Olga Denver: Leeds circus performer turned zoo owner dies aged 94

Olga Denver ran an animal amusement park and zoo in Leeds in the 1970s

A West Yorkshire circus performer and magician's assistant who became a zoo owner has died aged 94.

Olga Denver once appeared on the same bill as stars such as Edith Piaf and Cab Calloway, and later ran an animal amusement park and zoo in Leeds in the 1970s.

Mrs Denver, who had dementia, died on Tuesday after contracting pneumonia, her son Carl said.

Mr Denver described his mother as "free-spirited and much-loved".

He added: "She was outgoing, very talkative and always up for anything."

Mrs Denver appeared on the same bill as stars including Edith Piaf and Cab Calloway

Mrs Denver was born in 1929 and trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art before performing in revue shows.

Aged 18, she answered a job advert from her future husband, Ralph Norman, known by his stage name of Hal Denver.

Mr Denver, who had grown up in the circus and was the son of travelling showman Tom Norman who promoted "The Elephant Man" Joseph Merrick, required "a girl with nerves of steel".

Her son said she took the job without knowing she would be the assistant for his knife-throwing act among other daring feats, which the couple performed across America in the 1950s.

It was there she recalled meeting two rising stars in Elvis Presley and Marilyn Monroe, before she returned to her home in Garforth where she opened an animal amusement park and zoo.

'Quirky, eccentric family'

"In the back of the car we would have an Alsatian and a lioness," said Carl, who appeared in the Guinness Book of Records in 1971 as the youngest animal trainer, aged one year and 11 months.

"I would work with Mum during school holidays. When we worked in Morecambe the lioness got out and walked down to the beach."

Mr Denver, who later became a photographer, added: "We are a bit of a quirky, eccentric family.

"I have got an eight-year-old son and regret not being able to offer him the same sort of childhood.

"I took it as being the norm, so I took it for granted."

Mrs Denver was also known for her love of chihuahuas, which would perform in her animal shows by pushing prams and tightrope-walking along with roller-skating parrots, chimps having a tea party and thrill-seeking geese trained to use a slide.

The family ran an animal amusement park and zoo at their home in Garforth

"Considering the amusement park closed in 1977 there's still a lot of people who remember the zoo and my mum," said Mr Denver, who cared for his mother full-time for the final eight years of her life.

He added: "She threw me in the cot with a chimpanzee when I was born. She was free-spirited and much-loved by everybody.

"Anybody can get dementia, it's soul-destroying."