7th Year February 27, 1978 Number 9

How They Did It(We are indebted to the Sarasota (Fla.) Herald-Tribune for the following report on how the

NBC-TV film "The Great Wallendas" was achieved.)

Weeks of technical preparation were required before any actual filming could take place. Inorder to obtain a genuine circus atmosphere the Wallendas were filmed performing the pyramidin front of a live audience. The film schedule was arranged to coincide with the annual ShowfolksCircus at Sarasota and the Roberts Arena was dressed to resemble the Detroit Coliseum as it look-ed in 1962. One day later, the character of the building was substantially changed to resemblethe Fort Worth building in 1963.

time was devoted to devising an elaborate scaf-folding system which could be used to imple-ment the filming. Though all the actors, werein truth, walking a wire, a solid floor supportedby scaffolding was a comforting eight inchesunder their feet. Forty-pound balancing polesused by all members of the Wallendas troupewere held by crew members out of camera

(Continued on Page 18)

Stuntmen and film stars were coached by KarlWallenda in how to walk a wire. Special cam-eras were required to simulate properly thewire-walking the actors do in the film.

The actual filming had to take place at thecorrect height — as much as 30 feet in the air—so that perspectives and distances were cor-rect. Thus, an entire week of pre-production

Page 2 February 27, 1978

On Feb. 11 th, CFA Convention chairman KenKurtz; District director Dale Riker and thewriter, met in Lansing, Mich., with Jerry Roeof the Michigan Historical Commission andeight legislators and members of the State His-torical group to discuss a tribute to the fabu-lous showman James A. Bailey, to be held inSeptember 1978.

•With the blessing of Michigan's Governor Mil-liken we are having a Historical Plaque made tobe erected in Cobo Hall (Jefferson and CassAve.) birthplace of Bailey.

When the circus plays Olympia in Septemberthere will be a $25 a plate banquet to Honorthis fabulous showman. Those participatingwill board buses at Cabo Hall and be whiskedto Elmwood Cemetery; grave site of James A.Bailey, where RBBB President Irvin Feld willdedicate a monument designed by the writerand produced by Solters & Roskin, Inc., forRingling Bros, and Barnum & Bailey Circus.

AVAILABLE- TWO UNITS TO SERVE YOU

T H E W O R L D ' S G R E A T E S TN O V E L T Y ACT - The Hi-Diving Aqua Mules, plus Dogs,Ponies, Monkeys and the Rac-ing Ostriches and Camels .

FOR SALET W O Y O U N G F E M A L E CAMELS

J O N N Y R I V E R SW i n t e r q u a r t e r s

P. O. Box 286, Mcln tosh , Fla. 32664P h o n e : ( 9 0 4 ) 591-2076

In MemoriamJv

LES LEVANTE (85), renowned Australianillusionist, died in his native country on Jan.21st. He taped a television show last summerin Australia which was run on New Years Day,which was his last show. He won awards in theU. S. and was featured on the I.B.M. Conven-tion Show at Battle Creek, Mich, in 1939.

Then the participants will board the buses fora trip to Olympia Stadium to be entertained bythe Red Unit of "The Greatest Show onEarth."

.Following the circus performance a cocktailparty will be hosted by the group for perfor-mers of the circus.

They will then board buses for Cobo Hall for aunique dedication of the Historic Plaque Hon-oring Bailey, by Governor William Milliken andthe Governor will also honor Mr. Irvin Feld forhis contribution to Amusement in America bycarrying on with the gigantic Ringling Bros,and Barnum & Bailey Circus.

Following the dedication those concerned willmeet in the Cobo Hall Banquet Hall for a din-ner, with guest speakers such as Governor Mil-liken, Irvin Feld and various other celebritiesand dignatarys.

The event will launch the James A. Bailey Fes-tival, which it is hoped will become an annualaffair.

"Don't Miss It!"George Da Deppo

WANTEDTwo Good Butchers or Man and WifeTeam to work concessions. Also goodnove l ty person(s) .Vehicle gas supplied if able to pull asmall t rai ler .Con tac t : E D D Z I E R Z Y N S K I

c/o Sells & Gray CircusP. O. Box 1570Winte r Park , Fla. 32790

Erih ADAMSCHIMPS DOGS BALANCING ACTS

BOOKED IN

Detroit, Mich. -- Shrine Circus (Booked by Fleckles)

Lancing, Mich. -- Shrine Circus

Sterling, 111. — Shopping Center (Royal Danish Circus)Orlando, Fla. — Carden-Johnson Circus

(Booked by Gunnar Amandis)

Tampa, Fla. — Tampa Fair (Booked by Helen Amandis)

Terre Haute, Ind. — Shrine Circus(Booked by Helen Amandis)

West Orange, N.J. — Coronas Shrine Circus

May 13 to June 7 — South Carol ina and Florida(Booked by G u n n a r Amand i s )

June 14 to 18 — St. Louis Shr ine Circus (Booked by Fleckles)

OPEN JUNE 20

Send your offers to: HOWARD SCHULTZ, Chicagoor AMANDIS ENTERTAINMENT AGENCY, Sarasota

Or Direct to my Home Address: Box 595, Gibsonton, Florida - 33534

Show DatesHubert Castle Circus

Feb. 25-Mar. 5 Minneapolis, Minn.

Cole All Star TV CircusFeb. 27 Camillas, N. Y.

28 CanastotaMar. 1 Lowsville

2 Clayton3 Beaver Falls4 Adams

Great Y CircusMar. 3-5 San Bernardino, Calif.

