One summer morning in 1969, an elderly man was walking in Paris with a walking stick in one hand and a leash in the other with an anteater pulling at the end. Yes, an anteater. The man wasn’t just anyone. It was the artist Salvador Dalí, then 65 years old, well known for his extravagance and spectacular performances. The picture, staged by the photographer Patrice Habans, went around the world.
What sounds like an impossibility today was still common among celebrities a few decades ago. Whoever gave himself up adorned himself with an exotic animal. Big cats were particularly popular. In the 20s and 30s these were popular “pets”. The silent actress Marian Nixon once caused a stir when she strolled along Hollywood Boulevard with a leopard in 1925. Actress Phyllis Gordon and dancer Josephine Baker kept cheetahs.
Big cats in bed
And it can be even bigger. Former Tarzan actor Steve Sipek literally collected big cats. He is said to have kept more than 100 animals on his property. There they should have moved very freely. A picture from the 60s shows Sipek cuddling with a tiger in bed. Even boxer Mike Tyson, who temporarily lived with three tigers in Las Vegas, fell into the hype later.
And even today, celebrities still like to surround themselves with exotic animals. Singer Justin Bieber caused a stir when he took a white-shouldered capuchin monkey on tour in 2013. That was promptly confiscated in Germany. Because the necessary papers were missing. Today the monkey lives in a zoo in Lower Saxony.
Anyone who once explored the streets of Berlin with an ostrich team, which US presidential couple kept a raccoon in the White House and other bizarre pet stories from the world of celebrities can be read in the photo gallery above.
I am a 24-year-old writer and journalist who has been working in the news industry for the past two years. I write primarily about market news, so if you’re looking for insights into what’s going on in the stock market or economic indicators, you’ve come to the right place. I also dabble in writing articles on lifestyle trends and pop culture news.
