Slats was the first lion used for the newly-formed MGM studio. He was born at Dublin Zoo, Ireland on March 20, 1919. The photo above is Slats the Lion being filmed for his cinematic debut as the MGM Logo, c. 1924.Slats was used on all black-and-white MGM films between 1924 and 1928. Slats was trained to growl rather than roar (although in the logo he did nothing but look around), and for the next couple of years, the lion would tour with MGM promoters to signify the studio's launch.
Slats died in 1936. His skin is now on display at the McPherson Museum, in Kansas.
The original logo was designed by Howard Dietz and used by the Goldwyn Pictures Corporation studio from 1916 to 1924.
PHOTO 1: via The Daily What
PHOTO 2: Wikipedia