Hamid-Morton CircusMar. 3-5 Topeka, Kansas

Harold Bros. CircusMar. 4-7 Lansing., Mich.

Hubler International CircusFeb. 25-26 Elyria, OhioMar. 4-5 Galesburg, III.

4-5 Poughkeepsie, N.Y.

Wm. Kay CircusMar. 4-5 Albany, N. Y.

Ringling-Barnum - Blue UnitFeb. 28-Mar. 5 Norfolk, Va.

Ringling-Barnum - Red UnitFeb. 28-Mar. 5 Raleigh, N C.

Royal Lichtenstein CircusFeb. 27^28 Seattle, Wash.Mar. 1 Ellensburg

2-3 Spokane

Royal Hanneford CircusMar. 2-5 Greenville, S. C.

TNT & Royal Olympic CircusMar. 1-5 San Jose, Calif.

Karl Wallenda CircusMar. 1-26 Puerto Rico

OTHER DATES -

Bugs Bunny FolliesFeb. 28-Mar. 1 Johnstown, Pa.

Dondi, the Baby ElephantMar. 2-5 Rock Island, III.

Do It Yourself ShowMar. 1-5 San Francisco, Calif.

Holiday On Ice - Int'lFeb. 28-Mar. 5 Pine Bluff, Ark.

Holiday On Ice - Nat'lFeb. 28-Mar. 12 Louisville, Ky.

Ice Capades - Eastern UnitMar. 2-12 Chicago, III.

Ice Capades - Western UnitFeb. 28-Mar. 5 Saginaw, Mich.

Ice FolliesFeb. 28-Mar. 12 Cleveland, Ohio

King Arthur, the LionMar. 3-5 Milwaukee, Wise.

Sports ShowMar. 2-5 Rock Island, III.

Victor, the Rasslin1 BearMar. 2-5 Syracuse, N. Y.

HELEN WILSON - Show Organist withown organ. AFM. Phone: (704) 786-4563P. O. Box 1167, Concord, N.C. - 28025.

A M E R I C A ' S NO: 1M A G I C S H O W

18239 N. E. 182nd Ave.Brush Prairie, Wash.

98606

Phone: (206) 256-6178

»•»»»»»»»»»«»»«»»»»»»»»«»»»»••»•«•»»«»»«»«»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»

HEAD TRAI' HAND BALANCING. CLOUD SWINC

MORTON MERAZ 302 17th STR EET

MERAZSAN DIEGO. CALIFORNIA 92101 (714) 238-1375

THE TELEVISION SPECIAL featuring GARDENBROS. CIRCUS will be aired over CTVin Canada onMarch 3rd. Naturally the show did not come off without the usual pre-taping headaches: KAY ROSAIREbroke down at the border, had to be towed in to Tor-onto;and a cable becket on the ARMOR'S motor-cycle platform snapped, toppling the structure. Des-pite these incidents the actual taping was completedwithout further incident. IAN GARDEN tells me"big things" are anticipated from this Special in a la-ter series form.

The Florida Tent Rental big top, erected in Washing-ton,DC for that city's annual January boat show wasflattened by the four-barreled snowstorms sweepingthrough the east. National TV networks carried filmclips of the big top being fork-lifted out of heavysnow — in pieces.

Big "Adieu" to another "era" with the shuttering ofRadio City Music Hall, the "Nation's Showplace".With the closing of this great theatrical landmarkcomes also the unfortunate disbanding of the worldrenown ROCKETTES.

Floowing a successful tour with the HARLEM GLOBETROTTERS (plus spot dates throughout the winter)the WAZZANS are propping for a season's tour withHOXIE's Big Show, opening around March 22nd.While trouping with the Trotters, the Wazzans pur-chased a 28 ft. Cruise Air motorhome and a smallcargo trailer. During the winter, Omar, Antar, Jr., andAlissa learned to ski. Between dates the trio takes offseeking snow-covered slopes. If they lived in the Eastinstead of Texas, they would have no trouble findingtheir heart's desire, believe me!

Veteran showman, JAMES M. COLE was surprisedby a birthday celebration following the opening ofhis show at Willow Grove (Pa) Jan. 11th. Participatingin the surprise party were cast members of the Cole'sAll Star TV Circus, plus visitors, Albert and AnitaVonderheid, David and Carol Rawls and Marsha andDon Jones.

The tragic death of animal man BERT PETTUS evol-ved under even more tragic circumstances. Accordingto a phone call received by SANDY DOBRITCHfrom SANDRA FULBRIGHT, Bert suffered a heartattack while driving his truck, fell out and the truckran over him. CR extends its deepest sympathies tothe Pettus Family.

BOUQUETS: To DOLLY JACOBS, whose delicatelydelineated performance on the flying rings (recently

seen on the Circus Festival TV special) is a delight.The gal has class and talent and certainly deserves theattention RBBB's publicity forces muster on her be-half.HANNEFORD HIGHLIGHTS: The new show openedat Roanoke (Va) in late January, a completely renno-vated, updated edition in all areas. TAJANA has dis-pensed with her male lion and plans to add two tigersto a group of eight She is featuring a three-mirroredball set-up and revolve with 3 tigers in a blackoutLU ANN JACOBS, sister of the talented Dolly, is inthe Champagne web number, with girls entering inchampagne glasses. Lu Ann, the feature aerialist, isusing a unique revolving lighted rigging on which asmall platform is affixed. Here she does a contortionroutine, then descends to the trapeze... Musical dir-ector for this year's show is KEITH KILLINGER,with KAY and BOB PARKER, organ and drums.. .Alarge "dressage" number is in the second half and in-troduces little NELLIE HANNEFORD with a highschool pony ... The show is strong overall, with manygood acts and strong features, but the topper is stillthat Grand Gentleman of the Ring, SIR VICTOR JU-LIAN who brings down the house with his incompar-able "Little Stars" plus his own inimitable style andshowmanship.

