Long before 'Tiger King,' Chicago had its own Joe Exotic
CHICAGO - See how much of this sounds familiar.
A man develops a loosely organized roadside zoo. It becomes an area attraction for the likes of visiting Brownie troops and curious journalists, and at the same time it draws the ire of animal-rights activists.
Yes, the man has tigers. Yes, he allows himself to be photographed with a big one climbing up on his shoulders.
But along the way it all starts to go south for the man, ending in his conviction for hiring someone to murder a rival.
There has been no documentary yet about Lorin Womack, whose Land O'Lorin Exotic Wildlife Haven was at least a Batavia curiosity and in some eyes an attraction in the waning years of the 20th century.
But the parallels between the story of Womack and of Joe Exotic, the contemporary Oklahoma zookeeper chronicled in the current hit Netflix documentary series "Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness," are in so many other ways remarkable.
