America's Favorite Circus Weekly

Volume 2 April 16r 1973 Number 15

Parade marshal namedWorld famous clown, Emmett Kelly, has

been named grand maehal for the Bashing-ton State Apple Blossom Festival parade,the morning of May 5th. He •!!! also ap-pear in two circua programs scheduled atWenetchee, Wash, under the direction ofPaul Pugh.

The circus program will feature Jug-lers, teeterboard, trampoline, fire eat-ing, tumbling, whips and clown numbers bymembers of the Uenatchee Youth Circus. Al-so on the show will be Terrell Jacobs. Jr.with his dogs, bear, ponies and monkeys.Kelly will sign autographs after the twoperformances.

As grand marshal of the parade *ellywill lead the array of marchers, ridingin a vintage jalopy. This will be follow-ed by an authentic circus calliope, ownedby Al Bice, which will be pulled by twobig Clydesdales.

Profitless RoadFuture plans for the "Holiday With

Horses" show are still unsettled, accord-ing to reports from the east. Business inMexico, the show's producers — Jim Wur-phree, Jack Kockman and Don Woods — re-port was not up to expectations and sothey cancelled the tour.

The show had played for four months in'"exican bullfight arenas and despite somegood reviews drew small crowds. The major-ity of the tickete sold were those at thecheapest range, rather than the expensive•eats, thus cutting into the income.(Continued on Page 3 - Column 2)

Soaring GrowthBusiness has been up about 40£ this

year, reports John Strong. At almost everystand we've been jammed with people whocame to see the show.

Writing from Southern California, BillSchreiber says he caught the John StrongCircus at Camarillo and San Luis Obispo,where business was very good. I know theyalso did some good business in Paso Robleshe adds.

The date at Santa Barbara was reallysensational, with over 5,000 people Jammingtheir way into the tent. At least 200 carsware turned away and the highway patrolsaid the local freeway was tied up for twohours with people trying to get into thecircus area.

CARSON ca, BARNESTvHryone who visits the Carson &

Barnes Circus sends bacU glowing reportsof a fine show. It's the sort of show afan enjoys and one that also pleasus thegeneral public, ^s well.

The new top is colorful and the pro-gram is "very good," they say. Thp shoe'shan'1 its a hiqh point for everyone and itplay: that real circus type muMc.

The show is traveling on about 50trucks this year, and features a gorillaand an orangutan on the midway. The men-agerie includes: a giraffe, tapir, Rhea,Emu, ostrich, lion, tiger, baboons, somemonkeys, sika deer, black and white spe-cies, 4 camels, llamas, guanacos, burros,21 elephants and many other animals.

Page 2 April 16, 1973

....by BILL GREEN

The M&n Circus played Lincoln, Nebr*for five days (Mar. 28-Apr. 1) and didgood business despite wet and bad weatherThe show was sponsored by the local ShriniClub and featured local musicians.

Carl Hawks, a Shrine clown, had hiscalliope in the spec, and I rode on itwith him for two shows. Both Don Bridwelland David Burnham visited at our home be-fore and after the show dates.

Here's the show's program, which isa little different than when you report-ed it on April 2. 1973.

Spec - Happiness is a Holiday (Floatsand wardrobe staged by Jim Douglas.

Two rings of uncaged leopards trainedby Gee Gee and Bucky Steel and The Dubskyl

The Saturnaims - high cradle act andfeatured four year old Rebecca Smith

The Navarro Family on unicycles in RingOne and the Carolyns in Ring Two

The Staneks - Balancing pole act

Three rings of aniamfsj Ring 1 - RedHartman & Co. bearsj Ring 2 - Jo Anne andWalter Jenniar seals| Ring 3 - Yanos 6 Cochimps

Clowns - Modern Hairgrower (Jim Douglas,Don Bridwell, Dave Burnham, Vern Noerner,Millie Hall, Malt Stimax, Earl Hawks

Don Phillips & Co. (Don, Carol, Diana)juggling on the unicycle

The Royal Hungarian Troupe (Dubskys)a risley number

Clowns - The Firecrackers (Don BridwellVern Woerner, Dave Burnham)

Victor Juilian and his Dog Revue

Clowns - Bending over gag

Aerial display, featuring Miss Lione(Stanek) on the single trapeze

Zellmer's Liberty Ponies - Bucky andBee Gne Steele

Clowns - The Bakery Shop (Millie Halland Walt Stimax)

VIENNA SHOWWe had a circus here in Vienna (Aus-

tria) writes Felix Adonis, former juggleron the Ring]ing show. The show opened onFeb. 8th and stayed for about four weeks.The widow of the late Emll Meeker (CircusApollo) produced the show.