Talent line-up forthe DOBRITCH INT'L.CIRCUSdate at New Orleans this spring will include: Lilli-Ana 'and her leopards, Vashek and Kathy, Aerialietta, theFlying Lunas, Paul Key's Hollywood elephants, JoAnn and Sunny, Prince Najvez, Ethel Jennier and Jim-my Douglass with spec, clown alley, also providinglights and ring curbs.

GUNNAR AMANDIS took a lot of good-natured rib-bing about My rib about HELEN being that agency'sGuiding Light. The truth is the combine is a team-ef-fort, just as it is with GIL and BERNICE MILLER.The men go out in the field and run their legs offwhile the wives stay back, do all the paper work (andthat's HARD work), handle the phones and keep the"office fires" burning. In many ways, these gals arethe unsung heroines, never really getting the creditthey deserve!

DOWN RUMOR ROAD: That one half of a two-teamflying act is having serious marital difficulties and maysplit... That a new circus is coming out of Dunn (N.C.)... And that a new, small tent show, may spring

(Continued on Page 16)

Page 6 February 27, 1978

Bates Bros. International CircusW E NEED A N I M A L ACTS, G R O U N D A N D A E R I A LACTS, AND C L O W N S (Prefer acts-doing two or more) .

Please send pictures, lowest weekly financial requirements and availability.(Please base weekly salary requirements on a 27 week tour)

W O U L D LIKE TO HEAR IMMEDIATELY FROM: PATA N T H O N Y , CORKY PLUNKETT, THE ESQUEDA TROUPE,ENOCH BRADFORD, PEE WEE and JOANNE PINSON.

- CONTACT -

R I C H A R D W. BATESP. O. Box 18

Squamish, B.C., CanadaPhone: (604)898-5488

If No Answer Call:R O N A L D G. BATES644 Alderson Road

Coquit lam, B.C., CanadaPhone: (604) 936-6809

Members of the James M. Cole-Robert G. EarlTent, CFA, held a banquet and belated birth-day party for James M. Cole and his circus per-sonnel at the High School Gym in Olean, N. Y.,on Feb. 4th.The James M. Cole All Star TV Circus got offto a shaky start on Jan. 11th at Willow Grove,Pa., and for the first two weeks attendance wasthe worse one could imagine, due to the ad-verse storms in the northeast. Better times werecoming and since Jan. 31st (Emporium, Pa.)the show has been packing them in like oldtimes. The show moves like clock work and isa well balanced program, which the patronsreally enjoy.The combination banquet and birthday partymade for a pleasant day, with many of the lo-cal fans in attendance. Robert G. Earl, who isalso a part of our Tent's namesake was in thearea booking dates for his Robert Bros. Circusand so was able to attend on this occasion.The banquet was a well kept secret from theshow folks, although a few knew that we weregoing to have a small luncheon between shows.

As a result the birthday party was a completesurprise.At 4:30 p.m., following the first show, tableswere set and the food was brought into theschool gym. The coffee was hot, for the dayoutside was bitter cold. A huge birthday cake,a big "Pink Elephant" had aqua lettering whichread "Happy Belated Birthday Jimmy Cole."This brought tears of joy to J immy's eyes, aswell as ahs from the rest of the show folks.The cake consisted of three flavors - strawber-ry, chocolate and vanilla and Jimmy cut intothe chocolate first, his favorite flavor.The food was all prepared by Mrs. Ann Martinwho has done this for the Tent since it wasraised in 1975. We have provided numerousbanquets for other shows playing the area.

Ann and I are the proud parents of Billy Mar-tin, who opened the show with his juggling/rola bola, and who is a part of the MillerTroupe. (See show program on another pageof today's Circus Report).This was certainly a day to be remembered,for the show was great, two good houses to

(Continued on Page 17)

Comedy

DIETER

Juggler

TASSOon the new

Chuck Barris RA-RA-ShowM a r c h 7 th a t 8 p . m. on N B C - T V

*

C u r r e n t l y a t : H A C I E N D A H O T E L , L a s V e g a

(Booked by Sandy Dobri tch)

PageS February 27,1978

New Show SetIn a report from Bobby Gibbs the followinginformation has been obtained:

Dorey Miller, long-time owner and manager ofAmerica's only 5 ring circus - Carson & Barnes— will send a second unit out on the road thisyear. The units will be called Eastern and West-ern, but both will carry the title 'Carson &Barnes Circus.'

Bobby Gibbs, formerly an independent act forsome 13 years, will be with the Western Unit,which will go into the west and then into Can-ada. The show is scheduled to open about the15th of April in Oklahoma.

Johnnie Frazier, former owner of Fisher Bros.,and once a partner in the Royal Bros. Circus,will be show manager. The circus will use theformer George-Matthews big top, a 120 ft.,with 3 forty ft. centers. A herd of 12 elephantswill he carried on the show, with Bobby Gibbsin charge of the animals.

Gibbs reports that Manuel King arranged forfive flyi ig acts to tour with Carson & Barnes,arrangements having been made during his re-cent trip to Mexico. Three acts will work onthe Eastern Unit and two on the Western unit.Both shows will carry live bands and both willbe using a 5 ring set-up.

