronk, who edited this gallery, is the Photo Editor for LIFE.com. Follow her on Twitter @lizabethronk.