Number 42 October 19,1981

PAT WHITE with "Susie1 The Circus Report PageS people who have seen the show 25 and 30 Comment times from as many different seats. No one I have talked with has complained of not by ROBERT LUND being able to see what was going on. The criticism of the Le Grand David Show Lloyd says he "asked around among sea- in Lloyd Jones' column in the Sept. 28 th is soned theatre-goers, professional magicians sue of CR is unkind, unfair and untrue. and such" to determine if the show is "as The show is not an "amateur theatrical", good as stated." Lloyd and his anonymous source aside. Why If it isn't as good as stated, the lads and anonymous, Lloyd? If Le Grand David is an ladies of Beverly have pulled the wool ov- amateur theatrical, Ringling is a mud show. er the eyes of a lot of knowledgeable The entire operation - front of the house, people. Let's dismiss the opinions of the back of the house, the show itself, staging, dilettantes and non-pros beginning with sets, costumes, props, music, lights, promo- myself, John Henry Grossman, Dan Wai- tional material • is totally professional. Not dron, Phil Willmarth, Robert Albo, Steve only is the show professional, but so are the Tigner, Herb Downs and many others who credentials of members of the company. have acclaimed the show as the most stri- Various members of the troupe have stud- king, beautiful magic show of its time. Let's ied and worked in theatre, magic, drama, pitch out the Magianian of the Year Award music, dance, costume design, textiles, li- the Larsens and the Magic Castle gave to ghting, theatre architecture, theatrical law Marco, the leader of the company, and his - virtually every phase of theatre - in this election to the S.A.M. Hall of Fame, both country and in Europe. honors conferred this year. Forget the news 'The show is too 'heavy' in boxes and cos- paper reviews and magazine pieces, the two tumes in relationship to the red lighting or page spread in Time. Let's say all those much dimmed stage," Lloyd's anonymous people were mistaken in their assessment carper complains. "It is heavy going to wa- of the show, that they were beguiled or tch, particularly if not in the first ten rows misled, that they didn't see what they - more lighting, full stage brightness would thought they saw. take away much of the 'heavy' strain and You might be able to dismiss the praise you could see it for a change." lavished on the show by non-pros and lay- The only accurate statement in that screed men, but how do you explain away the is that much of the show is done in subdued acclaim of such respected professionals as light. But for a reason that apparently esca- Neil Foster, Bev Bergeron, Sid Lorraine, ped Lloyd's critic. The show is an effort to Andre Kole, Claude Isbecque-Klingsor, evoke an earlier era, which it does admirably. Bruce Posgate and numerous others? These The charge that the show is "heavy going people are not impressionable amateurs or to watch" is patently false. It is a pleasure devotees. They are pros, veterans of many to watch from any vantage point. I have years who have seen many magic shows in seen the show from the second row, twel- many countries. Were they hoodwinked, fth row and while standing back of the rail- too? ing behind the last row of seats. It was not There is a provincialism in this country a strain to see from any of these positions, nor was it "heavy going." I have talked with (Continued on Page 30) Page 4 October 19,1981

Texas Shrine Circus SHOW DATES Oct 20-25 San Antonio, Cover Photo Texas The front cover photo of Bauer- Hall All Star Circus •--MAGIC--- this issue of CR was pro- to Nov. 1 Jackson, NJ vided by David P. Orr, of Beany-Cole Circus Krystali Sandy Hook, Conn. Oct 19-22 Phoenix, Arz Oct19-20Pt. Arthurjx oo v He took the picture at 21-22 Orange 23 Yuma Tipton, Ind., on Aug. 12, 24-25 El Cajon, Ca 1 QQ 1 Beni Kedem Shrine Cir. 1981. Oct 23-25 Charleston, Pf. Miller -Magic Time USA The photo is of Pat White W. Va. Oct 19 Nebraska City, Neb with the lion riding ele- 20 Shenandoah, la phant "Susie". Pat pre- Brickie's Wonderland Cir. 21 Clarinda sents a wild animal act Oct 15 Brunson, SC 22 Maryville, Mo. with Carson & Barnes, 16 Ridgeland 23 Red Oak, Iowa and also presents Freddie 19 Yememsassee 24 St. Joseph, Mo. the lion riding on the ele- 20 Hardeeville 25 Richmond phant. 21-23Walterboro Nordlaw Carson & Barnes Circus Oct 21 Irving, Mich Oct 19 Carrollton, Ga. 22 Casnovia 20 Ft. Payne, Ala. ZTOo MsnioAchtnn For Sale 21 Scottsboro 24 New Swanzy 22 Albertville CHEAP -1st Class Chimp 23 Cullman Starfire and Dog act - 2 female 24 Winfield Oct 19-21 Cheyenne, Wy chimps (1 - 10yrs old, 1 - 25 Haleyridge 22 No. Plane, Neb 5 yrs old) - Super tame- 23-24 Grand Island All props chromed • 3 sets Circus Arts Troupe of beautiful spangled and Oct 22-24 Flagstaff, Arz - --OTHER DATES --- eyelash wardrobe. Circus Vargas James H. Drew Exposition If interested leave name Oct 19-21 Lake Chas. La Oct 19-24 Athens, Ga. and phone number. 22-25 Baton Rouge Humane Society Confer. Call: 603 -424 -3341 Or. Pepper Circus Oct 14-17 St. Louis, Mo — Evenings — to Oct. 26 Dallas, Tex. Royal Scots Dragoons Ringling-Barnum - Blue Oct 19 Lafayette, La. to Oct 26 Boston, Mass 20 New Orleans Trade or Sell 21 Lake Charles Ringling-Barnum- Red HAND RAISED, Leash 22 Lufkin, Texas Trained Siberian Tiger to Nov 1 Rosemont, III OO A *, 23 Austin Cub, 4 mo. old. All shots Royal Crown Circus 24 Ft. Worth and declawed. Oct 20-21 Davenport, la Joe Schmitt, Jr. 24-25 Cedar Rapids Trade towards primates - Oct 18 Co ppell, Texas unusual animals, etc. Royal Lichtenstein Cir. Call or Write and Name Oct 19 Edwardsville.lll Your Deal. 20-21 St. Louis, Mo 22-24 Carbondale, III. BRIAN J.WATSON East Coast Camel Co. TNT & Royal Olympic Essex, Mass. Oct21-25Joliet, III Phone: 1-617-768-6669 The Circus Report Pay

