Circus Report, July 13, 1981, Vol. 10, No. 28

Numhpr 78 July 13.1981

ROBERT LOCKE LORRAINE

Show DatesCanon & Barnes CircusJuly 13 Owatonna, Minn.

14 Austin15 Mason City, Iowa16 New Hampton17Waukon18 Dubuque15 Clinton

Castle Int'l CircusJuly 12-13 Pasco, Wash.

15 Miles City* Mont.16 Lemmon, S.D.

17 Dead wood18 Dickinson19 Mobridge

Circus Arts TroupeJuly 15-18 Cleveland, Oh.

Circus City FestivalJuly 15-18 Peru, Ind.

Circus VargasJuly 17-19 Rockford, III.

Great American CircusJuly 6 Elizabethtown.Pa.

7 York8 Lampeter9 Ephrata

10 Red Hill

Hoxie Bros. CircusJuly 13 Hazlet, NJ

14 Point Pleasant15 Haverstraw, NY16 Ellenvil11:18 Kingston19 Saratoga Springs

Ringling-Barnum - Blue

Ringling-Barnum • RedJuly 14-19 San Diego, Cal.

Royal Crown CircusJuly 15-17 Wichita, Kans.

Royal Imperial CircusJuly 16-19 Englewood, Colo

Swan Bros. CircusJuly 17-18 Chico, Calif.

TNT& Royal OlympicJuly 17-19 Bemidji, Minn.

Wenatchee Youth CircusJuly 16 Tacoma,Wash.

18 Portland, Ore.19 Salem

- - - M A G I C - - -

David Copperfieldto July 20 Las Vegas, Nev.

I. B. M. ConventionJuly 15-18 Pittsburgh, Pa.

Krystali's KavalcadeJuly U-15 Peoria, III.

16-18 Springfield

Prf. Miller-Magic Time USAJuly 13 Alexandria, Ind

14 Kendalsvillc15 Logansport16 Rochester17 Crawfurdsville18 Elmwood19 Rushville

Star fireJuly 13-19 Kansas City,Mo

I

July 13, 1981

- - - - O T H E R DATES- - - -

Burr's Fun-0-RamaJuly 13-19 Orleans. Mass

James H. Drew ExpositionJuly 13-18 Olney, III.

Poco Plus -to Sep 20 Des Moines, Iowa

Tent TroupeJuly 13 Endwell, NY

HWyalusing, Pa.15Tioy16So.Williamsport17 Sunbury18 Shippensburg

Tip Top Shows • BlueJuly 14-19 Seymour, Wsc

Tip Top Shows - GreenJuly 14-19 Baraboo.Wsc

Whizzer the ClownJuly 19 Castalia, Ohio

The Great DuboisSwaypole Sensation

AERIAL SPECTACULAR-SINGLE TRAPEZE ARTISTRY

SCENERY LIGHT SHOWWITH FABULOUS FIREWORK FINALE

BEAUTIFUL COSTUMES

CURRENTLY APPEARING WITH THE BILLY BURR FUNORAMA

CONTACT:

& M VARIETY ATTRACTIONSP. O. Box S-353

So. Attleboro, Mass. 02703

617-399-8731

OR

ROGER DUBOIS626 Second Street

Fall River, Mass. 02721

617-674-0503

July 13.

AMERICANMUSEUM^MAGIC

\\falkforminlm magicthrongi its past.

<_ Marshall,Michigan 49068 USA ,

3

CIRCUS ARNADO in Norway

BY DOUGLAS MAC-VALLEY

Taking advantage of some time off from the'Playboy Fantasy' show in Atlantic City, dueto an N.B.C. Sports World boxing event, Itraveled to Norway to visit Circus Arnardo.The European-styled circus, one ring under

a big top, was beautifully set against the vaUleys and mountains of Norway. The showwas excellent and very well received.The program included: Apnig Skocert, or-

chestra; Posna and Kornelia (juggling on un-icycle); Manesjen Klareres; Anita & Brandy;Miss Isabella (unique trapeze classic); Barbe-reren; Duo Carrington (poodles); Nock andNock (high wire); Los Alamos; Trio Sibero(high perch); Six Maciva (Richter horse backriding); Les Brumbach (equilibrist on trap-eze); Pio, Mario, Pio (comedy fantasy); theRichter troupe (classic teeterfaoard with theelephants); Finale.

