Leo, the MGM Lion

Died 1936(?) - Gillette, New Jersey

Volney Phifer knew how to make an animal sit up and pay attention.

Volney was Hollywood's premier animal trainer, and his most successful protégé was Leo, the MGM lion, who Volney taught to roar on cue.

By the 1930s, Volney had made his fortune and left Tinseltown. He bought a farm in Gillette, NJ, where he boarded animals used in Broadway shows and Manhattan vaudeville acts. He brought Leo with him, and here is where both man and beast died.

Volney planted Leo in the front yard and marked the grave with a small, blank block of granite. More significant is the pine tree that Volney, full of secret European wisdom, planted directly over Leo's body. He insisted that its roots would "hold down the lion's spirit."

The tiny granite block still marks the site, now dwarfed by the 60+-year-old tree. But for how much longer? The current owners of the farm, who are trying to sell the place, don't tell prospective buyers that a rampaging ghost lion might be released when the pine tree falls down.

When Volney's Game Farm was in operation, the people of Gillette hated the place. Now that Volney is dead and Leo is safely pinned down, the town insists that they always loved it. There's even talk of a monument to Leo being erected on the site.

For the safety of all concerned, we hope it will be large and heavy.

August 2002: The Memphis Zoo was home to a lion claimed to be the MGM Lion, named "Volney," that died in 1944. Yup, we're confused too...

January 2001: the current owner reports that the grave marker was removed in 1996. He has a plan to carve the tree above the grave into a lion, when financially feasible.

August 1998: The Grave of Leo the Lion has changed for the worse. The house is now abandoned and the little gravestone is gone! In its place some flowers have been planted. The big pine tree appears to have had its lower branches removed and it seems to be standing straighter. But where's that gravestone?

Note and photo from a former resident of Volney's farm: "I lived at Phifer's Animal Farm back in the late 60s & 70s and I knew Volney very well. Volney often cooked breakfast for me and told me wonderful animal stories. This is a Christmas Card that Volney gave me in 1972 and, of course, this is Leo." [Sherry Bryson, 9/1/98]

August, 1997: The new owners of the Phifer farm have reportedly removed the granite block marking Leo's grave.

...Previous Grave | Next Grave...