M. L. Dupont

JIM KELLY, animal trainer, currently has a 3chimp act, which he presents.

LYNDMILA SHEVCHENKO, is a featured liontrainer with the Moscow State Circus.

DAVID SLUSSER is returning to civilian lifeafter a tour of duty with the Army. He plansto return to show business, working as a clown,a job he held before being drafted.

JOHNNY NUGENT is trouping with a showunit in North Carolina, Virginia and South Car-!olina, doing sword swallowing, trick roping andknife throwing.

JOE PORTER, retired clown, is no longerwith the Security Police Patrol in Idaho, Herecently left to take another job.

THE AMAZING CONKLINS, magic/illusions,report they will be working some early springdates for Big JOHN STRONG and later will beworking dates in Canada.

GENERAL INFOThe U.S. Dept. of Agriculture has charged thatHampshire College, of Amherst, Mass., failedto file mandatory annual reports on its use oflaboratory animals, as required by law.

Dr. Pierre A. Chaloux, deputy administrator ofUSDA's Animal and Plant Health InspectionService, said the college has not filed reportsfor either 1975 or 1976.

E CC SALE - COSTUMESCUSTOM M A D E C I R C U S , BURLESQUE and THEATRICAL

We specialize in Sequin embroidery, Rhinestones and MirrorsCustom made Rh ines tone Bras, "G" Str ings and Showgi r l headpieces

Custom made Wigs and HairpiecesFrom Clowns to Elephant b lanke ts , We do it a l l , Quickly and Professionally

One costume or one thousand Fifteen years experience

Qlwp Co110 N o r t h Main Street, Cl imax, Mich igan - 49034 — Phone:(616)746-4137

The Circus Report Page 9

THE WALTERS FAMILYD I R E C T FROM E U R O P E

AVAILABLE FOR SUMMER SEASONU N I Q U E STUNTS A N D B A L A N C I N G P E R F O R M A N C E

Able to perform twodifferent acts or a 30minute show.

Contact:W I L L Y W A L T E N S692 No. Park StreetGrand Rapids, Mich.

- 49505

Variety ShowA Variety Show, presented at the Berkeley(Calif.) Community Theatre on Feb. 14th, wassponsored by the Firefighters Assoc. of thatcity. The single performance, at 6 p.m., drew afull house, which was enthusiastic about eachnumber.Booked by an agent in Portland (Ore.) the pro-gram featured: Billy Grant, MC/balloons; ClarkMcDermott's Cold Nose Five act; The Saxons,juggling/unicycles and Ken Card, ventriloquist.

TALENTThe James M. Cole All Star TV Circus tour ofeleven weeks will come to a close on April 1stin New York state. Throughout its run theshow has encountered severe winter weatheras storms continually rage through the Easternstates.

The hour and a half program features: PhilChandler, ringmaster; Billy Martin, rola bola;Aerial Ballet featuring Miss Vicky; Paulette's

Pot-P,ournIllusionist Dorian Blake played the OasisShrine's Grand Potentate Ball (Jan. 28) in Char-lotte, N.C. The performer received a standingovation from the audience of 3500 people.Paulette's Peerless Pups, presented by LindaChandler, features a dog leaping through a firehoop.Emmett Kelly, Jr. played the Raleigh resortjnSouth Fallsburg, N.Y., over the Washington s

birthday holiday.Karl Wallenda received lots of newspaper cov-erage in New York City when he was caughtin the Blizzard of'78.

Mike Naughton

Peerless Puppies; The Barrys, comedy trapeze;the Bobby and Jane Duo, juggling; Phil andLinda Chandler, illusions; Norman Miller, the12 year old trapeze star; Miss Linda Karl,cloud swing; Gorgo & Gorgo & Co., gorillaparody; The Lang Family, acrobats.

"Evening Performance"

An or ig ina l o i l pa in t i ng ( 2 8 " x 3 2 " ) in w a r m colors t h a t

cap tures the magic of the C i rcus u n d e r the Big Top.

The a r t i s t , Sid K e l l n e r , o w n e r - o p e r a t o r of James Bros, and

George M a t t h e w s Grea t L o n d o n C i r cus - 1953 - 1976.

O f f e r i n g 100 hand signed and regis tered L i t h o g r a p h Copies

of th i s u n u s u a l pa in t ing in f u l l color to f r i ends and fans

for on ly $35.00 each , p lus $3.00 for Postage and Handl ing .

To order make check payab le to "Even ing P e r f o r m a n c e "

and mai l to :

' E V E N I N G P E R F O R M A N C E 'c /o Circus R e p o r t

525 Oak StreetEl Cer r i to , C a l i f o r n i a - 94530

— A l l o w 2 to 6 w e e k s for H a n d l i n g and De l ive ry

Page 12 February 27, 1978

Wild animal trainer Michael Cecere was sever-ly mauled by a lion during a night perform-ance at Cape Coral, Fla. on Jan. 26th.

According to show officials Cecere was hurtduring the opening of his act, and despite hisdeep gashes and severe bleeding he continuedwith the act, without missing a trick. After-wards he calmly went out, loaded his truckand animals before allowing medical aid to berendered.

After returning from the hospital, at his insis-tance, and before he could be stopped, he drovehis semi 150 miles to the next day's stand. Thenalthough he was heavily bandaged, he went outand performed all three shows on Jan. 27th.

Unfortunately, his wounds became infected andadditional doctor's appointments were required.However, he has continued to maintain hfsdaily practice sessions, despite the seriousnessof his injuries.