AIRSTREAM

-._„-,-, ---- j~^HlHfr i^^W^^;T'"-'_ JL_J. — -i- ^^•^•^rh

U^JRf - 4Special Consideration for All Show PeopleTrailers delivered anywhere at nominal rates

CALL OR WRITE

JOHN M AROONE2550 Walden Ave. Buffalo, NY 14225

Phone: 1 716-681-1700

Highlight of the show that brought thecrowd to it's feet was the fabulous perform-ances of The Richter Troupe and their incre-dible teeterboard with elephants act. Theact was a great ending to a fantastic show.Another high spot was the Nock family;

Both troupes have performed in the U.S.at Circus World and have been featured inthe Ringling Bros, and Barnum & BaileyCircus.The Richter Troupe has also appeared on

every television program in Norway andhave received excellent write-ups in thenewspapers.Mr. Arnardo expressed his happiness in this

year's edition and commented that a searchfor acts, in the U.S. for his next production,would begin in April and conclude in Oct.

ROGER and MARY ANN GOODWIN visit-ed STU MILLER's show at Bellows Falls, Vt.and report the show had big crowds, and theshow is a fantastic one.

I

&.ILY&ARJONDonna Wallen gave birth to a boy, Eugene,

June 5, weighing in at 6 Ibs. 14 oz. The an-nouncement came to me from the Wallens,postmarked Fort Wayne. Ind.

Mike and Janice Aria, along with brotherGit, are really enjoying their park date in Japan. In one, very long letter to me they en-numerated the many advantages of playingthe date and remarked how considerate arethe Japanese. They wilt be there throughthe summer, perhaps longer.

Tommy Bentley called to say his Californiatour was not so profitable as i* previousyears, but did not go into details. When hetalked with me he was enroute east and partner. Chuck Clancy, was already in Cincinnatikicking off their annual promotion in thatcity.

Wally Naghtin reports business for the RedUnit continues good and that everything issmooth and quiet on the show. He returnsin 1982 and Doris is busy making new ward-robe.

Closeups: Juggler Joey Jordan writes he isenjoying his run at the Playboy Hotel Casinoin A.C A truck driver, Mel, was killed orCircus Vargas in a jump from Idaho to Mon-tana. In the accident two other show work-ers were hospitalized.. .When the Vargasshow played Reno many attended the MGMshow "Hello, Hollywood"; next night wentto Harrah's to see "Heat's On". Acts at Re-no's MGM are' Dolly Sisters (bikes), HansPantarand Maureen (crossbow marksman),Bobby Berosini, Dewert (cloud swing). AtHarrah's: The Stupids and Sammy King,comic/vent. Also visited was Circus Circuswhere Vargas folks chatted with the Hart-zells and the Waltens. They watched theflying act with Billy Woods and Tony Steele.Exchange Reno visitors to the Vargas lotwere The Dolly Sisters, The Ktementis, theWattens and Dewert, plus others whosenames were not caught.Cliff Vargas is driving a new El Dorado ...

Ava Williams and Bruna Macaggi had a sump-tuous birthday party for Ava's daughter,

Darlene, and Bruna's son Ariz. Ava hired adisc jockey, Bruna had everyone's ovens fullof lasagna.Brilliant caricaturist. Pat Davison has kept

up with his cartooning and made master-pieces of Vince Carmen. Dale Longmire andJoe Muscarello... Rumor has it Cliff will beusing one of those Italian tents next year.

Emmett Kelly, ftY.sent pictures of his wifeNancy in flashy costume riding an elephantin spec on their recent L.A. date. The Kel-ly's are now living in Tombstone. Ariz, andloving it. They opened in Las Vegas with an-other Leonard Green Circus production...Emmett also filmed a "Chips" segment whichwill be released in the fall (more about thatsome other time).

Snapshots: Rumored that Michon was in-jured in Italy. Jim Swafford had a call fromCarol and Josip Marcan who in turn talkedto Ursula Bottcheron Ringling Blue. Jimsays he's scouting the details and will let meknow.

