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June 2,1980

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Number 22

Page 2

ACTS - Are you listed with us ?

DWIGHT DAMONEntertainment Unlimited

Lane Manor, Box 685, Merrimack, NH 03054

603-424-3341

June 2,1980

MARTIN & DOWNS CIRCUS... by Paul Horsman

The writer caught the Martin & Downs Circuson its opening day and then spent several daysfollowing with the show in Canada.This year's program features: Spec with all cir-cus personnel and animals; Billy Martin, rolabolla; the Arlise Troupe, juggling; Stencell 'sPerforming Poodles; Clown Gag; Kathy Wilsonwith Lucky the llama; Miguel Meraz, chair bal-ancing; Combination web-trap act by the Pan-theras; AJ Stencell and performing mule; Capt.Bill Morris, with elephant Jewel; Clown Gag;Intermission; Billy Martin & Co., gorilla parodyA! Stencell and liberty horses (4); Clown gag;

WANTEDEXPERIENCED TIGER TRAINER

Must be capable of presenting readytrained animals as well as manage allaspects of the act.

Contact:

GLENN PARKINS2621 Mall Drive

Sarasota, Fla. -33581

Phone: 813-958-0532

All Replies Will Be TreatedWith Strict Confidence

HELP WANTEDCONTRACTING AGENT

Will Train - Prefer Experience

Promotions and School Dates

Fast Easy Contract and $

-ALSO PHONEMEN-

Best Man had 5 Days - Writing 2 G'slast year

Write: Albert AlbrightesALL AMERICAN SHOW

P.O. Box 7081West Liberty. KY - 41472

The Arlise Troupe, unicycle act; Miguel Meraz,cloud swing.The Menagerie/Petting Zoo includes: 1 camel,1 llama, 1 guanaco, 3 monkeys, a porcupine, araccoon, 2 coati-mundis, 3 goats, 2 sheep andseveral ponies.Featured on the midway are: the Petting Zoo/Menagerie, Snake Show, Elephant Rides, PonySweep, Concession/Ticket semi and a GreaseJoint trailer.Personnel this year consists of: Al and ShirleyStencell, owners; John McGorkle, office mgr.;Andrea McGorkle, cookhouse; Ron Morris,concession mgr.; Gary Sheffield, 24 hour manand Grease Joint; Billy Martin, petting zoo andperformance director; Allen Patten, Petting zooboss canvasman/prop boss; Bill Morris, elephantsupt; Miguel Meraz, boss canvasman big top;Eddy Malcolm, asst. boss canvasman big top;John Schoenijahn, supt. ring stock; Dave Miller,organist; Ray Watson, purchasing agent/ward-robe; Robin Meraz. snake show mgr.; RogerEvery, producing clown; Paul Parsons, billpos-ter; Larry Shellon, legal counsel

Visitors on the lot have included the Mortons,bear and wire act people, plus CFA's Robert LeBlanc, Willard Ramson and Jack and DavidMendfiville.

THE CIRCUS REPORT Is published each weekby Don Marcks, 525 Oak St., El Cerrlto, Calif.94530 - Phone: 415 - 525-3332.SUBSCRIPTION RATE: $15.00 for a year. TheOverseas Rate via Surface Mail is $20.00 a year.ADVERTISING RATES: (Per Issue on a firstcome basis): Minimum Ad $5.00; Quarter Page$10.00; Half Page $20.OO; Full Pacje $35.00

The Circus Report Page 3

Beautiful Hand RaisedBaby Macaws and

Cockatoos

Some Older Birds too.

RODGERS

TROPICAL FANTASYP. 0. Box 822

Gibsonton, Fla. - 33534

Phone:813-677- 1137

... from Jon Friday

Much to my surprise, Red Skelton, rode intothe Coliseum on opening night at Columbus, Oh.for the Aladdin Sflhrine Circus, with some of theDivan as Honorary Ringmaster in a Cadillac con-vertible. Red had several nice things to say aboutthe Shrine {He's a Shriner himself) and he presented Al Ross with a check as Al Ross is celebrat-ing his 50th year in "Show Business."

Unfortunately, I wasn't able to be the Ringmas-ter for the Murat Shrine Circus at Indianapolis,Apr. 24-27, this year. Instead I was with theCastle Blue Unit making the long jump into Vankton, SD, for Apr. 22-23. After.25 years of an-nouncing circuses and thrill shows; I had myvery first experience with a bomb scare at Yankton, SD. Apr. 23rd. Some poor demented soulcalled the police chief and said a bomb was setto go off at 10 p.m., in a crowded gymnasium,so I closed the show with Christopher James'wire act and we had the building empty by9:50 p.m. The police and firemen told me laterthat there had been previous bomb scares atthis same college and they have no choice butto treat them seriously where life and propertyis at stake.

I start my summer stint as Ringmaster at Cir-cus World Museum at Baraboo. Wsc., May 20th

HELEN WILSON - Show Organist(own Equipment) 704 - 786 - 4563

ANIMALS CONFISCATED

California Fish and Game officials confiscatedthe animals owned by Otto Berosim as he waswaiting to be processed to cross the border intoMexico, last month. The animals were taken toa state facility in Southern California and arestill being held there.Berosini has been in California for quite sometime and recently signed a contract to producea circus for the Mexican government at a fair.In addition to his animal acts several Americanacts were to be featured in the show. The circuswent on as scheduled, but without the animals.Berosini charges that twelve Fish and Game of-ficials, with guns, surrounded him at the Mexi-can border and announced they were taken hisanimals. He was threatened with arrest if he in-terferred with their activities.Prior to this incident, Berosini said the Fish andGame people had broken into his quarters andtook the cats, holding them for several days andinjuring one because of rough handling.The Fish and Game Commission's complaint, ac-cording to Berosini, is that his cages do not comply with the regulations. They said each cage hasto provide 150 sq, ft. of space per cat.Berosini also reports that his lawyer called theUSDA officie in Washington, OC, in an attemptto work out the problems. He was informed theywere not interested since they wanted to phaseout circus animal acts as soon as possible.Berosini further charges that the California Fishand Game facility in Southern California cur-rently has some 200 animals of various species,all confiscated from private owners. He alsocharges that these animals are sold outside ofthe U. S. to foreign buyers at big prices, and thatapproximately 25 people work at the facility.