Some of the outstanding acts wereDuval on the high wire, who works a lotlike Harold Alzana, and Freddy Qulnn, whodoes just about everything. He was the an-neuncer, did some singing, worked a lionact and even appeared on the high wirewith Duval.

Other acts on the show included Fat-tini on the sway pole (lantern) you mayremember he was with the Ringling circus.Benneweis of Denmark was also here withhis horses and elephants, and there was aHungarian lion act that was vary different

record soughtA French circus performer »e trying

for a world's record by staying on a highwire for six months. Henry Rachatin wentup on the wire, at Etienne, France, onApril 4th and will stand, ait or kneel,aided only by a balancing pole. In an ear*Her attempt he stayed on the wire for 15days.

"fly reflexes will stay awake and al-low me to keep my balance," he said.

Electrodes were attached to his bodyand are connected to machines in a roomon the ground. This will permit doctors tomonitor his heart rate, fatigue, stressand hallucinations that might be broughton bv any lack of sleep.

Perch acts - Ring 1 - The Impallas Duo;Ring 2 - The Rajinaisi Ring 3 - Dubakya

Los Obondoe, high wire bicycle act} hasCarlo Obondos and wife, plus three others

The Staneks - teeterboard number, fea-tures 11 year old Rene.

Elephants - presented by Gee Gee andBucky Steele

Clowns - The °esawe Street Malk (crea-ted by Millie Hall and Malt Stimax)

Rock-Smith Troupe - flying act - Rustyand Patti Rock, *nd David and Karen Smith

April 16, 1973 Page 3

another lawAdditional legislation is being

passed in the State of Washington as ••eans of controlling charity promotions.The latest of these laws is the ene peas*ad by the King County Council, which millregulate drives in unincorporated areasof the county.

The law haa been changed considerablysines it ma firat introduced laat August,It is atrictsr than the state la* that•as recently signed by Washington's Gov-

enor, and la soaieiihat similar tothe lav now in effect in Seattle

KfJS The new county ruling states__^^^^ all charity solicitors must havea permit. The permit fee will be $10 forvolunteera who are not paid, and $500 forall solicitors who are paid or receiveany part of the funds being raised.

The organization must attest that thecost of the solicitation for direct giftswill not exceed 20% of the sum raiaed.For ssles and benefit affairs the coat ican not be greater than 55% of tha pro-ceeds.

Organizations that do not collectmore than $2,000 in any one year will notbe required to obtain a permit* Locallyestablished organizations will be able toobtain a one year permit, rather than theregular 120 day permit.

If a parson or organization waa reg-istered by the state, under the state lawthe county will not require an investiga-tion of the proposed fund-raising activ-ity prior to the issuance of a county per'wit therefore waiving much of the appliestion process.

Permits issued to solicitors wouldlist information about the nature of thesolicitation, including the names andtelephone numbers of the permit holders.\

THE CIRCUS REPORT is published every weekby Don Mercks, 525 Oak St., El Cerrlto,Calif. - 9*530.

Subscription rates arei $1.00 per month}$5.00 for six months or $10.00 a year.Forair mail service add $1.00 oar year.

was nice showV*. local Shrine Qub aponaorad Hoxie

Bros. Circus at Melbourne, Fla. (Mar. 31)and buainaaa waa excellent. This was the •sixth year tha same organization haa spon-sored the circus.

Tha sho* runs about two hours and haaa few changes that I nated. Junior Ruffinwas working the big elephants and I'm notsura who had tha email ones. The Shrineclowns helped the circus clowns during thenumbers end obviously were enjoying them-selves.

The show is again carrying a aide showwith Stu Miller as manager. They have afire eater, exotic girl* snakes, and PunchA Judy. Tha menagerie animals Include tenelephanta, monkeys, carnal, baboon, lion,leopard, zebra, ponies and a banner lineon the elephant trucks.