The Cuneo bulls that were with Gatti areno longer there, I hear... More white tigerswere born on CV.. .Herta flew out to pickup two in Reno; then Wade called when she

got back to Chicago and she had to return tofetch two more ... At Niagara Falls, withCuneo are the Marcans, Dieter and the Pin-sons. . ."Cheek to Cheek" revue with MikeChirrick closed.. .Valdez, who committedsuicide and who was found by his wife, An-na, in addition to working with Sergio Ra-mos also worked dates for Paul Kaye as ajuggler. Anna is staying with Bridget Ballen-tine.

Antonio is at CC, along with Betty Woods,the Cavarettas, Esquadas and Ernie and Ma-ran. . .Carmen Halt's new husband, John,worked the baboons a few shows in Detroitwhen Carmen was hospitalized.. .JimmyHall has re-signed for 6 months with Ataydestent unit; closes Nov. 6.

At the San Diego Sea World are the Zultan-

(Continued on Page 10)

THE GREAT WALLENDA'SAS GREAT AS ALWAYS

APPEARING AT GREAT ADVENTURENOW THRU OCT. 26

Thank you Joe Bauer and Bill Hall.

Also availableMISS RIETTA WALLENDA - Aerial Rocket Trapeze

ENRICO WALLENDA Limited Availably for

"SKYWALKS."•

Enrico Wallenda Bogino: Manager3209 Henrietta PI.Sarasota, FL 33580

813/355-6525

PEOPLETED MEGAARDEN, of 77 Park Ave.. Pent-house 16-B. New York, NY 10016. wondersif any readers can provide him with informa-tion about the Light's Bros. Circus, whichplayed on Long Island in the 1920's.

BOBBY MOORE's "Mongrel Revue" is ap-pearing at King's Dominion Park in Virginiafor the summer season. His phone numberthere is: (804) 876-5264.

HARRY ANDERSON, magician, was featured on the John Davidson TV Show on July3rd.

MICKEY HADES reports the Rayeen Showhas not yet been sold. RAVEEN is current-ly in England with his hypnotic show, andis doing well. The magic show will again beoffered for sale upon his return.

AL DeLAGE recently finished a tour of fairdates in Penna. with his magicrplus Punchand Judy show. Now he is working in up-state New York with his 'Magic Fun Revue'working sponsored dates.

TONY (Boo) LYLE and "Joey the Clown"GOETZ-VALENCIANO, planned to clownin the July 4th parade at Brandon (Tampa)Fla.

PEPY ARTURO is currently appearing in

July 13, tif

BILLY BARTON (Continued)

as, high wire; Chipperfield's lions and theStaneks.. .Siegfried and Roy are back inVegas after a two week vacation.. .On NBC,aired June 29th, was the All Star Royal Cir-cus from Sweden.

Performers in Vegas are running scared.Many shows are closing. And long runningrevues, too. The Dunes shuttered the Casinode Paris Revue, which had been there 17 yrs,Hacienda closed its icer, in for 3 yrs. Flamin-go locked out Razzle Dazzle (3 yrs), plus theMarina Hotel show in which Mike Chirrickwas featured. Many, many acts, choruspeople and principals are out of work.

Things are just as bad with outdoor show-business this season. More acts are now outof work than ever. It is like the 1930's allover again. In many ways worse!I hate to be a pessimist but I don't see

things getting any better real soon. And in-flation is not easing off either.

See you down the road, luvs.

the Holiday on Ice and Ice Follies Combin-ed Shows, while COOKY ARTURO is doinghis trapeze act at Blackpool, England.

MARK WILSON taped a 'Magic Spectacular'at Houston's Astroworld on July 6-7 for theJapanese TV network NHK.

JOEY JORDANCurrently Featured:

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July 13. 1981

PEOPLECATHY FLETCHER, EVA DUNLEAVY andDENNIS and JOANNE SHERMAN (The Fly-ing Volares) returned from Japan on June icafter a successful 3 month engagement at thePortopia '81 Expo in Kobe. They were giventhe royal treatment by Mr. Kinoshita andother members of the Kinoshita Circus withwhom they performed. Cathy successfullycompleted 59 triple somersaults to catcherDennis during the 3 month engagement.