Page 4 June 2, 1980

Show DatesBeatty-Cole Circus

June 2-3 Lancaster, Pa.4-5 Hagerstown, Md.6-8 Camp Hill, Pa.

Bentley Bros. CircusJune? Los Angeles, Calif.

Garden Johnson CircusJune 6-8 Birmingham, Ala.

Carson & Barnes CircusJune 2 Jacksonville, lit.

3 Pittsfield4 Rushville5Pekin6 Bloomington7 Streator

Hubert Castle CircusJune 2 Ft. St. John, B.C.

4-5 Prince George6 Williams Lake7 Kami oops8 Revelstoke

Circus Arts TroupeJune 5-8 Moorestown, NJ

Circus VargasJune 2-5 El Cerrito, Calif.

6-8 Castro Valley

Circus Variety ShowJune 2 San Bernardino, Cal.

4 Phoenix, Ariz.6 Albuquerque, NM

Coronas Family CircusJune 5-9 Denver, Colo.

Heckles CircusJune 4-8 St. Louis, Mo.

Hamid-Morton CircusJune 6-8 Hempstead. LI. NY

Hubler Int'l CircusJune 7-9 Belleville, III.

Bill Kay CircusJune 6-7 Grand Junction,

Colo

Hoxie Bros. CircusJune 2 Frostburg, Md.

3 Morgantown, W.Va.4 McKeesport, Pa.5 Butler6 Meadville,7-8 Warren

M & M CircusJune 7-8 Mt. Clemens, Mich

Pickle Family CircusJune 3-4 Santa Cruz, Calif.

7-8 Pato Atto

Ringling-Barnum - Blue UnitJune 3-15 Philadelphia, Pa.

Ringling-Barnum - Red UnitJune 5-8 Louisville, Ky.

Royal Hanneford CircusJune 6-8 Wheeling, W.Va.

TNT & Royal Olympic CircusJune 4-7 Euclid, Ohio

Wenatchee Youth CircusJune 7 Coulee Dam, Wash.

• • - M A G I C - - - -

David GinnJune 3 Baton Rouge, La.

4 Houston, Texas5 Phoenix, Ariz.6 Spokane, Wash.7 Vancouver, BC8 Victoria

Manzini, Escape Artistto June 6 New York, NY

Stu Miller - Magic Time USAJune 2 DuBois, Pa.

3 Coroapolis4 Beaver6 Sugar Grove, Ohio7 Athens

Tom OgdenJune 2 Cincinnati Ohio

5 Tenafly, NJ

- - - - O T H E R D A T E S - - . -

Burr's Fun-0-RamaJune 2-7 Nashua, NH

James H. Drew ExpositionJune 2-7 Welch, W.Va.

Firemen's MusterJune 7-8 Seattle, Wash.

Gund Western Collectionto June 15 Stockton, Calif.

Gutis Family - Jungle ParodyJune 7-8 Mt. Clemens, Mich

Hall & Christ Attractionsto June 5 Memphis, Tenn.to July 6 Honolulu, Hawaii

Kaye's Hollywood Elephantsto June 8 Bentley Bros. Circus

Mr. Sensation - AerialistJune 4-8 St. Louis. Mo.

The Stkorskys - JugglersJune 5-9 Denver, Colo.

Tip Top Shows - Blue UnitJune 4-8 Sheboygan, Wise.

Tip Top Shows- Red UnitJune 6-8 Saukville, Wise.

White House in MiniatureJune 6-15 Pittsburgh, Pa.

Cold Nose Five Dog ActJune 4-8 St. Louis, Mo.

MOHAMMED FINALLY WENT to the moun-tain when I visited Ringling Red in Rochester(NY) Apr. 28-29. If I wanted to catch up withW A L L Y NAGHTIN a visit was essential and al-though I planned to stay only one day I hadsuch a good time I satyed for two.

I thought the show was good, the animal dis-plays were especially fine, I was impressed withthe elephant production number, and enjoyedmeeting SUE and RUDI LENZ, so entertainingwith their droll sense of humor. While I hesitateto single out any act, display or performer forattention, my being an aerialist prompts me tosay that DOLLY JACOBS is one of the mostoutstanding aerial stars I have seen in yean; is,to use an old cliche, which in this case is under-scored by truth, "poetry in motion." So unus-ual is it nowadays to see an artist of such orgm-al distinction that in my opinion Miss Jacobsshould be spotlighted alone, in canter ring, without webs, without ANYTHING other than herbeauty, talent, and her true-star-quality, just asmany others, including ELLY ARDELTY, wereonce featured.

I said hello to so many people I haven't seen inyean, including DICK SLAYTON, his ex-wifeCARMEN, organist DAVE KING, that veteranprop man I first met in 1947 on the Polack showthe redoubtable IRISH, CARL WONG. MICKEYANTALEK and many others, and met still morefor the fint time, including GUNTHER GEBELWl LLIAMS, whom I have long admired and whois busy breaking a giraffe for next season's showand is personally driving the giraffe truck overthe road. Also got to say Hello to LOU JACOBSat intermission and just before he was chauffeur-ed back to the train. Alas! I missed good friendJOEY HODGINI who was not at the buildingthat day.

Unfortunately many names will be missed inthis column because I went from there for a tenday run with Garden Bros. Circus in Canada,during which I lost my notebook, or mislaid it.At any rate, as this column is being written it isstill missing and I will just have to rememberthree weeks back and hope the elusive notebookturns up soon. So, to anybody I have missedplease know that is the reason. My memory canonly file so much information)Special Kudos are in order for bandleader

KEITH GREENE who plays the greatest trum-

pet in any circus band I have ever heard! And Ishould like to thank TIM HOLST for my red-carpet reception and. of course, my friendsWALLY and DORIS NAGHTIN and especiallyDoris for having me to dinner.