. William Shoop

date setA Teenage Drug end Narcotic Rehabil-

itation Center and the Creative Life Foun-dation at Seattle, Wash., have announcedthey'll be sponsoring a professional showon July 9th. The program ia scheduled forthe '"emorial Stadium.

Advance press releases indicate theshow is to be a European type thrill show,featuring high wire and trapeze acts.

--—--• • -j; ' '." • • ' - - • . .— ̂j.̂ ,--̂ -—f*̂ -

PROFITLESS ROAO (Continued from Page 1)One report indicated that Trevor Bale

might operate the show in this countryfor ita owners. They are unable to do sobecause of contract arrangements with for-mer associated who have similier shows inthe u. S.

Many acts on the show are scheduled totour with Rex end Wanda Rossi's fair ahowduring the summer montha.

Tha law will permit children under 14to solicit for gifts if they are not paidand do not receive any part of th* fundsraiaed. They will not be required to bea member of the organization for whichthey ire soliciting.

Pag* 4 April 16, 1973

the new lawJfe/aspite several changes the new law

which was recently signed by Washington'sGovernor Dan Evans puts strict controlson all chatity promotions. The WashingtonState Senate voted 93-2 for the la*, thusending 12 years of effort to get controlson fund raisers within the state.

Most charity drives (those raisingover $2,000 in any six month period) willnow be under the supervision of the Dir-ector of the Dept. of Motor Vehicles. Hewill have the power to intervene in lawsuits, collect Money illegally held, andto order solicitors to stop a drive whenhe feels it is illegal. Enforcement ofthe law will be handled by the AttorneyGeneral's Consumer Protective Division.

Professional fund raisers will haveto register, and pott a 15,000 bond. Theywill be required to file financial state-ments within 90 days of the end of anyfiscal year. They must submit full recordreports on the amount of Money raised,cost of the promotion and the amount thatis turned over to the charity. They mustkeep records for three years and Makethem available for public inspection.

Some Solicitations will be exemptfrom the new law, such as tax emempt re-ligious organizations. Also coming underthe exemption will be solicitations fornamed persons when no deductions are made

A ReprieveA good series of show dates repoitedl'

will put the Emmett Kelly, Jr. Circusback un the road this month. Most of thedates, according to Austin Miles, ring-master, will be» presented as college concert dates.

Show program will include:Emroett Ke^y, Jr. - clownJudy and Thcto - the chimpsGentle Ben, the bearMiss Tina - single trapezeTony, the wonder horseLes Thinis - trampolineThe Blue Streaks - roller skatersPhil Chandler - illusions

sawdust trailJon Friday, side show manager with

Sells & Cray Circus reports they haws theworld's youngest sword swallower — he's20 year old Rick Dennis.

Both King Bros, and Carson & BarnesMoved into Arkansas this month — justone day apart. By the Middle of the monthKing will be in Mississippi.

Circus fan and amateur clown, ArthurStone (Rvaton, La.) played several datesin Louisiana and Texas this past fall. Hewill retire in June, then goes to Europewhere he will teach at Tech'e Rone Campusfor six weeks.

Jack Painter* CFA, is also planninga trip to Europe this summer.

Australian circus fan and model builder Vern Ellis reports he has become soenthused over his hobby that he quit hiaJob and joined the Alberto's Circus. "I'Dbe assistant animal trainer and appren-tice clown."

The Spring 1973 issue of Amoco'8 Iflo-tor Club publication "Adventure Road" hasfour pages about the Circus world Museum.You might write tot American Torch Club,Box 2182, Oak Park, 111. 60303 about get-ting a copy*

Hoxis Bros, and Sells & Grey not onlyplayed dates close to each other in Flor-ida, but are doing the same thing in thestate of Georgia.

The April 1973 issue of "Southern Li-ving" has a six page erticle about theFlorida State University Circus, as wellas • cover picture. The copy sells for50(2 »nd is well worth it. Write tot Pro-gressive Form-—, Birmingham, Alabama for8 copy> . . . . M. L. Oupont

Pamela and Derrick Rusaire - dogsClarence, the cross-eyed lion

Staff for the show is:

Leonard Green - producerAustin Wiles - staging/ringmasterDerrick Rosaire - animal trainerClement Toca - band leaderSherman Pitluck - tour director

April 16, 1973 Page 5

ROUTESNY

1Apr,

. N.Apr,

Beatty-Cole Circusthru Apr. 29 Commack,

Hunurt uastle CircusApr. 16 Mitchell, S.D.

