Tanya the Elephant
Tanya the Elephant was a Thai elephant who became a famous performer on stage, TV and film.
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Tanya the performer
She was born in captivity, but was acquired as a one-year old by German born performance animal trainer Jan Vinicky (1923-2006. Stage name Smaha, but also nicknamed Jenda)[1] in 1965. He trained her to perform on stage and they performed throughout Europe, including a command performance for Queen Elizabeth II in 1967 with Bob Hope. They subsequently landed in Las Vegas in the late 1960's, her performances captivating theatre and TV audiences throughout the 1970s, as they appeared on several television shows, including "The Merv Griffin Show," "The Mike Douglas Show" and "Those Amazing Animals." She also appeared in the 1971 James Bond movie Diamonds Are Forever[2].
In 1980 trainer Smaha moved his show and family to Botswana, Southern Africa, where Tanya performed at a hotel casino and other venues. He fell in love with Africa and dedicated himself to the protection of vanishing species, becoming a good friend of Dr. Helena Fitchat[3], at that time director of the Durban-based Center for Rehabilitation of Wildlife in South Africa[4].
He and his wife retired to Sarasota in 1989 and Tanya was given to a friend who had a circus in Mexico.
Contribution to SA theatre, film, media and/or performance
In 1981 she one of the star performers in Bedazzled, a musical extravaganza commissioned by Sol Kerzner for Sun City. The show was created, directed and staged by Joan Brickhill and Louis Burke.
Sources
https://lasvegas.citycast.fm/history-archive/a-look-back-at-tanya-the-elephant
https://bbsradio.com/guestson/guest-dr-helena-fitchat
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0066995/fullcredits/?ref_=tt_ov_st#cast
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