The Week of January 9th 1930 the Melville-Reiss Carnival was in Charlotte, North Carolina. One of their main attractions was “Leo the Lion” who was trained by Charlie Houck.
Houck was a single 65 year old man and head Animal Trainer for the circus. One night after feeding Leo Charlie went to give him a pat on the head. Leo clawed at Charlie’s arm pulling him closer to the cage. Houck did pull free, but was dead from infection within the week.
CHARLIE HOUCK
AGE 65 YRS
KILLED BY A LION
JAN 9, 1930
Charlie’s gravestone will always uniquely stand out in Elmwood Cemetery as long as it stands… which is not the case right now. Please help us raise the funds to completely restore his headstone.
So the next time you’re at Elmwood cemetery you can point out the headstone of Charlie Houck… who was killed by a Lion in Charlotte North Carolina…
Spooky CLT 