18-19 Dodge City, KnsClyde Bros. Circus

17-19 Augusta, Ga.Flecklns2U-29 Hartford, Lonn.

K.S.U. Flying High ShowApr. 16 Minneapolis,M.

Hoxie Bros. CircusApr. 16 So. Boston, Va.

17 Bedford18 Lexington19 Clifton Forge

20-21 BlacksburgKing Bros. Circus

Apr. 16 Greenville,Ms.17 Greenwood18 Cleveland19 West Helena,Ark20 Wayne21 Blytheville

Lordly & Dame CircusApr. 16-18 Portland. Me.

20-21 AugustaMiller-Johnson Circus

Apr. 21-23 San Bernardino,Calif.

Moscow State CircusApr. 17-22 Toronto, Can.

rtinglinq-Barnum (Blue Unit)thru Apr. 10 Washington,

D.C.rtinglino-Barnum (Red Unit)

thru May 28 New York, N.Y.Royal Hanch Circus

Apr. 19 Manassas, Va.21 Vienna

Hoyson Bros. CircusApr. 19 Blackshear, Ga.

21 ScrevenSells it Gray Circus

16 Huntsville.Ala.17 lewisburg, Tenn18 Tullahoma19 WcMinnville20 Cookville21 Loudon

Apr«

John Strong CircusApr. 16-17 Newport Bch.Cal.:

18 Garden Grove19 Santa Ana

20-21 Escondido

OTHER DATESGrand Nat'l Jr. Horse Show

Apr. 19-25 San Francisco,L-alif.

Holiday on IceApr. 17-22 Miami Bch, Fla.

Ice Capades .Apr. 18-22 Amarillo, Texas

Ice FolliesApr. 18-29 Long Island, NY

It's Magic ShowApr. 18-21 Los Angeles,Cal.

Three Caballeros (Disney)Apr. 17-22 Greenville, SC

RICHMONDTIMES TONIGHT

21st St. & Mac don old Ave.

WORLD'S LARGESTCIRCUS

NOW WELDED INTOONE GIGANTIC SHOW

with

Clyde BeattyIN PERSONBATTLING

40 SAVAGE, CRUEL, BLOOD-THIRSTY LIONS AND TIGERSIN MAMMOTH STEEL ARENA

rainsPittsfield, Wass. - June 17,1915.

Ringling Bros. Circus erri»-ed from Springfield, Class, onFour trains today.

Section Lin. came in at 2 a.m.and has 1b flats, 2 hor^e c«r«*,2 sleepers nod 4b warjoni, ofwhich 24 are cag^s.

Sec* ion Two c-iwe in at o a.w.ana nas 10 flats, b horse c^rs*nd 5 sleepers with 28 wagons

Section Three came in at 5»3Ua.m. and has 13 flats, 5 horsRcars, 36 wagons, 2 chariotsend a police patrol wagon.

Section Four came in it 7 a.m.and has 5 stock cars, b horsecars and 10 sleepers.

The show's ^dvanc^ cars wereall painted light green, andthe actual show cars (.flats )are yellow trimmed in red. Tnecoachns and wagons are all red.

Everything was unloaded by7t30 a.m. which is the fastesttime any circus nas done it inmany years. On top of this itrained hard all day long.

The rain started abous 5 a.*.and was heavy until about Ba.m. then by 1 1 a.m. the sunwas out. During the afternoon•• had more rain and at nightthere was a lot of lightning,but no rain.

The tents were up early andthey includes big top, menag-erie, side show, 5 horse tops,

i ring stock, . bano, dininq tint,colored Jinging tent, ladiesdressing top, bsllet, two -id-ay stands and '3 smal 1 tents.

(Continued on Pa;j« 8)

Page 6 April 16, 1973

FELIX ADONIS* Juggler, recently comple-ted an engagement at the Moulin Rouge inVienna, Austria. He now plans to tour hiscuriosities and freak show.

BOB WILLS, Jr. (Delaware, Ohio) andWARD STUART (Indiana) are planning to at-tend the Merle Eveins Concert in Morrow, Ca.on "ay 13th.

