Mabel Stark

Mabel Stark, whose real name was Mary Haynie (December 10, 1889 – April 20, 1968), was a renowned tiger trainer of the 1920s and she was referred to as one of the world's first women tiger trainers/tamers.

Biography

Stark was born in Tennessee. She was one of seven children born to Lela and Hardy Haynie. Stark's parents were farmers and they died within two years of each other, so that by the age of 17, Stark and her siblings were orphaned. She spent a short period of time with her aunt in Princeton. She then traveled to Louisville and became a nurse at St. Mary's Hospital. Soon after, she left Louisville and her history becomes difficult to trace. Circus friends contend that she worked in carnivals as a "dancer" of some type. Like many circus performers, Stark did not hesitate to enrich the truth to create an interesting story. She even once told an interviewer that she was born to a wealthy Canadian. She ended up in 1911 with the Al G. Barnes Circus based in Culver City, California, where she met animal trainer Al Sands. She worked for a brief time there as a "high school" rider (horseback rider), but fervently wanted to work with the big cats. She began work with Louis Roth, a famous "cat man" who she would later marry. (Stark was married 4 or 5 times) Soon, she became a tiger trainer in the ring. At first, they had her work a "balloon act" which had her "riding" a lion on a platform and then pressing a pedal to release fireworks at some point in the act. But by 1916, she was presenting the show's major tiger act.