CTV Cl RCUS underwent its first taping forthe new season and herewith is a roster of actsappearing on that four day schedule: KillerWillard, boxing kangaroo; Miss Belinda, Chris-tine's Chimps, Gaylord Maynard's hone; Grin'N Barrett; Smjl«y Daley; Miss Paula; Andro-meda; Flying Lanes; Bertloffs; Jordan's Motor-drome; Mario Alberto & Co.; Pat's Ponies; theCountess Von Albert's Doberman Pinschen;Mary Jane (contortion); Stebbing's elephants;Kramer; the Villams; the Albanis; Pat and Roy,elephants (Gee Gee's bulls); Dick Albert, thePmsons and the Rebounden.ITEMIZING: When AERIALETTA opened at

Bellinger's night club she brought an entourage:David Chabira, musical director; Bobby Davis,announcer and Billy Barton, stage assistant.While the trapeze sensation was there she hadbeaucoup visiton from CTV TV and GardenBros. Circus. The aerialist will resume collegethis fall, 38 miles south of Roanoke (Va) andwas a recent house guest of MARGUERITTEBARTON ... REX HORTON will take his bearact to Enchanted Forest for the summer; hisbrother is recupperating from a kidney opera-tion, and his brother-in-law MIGUELITO is touring with Martin & Downs.. .Speaking of kidneyproblems, MARQUEEN SCHLARBAUM is ail-ing and CHUCK flew to Miami as soon as theGarden Show shuttered to be with her. Chuckis now playing the hammond organ.. .At theend of the month BONNIE ARMOR flew toCopenhagen to visit Sa Sa for several weeks;meanwhile she and Reggie are propping con-cession units for fain although they will nottour with them. TUFFY NICHOLAS will over-see the operation while Reggie and Bonnie do afew spots with DICK GARDEN who has Bavar-ian Eateries on a few eastern fain.. Their con-cessions? "Funnel Cakes" or "Elephant Ears" adough confection, light as air, and smotheredwith powdered sugar.. .Word is out that BILLYand JUDY BAKER's hone number is one of themajor highlights of Circus World. Son. TOMMY,

(Continued on Page 20)

Page 6

HARRY ALP A C K E R Magician

... by John J. Bogorae

Harry Albacker, 53-year-old Pittsburgh, Pa.,magician, has been a professional magician sincehe was 12 years old, and he continues to be avery busy entertainer.

Billed as the man who does real circus magic,and as the greatest of all circus magicians, Al-backer with his educated animals is also a hu-morist and showman. Internationally famous,AJbacker has toured the world 19 times withhis "show of 1001 wonders."

He is the official magician for Disney World inOrlando, Fla. and has performed seven times inone year at the White House, for the Kennedychildren.

Says Albacker, "My life in magic has been re-incarnated with the growth of shopping malls.Today's mall arenas have replaced the vaude-ville stage of years gone by, when I did threeshows on the vaudeville circuit."

He does between 800 and 900 shows a year,most of them in Pennsylvania these days. He

June 2, 1980

FOR SALEROSIN BACK HORSE

Gelding, 14 years, White, One Season ex-perience in ring. 16:2 Hands.

BARBARA MOORERte. 7, Box 33, Fayetteville, Tenn. 37334

Phone:615-433-4138

works carnivals, county fairs, schools, theatresand auditoriums performing for various groups.

Last year the genial genir traveled over 40,000mites in his 12-foot Ford van, which he turnsinto a stage of magic, fun, mystery and sur-prises in 30 minutes.

Albacker has over 3,000 tricks in his repertoireand 30,000 magical secrets in his library at home

Born just three minutes after Harry Houdinidied on Halloween, Oct. 31,1926, he has beena professional since 1937, when he received hisfirst money ($15) for a performance for a Pit-tsburgh Woman's Club.

He began teaching himself magic tricks whenhe was just 9 years old, and he has studied withthe best o fthe magicians to team the art.

IVINCE CARMEInternational Personality and Master Magician

PresentsJ

2 Hours For Tour DatesAfter Sept. 22 — Now In Argentina

All Hew ProductionsPlUS 15 Illusions, Dancers,Animals

Call Phillip Morris (704) 333-0004

DANIELLE WELDEOctober 14, 1959 - April 26, 1980

Thanks to everyone from the Welde's and all the Valiquettis,God bless all of you and may God bless her.

Les families Wetde et Valiquette remercient tours les amis.Que Oieu vous benisse y que Dieu la benisse.

J O H N N Y W E L D EP. O. Box 547

Gibsonton, Fla. - 33534

Paged June 2. 1980

SESOSTRIS TEMPLE SHRINE CIRCUS. . .by Bill Galloway

The M & M Int. Circus moved to Lincoln, Nebr.Apr. 22-27 for the Sesostns Shrine Temple, per-forming on the traditional "Circus Sawdust" inthe State Fair Coliseum. Turnaway crowds werethe rule, rather than the exception, and attend-ance records were set here with an increase overthat of last year.One of the high spots of the show was the actcalled "Super Lokos" which "stopped the show'at nearly every performance.The M & M Circus Internationale will return toLincoln in 1981, as part of the route which willinclude the newly signed Sioux City, Iowa, date.The program line-up included: Shrine activities,and National Anthem; Circus Overture; Spec"Good Old Days"; Harry Thomas, tigers; Fran-carro & Estreleta (Frank and Ruth Clark) hang-ing perch; The Bertloffs (Mark and Paula) equi-librists; The Freddies (Kursawes) rola bola; TheSuper Lokos, comedy knock-about; Miss Loni,foot juggling; Don Phillips & Co., juggling/uni-