ican Anti-Vivisection Society, Animal Right; Animal Rights Network, the Anti-Cruelty Society, Beauty Without Cruelty, Coalition to End Animal Hundreds of animal rights activists attend- Suffering in Experimentation (CEASE), ed a major animal rights conference at The Fund for Animals, National Anti-Vivi- Ocean City, Md.. Oct. 10-12. Title of the section Society, People for the Ethical conference was "Mobilization for Animal Treatment of Animals, The Scottish Soci- Rights: Conference '81". ety for the Prevention of Vivisection, plus Purpose of the conference was to estab- several animal rights and welfare groups. lish task forces and a coordinating body to Speakers included: Henry Spira, long-time mobilize mass support and individual grass animal rights activist; Richard Morgan, au- roots action. thor of Love and Anger; Jim Mason, auth- The program included workshops concern- or of Animal Factories; Patricia Curtis, au- ed with both animal rights issues and mobi- thor of Animal Rights, Hope Ryden, auth- lization tactics. Up-to-date information on or and wildlife ethologist and Tom Regan, such important issues as vivisection, factory author of Animal Rights and Human Obli- farming, wildlife protection, pet over popu- gations. lation and vegitarianism with experts in each field on hand to discuss the subjects. Other workshops focused on the practical tactics and strategies available to political activists, boycotts, community and campus People organizing, use of the mass media, legislative initiates, research and documentation. BILL Wl LLIAMS (Cotton Candy the Represented at the conference were such Clown) has been working a series of new grpupsW American Society for the Preven- store openings in the San Francisco, Calif., tion of ^Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA), Amer- area. IN LOVING MEMORY

JACK LEONTINI

Born Died October 6, 1900 September 30, 1981

THE WALLENDA FAMILY

UNCLE JACK WE WON'T FORGET YOUR GENEROUS CONTRIBUTION TO OUR FAMILY

LAID TO REST AT

MANASOTA MEMORIAL PARK

Tuesday, October 6, 1981 PageS October 19,1981 Italia opens with a clown come-in by Nino Circus Italia followed by juggling and a super riding act featuring Carlo and Nino. BY GEORGE BINGAMAN Enter an uncaged lioness who emerges Internationally famous Alberto Zoppe presented Circus Italia to wowed audiences in Boscov's shopping mall in Portsville, Pa. on Aug. 13th, where I saw the show at 2 and 7 p.m.

from the cage directly to a horse-mount at opposite ring, quite a spectacular opener which commands the audience's undivided attention until the show ends many min- I was pleased to hear numerous spectators utes later. In a remarkable assortment of acclaim the show as "better than those you tricks, roll-overs, sit-ups, kissing, the lion- pay for". As Circus Italia plays on contract ess becomes Queen of this outstanding to the Boscove chain, the merchandizing at- one-ringer. The exit through the hoop of traction is still top circus. There were large fire into the cage is dramatically presented crowds at each performance, captivated by as top wild animal exhibition. the skills, the comedy and the great assort- Then come the dogs - first a police canine ment of animals - lioness, horses, 13 dogs, then Nino, both of whom mount the Appa- a cat, duck, rooster. Far from a quack per- loosan and then the inexorable parade of formance! twelve more barking bowsers, then a cat, Master Nino is the star providing great then a duck, and finally a rooster as if to comedy, super acrobatics and top eques- crow "fowl, I fly to the mountains" as the trii.nship to the three acts for a 45 min- ute show. Master Nino's comedy surpasses much of contemporary clowning in our circuits as he is a great crowd-baiter and

cock reaches the top of the heap of dotj- manity. What a stopper! Circus Italia is real circus. You must not miss her when Alberto Zoppe comes to your mall. Alberto has magnificant plans to enlarge and embellish Italia into Circus Europa able to match his shenanigans with various scheduled to open in Little Rock on Sept. skills in the European and Russian style. 12, when Zoppe plans to open a large big Miss Carla is an acrobatic ballerina bare- top show featuring night club style acts back rider and adds the combination of equestrienneship with beauty and youth. (Continued on Page 25) MOW THPil AUCO^t 9 Tff LANCELOT LINK CHIMPANZEES