THE KING CHARLES TROUPE was recently onTV's To Tell the Truth program.

THE WENDANY'S will leave the John StrongCircus this meek for their own show. Theywill be replaced by the Wai-Tin acrobats.

JOHN LENTZ, Port Washington, L.I., N.Y.,has given two old circus lithos to theRingling Museum in Florida. One is an 1891Barnum 4 Bailey poster, while thn other isan RBBB litho of 1920.

JIMMY ILLES, bandmaster on the HannefordCircus, and his wife Kay, have reportedlyleft that show to handle concessions on theGatti-Charles Circus.

BILL GREEN, Beatrice, Nebr., showed hiscircus slides at a Presbyterian Church Din-ner on March 25th.

JACK DONOHUE, the Balloon '"an, is withthe Sells & Gray Circus this season.

M. L. DUPONT (Dodo, the Clown) will beclowning with his Miniature circus at ashopping center in Monroe, La. to heraldthe coning of King Bros, to that city.

GINA*S LEOPARDS have Joined <*arden-John-son Circus for the season. They are repla-cing the Gossing tiger act.

DON SMITH, former CFA president, is inFlorida for a rest. rte hopes to catch somecircuses while in the south.

THE FELLER BOYS, wire walkers, wers re-cently pictured in Los Angeles area papersfor their work in the Miller Johnson show.

GORDON BROWN, Edmonton, Canada, reportshe visited the Moscow Circus in that cityFeb. 21-25. Details of the shoo, will bereported in next week's paper.

FREDERICK UIENDLAND, Sheboycan, Wise.says the first circus to that city was theOrton's Circus in 1856.

A Source of IdeasA bil] recently introduced before the

Minnesota Senate would require all exhi-bitors of wildlife to obtain permits fromthe Natural rtesourcss office. Cost of thepermit has been set at $10.00.

The law would require that each appli-cant for a permit must:

Provide a statement regarding the ap-plicant's education or experience in thecare and treatment of wildlife and theeducation or experience of any person em-ployed by the applicant for such purpose;

A description of the facilities to beu-sed to keep the wildlife in captivity*

A statement as to the number of spe-cies to be covered by the permit and astatement describing where and from who*>such wildlife was acquired;

A signed statement that standards pre-scribed by the Commissioner of NaturelResources would be adhered to;

Such other information that the com-missioner might deem appropriate.

Violation of the measure ujould be setas a misdemeanor.

MUSICAL SCOREA partial listing of the numbers to

be presented during the upcoming May 13thM«rle Evans concert at Morrow, Ca. wereannounced this week by Dr. Paul Fitzpet-rick. The concert will be free to the pu-blic, with Merle Evans coming in to re-hearse the local student musicians priorto the actual program.

The numbers as announced arei

Host of Freedom KingPrincess of India KingTranscontinental HughesCanton Aero Club . « KingBeldsford Carnival . AlexanderEvening Shadows KingAl C. Barnes Grand Entree .... PostTrouping Days KingMinstrel Days HolmesKnights of ths Road HufferPagsant of Progress JewellBolivar KingEclipse King

April 16. 1973 Page 7

Several circus acts have bean booked byagent Simone Firmer for appearances on theJohnny Carson "Tonight Show." Already setfor the NBC program aret Stebbinga Boxerfootball dogs on April 14| Naughtin's "earson April 16 and the Wai-Tim risley act onMay 26th.

opening setWhen "Circus Towne" opens at Twin

Mountain, N. H., on June 23rd it will havea wide array of circus features.

The focal point of the park will baa miniature circus reproduction of thaJohn Robinson Circus, carved by the lateWilliam T. Dickey. Built to a scale of oneinch, the model includes 67 wagons, aome

16 tents and a vast assortmentof animals and people.

Circus sets from throughoutthe country will be performing

at the park, with shows scheduled foartimes each day, from June 23 to Sept. 3*Performances will be held in a 110 ft* x160 ft. big top, which was acquired fromCircus Bartok.