ATTENTIONThe Trotter Brothers Productions, producers ofPuppet and Magic "Spectacular shows for fivemajor amusement parks, is looking for exper-ienced performers, or for performers who wouldqualify and can be trained for shows of thistype. They are also in need of a performer towork with a magic show.

FOR SALE2 Male Chimps, 1 - 5 years old,

1 - 3 years old.

• Extremely well disciplined• Wears clothes• Rides pony• Smokes cigars• Can be handled by any experienced

trainer• Has all shots• Top specimen

$4,000 each

Also have 17 species of captive bornexotic cats.

RARE FELINE BREEDING COMPOUNDP.O. Box 132

Center Hill, Florida - 33514Phone: (904)793-2109

Their shows start in May and mid-June andcontinue through Labor Day. Interested per-sons are urged to send photos and resumes to:Mr. Bob Munson, Director, Trotter BrothersProductions, 111 West Blake, Wichita, Kans.67213.

Pl6«lSG oCI ' AM NOW AVAILABLE FOR ALL DATES

RENOWNED INTERNATIONAL WILD AND DOMESTIC ANIMAL TRAINER

presenting THE ROYAL CONTINENTAL PERFORMING STALLIONSLIBERTY * LONG R E I N ** ALL KINDS OF WILD ANIMALS

Training Quarters and HomeR.R . 1, Box 981Venice, Florida 33595 U.S.A.Telephone 813/488 1991

HIGH SCHOOL TRICK HORSES * AIRSRINGMASTER *

Please Write or Call: William B. Hall, HIBauer - Hall Enterprises138 Frog Hollow RoadChurchville, Pa. 18966

The Circus Report Page 13

Review .by SALLY PAYNE

SAMT. POL AC K, Breaks the ice in Louisville.

Sarn T. Polack played his first date for the KorsairShrine Circus, in Louisville, Ky., Feb. 1-5, and whenI say we had "Ice", I do mean ICE, and snow, butthe patrons came out, and the performers made itfrom many areas, with various problems.

However, the opening matinee had only a sprinklingof patrons, but even that built up, as they dribbledin to give a very light % house, by the end of the ma-tinee. This was the first time in 14 years, this circusgoing gal has not seen the Kosair Shrine have a capa-city house fork's opening show.

Wednesday night was a good % house, Thursday andFriday, afternoon and evening were capacity crowdsand Saturday and Sunday found all three shows "Wallto Wall" people, what a sight to behold. They werestanding in the aisles and in all four upper comers ofthe building.

Mr. Polack brought in a good strong program, of topnotch acts. The program featured: Clown come-inwith balloons; Overture, William "Boom Boom"Browning, musical director; Princess White Could(Peggy Mills), cloud swing; Pat Anthony, lions andtigers; The Apollo Duo (Phil and Fran), cradle; JoseFrancesco, balancing blocks; Peggy Mills, tightwire;Miss Espana, contortion; The Fossetts.with KillerWillard, the Boxing Kangaroo; Clowns and giraffebit; The Elkins Sisters, aero/dogs; The Smahas, longrein dressage; the Clown Doctor; Baby Dondi, theelephant with Phil and Francine Schacht;The Oban-dos Troupe, high wire.

After intermission came: Christine's Chimps; Clowncomedy; the Diano elephants, presented by Lee andJeannette Keener; the Francony Duo, double traps;The Smahas with Lipizzan Stallions; Jorge's ComedyCar; The Fossett's Gorilla Parody; The Espanas, fly-ing act.

The show staff included: Sam T. Polack, producer;Al Dawley, ringmaster; Boom Boom Browning, mus-ical director; Georg Rosell, prop boss; David Drze-wicki, electrician; and in Clown Alley were: John MeKay (Yo Ho), producing Clown with Les Schmitt;Phil Granger, Mary Wise, John Benaka, and DavidChabira.

Of special interest are some first-hand comments ofthe performers about the weather and their trip intoLouisville.

The Smahas - 550 miles from Baraboo - From In-

dianapolis to Louisville, sheer ice and snow, everyminute was a potential accident hazard.

Mary Wise, clown - 587 miles from Washington.DC- Not bad at all, some snow towards Louisville.

Tony Fossett - 711 miles from St. Paul Sports Show- Got caught in a snow storm around Chicago, thentraveled on ice all the way to Louisville.

David Chabira, clown • 650 miles from Topeka, Kans.- Not bad until the last 100 miles, then snow and iceand hazardous roads.

The Obandos - 850 miles from Daytona Beach, Fla.- Roads were OK until Nashville, after that theywere solid ice.

John McKay, clown - 850 miles from Daytona Beach,Fla. - Everything OK except for last 150 miles withvery bad roads.

John Benaka, clown - 650 miles from Topeka, Kans.- Last 100 miles in were on icey roads.

Phil and Francine Schacht -1,000 miles from SanAntonio - Got stuck on ice about 60 miles out ofLouisville.

Al Dawley, ringmaster -1,000 miles from Sarasota,Fla. — No problems, nice trip, except for two flats.

The Rosell Troupe -1,000 miles from Sarasota, Fla.— No problems at all.

The Elkins Sisters - 700 miles from Tulsa, Okla. -Only storm, snow, ice and blizzard, otherwise notrouble.

Phil Granger, Clown - 300 miles from Chicago - Iceon the road most of the way.

Lee Keener - 300 miles from Canton, Ohio - Broughtin one truck with 2 elephants. The other truck brokedown out in Canton. After working opening matineeLee flew up to Canton, picked up the repaired truckwith Big Tommy and another elephant and was backin t ime for the Thursday matinee.