WANTSMALL WILD ANIMAL ACT

2 or 3 Animals Working Without Cageon Leash

Leopard or Similar Animals

11 Week Resident Season working onstage in Park in New York State

ALSO WANT

HIGH SCHOOL ACT

Need for Mid-June, Mid-west Circus

Plus One Clown

TIBOR ALEXANDER, Artist-Manager

5 Continent Theatrical Booking AgencyP. 0. Box 87

West Lebanon, NY- 12195

Phone:518-794-7878

WANTCIRCUS ACTS

Write, Stating Lowest Price Expected3 Days to Week Stands

I will sell Circus No. 2 ShowWant Partner with Small Capital

to Handle Big Top and Ticket Wagon

FOR SALE

Old Billboards of 30's and 40's at $10 p.p.Come by and pick up three issues at $25 -Also have old National Geographies at $3

each or two issues for $5.30 (You paypostage or pickup in Gibson at $1.50 or

two issues at $4.00)

SILL'S BROS. CIRCUSMain Street- P. 0. Box 217

Gibson, NC - 28343

cycle; Frank Clark & Co., foot juggling; WillyLenz, chimps; Musical Clown Whimsical Willie(Valencia); Victor Julian's Little Stars present-ed by Leo Coffey; Intermission; Aerial Balletfeaturing Miss Pachinka (Paula Bertloff) on thesingle trapeze; The Smahas, Lipizzan horses; theClowns and Construction Co.; Bill Wilson andTom Taylor, elephants; Clowns and the LongShirt; Cycling display by the Van Noys (Phil-lips) and the Kursawes; The Flying Valencias.The show's staff consisted of: Grace Mclntoshand Charles Marine, producers and directors;James Douglass, announcer; Boom BoomBrowning, musical director; with spec floatsand wardrobe by Circus Creations of DaytonaBeach, Fla.Clown Alley featured: Vern Woerner, produc-ing, John Mac Kay, Rick Leggand Rocky Re-bideaut.

On The CoverThis week's cover picture is another in the ser-ies of water color pictures painted by RobertB. Johnson.Called "The Circus Parade" the picture showsthe parade leaving the lot area

ERIK and BOBBI

ADAMSCOMEDY DOG ACT and CHIMPANZEE ACT

We would like to thank our Business Friends and Agents for

a Record 1980 Season

I .in. - 9 days at Flint, Mich., with Hubert Castle Circus(Booked by Eugene Lambart)

Feb. - 12 days at the Tampa State Fair for Zacchini(Booked by Amandis Entertainment)

March - 4 days at the Lansing Shrine Circus(Booked by Amandis Entertainment)

March 17 to June 8 - Eleven weeks with Showtime Follies(Booked by Amandis Entertainment)

June 18 to 21 • Kansas City for the Coronas Show

July 4 to 12 • Chicago Area (Booked by Howard Schultz)

July 16 to 23 - Bill Kay Shrine Circus(Booked by Amandis Entertainment)

Aug. 12 to 15 - Circus Odyssey (Booked by Howard Schultz)

Aug. 18 to Dec. 10 (15 weeks) Showtime Follies(Booked by Amandis Entertainment)

Send us your offer for 1981, in plenty of time before the

gas prices get too high

ERIK ADAMS, Sr. (Manager)

P. O. Box 595 Phone:Gibsonton, Fla. 33534 813 -677 • 1469

Page 10 _

MAGIC...by Prof. Stu Miller

From New York City:There is a lot of magic activity in the Big Ap-

ple as usual. The Magic Towne House continuesto garner good biz. A new close-up show called"Chamber Magic" has opened at 307 West 47thSt, upstairs over Molfeta's Greek restaurant.

Mime-Magician Jeff Me Bride is in his 8thmonth at the Club Ibis. The Blackstone roadshow opened at the Majestic Theatre on May13th. Jack Flosso, of Flosso-Homman MagicCo. gets a lot of local press coverage for havingthe oldest magic shop in the country. Tannen'smail order biz is phenominal, co-owner TonySpina has thinned down a lot and looks yearsyounger.

Lou Lancaster is giving private lessons at the8th Ave. Magic Center. The streets are full of3-card Monte workers who are taking the tour-ists for a bundle. We chatted with Randi onTimes Square at one such game and we wereboth fascinated by it.

On April 19th, the parent Assembly No. 1 of

June 2,1980

S.A.M. proclaimed Richiardi as "Magician otthe Decade" during their annual Salute to Ma-gic public show at Hunter College auditorium.Performers there, in addition to Richiardi, wereMike Caldwell, Count de Mattiazzi, Sam Walker,Earl Canapp and Richiardi's son. The show wasproduced by Larry Weeks who also produced"Magic on the Mall" at the Bergen Mall in Para-mus, N.J., on April 10-12. He had a Houdini dis-play set up along with 12 dealer booths andshows each day featuring Al DeLage, Jack Ad-ams, and Bob Myers.They also held an amatuer magicians contest

and the winner, Jess Monroe, landed a job onthe Richiardi show. Larry Weeks

Larry Weeks, long awaited 50th annual oneday magicians convention will be held in Man-hattan on Sunday, Sept. 7th.A new musical "Barnum" just opened on

Broadway and is destined to be a long run hit.Sara and myself, along with Alan Hill, VanessaCurtis and Cindy Herriott caught it one nightand saw Irvin Feld (the co-producer) in the au-dience.

PROMOTERSWe offer promoters a good solid base upon which to work aswell as a profit sharing program. On one recent date one ofour men. made $2,700 through our profit sharing plan.

If you'd be interested in joining our organization write us,sending a resume of your background for the past three years.(All replies kept confidential).