**

Headliner at Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk THE LANCELOT LINK CHIMPS

SAYS THANK'S TO YOU . . . Sandy Dobritch Howard and Marc Schultz Ray Valentine Betty Reed . . . FOR ALL YOUR HELP IN BOOKING 1981 NOW BOOKING FOR 1982

JOE and BETTY NAUD

13419 Montague 8-A Country Club Drive Arleta, Ca. 91331 New Smyrna Beach, Fla. 32069 (213) 896-0394 (904) 428-6881 NICKOLAUS WINN World's Youngest High Wire Performer

FEATURED ON THAT'S INCREDIBLE!

September 28, 1981 - ABC - TV

Hosted by CATHY LEE CROSBY and JOHN DAVIDSON Page 12 October 19. 1981

embankment that the concession workers Train Wreck car crashed into was soft, otherwise I would by ALLEN BABCOCK guess they might have turned over. As it was concession car 78 and 79 were On Monday, Sept. 28th, I received a phone jack knifed and hanging over a gulley with call from a detective friend here in Oecatur, the wheels off the ground. If the train had he had been ordered to report to work for traveled another 100 feet down the line,car the Norfolk & Western Railroad. They had 78 would have slammed into a railroad sig- just received word of the train derailment of nal tower which no doubt would have bro- the Ringling-Barnum Blue Unit at Gibson ken the car open. City. Fortunately, the stock cars with the ele- Since Gibson City is a town of about 3600 phants and horses and working men were people and just 65 miles north of Decatur, I at the foot of the train and they and the called Bill Backstein and together we drove engines didn't leave the tracks. off to see what was going on. Cars 77 through 84 were the ones involved In Gibson City all but two of the railroad in the derailment. Car 77 is the workingmen crossings in town were closed to traffic due and cars 78, 79 and 80 carried the conces to the derailment. No one seemed to be sure sion crew. Next was 81, the pie car, then what happened to cause the derailment, but transportation crew car 82 and 83, and the the track was sure torn up for a ways. showgirls in car 84 and last the first two There were cars down on the roadbed with performers cars. two of the concession workers cars jack- I'm not sure of the exact time of the wreck knifed. but it was either about 9:30 or 10:30 a.m. I What probably saved the wreck from being imagine some of the folks still had their a disaster was the fact the train was only go- watches set on eastern time, while they were ing about 20 miles an hour. Also that the train was stopped quickly and because the (Continued on Page 21) Page 14 October 19, 1981

