Blog Post: I Remember Jungleland

When I remember back to the long hot summers of the Conejo Valley in the 1950s, my memories gravitate to Jungleland. Few remember that there was once a popular theme park in the valley; one that, in that time even competed against Disneyland and Pacific Ocean Park. It was part zoo, part circus, part movie studio where the animal stars of the silver screen rested between films and where, when they became old, they retired.

I remember visiting the place and seeing the old MGM lion, Leo, in his large cage overlooking the park. Here one could ride an elephant for a quarter and watch some great circus acts perform. I recall watching and talking with Miss Mable Stark, once headliner with the Ringling Brothers Barnum and Bailey Circus, as she performed with her tigers. I even managed to touch the rough fur of Raja, her main tiger! There were row after row of cages where all sorts of animals were housed set in the old Conejo Creek which looked very much like my idea of a jungle. In fact, all of my ideas about Africa came from old movies and more than a few were filmed at Jungleland.

I recall meeting the great Johnny Weissmuller—the quintessential Tarzan. He was there shooting a short-lived TV series called Ramar of the Jungle. Having grown too old to go about shirtless, he played a white hunter who helped people. I shook his hand as he rested, reading his script, sipping a tall ice tea.

Another actor I managed to encounter, though it wasn't a pleasant one, was Micky Dolens who stared in a TV show called Circus Boy. This was before he made a named for himself with the musical group and TV show The Monkeys. He just scowled at me as if I was some sort of bug—but, then he was only ten or eleven and quite full of himself. Many films were made there over the years.

I recall the smells of Jungleland. It seemed authentic to the tropical rain forest with its pungent odors and the many flies it attracted. It's all gone now. Only a few memories and black and white pictures remain of this very special place in the Conejo Valley. If you remember Jungleland please contact me: Richard Senate at hainthunter@aol.com

Richard Senate is a local historian and renowned area .