R A I N B O W CLASSIC P R O D U C T I O N S

Charles Germaine

3939 Cambridge Road, Suite 104, Shingle Springs, Ca. 95682

«lg Toll Free California Number:

«5 1-800-852-7777, Ext. M-3794National Toll Free Number:

1-800-824-7888, Ext. M-3794

Page 12

... from Mark Anthony

After working circus dates in Detroit, St. Peters-burg and Tampa. I visited the Hoxie show beforegoing to the Smithsonian Museum in Washington,DC where I worked my comedy car.t worked outside with Johnny Herriott and Tim'stable rock on the first day, then because of rainwe brought the small car up the elevator to thesecond floor and into Clown Alley. There weha'd Peggy Williams, Lou Jacobs, Bobby Kaye,Tim and myself.They had trunks and wardrobe here and I evenhung up one of my skel tons for atmosphere.The crowds were so heavy I had to have a clownout ahead of me so I could inch the car along,towards the George Washington statue. I did thecar without water and fireworks, taking out thespark plug, caterpillar, geese, etc. Bobby Kayedid the magic rings and Tim did balloons.Downstairs they had the side show with JayMarshall, magician; Vemon Brown and CharlesCook, tap dancers; Frank Dean, whips and ropes,Ethet Luckiv, piano and a vibra xylophone.Besides the one ring circus outside they also hadWard Hall's side show, a ferns wheel (old one),merry-go-round and a marine band.

June 2,1980

BETTY WENDANY'SFUNS-A-POPPIN

PACKAGE SHOWS TO FIT YOUR NEEDS

Box 391, Sunund, Calif. - 91040

213-352-4277 213-352-2454

EDWIN M. TANDY and LUCY REISDORFwere married on April 6th, at Frederick. Md.The couple is residing at the Veterans Admin-istration Center, Section 2, Martinsburg.W. Va.25401.A reception was held in the home of Edwin'ssister, Katherine High, of Frederick. Amongthose attending, in addition to relatives andclose friends, were Chris Mercer, Supt. for ele-phants and Cayce Cover, Supt. of Seals at theNational Zoo in Washington, DC.

Joseph C. ReisingerATTORNEY AT LAW

Entertainment Law - Civil Trials - Immigration

For Free Consultation or AppointmentCall: 415 -472 -1050

WASHINGTON TUBES II

The Circus Report Page 13

JOHN McGINN, of Prescott, Ariz., has beenpresenting his clown act for various local sen-ior homes and hospitals. He is also actively en-gaged in working with Antique Shows and theBarber Shop Chorus groups.

CLIFFORD "Tiny" KRUEGER, of Wisconsin,was the guest speaker at the Seils-Sterting CFATent Meeting in Sheboygan, Wsc. on May 14th.

JOHNNY FULGHUM, was on hand to watch asthe new Beany-Cole canvas went into the air forthe first time at Richmond, Va., on May 8th. Hespent time visiting with Dave Hoover, Fred Lo-gan, John Pugh, Cherie Cunningham and HarryHammond.

THE PINSONS, animal and aerial acts, will beworking the Denver, Colo., circus which is to beproduced by Sandy Oobritch.

ROBERTO RODRIGUEZ was featured in a spe-cial photo/story article carried in the Star-Phoe-nix newspaper of Saskatoon, Sask. Canada onMay 10th.

FRED MENKE and MARY PAYETTE, clowns,visited with Happy the Clown, the Herriotts, aswell as Ada Smieya, Clause and Bruno, on theopening day of the Circus World Museum showin Baraboo.

License PlatesOfficial Clyde Beatty-Cole Bros. CircusLicense Plates. Limited edition of 500.Bright colors embossed on sturdy metal.

- $ 6.00 post paid -

B.F.B. ADVERTISINGP. 0. Box 578 Winter Park, Fta. 32790

VICTOR GAONA OFF TO JAPAN... by Harry Graham

Victor Gaona, father and former catcher of thefamed Flying Gaonas, returned to Venice, Fla.,in early May to shop for a cannon, some camelsand elephants for Circus Suarez. His son-in-lawRaul Suarez is a partner in the Mexican show.Victor then flew to Japan late last month wherehis famed flying family is performing with theMonte Carlo Circus.The Gaonas have been invited to participate incircus competitions next winter in England,Spain and Belgium. Victor says he will talk overthe details with his flying children, Tito, Chela,Riccardo and Armando, catcher and boss ofthe act.

By Crane

UV K105 —NOT MUCH fUNWf t K>R tHtM. SO PALt -

*o Mtvn.t*s* wswe. P»DA* see\ »£M? D*w* *ee T«eift umt

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OtMT •» *t* «BVICI INC. "CO U t^*T

Page 14

EL KAHIR TEMPLE SHRINE CIRCUS... by Karin Stewart Davis

The Uth annual El Kahir Temple Shrine Circus(Cedar Rapids. Iowa - May 9-11) was producedthis year by George Hubler It was the first yearthe circus was held indoors at the 5 Seasons Center and the cheerily decorated building provedto be a nice backdrop for the excellent show.Visitors to the show included Larry Griswold,one of the pioneers of the modern trampoline.Larry Griswold, who is 75 but doesn't pass fora day over 50, was the original partner withGeorge Nissen in the firm of Griswold and Nis-sen. The Saturday night show hosted the localCircus Fans of America.The show line-up was: Spec; Eddie Schmitt, ti-gers; Paulson's aerial motorcycle; Sir ChadwickChase and his Rolls Rotten; The Laddies, un-supported ladders; the Edwardos, bicycles andDon Giovanni; Olinka, head balance trapeze;Susan Sheryl's Royal Afghans; Erna's Chimps;The Karinas, trampoline; Ben Williams andAnna May; Tino Wallenda Zoppe, high wire; the

June 2, 1980

Flying Lantonies; Intermission; Albert and Jan-et Rix. bears; Miss Evelyn, Girl in the Moon;Johnny Zoppe's Rhesus Monkeys; BucklesWoodcock, elephants; the Sensational SwayingStars.Announcers: Karin Davis and George Hubler;Clowns: Wayne Liikala and Tino Zoppe's oldestdaughter; Music: Boom Boom Browning; LightsHappy Davis; Prop Boss: Paul McCaustand.In an opening show mishap, one of the Bertini'schimps bit Erna above the eye, leaving her witha gash that had to be closed with sutures. Therewas some concern about a broken wrist, but Xrays proved the arm was sound. Erna missed on-ly one show during the engagement with thechimps and was forced to omitt their aerial actcompletely.The Chinese restaurant dinners that were sopopular with the performers at Hubler's WilkesBarre date were also popular in Cedar Rapids,too, with the Zoppes, the Davises, BucklesWoodcock and Ben Williams.