During one summer holiday, Jim Clubb From England worked with Chipperfield's Circus, helping SALLY CHIPPERFIELD'S CIRCUS with the animals, cleaning the wagons, feeding: the unglamorous but essential be- BY DAVID JAMIESON hind-the-scenes toil. Young Clubb stuck to At a time when the circus generally is not the work and got on well. He left school at doing particularly good business, one of the the earliest opportunity and joined Chipper newer British touring circuses is doing well field's for the 1972 season. He served a and growing in size and stature. Sally Chip- tough but thorough apprenticeship, learn- perfield's Circus was started in 1978 by the ing a great deal from Dick Chipperfield and daughter of Dick Chipperfield, Sr., boss of his son, Dick, Jr., and his brother, John, as the original Chipperfield's Circus, and her well as carrying the pythons around the ring husband, James Clubb. and then hypnotizing the alligators. Jim and Beginning with a modest two pole big top, Sally worked together in this act. Romance each season has brought about a steady im- blossomed and they were married in Dart- provement in the quality of the show. After ford in 1974. The years with Chipperfield s a successful season in 1980, the directors gave James Clubb invaluable experience in purchased the magnificent red, white and training and presenting lions, tigers, leo- blue, four pole, Canobbio big top of Circus pards and black panthers, polar and black Merano in Norway, along with its red fence bears. In addition, he bought two young and classy bandstand curtains, and it is in brown bears in 1975 and trained them for this splendid auditorium that Sally Chipper his own act. field's Circus is presented in 1981. After presenting a Christmas circus in Der- Sally Chipperfield herself has worked in by in 1977 with the Chipperfield's, Sally the circus all her life. As a child she helped and Jim established their own touring cir- out with the dogs and ponies and later rode cus in 1978, using a two pole big top. As horses and elephants and assisted in the ring well as their own poodles and bears, the with a whole variety of circus routines, from animals included a group of five lionesses, magic and illusion to presenting macaws or trained by Dick Chipperfield, Jr., and pre- alligators. She went with the family circus sented by James Clubb, and four Shetland from England to South Africa in 1964 and ponies which Jim trained. has had her own poodle troupe since then. The first touring season went well but was Chipperfield's Circus returned to Britain followed by poor business in Derby in tbe in 1969 and further established itself as a Christmas of 1978. Further disaster befell center for trained wild animals, notably them at the opening of the 1979 season lions, tigers, leopards, bears and elephants. when heavy snow brought the tent down Sally's brother, Dick Chipperfield, Jr., is a at Great Malvern and the king poles were prolific wild animal trainer. His act with 17 snapped in two. The tent was later repaired lions was a prize winner at the 1980 Monte by a local tent maker, but a week later, high Carlo International Circus Festival and it is winds ripped it to pieces at 2 o'clock in the now being shown in the U. S. by Marcel morning. Peters. A replacement big top was soon found, James Clubb was not born into the circus coming from Circus Mikkenie in Holland, but comes from Oartford, Kent, where his and the tour continued. Later the same father is a highly successful businessman. season, the lions escaped and took refuge Jim's passion for animals and the circus be- in a local school, giving Sally and Jim an gan at an early age and grew with regular agonizing few hours. Thankfully no one visits to Bertram Mill's at Olympia, to Billy was hurt, the lions were eventually captur- Smart's Circus and to Chipperfield's. A ed and worked by Jim in the matinee per- whole menagerie of animals shared the formance. Clubb household • not just the usual domes- For the 1981 program, James Clubb is tic pets, but also snakes, lizards, crocodiles, presenting his new group of six Bengal and monkeys and other exotic animals. Jim Siberian tigers which he trained last year. learned fire eating and, complete with snakes The beautiful animals perform a full rou- and colorful costume, undertook local ca- tine: pyramids, jumps, all six sitting up, baret engagements while still at school. (Continued on Page 19) THE ZUNIGA FAMILY Currently Appearing at the Circus Pavillion

IN

CIRCUS WORLD

Orlando, Florida Page 16 October 19,1981

turo said. They had SRO crowds, he adds. In the Mail The show is called 'Circus Roncalli.' It has from 'Circus Joe' Valenciano a solid blue top with blue and white side wall, four center poles. Among the circus I just had a very nice visit with Mr. Artu- acts Arturo singled out were - a wild animal ro, who has just come back from a success- mixed group of lions, tigers, black panthers, ful tour of Europe. There he visited five spotted leopards, pumas and a couple of countries where he saw Roberts Bros., in Great Dane dogs. England, Circus Krone in Germany and the Another outstanding act was a Chinese very impressive Sarassani in Austria. display with very beautiful wardrobe, and Mr. Arturo's first circus visit was made the third was a hanging perch act done by to Roberts Bros. Their sons worked with two males. his sons in Blackpool at the Tower Circus. The band of 8 to 10 musicians, was multi- They worked three acts: elephants (6), colored with each musicianw earing a differ- the animals practically worked themselves, ent uniform. Clown alley consisted of three 8 Arabian liberty horse act and a cage act clowns, one of whom was the 34 year old consisting of 8 male and female lions. owner of the show, from Vienna. Mr. Arturo mentioned that he scouted Arturo showed me the nice souvenir pro- and booked acts for his son in Australia. grams these shows have. They make very By the way, his son. Cooky Arturo, is a nice collector's items. single trapeze and high wire artist Arturo also reports about a unique new under canvas circus which he saw in Mun- ich. This show has a totally new concept. It was a combination of circus acts and pantomine production. The young people very much enjoyed this new concept, Ar- The Great Goldfinger

Superbly Artistic Hand Balancer

WOULD LIKE TO THANK THE FOLLOWING PEOPLE FOR ADDING TO OUR SUCCESSFUL SUMMER Don Johnson Bob Yerkes Raul Prada Tibor Alexander Coronas Circus Have a few available dates for '82 Season

ONE FINGER HIGH HAND BALANCING ACT also ROLLY BOLLY JUGGLING ACT

Call or Write: MR. DINO M. GOLDFINGER P. O. Box 425 Phone: Sarasota, Fla. 33578 (417)742-3127 The Circus Report Page 19