Show ActsFeatured in "The Wonderland Circus" pro-gram at Orangeburg, S.C., on Jan. 21st were:Wally Eastwood, juggler; Tom 'Popcorn' Sink,clown; Bill Brickie's Poodle Fantasy; Rex, theWonder Lion; Dorian Blake, illusions, plus theEastwood's gorilla parody.

Page 14 February 27, 1978

BETTY WENDANY'SFUNS-A-POPPINPackage Shows to Fit Your Needs

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THANK YOUERIC POWERS

Ringling-Barnum's Red Unitfor your Driftwood Trailer purchase"SAVE MONEY WITH JOHNNY"

JOHNNY CANOLE465 N.E. 102nd StreetMiami Shores, Fla. 33138(305) 751-0206

7100 Sixth AvenueAltoona, Pa. 16602(814) 944-9347 or(814) 943-0003

From FloridabyMAJORIE HACKETT

On Feb. 3rd, the Ringling-Barnum Red Unit openedin the Lakeland Civic Auditorium, doing a 7:30 p.m.show to a packed house, promoted by The PublixSuper Markets, which has it's headquarters in Lake-land, Fla. The big inducement was a discount coupon(available at all the stores check-out counters) goodfor a $2.00 reduction from the regular ticket price.Because of this the Friday performance had a turn-away crowd.

i he show was scheduled for 3 shows on Saturday(4th) and 2 shows on Sunday (5th). Problems en-countered were the center's eternally leaking roofand a burst hydrant in the parking lot - all of which,according to "Tuffy" Genders, really slowed theset-up.

The center is supposed to be getting a new roof.Marjorie and David Hackett and houseguest LoniBarton, from Fox Lake. III., visited with Bobby Kay(Smiley). Both Marjorie and Bobby were membersof the Young Nelsons' acrobatic risley act in the late30s and early 40s. Then they all drove out to Milon-ga Cline's home on the old Tampa Highway in Lake-land forsupper and drove Bobby back to the build-ing for the show.

Lakeland's first annual City Fair brought out theJames E. Strates Show and the George HannefordFamily Circus. All free admission and parking, and

FOR SALE30 ft. Chain Link Arena - 6 ft. widesections - Like New - ExcellentCondition $600.00

Call: (714) 991-6534Ask for B R I A N J . M c M I L L A N

in spite of the cold and wind a good crowd was inthe red and white striped tent, enjoying the fun ofan old fashioned one ring circus. The great traditionof the Hannefords goes on with George and Vicky'sdaughter and son, appearing in this great little show.We need more fast moving family style shows thatreally amuse and delight the children and their folks.I for one am tired of seeing weary little people cryingand sleepy, being carried out halfway through a longhigh priced Hollywood Broadway production!

I'm not against big, long, elaborate shows, it is justtoo much for little kids to absorb. Hence this (per-sonal) plug for more dog and pony shows, in tentson grassy lots.

Costumes, music and Vicky making announcementsand the owner's kids in the show made the audiencelove it all. Music was provided by a good lady organ-ist and a young (good) boy drummer. Dogs, ponies,aerial numbers, small elephants and the Hannefordsriding act were augmented by the Ayallas (they willbe back at The Circus World Museum in Baraboo,Wise., for the summer season) with his stunning wireact and Marguerite Michell's hair hang-juggling act.Both of the Ayallas and all of the Hannefords werebeautifully costumed.

Clown productions were ably handled by Alfredo

(Continued on Page 15)

/ft'/

6331 Hol lywood Blvd. , Room 301Hollywood, California - 90028

Telephone after 4:30 (Houston)( 7 1 3 ) 7 2 9 - 7076

A V A I L A B L E M A Y a n d J U N E

The Circus Report Page 15

FOR SALE1974 Holiday Rambler 5th WheelEstate - Air Conditioning - LargeAwning — Good Rubber.Proven 2 years not on the road.

$5,200 FirmTOM DONOHO

Phone: (702)736-1266

TOMI 'Hugo' LIEBEL, formerly on the RBBBRed Unit is now working at the Circus WorldPark in Florida. He is featured with his ladderbalancing act.

AL DAWLEY, circus ringmaster, once aspiredto be a career diplomat in the U. S. ForeignService. He was bitten by the circus bug whenhe moved to Florida several years ago.

ROBERTA BALLANTINE teaches nutritionto students at the Ringling-Barnum ClownCollege in Florida. She is the wife of the Col-lege Dean BILL BALLANTINE.

THE GUTIS FAMILY, just back from Europe,played the Sports Show at Chicago (III) on Feb.17-26, followed by an appearance on the BozoTV Show, after which they jump to Lansing(Mich) for a Mar. 22-26 engagement.

KEN WILLER, juggler/one finger stand, recent-ly was featured on the Mike Douglas TV Show.

TIM and LINDA DAVISON, he's the brotherof juggler PAT DAVISON, have been visitingthe Hacketts in Florida. Tim was associatedwith many circuses before he joined the Po-lice Department in Minneapolis, Minn.

~Jr tautor au F lote !

Our apology for the n u m e r o u s lettersfrom acts that t ime has not permi t tedus to answer this past fall and winter .STILL NEED - Advance people (p re -fer clown with P.R. experience) - OneBooking Agent.Until April 1st write to:

FRANZEN BROS. CIRCUSP. O. Box 554 - Webster, Fla. - 33597

Phone: (904)793-6534

FROM FLORIDA (Continued)

Landon and Theron. It is hard to be as funny asyoung Theron was on his comical break-away bicycleon lumpy ground.