WANDA the Clown, worked a p re-July 4thprogram in Hay ward, Calif., June 26-29.

MILONGACLINE and her sisters, ESTHERESCALANTEand CHATA WEBER are ma-king a tour of the states which will end inLos Angeles sometime this month.

AUSTIN MILES reports the Zonderyan Fa-mily Bookstore Chain has stocked his book"The Real Ringmaster" which-was publish-ed by New Leaf Press.

LARRY WILSON, magician, was a guest onthe Merv Griffin TV Show the afternoon ofJuly 2nd.

- NOVELTY ITEMS -

1981 Program $ 1.50T-Shirt, Adult S-M-L-X 6.00T-Shirt. Child 2-4,4-6, 8-10

and 10-12 6.00Gatsby Cap 6.00Ball Cap 6.00Metal License Rate 6.00Bumper Sticker 1.50Patch 1.501981 Calendar . . 50

Add $1.00 to include postage to anypoint in the U. S.

Minimum order is $4.00

Checks and Money Orders to:

JAMES JUDKINSP. 0. Box J

Hugo, Okla - 74743

from William Wotsch

That Tom Mix Festival, in Dubois, Pa., Sept.17-20, should really be something.

In one movie Tom Mix played the part of'Dick Turpin'. This was sort of an old Eng-lish setting. The men were dressed in thosefancy lace sleeves. We kids had always seenhim in his western outfit and seeing ourhero as 'Dick Turpin' made him look dif-ferent.

The Matinee Theatre on East 55th St. inCleveland was our favorite place for seeingTom Mix movies. Upstairs there was a bowl-ing alley and in the quiet of the theatre wecould hear the sound of the bowling pins asthey fell over. It mixed in with the pianoplayer, who played that 'gallopin' music'in the chase scenes. But that theatre andthe bowling alley are long gone now.

We did see our western hero in person. Itwas in 1934, when we were all young andice cream cones and newspapers were just5c each.

The Sam B. Dill-Tom Mix Circus appearedon a West Side street in 1934, on West 110thand Laramie, in back of Sears Roebuck &Co. The dates were May 18-22.

On one of those days my brother and I rodetwo street cars to get there. You transferredat Public Square for a Laramie Ave. streetcar. A couple of long street car rides, threetransfers too.

Walking down to the lot we saw Tom Mixsitting in a canvas-back chair. We yelled hisname, he turned and waved at us.

There was our western hero right in frontof us, in person. I don't remember too muchabout the circus, but it was a long ways backhome.

On one of these dates Tom Mix made a per-sonal appearance in an empty lot next to theCleveland News newspaper plant. He stoodon a platform and talked to the kids. Therewere a lot of them there.

We had a good spot, right next to an old billboard, with even a back rest. Once again wehad an opportunity to see our hero in person.

This time we walked from our neighborhoodbecause it was on the East side.

Those were some wonderful days and I havefond memories of having seen Tom Mix, bothin movies and in person.

Main OfficeBox 74

Barnesville, Pa. 18214

July 13, 1981

Phone Toll Free:1 - 800 - 824 - 7888, Ext. A 263

Calif. 1 - 800 - 852 - 7777

INT'L ALL STAR CIRCUS

BY ALTON L. JONES

The Int'l All Star Circus came to Muncie,Ind., on June 13th, for a one show presen-tation for the benefit of the Munice HumaneSociety. In addition to the inclement rain-storms and the area's yearly Renaissance Fairpresentation, the performance put on in theNational Guard Armory had five hundredchairs filled by adults, plus 200-250 childrenseated on the floor in front of the one circlecircus area.

The first act was Dr. Yanas wtth his chimpsand dogs, followed by some fascinating ma-gic acts by Mines & Co. The Puckers, withtheir trained leopard, astonished the action,held only by a small leash. Dusty "The Clown"pulled some magic and illusionary featuresthat amazed the crowd. DeMille on the me-dium height slack wire did all the "impos-sibles" shown regularly in many of the bigtime circuses - double flips, over and thruthe hoops - really a delight. Then came Be-linda Maynard on the single trap, capableof being elevated to medium height. Notonly was she a sight to behold, she was mostcapable in this segment of the program.

