Johnny Tatum

Johnny Tatum was a famous

rodeo clown A rodeo clown, bullfighter (in the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand) or rodeo protection athlete, is a rodeo performer who works in bull riding competitions. Originally, the rodeo clown was a single job combining "bullfightin ...

and

bullfighter A bullfighter (or matador) is a performer in the activity of bullfighting. ''Torero'' () or ''toureiro'' (), both from Latin ''taurarius'', are the Spanish and Portuguese words for bullfighter and describe all the performers in the activit ...

. He toured the United States for many years entertaining crowds and protecting bullriders. Early in his career, he traveled to

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

with

Casey Tibbs Casey Duane Tibbs (March 5, 1929 – January 28, 1990) was a rodeo cowboy, and actor. In 1979, he was inducted into the ProRodeo Hall of Fame. Life and career Tibbs was born to John F. Tibbs (1886–1948) and Florence M. Tibbs (1889–1974) in ...

to promote the sport of

rodeo Rodeo () is a competitive equestrian sport that arose out of the working practices of cattle herding in Spain and Mexico, expanding throughout the Americas and to other nations. It was originally based on the skills required of the working va ...

in that country. He worked some of the biggest rodeos in the world including

Cheyenne Frontier Days Cheyenne Frontier Days is an outdoor rodeo and western celebration in the United States, held annually since 1897 in Cheyenne, Wyoming. It bills itself as the "World's Largest Outdoor Rodeo and Western Celebration." The event, claimed to be one of ...

and the

Calgary Stampede The Calgary Stampede is an annual rodeo, exhibition, and festival held every July in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The ten-day event, which bills itself as "The Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth", attracts over one million visitors per year and featu ...

. His contract acts usually involved trained animals including horses, dogs and monkeys. He delighted crowds with his trained monkey that rode a dog and herded sheep https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pPlircZBl2c. He was selected to be a

at the

National Finals Rodeo The National Finals Rodeo (NFR) is the premier rodeo event by the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA). The NFR showcases the talents of the PRCA's top 15 money-winners in the season for each event. The NFR is held each year in the fi ...

in 1976 and retired from rodeo in 1983. After retiring, he provided horses and livestock for many movies including "The Blue And The Gray". He also performed as a stuntman and acted in several movies and TV shows including "The Gambler 2" starring

Kenny Rogers Kenneth Ray Rogers (August 21, 1938 – March 20, 2020) was an American singer, songwriter, and actor. He was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2013. Rogers was particularly popular with country audiences but also charted mo ...

, Silverado and others. He lived in

Laveen, Arizona Laveen is a community in Maricopa County, Arizona, United States, situated southwest of Downtown Phoenix, between South Mountain and the confluence of the Gila and Salt rivers. Parts of Laveen constitute an unincorporated community in Marico ...

where he maintained several successful business ventures until his death in 1994. 1992 deaths Rodeo clowns Year of birth missing People from Maricopa County, Arizona {{US-entertainer-stub