The circus Zapashny dynasty began in 1882 and has three generations. Among them were acrobats, gymnasts and clowns. Today, trainers Askold and Edgar flaunt from posters of the Moscow Circus. And several decades ago their father shone in the arena - Walter Mikhailovich Zapashny, the famous wildlife tamer.
early years
Walter’s father got into the circus “from the street”, a strong guy worked as a loader in the port and accidentally ended up in the room of a strongman Poddubny. Mikhail Sergeyevich did not think about an artistic career before marrying Lydia Karlovna, the daughter of a famous clown. When the son of Walter was born to the couple in 1928, and after ten years Mstislav, the head of the family could not assume that he would soon be performing on the same stage with the children. Sons lived in Leningrad, and moved to their parents in Saratov in 1944. Only material difficulties forced the boys to start a circus biography. They debuted with their mother when the eldest was barely sixteen, the youngest was six. So the circus group "Zapashny Brothers" arose. Their acrobatic numbers appealed to Joseph Stalin.
Dressura
In 1960, Walter began working with animals. He had been preparing his first number with predators for three years, but it turned into a nightmare. When the tigress Bagheera attacked the trainer at the arena, the audience froze in fear. As a result of the fight, Zapashny received a spinal injury and dozens of lacerations. He recovered for two months, and then continued training. Already after a while, he learned that this was not the first time that Bagheera attacked people, but did not allow the animal to be euthanized. The tigress became a prima attraction and performed 64 stunts, she lived for 20 years and became a universal favorite.
Over the years, Walter has become an unsurpassed master of training. What did the three harnessed predators cost and his crown number was to saddle the lion. When 38 predators appeared in the arena at one moment, he felt like the king of the arena. His pets took part in the films: Three Plus Two, Dersu Uzala, Ruslan and Lyudmila. Until the age of seventy, Zapashny went out to the audience and directed the circus until his sons replaced him.