IN C H A N G I N G F O R M A T FOR 1980 W A N T S

Marke t ing Director, Preferably with Tent Show Experience

CAN ALSO PLACE FOR BALANCE OF SEASON

Lithographers ClownsHorse ActChimp ActSpecialty Ground Act

Nove l ty A n i m a l Ac tAerial ActAnimal Act

Call or Write: JACK H A G E N , H O X I E BROS. CIRCUS

P. O. Box 561085, Kendall Station, M i a m i , Fla. • 33156

Phone: 1 - 800 - 824 • 7888, Ext. A-2 153

— Leave N u m b e r Where We Can Contact You —

KING BROS.CIRCUS

UNDER NEW M A N A G E M E N T W I L L SOON

BE M A K I N G IT 'S DEBUT UNDER THE

DIRECTION OF NED TOTH, PRESIDENT.

Cal to, Inc. , Owner

•

WANT

CONTRACTING AGENTS AND PROMOTERS

Night Room E x p e r i e n c e H e l p f u l

•

Also Want Help In Al l Depar tments

Phone:

BOB ADAMS or RAY W I N D E R

81 3 - 957 - 0 8 6 1

Page 16 June 2, 1980

PEOPLEANGELA WILNOW and Her Collies were book-ed for and worked dates for the Hubler Int'l Circus recently, with arrangements made for themby Amandis Entertainment, Inc.

ROGER and MARY GOODWIN (Goodwin'sChimps) visited the Hamid-Morton Circus at W.Springfield, Mass, on May 8th and report theshow drew a record crowd for its opening night.

JO JO JINGLES (G. Elmar Jones), a Ft Worth(Texas) clown, wound up a successful tour ofhis "Gospel Circus" at Roswell, NM, on May 16Jo Jo is well known for his column "Jo Jo's Jin-qlings" which has run for years in the Clowns ofAmerica magazine "Calliope."

RUDY BUNOY, former RBBB executive, willbe the guest speaker at the CFA's Conventionto be held in Sarasota, Fla., June 15-18.

ROSALIE (Superstar) FERRYMAN and MAX-INEfCool Whip} NORTH who have been con-ducting a "Super Clown School" wilt graduateten students tomorrow (June 3) at Arlington,Texas.

PI RATE TREASURE COVEU. S. Highway 41 at Kracker Ave.

William RodgersP. 0. Box 822

Gibsonton, Fla. • 33534813-677-1137 or 813677-5224

Beads, Rhinestones, Feathers, Tights,Mirrors, Jewels, Make-up, ClownStatues, Circus Books, Clown Pictures,Gifts, Birds.

- WELCOME CFA VISITORS -

Bi Jim's (Harold Sphon) Levis 80" andup • $22 a pair (Benefit the family)

• V • V *• • • • m •:f;A:f;

RIDE HELPGOOD PAY

BUNK HOUSE AVAILABLE

Contact:

PAT GRAHAM

FOLEY&BURK SHOWS

June 9 thru 21 - FairVallejo, Calif.

June 22 thru July 6 - FairPleasanton, Calif.

TINY KRUEGER, Wisconsin State Senator anda former circus fat man, was featured in a specialsupplement of the Green Bay (Wise) Press-Gazet-te on April 20th.

JACK MESTER, of the Royal Crown Circus,has recently returned from London where heworked on special effects for two science-fictionfilms - Galaxina and Dragon Lord.

MANZINI, escape artist, has completed a HomeBox Office TV Special. He is assisted in his actby Dina and two men.

TONIand RALPH HEFNER and their Affec-tion Trained Animal School were featured inthe Los Angeles (Calif) Times of May 7th.

W A N T E DACTS FOR 2 PARKS IN JAPAN

3 to 4 months in each Park

Write: World Wide Attractions, Inc.2255-27 Suyama Fujiwara

Susonoshi Shizuka Pref., JapanFuji Safari Park. Att: Mr. Lipko

The Circus Report Page 17

Amandis E n t e r t a i n m e n t , Inc.2236 SHADOW OAKS ROAD SARASOTA, FLA. 33582

Phone:813-371-6605 • 6906

— Fully Licensed and Bonded —

Variety acts currently on tour with the HarlemGlobetrotter! in Europe include: Barbara Van,foot juggler; The Marchitas, bicycle duo; DieFackellis. juggling act from East Germany; Ser-ge Gambi, balancing act; Nino Santos, juggler;and Jo & Jac, acrobatic dancing dolls.All acts are booked through Simone Finner En-terprises,

MAKE EXTRA MONEYWITH OUR

PITCH MAGICCOLORING BOOK

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In Quantities Of 300Send 50* For A Sample Book

PHILIP MORRIS

53 COSTUMES3108 Monroe Road

Charlotte, N. C. 2820S

In Minneapolis, Minn., W C C O TV announcedon May 7th, that their city is raising the licen-sing fees and considering the abolishing of li-censing for ventriloquists and small circuses.

Featured in the Jan. 1980 "Reno" magazinewere Sergio Ramos and Tony Steele (flyers)and Richard Oreste (juggler).

Visitors to Ray and Su/i Rea's Poplars MobileHome Park in Elkhart, Ind., recently includedKarin and Hap Davis, Kenny and Vesta Grimal-di, the Jimmy Fossetts, the Angelo Bisbinis, theLuis Munoz family and the Carlos Obando fa-mily.

