Ivan Tors first discovered Clarence at Africa USA, an affection training compound located in Soledad Canyon about 40 miles north of Los Angeles. Clarence’s strange physical condition, born cross-eyed, inspired Ivan Tors to create the feature film.
Because of his unusual condition, Clarence was almost given away as a cub. But Tors, who had a successful track record with animal pictures – Flipper (1963) and Rhino! (1964) – interested in the lion and decided he had star potential. “I’ve never seen a cross-eyed lion,” said Tors. “And neither has the rest of the world.”
The trainers even made Clarence a lion-sized pair of glasses that made a cameo appearance in the movie (they proved ineffective and were eventually discarded). Eventually, Clarence’s vision did improve.
Clarence the Lion has been suggested to play 2 roles. Click below to see other actors suggested for each role, and vote for who you think would play the role best.
