While many audiences assume the roaring lion at the start of every Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer film is the same animal, there have actually been seven different lions used since 1917. The first, named Slats, was used for the silent era and did not roar; he simply looked around at the audience. The first lion to roar on film was Jackie in 1928, whose sound was captured via a gramophone. He was followed by Telly and Coffee, then Tanner (the face of the Technicolor era), and a briefly used lion named George. The most famous and current lion is 'Leo,' who has been the face of the studio since 1957. Leo was the youngest lion filmed, which is why his mane appears smaller in the original footage than his predecessors. In 2021, MGM finally transitioned from live-animal footage to a photorealistic CGI version of Leo, ensuring the icon lives on forever in the digital age.