CHIPPERFIELD CIRCUS (Continued) Douglas Mac-Valley/Stunts roll over, fan walk-around, rolling a globe, featuring Jim will book some of his animals out to The Globe of Death other circuses in the future for, in addition "the most fabulous motorcycle show" to his lion group, he is training a group of OM|I»« siuon 1 coortinwon small cats, leopards, jaguars, black panthers P.O. Box 7393 • Atlantic City. r4J. 08404 and pumas • a considerable training challenge indeed which, if all goes according to plan, will produce an act unique in the world to- day. REVEL FOX, a former aerialist, is trying to Sally Chipperfield has her own poodles obtain material on the life of Alfredo Codo- and rhesus monkeys and she is also current- no and would appreciate any information or |y preparing a new dog act. Also included suggestions that might be offered. Write to in the current show: four grey Arab liberty him at: 72 Princes Sq., Flat 4, Bayswater horses, the four Shetland ponies, and Clubbs W24NY, London, England. exotic group - camel, llama, zebra, Dexter and Ankoli bulls. JOHN STRONG reports he will enlarge his The 1981 show at Sally Chipperfield's Cir- big top to a traditional four pole, three ring cus is also notable for its human acts. The unit for the 1982 season. Berondini Troupe (seven people) from Cze- MIKE MARTIN, magician, has been work- choslovakia present their high wire pyramids ing dates in the mid-west area and plans to and unicycling; two of the men also work on be in the Southern states during the holi- the revolving mast as the Berousek. Eight day time. Hassani tumblers close the show with an ex- citing display. Clowning is in the hands of Jimmy Scott and Frankie Paulo and Co., The Kendellos JOIN MY MAILING LIST FOR present a colorful balancing act as Los Pe- dros, and their daughter, Sally, is an accom- CIRCUS ITEMS plished and attractive young performer on the trapeze and corde lisse, giving her pre- IT'S FREE sentation plenty of panache and drive. The highly experienced ringmaster is Ken Need Your Name, Address MacManus, correctly attired in red tailcoat white tie and black top hat. His wife, Clara and Zip presents her own magic act with pigeons. Ken and Clara are both expert riders, for- FREDDIE DAW merly working as the Mohawks. Leading CIRCUS MARKETING the band of trumpet, organ and drums is Pete Burrell, who has been with Sally P.O. Box No. 1 Chipperfield's since it started. Tallevast, Florida 33588 Sally Chipperfield's Circus is a smart, clean show and the directors' love of the business season, they return to this winter home shines through in the close attention to de- then to Bingley Hall, Birmingham, for their tail. The animals are in the pink of condition second Christmas show there. superbly cared for and housed in well-ap- Sally Chipperfield and James Clubb are an pointed wagons and a stable tent with its ambitious young couple who have ploughed own stalls, with the animal's name on each back the money they have made into mak- arch. ing their circus bigger and better. Sally Chipperfield and her husband retain It's early days yet, but their young son, close links with the original Chipperfield's Jamie, also seems to share their interest in Circus, of course, and they share the same animals and the circus! Now in its fourth winterquarters at Heythrop, Chipping Nor- season, it will be very intriguing to watch ton, near the historic University City of the progress of Sally Chipperfield's Circus Oxford. After the close of their touring over the next few years. The Circus Report Page 21

TRAIN WRECK (Continued) workers who were staying with the cars for security purposes. no in the central time zone. The train was Unfortunately, the pie car had just been enroute from Indianapolis to Des Moines. stocked with food and since there was no About 2:10 p.m. the back part of the train power all the perishable food was given was pulled away from the cars that were dis- away or thrown out. Both circus people railed and then the highway was once again and townspeople were carrying food that opened to traffic. would have spoiled had it been left in the When we first arrived at the wreck it was car. about 2 p.m. and performers were gathered It looked as if there was quite a bit of da- around that part of the train which was de- mage to the cars, especially to the sides and railed, but they soon went back to their all. I imagine it will be hard to find replace- own part of the train as there was word the ment parts for all of the damage done. back section would be moved out. The railroad people thought they could There is a 'Y' just south of town that con- have a good part of the track cleared by nects to another railroad and the cars still midnight and would take the cars to a local on the track were pulled down to that point shop for repairs. They had five cranes, in- and then sent on to Des Moines. It was just cluding a large railroad crane working to get about 3:30 p.m. when they finally left the the cars back on the good track. It's amazing 'Y' yard and another half hour or so before how they are able to clear up a wreck. they connected the stock cars and pulled The mosquitos were as thick as anything I out to continue on their way. have seen and as the sun went down they The workers and performers living in the got worse, and so we left for home. derailed cars were put aboard chartered One thing for sure, there will be a lot of buses and taken into Des Moines and they folks in Gibson City who will remember left here about 4:40 p.m. the day the Ringling-Barnum Circus train That left only circus trainmaster and a few was derailed in their city. Page 22 October 19, 1981