Milonga and the Hacketts also enjoyed a brief visitwith former circus wire walker Clara Berosini Hoff-man, husband Eugene and son who have their foodconcessions on the James E. Strates Midway forthis date.

We are looking forward to a warm weather visit tothis carnival. We drive to Gibsontbn often to visitaround as this time of year finds it a veritable "smor-gasbord" of circus and carnival people, unlike sum-mer when it looks as if the town were evacuated!

BERNICE DEAN's high school horse "BlackKnight" died last month at the age of 25.

JAMES I. HASSAN'S 1882 litho of "Jumbo"is pictured in the CHAPPIE FOX story "HereCome the Elephants" in the RBBB Red Unitprogram book for 1977.

AMANDIS ENTERTAINMENTN O W A V A I L A B L E

TOP N O V E L T Y + C I R C U S + A E R I A L + AND T H R I L L A C T S

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SARASOTA, Fla. 33580

Page 16 February 27, 1978

CUSTOM COLORCIRCUS PHOTOS'SPECIAL FOR MONTH OF FEBRUARY

HALF PRICE SPECIAL !! Listing No. 2describing in detail over 1600 full-colorphotographs only 75c (normally $1.50)

CUSTOM COLOR CIRCUS PHOTOS1509 South Clinton Avenue

Berwyn, Illinois 60402Home of over 2000 full-color circus photos!

Price increase coming - order now and save!

BILLY BARTON (Continued)

up on Canadian soil this year... It's been reportedthat a major big top enterprise plans to spend 90 percent of its season in the west, will not play any east-ern dates at all.

SNAPSHOTS: GEE GEE attended the Circusfest inMonaco, raves over a young Spanish tightwire artist,LUIS MUNOZ, who does a layout back, feet to feet ,on the wire... LOU JACOBS, in caseyadidn't know,is the only clown and living person to have his like-ness enshrined on a U.S. postage stamp ... PELUZA,now with the Ice Capades, has developed a clever newcomedy act. His option has been picked up for 1979 ... BOBBY MOORE's dog act is with Holiday On Ice... JACK BENNETT is back at his Oklahoma home...Biz for the Cole All Star TV Circus has been good de-spite rotten weather... JOHNNY and MARY RUTHHERRIOTT, now at Circus World, were driving alongInterstate 4 near Orlando when a cow suddenly am-bled onto the roadway. Johnny struck the animalbroadside and, since the accident Mary Ruth has beenexperiencing neck pa ins . . . WALT and B A R B A R A'KING appeared on the Garden TV special . . . BON-NIE & CLYDE appeared at the Maine Fair Conven-

WANTEDJAMES H. DREW EXPOSITION

WANTEDFirst Class Mechanic With ToolsAlso Asst. Mechanic With Tools

Need First Class Bill Poster than canand will put out limited amount ofpaper and will distribute merchantstickets and handle special agentswork or 24 hour details

NOTE: We Play One Week StandsWrite: Salary expected and send

References.Address: James H. Drew Exposition

P. O. Box 5559Augusta, Georgia 30906Phone: (404) 798-2288

tion and were a smash "hit"... Prop boss BOBBYDAVIS flies to California in May to organize the Bent-ley Bros. Circus set-ups, tear-downs, and prop moves... ETHEL'S GREYHOUNDS play Kennywood Parkfor 3 weeks in July ... GEORGE HANNEFORDFAMILY plays dates for Bentley... Several personshave commented about the Showfolks' New YeanEve annual (held at Roberts Arena) which featuredan Exotic Dance, feeling the act was in bad taste.

Sub-zero temperatures froze the door fast to MARKKAROLY's living quarters during the Hanneford dateat Roanoke. His cries for help were heard by SENOR

• RAI who had to chisel the ice from the door to setthe young bareback rider free.

See you down the road, luvs.

EQUESTRIAN SPECIALTIESA V A I L A B L E FROM M I D - M A R C H ON IN 1978

CIRCUS, STAGE, R O D E O and PUBLICITY ACTS, Etc.

4327 Coronet Drive, Enc ino , Calif. 91316 - (213)881-2793

The Circus Report Page 17

NEW ADDRESSDON McLENNAN

P.O. Box 437Applegate, Oregon - 97530

REPORT (Continued)

play to, and the banquet which gave us all achance to eat together and visit. Isn't this whatour life is all about? What we can do for oneanother and enjoy it at the same time.We the Circus Fans have our own secular workand the people we love in the circus, all beingtogether, have one thing in common, "TheLove and the Prospering of the Circus".In closing, may I add, our son Billy graduatedfrom Olean High School in 1977, doing so inthree years instead of the usual four years. Hedid this with a 94.2 average. He couldn't waitfour years to get with a circus, and last sum-mer he was with the Famous Hunt Circus.

Harry J. Martin

EARL MICHAELS, of Atlantic City, N.J., isthe ringmaster for the Hamid-Morton Circus,which opened its tour at Hartford, Conn., onFeb. 15-20, playing in the Armory.

RAYMOND VALENTINE has become thecatcher of the Flying Valentines since his fa-ther (SLICK) retired. The act is touring withthe Hubert Castle Circus and includes DIANEBERRY and TONY STEELE.

VLADO VLADIMIROV, former Ringling-Bar-num Circus rider, has joined VINCE CAR-MEN's "Razzle Dazzle". Vlado is a superbclose-up magician, and his wife MICHELLE isworking in wardrobe, awaiting the birth oftheir second child in April.