BOOK SpecialCrock, King of Clowns (1st British edi-

tion) 1957 $35.00Proske; Lions, Tigers and Me (1st edition)

1956 $22.50Clausen, Connie: I Love You Honey But

the Season's Over (3 left) $ 15.00Powledge, Fred: Mud Show (Q J. • 1st

edition) 1975 $18.50Beany, Clyde: Jungle Performers (ex-Li-

brary copy) 1943 $18.50Beatty, Clyde: Facing the Big Cats (Sign-

ed May 1963) DJ $35.00Grimmer. P.: Very Special People (Freaks)

O.J. 1973 $18.50Verney, Peter: Here Comes the Circus

D.J $13.50

McGINN'S BOOKS and GIFTS121 North Mt VernonPrescott, Ariz. - 86301

Page 18 June 2.1980

... from Jon FridayAttention: Tom Henricks - Please don't blame

Billy Barton or Circus Report for the error off re-porting that the Rix Bear act worked in TarzanZerbini's new aircraft cable mesh arena at GrandRapids, Mich., last January 18-27 as I " efl" Bil-ly Barton and CR that information as part of afull-page of circus news from the Grand RapidsPress.

We all know that the Rix Bear act has a port-able steel arena which is time and manpowerconsuming to erect and dismantle in a fast-mov-ing performance, so the circus chairman know-ing that Ringling's Blue Unit presents a muchlarger polar bear act in a mesh arena thought itwould be much easier to present the Rix act inTarzan's new mesh arena.

Unfortunately, some of the Rix equipment de-pends on the rigid cage sections for support andthere was some concern that the bears might be-come upset in unusual confinement which is un-derstandable. So, although it was a noble idea onpaper at least; the obstacles dictated that the oldstyle cage had to be used at the last minute. Itnever entered my mind that anybody wouldthink the Hubert Castle Int'l Circus would en-gage any wild animal act that wasn't self-contain-ed with all proper equipment and permits.

Tarzan Zerbini owns two complete wild animalacts (lions and tigers) and is not in the habit ofsupplying arenas to other wild animal acts onsponsored dates as they're engaged as independ-ent contractors and not employees.

CR readers must realize there is a considerabletime delay before news items on Shrine Circusesreach their hands and therefore there will bemany cases where the event will have been heldby the time CR reports the advance publicity re-leases. Every major circus or ice show programcontains the disclaimer "this program is subjectto change due to circumstances beyond our con-trol". You're going to have a clown or act listed

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that doesn't appear every once in a while. Onemajor indoor circus has been in the habit of list-ing acts that never appear on any of its engage-ments, for many years. The only alternativewould be to only list stale old news items ofevents of six weeks or more past-tense.

As an example, I'd like Mr. Henricks to explainhow the Olmedas Spanish Horse display was inToledo May 1-4 (as he states in CR of 4/21/80)when all the Olmedas were up here in Canadaplaying Swift Current, Sask., May 1-2; MooseJaw, Sask., May 3 and Lloydminster, Sask., May4. The Olmedas' Spanish Horse Fantasy hasbeen booked for the Hubert Castle Int'l CircusBlue Unit tour several months now, so it hardlyseems possible they could be projected to playToledo on May 1-4.

It is my suggestion that circus fans start doublechecking their sources before nit-picking the pro-fessional writers. I was on the editorial staff ofBillboard magazine for over 20 years, writingcircus news and its never been an easy task tokeep all news items 100% factual due to thetransient nature of the circus business. However,that doesn't mean I'm going to start dealing inhalf-truths and fantasies just because it is easierto write than digging up the hard facts.

WANTANIMAL TRAINER/KEEPER

Seeking qualified applicant familiar withanimal husbandry and operant conditiontechniques, especially with birds. Dutiesinclude maintenance of a number of ani-mals for educational animal demonstra-tions.

Individual would train animals, conductregulaly scheduled demonstrations onstage, and be responsible for training andsupervising an assistant.

Salary commensurate with experience

Submit curriculum vitae to:

JAMES B. WHITE, Personnel DeptNew York Zoological Society

185th Street and Southern Blvd.Bronx, New York 10460

— An Equal Opportunity Employer —

The Circus Report Page 19

NOW AVAILABLEBecause of a misunderstanding I am no long-er with Kelly Bros. Circus and as a result amnow available for Shrine Circuses, Parks andFairs, with my small 1910 Tin Lizzie ModelT Ford, radio controlled comedy car.

LLOYD THE CLOWN (Lloyd Loan)18 Valentia St.. Huntington, W.Va. 25705

Phone: 304 - 522 - 2549

WANTEDCLOWNS

CIRCUS ACTSMAGICIANS

PHONEMEN

CONTRACTING AGENTS

Write: Albert AlbrightesALL AMERICAN SHOW

P. 0. Box 7081West Liberty, KY - 41472

WANTEDANIMAL ACTS and UnusualPerforming Animals for newshow starting Fall 1980 inLos Angeles.

Please Send Photos to:

SIMON FINNER ENTERPRISES

12500 Riverside Drive, No. 201North Hollywood, Calif. 91607

NA MAE AUTRY (69), wife of the famed sing-ng cowboy star and owner of the California An-

gels, Gene Autry, died in her sleep at the couple'sexlusive home in Palm Springs, Calif, on May 19.

Now Booking Acts for1981 -1982 Tour

Arena Productions, Inc., producers of the world-famous ROYALLIPIZZAN STALLION SHOW, now touring the United Statesand Canada, is accepting applications for equestrian artists withfully produced acts that will fit within our format and production

+ High School + Comedy Esquestrian + Long Line

Forty-week tour • Top Pay - We Pay Stabling, Feed and Beddingwhile on tour - We play only the best Arenas and Coliseums.