Main Office Phone Toll Free: Box 74 1 - 800 - 824 • 7888, Ext. A 263 Barnesville, Pa. 18214 Calif. 1 - 800 • 852 • 7777 CFA Notes Clown Day The Show folks of Sarasota Tent No. 112 byBOBSTODDARD CFA, is starting its 1981-82 season of meet- Six Flags, the popular theme park between ings with an impressive list of guest speakers Dallas and Ft. Worth recently had their own The first speak will be Tom Robin Edel - Clown Day, which they advertised as ston, who did the first ever Triple Twisting "Clowns, Clowns, Clowns." Double Somersault from fly-bar to catcher. Twenty-six clowns were featured through- He is a graduate of the Sailor Circus and his out the day, mostly from the two area own act "The Flying Robins" is currently Clowns of America Allies, Texas Mid-Cities thrilling audiences at RBBB Circus World. Clown Alley No. 85 and the Cowtown Al- In addition to talking to the group he will ley No. 135 of Ft. Worth. show video tapes of his unique accomplish- The clowns were dispersed in various areas ment. throughout the park. At the group's Annual Dinner, Nov. 14th, Four shows were presented in the Music La Norma, former aerialist and now crea- Mill Theatre, featuring Anneta (Jingles) tor of the beautiful Circus Ceramic Por- Moerbe, Poppy (Poppy) Benner, Jimmy traits, will be the guest speaker. She will ex- Waddell, Paul (Scrounge) Lawrence and plain how she creates the "Portraits." Michelle (Bubbles) Moerbe. On Dec. 2nd, the group will have master The event was produced by Anneta Moe- clown Lou Jacobs, as its guest speaker. rbe's Fun Company of the Southwest. Clowns who participated include: Susan (Bo Bo Brown) Corona, James Jim-Bow Decker, Martin (Lancelot Goodperson) Reeves, Rosalie (Superstar) Ferryman, Eliz- People abeth (Sunshine) Cooper, Carl (Squeeky) JOHNNY FULGHUM visited with BOBBY Smith, Toddie (Happy) Bridges, Edna GIBBS when they were appearing at the (Crackers) Flanagan, Becky (Lady the Virginia State Fair in Richmond, Va. Bob- Tramp) Eskew, Patty (Cuddles) Morton, by and Rosa then jumped into Dallas for Dorothy (Miss Birdie) Yates, Archie (Din- gy) Darr, Scott (Joco) Sailor, Jimmy (Sun- that fair date. shine) Griffith, Sandy (S'mee) Parker, Mark BILL BRICKLE will be working with the (Marko) Mitchell, Steve (Ottono) Edwards, George Carden Int'l Circus for the 1982 Fiddlesticks and Short Change. season, where he will present his Poodle act and also serve as producing clown. People WILLIE TYLER and his ventriloquist fig- ure were featured guests on TV's "Good Morning California" show, a live program from the west coast which aired on Oct. 9. People TRUDY STRONG and her troupe of Dal- (nations were featured in a photo story in the Dayton (Ohio) Daily News on Sept. 20. JOHN STRONG, FRED REED and EDDIE HENRICKS visited the American Continen- tal Circus when the show played Phoenix. They report that DAVID HARRINGTON was a guest clown at the engagement. Acts CIRCUS ITALIA (Continued) geared to the aristocratic sophisticates of Great Barrington (Mass) Fair booked by top contemporary entertainment. Tibor Alexander. Acts included: Circus ma- Alberto, who backed up Martie Allen and gician Harry Albacker, Buttons the Clown Susan Richardson in the CBS spectacular (Carman Sgarlata), Puppet Shows by Rich- "Circus of the Stars" in 1980 and re-run ie (Richard OiPasquale) and The Great Gold recently on Aug. 20th, hails from five gen- finger (Oino Medro). erations of Italian circus tradition going Tenn. State Fair booked by World Wide back to 1842. As a veteran equestrian him- Attractions, Inc. Acts included: Miss Con- self on the GSOE in the 50's, he has been stancia & Co., uncaged leopards and jaguar, featured in Cecil B. DeMille's "Greatest Dixie Harrison, country-western singer, Dor Show on Earth," Walt Disney's 'Toby Ty- ian Blake, illusionist and Col. Jerry Lipko's ler," "Trapeze" and "Thoroughly Modern performing chimps. Millie" He has engaged Susan Richardson star of "Eight is Enough" as guest star in his Little Rock opener of Circus Europe. Susan will display her talent as rock sing- People er in her Arkansas debut. Austin Miles will serve as ringmaster and HELEN BILLETTI WARBURTON writes Mike Pike will direct the band, while Al that she has been appointed to the Board Leonard will be the singing ringmaster, of Governors of the Ladies Auxiliary of with Tino Wallenda joining the greatly ex- the Showmen's League of America and will panded format for the new Circus Europa. be installed at the National Convention at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas on Nov. 30. Photo identification listing: BILL WOTSCH writes he enjoyed the Aug. 1 - Zoppe Troupe • I. to r. - Carla, Tosca 31st issue of CR which had the story about and Nino. BETTY BROADBENT. He remembers see- 2 - Carla up on Appaloa an, Tosca ing her with the Ringling Show when it 3 - Alberto Zoppe's lioness played Cleveland's Lake Front. 4 - Circus Italia's Animal Fantasy Page 26 October 19,1981 girl I could still work on my Clown skills. May I Say Thanks . .and maybe one day the Felds would see My name is Shelley R. Bonus. I am the "my 'clowning light"').. .however, to give mother of 12 yr. old Rain and I support her me a logical reason for being around, I was by being a comedic actress and a photo- photographing clowns.! grapher, but I always wanted to be a clown, Well, the night before move-out in the Oak and run away with the circus! land Coliseum we had locked my camera, This past year, with the help of Master (a Cannon F1, Sunpack 411 Strobe, and an Clown Bobby "Smiley" Kay, I prepared for 85mm portrait lense) in Skeeter's trunk in the "Clown College" auditions held at the the alley. Someone broke into the trunk Forum in Los Angeles. and stole my camera .. my tool for feeding I auditioned, but waiting for an answer my child. seemed an eternity... so with the help of Everyone on the show told me how sorry some magic