Following the intermission with the usualpitch for the concessions, the Spiker groupput on a series of illusions that were quitedifferent. This was followed by Cinderella'sBirds of Paradise - pigeons well trained anda spectacular performance.

The Zackerys, with their juggling act wasa treat - most capable and worth seeing any-

place. Followed by Miss Patti's masterful per-formance of foot juggling, really pleased theattendees.

Then came Chirstiana La Deon with her ex-cellent presentation of poodles walking ontheir back legs only but exquisity clothed incostumes.

The final act was most novel and well done,Gaylord Maynard with his trained horse call-ed Chief Bear Paw - the act was on the motifof a drunken Indian, and the horse wentalong with the act full time. Whenever thisact is displayed, the writer suggests you tryand see it.

GARDEN INT'L CIRCUS

Larry Garden's, Garden int'l Red Unit, iscurrently enjoying a successful tour of thewestern U. S. Attendance has been good atall show engagements.

This year's show features: Overture by MikePike and Scott Emerson; Joe Via's lions; thesingle trapeze artistry of Maryse Begary; theGarden elephants, trained and presented byBobby Gibbs and Janie; David Conners &Co.; Alberto's lion; Robert's white malmutes;The Musical Grimaldis; Vino Berosini; Alber-to Zoppe's riding academy; The Flying Cor-tez; Bertini's chimps; Adele & Gory; Belindawith sword balancing; The Bertini Duo; theGarden Int'l camels and llamas, and the cir-cus clowns Nino and Cho Cho.

The show's staff consists of: Larry Garden,president and general manager; Betty Garden,comptroller; Mike Pike, muiscal director andperformance director; Larry Rich, ringmas-ter; David Conners, prop supt., and BobbyGibbs, animal supt.

in the HeadlinesSHOW CLOSED • SECOND TIME

Late last month Monte Montana's BuffaloBill Wild West Show was shut down for thesecond time by Santa Clarita County offic-ials in California. County Engineer StephenKoonce says the show could reopen soon, ifnumerous violations are taken care of, inclu-ding wiring draped about the place, cableson which there is no information and equip-ment that does not have an underwriter'sapproval.The wild west show opened in Newhall, Ca.

on June 6th, and was closed on June 8th. Afew days later it reopened, but was shutdown for the second time on June 23rd.

Thus far most of the employees have gonewithout pay. One worker, Ray O'Connor,a carpenter, filed bad check charges againstMontana after a check bounced. O'Connorpromised to drop the charges when Montanapromised to make the check good."Things have been tough/' Montana said,

"but most people have understood my posi-tion. I can't pay anyone if I don't have the

July 13. 1981

MIKE MARTIN reports his magic show hasbeen on the road since January and is pres-ently booked thru November. An audiencefavorite is the 'Garganta, the Giant Gorilla'with a different twist, when the unmaskingof the gorilla turns out to be the magicianwho was just seen on stage.

BILL LANE's trained animals were featuredat the June 27th grand opening of Cassidy'swestern store in San Francisco.

money from the show coming in."The moral support and the financial sup-

port from the community has really beenrewarding."

That support can be summed up in the atti-tude of one of Montana's better-known acts,an animal show headed by George Scott.The Scotts came straight from a show onBroadway to work in the wild west show."What can you do if the man is fighting

permits?" he said. "You've got to stay, youhave got to work, you've got to help."

in the HeadlinesCIRCUS PROMOTER SOUGHT

Several small Indiana towns were cheatedout of thousands of dollars, collected dur-ing ticket sales, according to a front pagestory in the Indianapolis (Ind) Star, for June25th. The money was collected in at least adozen towns and then the circus perform-ance was cancelled, just hours before thescheduled show was to start. In Brazil, onJune 15th, some 300 people were lined upwaiting for the circus when they receivedthe cancellation notice.

