Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer opening logo
MGM
Leo’s roaring footage, shown before MGM films for 64 years.
Fate unknown
Leo
Also known as Leo the Lion · The Roaring Lion of MGM
c. 1956 – unknown
Born in an unrecorded place
Leo was the lion whose roar opened Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer’s films for more than six decades. Since 1916, when the publicist Howard Dietz chose a lion for Goldwyn Pictures in honour of his university, Columbia, whose team are the Lions, eight different lions have appeared inside the studio’s ring of film. MGM has always called them all Leo the Lion, but only the eighth, the lion filmed in 1957, was really named Leo.
He was bought from the New York animal dealer Henry Trefflich and trained by Ralph Helfer, who ran an animal ranch for film work in California and promoted gentler, affection-based training. Leo was the youngest lion MGM ever filmed for its logo, which is why his mane is smaller than those of the lions before him. He first appeared in 1957, before Tip on a Dead Jockey, and was used alongside the heavily maned George until 1958. Outside the logo he acted in films including King of Kings (1961), The Lion (1962) and Napoleon and Samantha (1972), and on the television series The Pet Set, where he was gentle enough to let a blind teenage girl stroke him.
His footage outlived him by decades. It was restored in 2008, rebuilt in 3D in 2012 for Skyfall, and in 2021 MGM replaced the filmed lion with a computer-animated one modelled on Leo. Even the roar most people know is not his: since 1982 it has been a sound designer’s blend that includes tiger sounds. When and where Leo died has never been published.
8thMGM lion
64Years his footage opened MGM films
1957First appearance
2021Replaced by a CGI lion
Profile
Identity
- Name
- LeoThe only MGM lion actually named Leo
- Nicknames
- Leo the Lion; the MGM lion
- Origin of the name
- Leo is Latin for lionMGM calls every lion in its logo Leo the Lion; this one really bore the name
- Sex
- Male
- Distinguishing features
- A young male with a noticeably smaller mane than earlier MGM lionsHe was the youngest lion MGM ever filmed for the logo
- Weight
- Information not availableFor reference, adult male lions usually weigh 150–260 kg
Birth & Family
- Born
- c. 1956Reported; he was very young when filmed in 1957
- Birthplace
- Information not availableDisputed: many sources say Dublin Zoo, Ireland, like Slats; others say Royal Burgers’ Zoo in Arnhem, the Netherlands
- Birth pride
- Information not availableBorn in captivity
- Father
- Information not available
- Mother
- Information not available
- Siblings
- Information not availableNot recorded
Reign
- Pride king
- A studio animal actor; not a pride male
- Prides ruled
- Information not available
- Pride size
- Information not available
- Reign
- Face of MGM for 64 years in his original footage (1957 – 2021)His image still underlies the computer-animated lion used since 2021
- Ruled with
- George, the lion before him, in 1957–1958
- Coalition
- Information not available
- Home range
- Southern California, with trainer Ralph HelferHelfer’s animal ranch supplied lions for film and television
- Territory size
- Information not available
Death
- Died
- Information not availableNot published
- Age at death
- Information not available
- Cause of death
- Information not available
- Place of death
- Information not available
- Burial
- Information not available
Names & Meanings
LeoName
Latin for lion. MGM calls all eight of its logo lions Leo the Lion; this one alone was actually named Leo.
Leo the LionTitle
The studio’s name for its mascot since the 1920s.
ZambaPossible other name
Ralph Helfer’s most famous lion was Zamba, and some sources identify him with the 1957 MGM lion. This has not been confirmed.
Family & Lineage
Zoo lionsParentsLeo was born in captivity in Europe; his parents have not been named.
Leo the LionLeoc. 1956 – ?
First MGM lion · 1924–1928SlatsBorn at Dublin Zoo in 1919 and named Cairbre. The only MGM lion who never roared, as films were still silent.
MGM lion · 1928–1956JackieA wild-born lion from Sudan and the first to roar in the logo; he opened The Wizard of Oz and survived a plane crash.
MGM lions · 1928–1935Telly and CoffeeUsed for early two-colour films.
MGM lion · 1934–1956TannerThe Technicolor lion, used for 22 years and on MGM cartoons.
MGM lion · 1956–1958GeorgeThe most heavily maned of them all, briefly used alongside Leo.
SuccessorThe CGI lionSince 2021, MGM’s logo has used a computer-animated lion based on Leo’s 1957 footage.
Life Story
- 1916
Howard Dietz chose a lion as the mascot of Goldwyn Pictures, in tribute to Columbia University’s Lions.
- 1924
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer was formed; the lion Slats appeared in the first MGM logo.
- c. 1956
Leo was born, reportedly in a European zoo.
- 1957
Filmed for the MGM logo, the youngest lion ever used. First appeared before Tip on a Dead Jockey.
- 1957 – 1958
Used alongside George, the previous lion.
- 1961 – 1972
Appeared in films including King of Kings, The Lion, Zebra in the Kitchen, Fluffy and Napoleon and Samantha, and on the series The Pet Set.
- 1974
His roaring footage headed MGM’s 50th-anniversary logo.
- 1982
His roar was replaced with a new stereo sound that blends lion and tiger roars, first used on Poltergeist.
- 2008
His footage was digitally restored, with a modelled mane and reshaped ears.
- 2012
Rebuilt in 3D for the James Bond film Skyfall.
- 2021
Replaced in the logo by a computer-animated lion based on him, after 64 years.
Legend & Truth
Eight lions, one name
Slats, Jackie, Telly, Coffee, Tanner, George and Leo, with an early test lion sometimes called Bill or Numa, have all been Leo the Lion. Only the last was really called Leo.
Dublin or Arnhem?
For years Leo was said to have been born at Dublin Zoo, like Slats. More recent sources name Royal Burgers’ Zoo in Arnhem, the Netherlands. Neither has been confirmed by MGM.
Was he Zamba?
Ralph Helfer wrote a book about his beloved lion Zamba, and some sources say Zamba was the 1957 MGM lion. Helfer trained Leo, but the two have not been proven to be the same animal.
Not his roar
The roar heard in MGM’s logo since 1982 was made by sound designer Mark Mangini and includes tiger sounds, because, as he explained, real lions do not sound that ferocious.
A captive lion
Leo was a studio animal who never lived in the wild. He belongs in this archive as the most-seen lion in the history of cinema.
Photographs
Photograph coming soon
Photograph coming soon
Photograph coming soon
Film
The film of Leo the Lion’s life is coming soon
Animation
An animated story of Leo the Lion’s life is coming soon
Documentaries & Features
King of Kings
Nicholas Ray — MGM
One of the films in which Leo appeared as an animal actor.
Leo the Lion (MGM)
Wikipedia
The history of all eight MGM lions.
Sources
- Wikipedia — Leo the Lion (MGM)
- Smithsonian Magazine — MGM’s first lion didn’t roar
- Wikipedia — Ralph Helfer
- Mr Local History — Leo the Lion gravesite, New Jersey
- Gary Coates & Ed Vigdor — MGM logo history and the 2008 restoration (PDF)
Where sources disagree, the most widely reported figure is shown, with other reports noted beneath it.