friends, I realized part of my they were as we moved to the next town, dream .. I "ran away with the circus". .my San Francisco, the Cow Palace.. .where I camera became my "unofficial passport", was going to do the showgirl audition and I entered the world of dreams. then leave to pick up my daughter and wait My clown friends took care of me, they for word from Clown College. coached me in juggling, they taught me to But my reality was being the mother of begin walking 354 ft. stilts, the showgirls 12 yr. old Rain and a working photograph- helped me prepare for the showgirl audi- er, now unable to earn a living. tions to be held at the Cow Palace, in San Then, in the Cow Palace, the night before Francisco. I was determined to be in the I had to leave, after Clown come-in.. just circus, (Bobby "Smiley" Kay told me to before opening. Red, one of the shogirls do the showgirl audition so I had as many asked me to walk toward the ramp with options as possible, if I wasn't accepted to her,... as I did, a wonderous sea of grease "Clown College" at least if I was a show- painted faces, funny noses, sequins and giant fluttering eyelashes engulfed me and the elegantly gloved hand of King Richard reached over this magic al sea and presented NOVELTY ACTS me with an envelope. I couldn't believe my eyes.. I reached out for Skeeter.. everyone yelled, "don't LOCATED IN cry.. open it!" And, in it was a letter that had a clown and FLORIDA-CAROLINA'S a showgirl drawn on it by Mike "Muley" Cowboy Keever and Mushy, and the words, AND NORTH EAST "Why? Because We Love you." It was sign- ed by all the clowns and shorgirls, along FOR MISC. DATES IN '82 with a special input by Skeeter. They had gathered enough money to replace my cam- era. This is a low budget show. I hugged Skeeter.. Serf said that I was State Realistic Lowest Price finally family, not an outsider. I have nev- er been so loved, my heart just bursts when ever I think about it. I was not accepted to Clown College. But I still dream of one day being a circus clown CHET HARMES and returning to the family I love. Box 1432 But, I pledge that at least through my photos I can pass on the joy and tradition St. Augustine, Florida - 32084 of love, humor, dignity and humanity that Phone: (904) 829 - 2461 true Clown geniouses have stood for! God Bless Skeeter and All the Clowns and Showgirls.. For he has truly blessed this dreamer! They're Married Two clowns, who met while working as laughmakers at Ringling Bros, and Barnum & Bailey Circus World, were married in for- mal costume and clown make-up on Sept. 25th, in the center ring of the tourist at- traction. Irene (Reni) Garza, 27, of East Northport (NY) was married to James (Jimbo) Hack- worth, 28, of Haines City (Fla) in a double ring ceremony by the Rev. Rene Pare, min- ister of Christ Church Unity in Orlando. The bride was attired in a white pierrot costume with a double ruffle around her neck. It was trimmed in the same black and white sequines that bordered her white veil. Her shoes were of white satin. Her groom was attried in a gold top hat, a dark green velvet jacket with tails and lapels of light green satin, a gold bowtie and trousers of yellow, green, red and blue plaid, with cranberry socks and gold ten- Norm Riggins sang "I'm Getting Married nis shoes. at the Circus" to the tune of "Get Me To The private ceremony, attended by friends The Church on Time." and park employees, began with two janitor Another ringmaster, Jim Sandridge, sang clowns cleaning the area in preparation for "If We Only Have Love" as the bride en- the wedding. While taking a break, they tered the center ring on the arm of her fa- turned their mops upside down and sang ther, Frank E. Garza, of Denver, NY. He loveingly to the mops "When I'm Sixty- also was attired as a ringmaster. four". Then a cupid clown, swinging in Following the ceremony the bride and webbing high above the center ring, sprin- groom left the center ring in a Circus World kled love-magic sawdust through-out the wagon, pulled by two prancing white pon- area. ies wearing silver blankets trimmed in red The bridal procession, which began at 10 with everyone saying "may all your days a.m. was a circus spectacle with showgirl be circus days." dancers and entertainers in brightly color- The couple said they decided to get mar- ed costumes, elephants, horse-drawn wa- ried in clown make-up and costume be- gons and 18 colorfully attired clowns. cause their life is the circus and their pro- Throughout the procession ringmaster fession is that of being clowns. and dark fiery eyes. He wore a suit coat The Strong Man and leather leggings, with a wooden walk- byBILLWOTSCH ing stick in his hand. It was in the early 1930's. I can't remem- We would gaze at him as he passed by and ber the exact year. The Strong Man would hope we could see one of his performances. appear in the neighborhood. Posters were It wasn't long afterwards that posters an- put up on telephone poles, telling where nounced another neighborhood in which he would perform. he would perform and I saw him this time. Sometimes it was at a picnic on a farm or The Strong Man appeared on a small rais- an empty lot somewhere near the neighbor- ed platform. He sold some sort of medicine hood. but I don't remember what it was for. Af- We kids would see the Strong Man walk- ter that he would bend iron bars in his ing down St. Clair Ave, on Cleveland's East mouth. He even bent a horse shoe and was Side. Large broad shoulders, a black beard capable of lifting up huge railroad wheels, and then with the aid of a special harness he lifted a platform with people on it. His World's largest collection of finale was pulling an auto with his teeth. After that the hat would be passed and people would toss in coins. We dropped in coins too. This was just one kind of entertainment that was available to the people in those days.