White County investigator Gene Houstonsaid the circus promoter was charged withtheft by deception after he wrote severalbad checks. He said the promoter failed toappear for a scheduled court hearing inMonticello. In addition to the theft chargesthe promoter has been named in lawsuitsfiled by various Jaycee groups.

Houston estimates that $500 to $5000was collected in each city. John Bardon,of the state office of the Jaycees, says"he just Ht 'em high and dry."

Most of the circus dates were being spon-sored by the Jaycees. However, in at least

one town - Monticello * the Little Leaguewas the sponsor.

The Lebanon Jaycees report they received20% of the ticket sales. However, they hadno revenues to reimburse ticket holderswhen the show was cancelled. They plan tofile a $2000 suit against the circus and itspromoters.At Lebanon one Jaycee official said the

local people were taking the thing in anunderstanding manner. They think there isa good chance they can get their moneyback, he added.

PEOPLEKEN and BETTY WILIER did not appearwith the Swan Bros. Circus in Northern Cal-ifornia last month. It was another act com-pletely.

TOM INABINETTE, of the Beany-Cole Cir-cus, visited with ROGER and MARY ANNGOODWIN, of 'The Goodwin Chimps' withthe act appearing at Mountain Park in Hoi-yoke, Mass.

L lLL I -ANAand her Leopards are appearingat Benson's Wild Animal Park in New Hamp-shire. Their son KIM is an instructor for theCaterpillar Diesel Motors in Tampa

July 13, 1981

ReportMATTEL REPORT

(The following information has been takenfrom the Mattel Report to Stockholders forthe three months ending May 2, 1981 andfrom the Summary of the Annual Meetingon June 12, 1981. To fully understand theMattel picture one should read the full report and other pertinent information).

Entertainment segment revenues were tow-er due primarily to an overall 17% decline inattendance levels and discontinuance of theMonte Carlo one-ring circus at the end of itsforeign tour in fiscal 1981. Attendance de-clined 9% at the circuses, 24% at the iceshows and 28% at the circus theme park. Re-duced attendance at the circuses was attri-butale to ticket price increases. The circustheme park attendance decline was largelyattributable to a general decline in Floridatourism. The ice shows' attendance decreaseis due in part to discontinuing one of thethree travelling ice shows in the first quarterthis year.

The Entertainment segment's operating los-ses of $371,000 as compared to operatingprofits of $2,020,000 last year were causedby the combination of lower attendance le-vels and the absence of the Monte Carlo Cir-cus.

It had been expected that with the start ofthe new tour season last fall the new Holidayon Ice and Ice Follies Combined Shows op-eration would become profitable. Attendanceand revenues were anticipated to increase as aresult of investment in extensively revisedtraveling shows. This improvement did notmaterialize.

In the fiscal year ended January 31,1981,we failed on a consolidated basis to achieveeither our planned sales or profit targets and,although sales in fiscal 1981 were higher thanin fiscal 1980 in total and for all units exceptCircus World, profits in fiscal 1981 were farbelow prior year levels. The exceptions wereMonogram Models, Inc., and Ringling Bros,and Barnum & Bailey Combined Shows, Inc.both of which operated higher earnings infiscal 1981 than in the prior year.The Entertainment segment, which accoun-

ted for 9% of Mattel's sales last year, faredpoorly overall in fiscal 1981 and is continu-ing to lag behind in fiscal 1982.

The Ringling Bros, and Barnum & BaileyCombined Shows, Inc., profit performancein fiscal 1981 exceeded the prtor year, butthis was due to the one-ring Monte Carlocircus unit that toured Australia and Japanon a profitable basis during the first half of

I last year before being disbanded. The domestic traveling circus units were negatively im-pacted by the prolonged transit strike inNew York City.This vear the Circus units are being nega-

tively impacted by the same elements thatare affecting many segments of the enter-tainment business. Less disposable incomeavailable tn consumers at the time whenticket prices have been increased to offsetrising costs has led to decreased attendance.It is doubtful that this pattern will be re-versed until the economy improves.

As reported to you earlier in shareholdercommunications, the expected increase in IceShow attendance, particularly during thefourth quarter, did not materialize in spiteof excellent reviews by the critics for theone totally new show and the two improvedshows. The net result was a greater than an-ticipated loss for the year.

