Cecil Ellis was born July 9, 1924 in Bastrop County. Cecil started his rodeo career in 1943 at the age of 19. he first started out riding bulls and bareback horses, then decided that fighting bulls would be easier. In Cecil joined the R,C,A, and rodeoed professionally for 14 years. He received his Gold Card #1061 in 1974 and became known as the bull fighter who slapped the arena, knowing that if they got in trouble, he would be there to help them out. Cecil had a little mule named “Red” that he used in his clown act.
Cecil retired from professional rodeo in 1961 but continued to work on the Youth Rodeo Circuit, helping teenagers who were interested in rodeoing. His son, Fuzz Ellis and daughter Tina Ellis, were two to the many interested teenagers that he helped.