Acts signed to appear at the parkduring the coming summer season aret

Mike and Barbara Rice - 3 baby elephantsMines Rucker - uncaged leopardMines & Co* - sword balancingMiss Patricia - foot jugglingMiss Patti - ring contortionTito Armano - trampolineDaddy Long Legs - stilt walkerPrincess Ragina - magic and illusionsDon Strong and wandy - trick roping, whip?Maximillian - jugglingTommy Holiday - inclined wlra walkThe Javies Duo - aerial cradleMies Barbara - loop-the-loop trapezeMike Janes - gorilla parodyProf. Tandy - The Gold-diggers PoodlesDawn Marie Strong - 7 yr. old clown

HISTORICAL FACTIn 1945 the Arthur Bros. Circus was

traveling on 6 flat cars, 3 sleepers andtwo stock cars, plus several trucks. Theirwagons were leased from Goebel in Calif*

MANY ACTSThe annual P" id-South Spoil., Bout un-.l

Vacation Show, produced .it Plfjmphr-., T«nn.(Feb. 28-Mar. 4) by G!PII Pink 1.on featuredthe followinq acts.Jay Kirk - comic Linairn'1* PoodlesPhillips & Co. - unicycles/jugglingFrank BonniJla - I idian dancerGwen i'OcEwen - comedienne

In the meantime the Circus Hall ofFame (Sarasota, Fla.) has announced thoseacts which have been scheduled to appearthere. The shuvus are produced by HowardSues; of Clyde Bros. Circus.

Carl A Dino Medro - balancingTim Medro - equilibristJohnny Medro - jugg lingAl Medro - dosq and clowningClary Huth, Laura and John Hprriot - horses

plus dogs, ponies, web and nlephant

Curtain CallRingling Bros. Scale Model Circus open-

ed on Sunday* April 1st for its ninthconsecutive season at the Wayside CountryStore in Marlboro, Mesa.

This is a complete model of an old-timetented circus which is sure to bring backmemories to the older people. For the nowgeneration there is color, animation anda true picture of the circus that is nolonger with us. New wagons and new anima-tions have been added this year.

While the modal circus is the main at-traction for many, it is surrounded by acollection of old-time circus posters andpictures, some of which date back almost100 years. The names on each poster aresure to generate that spark of interestthat always occured when billposters putthese colorful lithos on fences and thesides of buildings prior to the show'sactual arrival*

Articles from the Big Circus, P. T.Barnum'a Fee-Gee Mermaid, a real elephanttusk and many other items are on view inthe "Circus Room."

Tha facility is owned and operated by"r. and Mrs. Hanry Ouncklee, of Framing-ham, Mass.

Page B April 16, 1973

DIEXICAD SHOUJsA brand new show has bean playing

Juat south of tha California border thispast mask. Called Circo Italia* the showis owned by the Barrosini Family and of-fers an interesting program*

The show Circo Blue Star is thesmallest of the five Mexicancircuses currently playing inNaja. This is a family show,with no animals and they userecords For music. Tha show ismoving on one semi and onepick-up truck.

The really big show down inthat country is Circo Union,

which has a 170 ft. light blua big topwith three 60 ft. canters* Actually thistent is sort of egg shaped.

They have a ten piece band, directedby Papa Caudillo* who worked with the bigAtayade show for many years. This band ison top of the lion caqe inside the bigtop*

Their program includes an aarial mo-torcycle, fl}img a ct, unicycles, musicalclowns, sponge dive* wrestling tiger* agroup of lions, jugglers, unsupported la-dders, acrobats* taeterboard, tumblingand a space wheel. Renato Fuentes, is thashow's owner, and he worka in many of theacts.

YEARS AGO (Continued)Everything went well and they have a

good show and attendance was good. Thereis a wild west concert after tha mainperformance*

They started loading about 5 p.*. andwithin an hour the cookhouse was all gone.The horee tents followed and they were onthe trains by 8 p.m.

The night show started on time and themenageria was taken down shortly afterwards,along with the side show. The big top waacleared by the time the concert wae overand by midnight everything was on the train.

The first section left about 11 p.IT.and the other sections had left the city by1 a.m.

We can use your subscrip-tion -- so why not start read-ing THE CIRCUS REPOKT now andget in on all the news.

Subscription price is Just$10.00 per year - that's for BC°PX every week.

WRITEi Don flarcks, 525 Oak Street,El Cerrito, Calif. - 94530

They even even have a menagerie withthree cages of animals, lions, bears, ti-gers, baboons and monkeys* There alao arellamas, camels, horses and elephants (3adults and 3 punks.).

• Paul Messier