This pattern has continued for Ice Folliesand Holiday on Ice Combined Shows in thefirst quarter of the current fiscal year. How-ever, two of the three unprofitable travelingice show units were discontinued at the endof their seasons and will be replaced by thenew Walt Disney Productions' World on Iceunit that will begin its tour this summer.

Last year, the Ringling Bros, and Barnum& Bailey Circus World theme park in Orlan-do, Fla., encountered increased competitionwhen competing parks in the area openedfive new major capital additions to theirparks. The impact on Circus World was low-er attendance and profits than in fiscal 1980.

Although the new management team whichwas installed last fall has done an excellentjob in refurbishing the park and improvingthe quality of the shows and operations atCircus World, attendance during the earlymonths of fiscal 1982 is below prior yearlevels largely due to the decline in tourismin Florida as the economy has weakened.

LLOYD BARKER, circus fan of Roseburg,Oregon, died on April 1 2th, after a long ill-ness.

SPECIALABE GOLDSTEIN - A LIFE OF CLOWNING

(by Hay Richmond - L A. Daily News)

"Clowns today aren't like they were in myday," says Abe "Korky" Goldstein, and in-deed they don't make them like him anymore.

Slight of frame and wrinkled of skin butstill unbelievably sharp of mind at age 85, heis probably the world's oldest living (and stillpracticing) clown. And he maintains he is theonly surviving Keystone Kop from Mack Sen-nett's original troupe.

He also claims to have played a clown at ev-ery world's fair from Seattle to New York atcircuses from Chilly to Fargo and at everyamusement park this nation has built.

His confused, egg-shaped face, tattered off-blue police coat, badge and constable hatgraced the silent screen in more than 150comedy films - some of which were one reeland made in a single day on a budget of notmore than $100.

Indeed, they destroyed Korky Goldstein'smold long ago. He is one of the last of abreed, a living relic, an antique of the rarestform. But hey, don't take our word for itthat he is one-of-a-kind. Ask him.

"I've been in the business since 1905," saysGoldstein in his craggy, grizzled voice whilelounging in his vintage two-bedroom Holly-wood home. "A lot of guys worked in pic-tures when I started. And a lot of guys aresupposed to have been Keystone Kops. Butthey're no more Keystone Kops than thatthing over there (he points across the roomto a table)."Anyone can put on makeup. But they haveto be in the business to really be one. I wasone."Thinking his visitor should get some first

hand proof, Goldstein bounces up from thecouch to get one of what he says are "a tonof" scrapbooks and photo albumns. Hiseyes sparkle as he turns the tattered pages,his tongue reeling off the years as if theywere just last week. To him, they are.

There is a photo of Goldstein with a scoreof other clowns at the St. Louis Police Cir-cus years ago. His eyes lose their sparkleand his mouth turns to a frown as realityonce again sets in."Yeah, I worked with the best of them;got

all these clips to prove it." he reassures. "I'vegot pictures you wouldn't believe."

July 13.1981

Summer AddressTHE BURKETTS - Al and Lydia

c/o Fantasy Island2400 Grand Island Blvd.

Grand Island, New York - 14072Phone: 716- 773 -2433

He complains a bit. He even complains thatthere just isn't enough to complain aboutanymore because life is really pretty good -not great, mind you, but still not too bad.

His work these days is mostly for charity.Goldstein has been clowning for the JohnTracy Clinic going on 30 years. He still getstogether with his old gong of retired boxerswith Hollywood's Cauliflower Alley Cluband with the Hollywood Comedy Club, inwhich he is a lifetime member.

At Christmas he dons the greasepaint forSt. Joseph Hospital.

He was bom in Cincinnati, on Oct. 14,1895,and was the second of eight children. His fa-ther moved the family to Los Angeles in 1905and later to Gopher, Nev. where he operateda grocery store. It was there that he got hisstart in show business, earning $35 to $40 aday tumbling on the streets.