Please call or write: Gary Lashinsky, c/o Arena Productions, Inc.Producers of THE R O Y A L L I P I Z Z A N S T A L L I O N SHOW

P. O. Box 160547, Miami . Fla. 33116 305/279-5280

Page 20

BILLY BARTON (Continued)

is headed for Hollywood.. .BONNIE FELD isawaiting the arrival of their second child.. .InWashington, IRVIN and KENNY FELO hosteda dinner for the entire cast of the Red Unit. Inthat c i ty, by the way, the show broke all atten-dance records.. .Business for all circuses hasbeen phenomenal this year. GRAClE told meboth Omaha and Lincoln were way up, and EL-LIOT ABELLS informed me that Garden Bros.Circus engagement in Toronto broke ALL pre-vious existing circus records and is the ONLYcircus that ever filled the mammoth Maple LeafGardens AND turned thousands away!.. IANGARDEN. Jr., is now working a six horse ponydrill. ..RICHARD BRUSKI was given a cakeclosing night on the Garden show as a rewardfor being the most "entertaining and good na-tured" performer on the entire tour... Mean-

while, during a performance, BARBARA BRU-SKI set her hair on fire when gas spilled fromthe flaming platter being balanced on her fore-head, ignited her hair and burned her face. Onlyquick action by Richard prevented Barbara fromsustaining serious injuries.. .NBC TODAYShow filmed a segment at BILL and TRUDY'SCIRCUS FARM in Springfield, Ohio. Many actswere on tap, including: Walt and Barbara King,and the Flying Lanes. Also visiting there recent-ly were Eugene and Aurelia Nock who wentwith Bill and Trudy to visit the Hanneford Cir-cus in Cincinnati.. .During the opening perfor-mance in Rochester, CARL WONG's sway polealmost crashed to the floor - scared us all todeath. The building was too low for the break-away pole and he was using only a short swaypole - fortunately.. .Next season on RingJingRed WALLY NAGHTIN will have two bearacts. He and Doris and Wally, Jr. will work one;Renee and his wife will work the other.. JOHN-NY JORDAN and company will be at Reno'sCircus Circus, not the one in Las Vegas.

June 2,1980

TIM HOLST's wife LINDA has published acircus cookbook called "Center Ring Cuisine"and gave me a gift copy. This is an unusual itemsure to please those who love to cook and thosecircus fans looking for something different. Theexotic recipes have been culled from the largeroster of culinary artists connected with RinglingRed and may be ordered as follows: $5.50 p.p.,send to: Circus Cookbook, P. 0. Box 937, Kai-lua, Hawaii 96734.

Our condolences to JOHNNY WELDE. Jr. andthe Welde Family for the loss of Johnny's wife,who contracted Rocky Mountain Fever from atick bite and five days later was dead. The en-tire Beatty-Cole show was in a state of shockover the tragedy.

Nice to report that LA NORMA has fieldedher marvelous ceramic creations to an elegentgift shop in Sarasota which pieces are beingsnapped up and sold as quickly as she can turnthem out. It couldn't happen to a sweeter gal.

The program for Circus Odyssey, debuting itsfirst Shrine Date in Hyannisport in Aug., hasfinally been set. Here is a rundown of the actsbooked: Lilli-Ana, Jorge Barreda, Joselito, theGutis, Lou Ann Jacobs, an aerial ballet, theQuassars, Burger's dogs and chimps, Janet'sanimals, Erik Adams, dogs and chimps, Cimse'sRussian Wolfhounds and Poms, Satani Demon,Mister Sensation, the Pirates of the Sky, ThePierto Canestrelli Family, Marcelli and Janis,Pancho Magana, Rex Young, Mike Naughton,Tony Diano elephants, Boom Boom Browning,plus a major spec and a space production finale.

Deadlines are upon me and this column mustbe brought to a close. The scads of dirt I havepiled high on my desk will just have to wait un-til the next column AND the unearthing of thatdamn, elusive notebook!

SEE YOU down the road, luvs.

HOIKJ V

SV NOlNtefWO:> V HUM SSSTCWDV K1//M G3anOL 3H —

Nf N^Oa SVM NVW 9NOM1S /VQN36)31 SIHJ,

/3WU. J»OW5NQA1 dNV

Page 22

in theSIX-YEAR-OLD WINS SUIT

A damage suit brought on behalf of Sean Spen-cer, 6-year-old son of Mr. and Mrs. James M.Spencer, of New Richmond, hid., has won alifetime settlement over the loss of an arm.The boy and his parents attended the circus atCrawfordsville on Sept. 5,1978, when the boyreached into a lion cage to pet the animal andthe lion bit his arm off. Attempts to sew hisarm back on were unsuccessful.Sean was awarded an out-of-court settlementthat will bring him about $3.2 million if helives into his 70's. His parents received $64,000in the settlement.The Spencers sued the Acme Circus OperatingCo. Inc., operators of the Clyde Beatty-ColeBros. Circus, charging "gross neglect and willfulmisconduct" in allowing the boy to put his handinside the lion's cage.Sean, who recently was fitted with an artificialarm, received $151,000 immediately, plus astructured lifetime settlement in the agreement.From the ages of 6 to 22 years, he will receive$400 a month, for a total of $76,000; from theage of 22 to his death, he will receive $5,000 amonth. If he lives to be 72 years old, he will re-ceive a total of $3,076,000.The original suit asked for a total of $500,000.

June 2,1980

CIRCUS QUIPS....by K A R L J. B ISCHOFF

REMEMBER THE OLD SAYING 'money isn'teverything' except to the fellow who has to meetthe payroll.

IS SOME SHOW PEOPLE think nobody caresif they are alive ... try missing a couple of cre-dit payments on your car.

MENTAL activities for show people peaks be-tween the ages of 6 ., 16 .. 66. At 6 a per-son knows all the questions... at 16 .. all theanswers ... at 66 WHO CARES.

AN AGENT for a circus act heard his clientwas hooked on uppers... he thought he washaving trouble with his dentures.

YOU CAN ALWAYS TELL a new employeeon a show, he's the one who regards all the dis-comforts of traveling on the show as a great ad-venture.

that will bring yoursponsors back againIndividual Dates ' ' * '

available INationwide Philip

/ Morris

rantasy

TOURING

14thannualtour

GREATER AMERICANENTERTAINMENT

i D 77 COCONUT AVE.w» W r •-• SARAsOTA, FLORIDA 33577

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••#*••••*••••••***••••••WILLIAM J ENGLISH, PRES.