GARY BOHAN JR.
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SHARKEY: When Sea Lions Were Stars of Show Business (1907-1958)

April 2022, 326 pages, 54 b/w photographs, trade paperback, price: $24.95, ISBN: 9781438487120
Written in the narrative style of authors like Erik Larson, Sharkey weaves old-time showbiz with truth-is-stranger-than-fiction history. At times funny, at times poignant, always unpredictable, the story also celebrates the timeless bond between humans and animals.
My great-grandfather Mark Huling and two of his brothers trained many famous sea lions (at the time, often informally called seals). Imagine seals that sing with an orchestra, ride equestrian, and perform sketch comedy routines. Such is a glimpse into the world of Huling seals. After the three Huling brothers retired, Mark reentered the business. Then along came an unusually gifted sea lion named Sharkey. Mark fell in love with him and the two became inseperable. The result? Sharkey achieved celebrity unlike any other sea lion in the history of show business.
Sharkey starred on Broadway, appeared in a Hollywood hit movie, and worked with names like Bob Hope, Ella Fitzgerald, and the Three Stooges. He headlined with sports legends like Ted Williams, "Babe" Didrikson Zaharias, and Jackie Robinson. And he appeared on nearly every pioneering variety show of early television, alongside TV icons such as Milton Berle, Imogene Coca, and Ed Sullivan. With a personality larger than life, Sharkey was the highest-paid single animal act of his day.
Table of Contents
Preface
1. The Huling Brothers
2. Huling's Barn
3. Seal College
4. Sharkey Goes Broadway
5. Higher and Higher
6. Dry Act, Wet Act
7. Sharkey Goes Hollywood
8. Movie Palaces and Nightclubs
9. Sharkey Meets the President
10. A Postwar America
11. Sharkey Goes Television
12. Vaudeville Revival
13. The Show Must Go On
14 The End of an Era
15. Bygone Days
EpilogueAcknowledgmentsNotes and SourcesIndex
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