In the early 1970s, actress and animal rights activist Tippi Hedren cared for Neil, a lion that sometimes shared a bed with Hedren’s then-teenage daughter Melanie Griffith. LIFE photographer Michael Rougier spent a day photographing the family at home.
Hedren has since acknowledged that it was “stupid beyond belief” to put her family at risk by allowing an animal with “no conscience or remorse genes” to roam free.
“Something Wild: At Home With Tippi Hedren, Melanie Griffith and a 400-Pound Lion”
