Ker and Downey Ltd.
When WWII broke out in 1939 Ker enlisted with British army where he became a scout and partook in campaigns against the Italians in the Ethiopian theatre. After the city of Addis Ababa was reclaimed by the British, he met Downey at a bar, and made plans to form their own safari company after the war. Shortly after, they announced their decision during an "impromptu meeting of the East African Professional Hunters" Association. Often credited for leading the move from hunting to photographic safaris out, Ker and Downey is famous for having outfitted many movies - from
Out of Africa to
Gorillas in the Mist and
The Constant Gardener. Ker and Downey's first safari, the Macomber Affair had many scenes at Nairobi's oldest hotel, the
Stanley Hotel, Nairobi where Ker and Downey had its first offices and was based for many years. Both quiet men, Ker and Downey were nonetheless attractive to both royalty and celebrity.
Charles, Prince of Wales and
Anne, Princess Royal first saw the
Maasai Mara on Ker and Downey safaris, as did
Paul Simon,
Carrie Fisher and millionaire Constantine Niarchos. Films the company has worked on include
Mogambo, with
Clark Gable,
Ava Gardner and
Grace Kelly; King Solomon's Mines with
Stewart Granger;
The Snows of Kilimanjaro with
Gregory Peck,
Susan Heyward and Ava Gardner,
Hatari! starring
John Wayne,
Out of Africa with
Robert Redford and
Meryl Streep.
Cry Freedom, Gorillas in the Mist and The Constant Gardener were also outfitted by the Nairobi-based firm. One of Ker's most notable clients was the businessman and naturalist Edgar Monsanto Queeny for whom he led two expeditions also associated with the
American Museum of Natural History. Queeny's intent was to audio record and film African wildlife and native culture, and produced several documentaries from the footage he took while with Ker, including
Indicator Indicator and the
Pagan Sudan. Ker and Queeny also worked hard to record the various sounds that lions make by playing back to the lions other lion and hyena sounds to illicit novel responses. In doing this Ker realised that the practice of playing recorded animal sounds to lions and other game "could be misused in hunting," and upon his return to Nairobi managed to get the Game department to amend the hunting laws banning such practices. This event exemplifies Ker's own growing conservationist tendencies. At that point, he and Downey were already leaning towards photographic safaris. Neither had enjoyed killing animals all that much to begin with, preferring instead the thrill of the chase. in Amboseli and Koiyaki Group Ranch in the Masai Mara. ==References==