Circus Photos CIRCUS PHOTOS - 8x 10" S2.00 each or 5 (Five) for $8.00 - 1 - Aerial view of Ringling Bros. Bar- num & Bailey winter quarters in Sara- sota 1926 - 1960. 2 - Winter quarters scene 1926 • 1960 3 Winter quarters scene inside prac- tice building 1926 • 1960 4 - Aerial view Ringling Fire (1944) at Hartford, Conn. 5 • Ground view of Ringling Fire at Hartford, Conn. (1944). Send Check or Money Order to. CIRCUS PHOTOS P. 0. Box 1398, Tybee Island. Ga. 31328 The Circus Report Page 29 2 African Elephant

KJKIS . «*• i.!M «H O'l.'M'.i lA MtK ACT WITH RIDE CAPABILITIES The Oakland (Calif.) Magic Circle held its PLUS Annual Spaghetti Feed and Interclub Com- petition on Sept. 1st with a crowd of over BIRD OF PREY SHOW 100 in attendance. The contest had six com petitors with Janet Kelly representing SAM No. 94; Hank Vlcek the Mystic 13 of San Jose; Charlie Cardeen, the Jongleurs SAM AVAILABLE No. 60; Clarence Schaupp and daughter Nancy, the Oakland Magic Circle, Dean Hankey, Ring 216 of IBM and Rick Mang From November On of Ring 38, IBM. The acts were so good the three pros act- ing as judges could not pick a winner. Their scores showed three different acts in first Canadian Zoological Systems place and no act on all three ballots. The in- African Lion Safari and Game Farm itial decision was to call it a no award, but Ltd. clamor arose for a decision, so the OMC President and the MC who was Steve Daw- Rural Road No. 1 son, of the Magic Touch, went over the list working on a point system and thus decid- Cambridge, Ontario, Canada ed that Hank Vlcek was the winner. Phone: 519 - 623 - 2620

Incidentally, all six acts were on at least one judge's score card. Hank now receives a trophy of his own and his name will be engraved on the big permanent trophy, along with all previous winners. Visitors included Petra and Mia who took a bow and presented a brief routine of his linking handkerchiefs. They've been lectur- ing locally and appearing at conventions. Craige Snader, Jr., of Mexico City, publish er of the "Magic Sounds" devoted to magic on tape, records, films, etc. has been appoin ted distributor for the Ken Brooke Series by the American distributor, Stevens Empor- ium of Magic in Wichita, Kans. Five items WEU. are the first to be distributed, those being ESTA8USHEO ACTS the Magic Box, the Chop Cup, the Nap Hand COMPlETEiy and the Multiplying Bottles, plus the popu- SELF lar Sidewalk Shuffle. Snader's territory is CONTAINER! Mexico and the Latin American countries. The Smithsonian Magazine is preparing an article about the Le Grand David Show of SIM«U DATES OR TOURS CONTACT Beverly, Mass., which has set records for the number of performances presented. Also, the National Geographic is said to be doing an article on the show, too. COMMENT (Continued) reflects the puerile thinking of those big town bucolics. that says if an act or show doesn't play I used to regret I wasn't around to see Hou New York, Las Vegas or Los Angeles, it dini, David Devant, Maskelyne and Devant can't be much good. It's automatically and that I missed seeing Thurston and Wil- Hicksville and small-time. Beverly isn't lard, although I was around in those days. Broadway, so ergo, Le Grand David is an I lament no more. I'm glad I live in the amateurish production. Whoever heard of* time of Le Grand David, the greatest, gran- Beverly before Le Grand David? If the show dest, most imaginative magic show I've ev- was of professional caliber, this fallacy goes, er seen. it would vacate the boondocks of Beverly and move to New York or Vegas. That no- tion is nonsense, but it has been around longer than Variety's classic front-pager, Stx, Nix Mix Pix. The only thing that can V. C. ARIVETTE, long-time canvas boss on be said about the attitude that everything Circus Vargas recently left that show during in the hinterlands is second rate is that it the show's run in Texas.