Here is something special for this Capricorn Cat tribute. It's not just that it's tribute to a character who has passed on (least at this point in time), but it includes a biography on him. This is Leo Lionheart Sr., birth name Leo Martin Tanner Troy, who was the father of Leo Lionheart from Metro Goldwyn Mayer's The Lionhearts and formerly played the mascot of Leo the Lion. He also had close connections with Tom and Jerry, and how he did, well, this is where his biography comes in as we'll delve into his life and part of it includes how he discovered and brought Tom and Jerry into the limelight.

Leo Lionheart Sr.

Leo Martin Tanner Troy (January 3, 1916 - November 11, 2002), known professionally as Leo Lionheart Sr., was an American writer and politician who represented Monmouth in the United States House of Representatives from 1941 to 1947. He was also a patron of comic actors and composers Tom Cat and Jerry Mouse. A prominent member of the rabbit hunting community in America and a prolific initiate within a group of lions that served playing the role of the mascot Leo the Lion for Metro Goldwyn Mayer, he was featured in many films from 1934 up until 1967 and wrote the work Behind the Filmstrip Ring (1972) which served as a guide for future lions.

Biography
Leo Lionheart Sr. was born the only son of Jacobines Troy of Kingsessing, Philadelphia on January 3, 1916. He was a nephew of William Troy, Mayor of the City of Boston, and cousin of William Bernard Troy (1936 - 2017). In 1938, on the death of his father, Lionheart inherited his estate Regalia House in the borough of Kingsessing near Cedar Park in Philadelphia, and set out on his first visit to England. On the way, he met Joseph Larmor and Sir Alexander Fleming at Scotland, and hunted with King George VI.

In 1939 he visited Liverpool, where he was escorted by Edward Coates, bought several antiquities, and commissioned a modern portrait. There, he was so impressed by the young Tom Cat and Jerry Mouse (Jerry Joseph Rattray)'s acting talents that he persuaded both their fathers to let him take Tom and Jerry to his estate in America for ten years. Lionheart agreed to provide quarterly payments to sponsor Tom and Jerry's performing arts education until the young cat and mouse reached the age of 22 and 21 respectively. (Lionheart himself claimed to have "bought Tom and Jerry from their fathers for a period of ten years".)

He became the Member of Congress for Monmouth, Maine in 1941. On January 3, 1948, Lionheart married Rep. Christine Smith (1930 - 1982), the daughter of American diplomat and politician Floyd Smith (1898 - 1994) and Abigale Smeets. Their first son was born on May 20, 1958, but survived only a few months; Lionheart's first surviving son was Leo, born at Greencrest Manor on August 12, 1959. Through his surviving son, Lionheart has three grandchildren: Kate (born 1988), Spencer (born 1990), and Judy (born 1994).

Lionheart was an enthusiastic hunter, and in 1972 published his Behind the Filmstrip Ring in a Series of Hunting Memoirs for a Friend. He also owned several real estate properties in the British colony of Hong Kong. In 1974, on the deterioration of his wife's health, Lionheart returned to England with his family. His wife and a young daughter died at Middlesborough; and he returned to America in 1990. In 1996 he published his Hunting Memoirs from England for a Friend in America. He died on November 11, 2002, and is buried in St. James Kingsessing church.

Happy 110th birthday to Leo Lionheart Sr., God rest his soul.

Lineart drawn by yours truly, colouring and background was done by  lokifan50 on Procreate.

Leo Lionheart Sr. © Metro Goldwyn Mayer

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