DICK and CONNIE GRIFFITH, trick riders,will be in Southern California late this monthso Dick can undergo a hip operation.

FRANK DEAN is teaching a class in rope spin-ning at Palmdale, Calif. He is steadily improv-ing from his accident

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Page 1 8

HOW THEY DID IT (Continued) <

February 27, 1978

Biz UDrange to insure the actor's balance.

Three separate crews of the seven-memberWallenda troupe were recruited for the film-ing: the actors, the real Wallenda troupe; anda stunt crew (consisting of additional Wallendafamily members) were used to simulate the De-troit fall.

The Detroit fall was filmed with an elaboraterigging system which connected the top threemembers of the pyramid to safety wires. Everyprecaution was taken to consider every possiblecontingency: balancing poles were also wiredto enable them to be pulled out of the way ofthe falling bodies, which fell on foam rubbercushioning piled six feet high.

Four cameras were used, working from differ-ent angles and were engaged to shoot simultan-eously. The cameras were covered with thickplywood boxes to protect them from the fall-ing poles and bodies.

After days of painstaking preparation, the fallwas filmed in one take — with no injuries. This

Concessions at the Shrine Circus in Flint, Mich,(Jan. 14-22) were handled by Art Barrett andthe gross was the largest ever recorded for thedate, breaking all previous records. As a resultArt has Been awarded a 3 year contract atFlint and a 2 year contract at Saginaw.

Tom Young, general chairman for the circusdate at Roanoke (Va.) has announced that Artwill handle the show and concessions there in1979.

Barrett will also handle concessions for theShrine Circus at Canton (Ohio), which is afour day engagement.

footage was shot in isolation, to be matchedwith the actual circus footage which had notyet been shot.

Added to the high degree of tension and riskwas the fact that the final Wallenda pyramidwas filmed on the next-to-last day of produc-tion, due to a schedule that was built aroundthe real circus.

THANK YOUJACK arid SANDRA FULBRIGHT

FOR H E L P I N G US GET D O N D I ' S NEW HOME

JACK — For sludging through the ice and snow withPhil , and dr iv ing our t rac tor trailer back toTexas.

S A N D R A — For sitting home with Francine and worryingequa l ly as m u c h .

WHAT W O U L D W E H A V E D O N E WITHOUT F R I E N D S

L I K E Y O U

T H E A P O L L O S

The Circus Report Page 19

Winter continues to take its toll - Circus Var-gas had both freezing temperatures and sleet inMiss., and Louisiana, followed by heavy rainsin Texas, while at Carson & Barnes they lost3 hippos (just purchased), a tiger and someother animals due to extreme cold. Meanwhileat the Columbus (Ohio) Zoo, where CFA'r DonNieman is a member of the board, they lost anumber of animals. Don reports the chill factorat Columbus was Minus 69 degrees.Shrine circus at Louisville-,, produced by Sam T.Polack (Feb. 1-2) had Al Dawley as.ringmas-ter, Wm. Boom Boom Browning, bandleaderand Yo Ho McKay, producing clown. Othermembers of the alley were' David Chabira, LesSchmitt, John Benaka, Mary Wise, Phil Gran-ger and Michele Malvern.

• The NBC movie "The Great Wallendas" wascertainly enjoyed by this writer. A nice thingis that talking with people on the street dis-closed they also enjoyed it.Reports from Ken Benson, of World Wide Jun-gle Wonder Circus, indicate that business hasbeen good for the show with many sell-outsduring their stands in Arizona, and New Mex-ico. This month they moved into Texas.Jackie Mitchell Jenkins, former RBBB ClownCollege graduate, and hubby Harry Jenkins, Jr.are expecting an addition to the family. Theymake their home in Dallas - our congratulationsCliff Day and wife, Dot, are still in the TexasValley. He writes that he remembers somerather cold winters of the past. He retired in >1974, after being an active circus man.This reporter was saddened to learn of the pas-

WANTEDGIRL AERIALIST doing t r a p s orrings (Can furnish e q u i p m e n t ifneeded).

ALSO WANT two acts doing 2 ormore numbers for mall shows.

M U R R A Y HILLRoute* 1 - Box 248-A

Fordland., Missouri - 65652

Phone: (417) 738-4225

sing of Col. Tim McCoy. I first met him in themiddle 30's and didn't get to visit with himagain until 1973, when we spent several hourstalking about the old days and looking at pic-tures and programs, etc.Zacchini's Olympic Int'l Circus has the Shreve-port (La) date for June 2-4. However, the dateat Monroe (La) is still unsettled, although atentative date of May 19-20 is hoped for.Tex Dreyfus and Cliff Day report that whenCircus Vargas was in Beaumont, Galveston andother local towns, rain and bad weather keptthem from getting onto the show lot to catchthe show - and they are real circus fans.1

Over 50 clowns in make-up participated in the32nd annual Gown Service at the AnglicanHoly Trinity Church in London in early Feb.to celebrate the bi-centennial birthday of thefamous clown Joseph Grimaldi, the great ofall circus clowns.

M. L. DUPONT

EURQPQRAMA.INTERNATIONAL J O H N W I N N . Pres iden t

223 West Mam St . , Sui te 2 0 5 , M e d f o r d , O r e g o n 97501 - P h o n e : (503) 779 -7441

A E R I A L T H R I L L and N O V E L T Y A C T S - F U N N Y C L O W N S

- A C O M P L E T E 2 H O U R iHOW -