In 1909 he joined the rodeo circuit, work-ing as a rodeo clown and from there he join-ed the circus - John Robinson Circus, Laterhe traveled with Ringling Bros, and thenfound himself working for Sennett. He ap-peared with such names as Harold Lloyd,,Laurel & Hardy, Al St. John, Ben Turpin.

"I only got $2.50 a day and a box lunch/'he recalls. All the Kops in those days wereclowns and acrobats. Any guy who coulddo a prat fall got a job.

His Keystone coats still fit Goldstein like aglove, as is obvious when he models a pairof them for a visitor. He wore one coat, whichhe purchased in 1914, to impersonate CharlieChaplim at fairs, much like everyone else wasdoing at the time.

"But I had it over them all because I couldtumble/' he emphasizes with a nod.

Goldstein also lays claim to being the firstclown to work in Hawaii - in 1926, and be-ing the first and only clown ever to work forWalt Disney Studios over the years.

The Circus Report Page 23

THE STANDARD OF VAUDEVILLE

Every Night at 9. 10-?f»-R«-7Sc; hwcM II.Matins «l 3 DAILY. lO-Zi-tOu; nox*. 7IO.

tA'ri ' i StitunUy «iul IfollJuy Matin*-**.

BEGINNING MATINEE TODAY

MARIA LO, HiiH ( nnipHnr, r, .-•..ni ln»

"PORCELAIN"Rrproducttnnt ft tliA n'nrld'-* M"tl I mmm* Urrjiden nn,| oihrr Chlnn

BIG CITY FOUR(Jimrlrtf A Stftr i of I!ll5

FRANKER WOOD & BUNEE WYDE"GOOD'NIGHT"

CHARLES PRELLE'S ANIMAL CIRCUSI t i t r< . i f urine Ilif ftUl>Urry of I hf <Krr?nu,| %ln ! l

Mae— MELVILLE & HIGGINS— Roberton AirV'

BERTISH'I ho Ideal Alhlrla

RAY SAMUELS 1 MA BELLETli* i t ' i i * Mrruk of \anrtm-llle

Orrlie>lrJi

And Her TlftllPt

nn-i (t p. m. VHth^ T« Ire a Week N"ws View*

The above ad appeared in San Francisco papers on April 5,1915

CIRCUS HALL OF FAMERoberto A. de Vasconcellos, the Albert

Hodgini Family Troupe, and Harry 'Cheer-ful' Gardner were elected to the Circus Hallof Fame by the National Awards Commit-tee. The committee met in Prescott, Ariz,on June 20th, prior to the Circus Fans As-sociation of America's annual conventionthere.

The Circus Hall of Fame, now owned byJohn and Jan Zweifel of Orlando, Fla., is

to be located in the Orlando vicinity.

Mary K. Hoppe

JVoticeSomeone impersonating a County Sheriff hasmis-lead Circus Report by providing some in-accurate information.The Alameda County Sheriff's Office reportsthey are not now and have never sought tocontact Larry Jeffries. Any such informationis false and there is no reason to indicate thata problem ever existed.

July 13, 1981

HOXIE BROS. CIRCUS

BY PAUL TAYLOR

I caught the Hoxie Bros. Circus in Laurel,Md., on Saturday, June 27th, being the firsttime I have seen the show this year.

It was to my surprise walking into the bigtop, to hear a band that sounded like a showband on Broadway. Florine Oler was at theorgan, with Charlie Moyer directing andplaying his trumpet. Al Gouge on the 2ndtrumpet and Mark Glasel on the trombone.John Smith, son of the show's mechanic,was playing drums. This was John's firsttime to ever play drums in a show and hewas doing on terrific job. I don't think thatI have ever heard a band so loud, and sogreat as this one.

The show is clean, with no working menhanging around the midway, the front andback doors. All the employees jwear cover-aits, making the entire show look as it is.Professional!The management, John Lewis and Billy

Griffin, were in suits and ties. This is also afirst that I have experienced, to see peoplein suits and well dressed.

I have been on the Hoxie show many timesand this is the first time that I have ever seenthe show look so professional. The peopleare friendly and seem happy. There is nosigns of discrepantence among the membersof the show.

This is John Lewis' first time as GeneralManager and I automatically must give himcredit for the "up-grading" of t ins -organ iz -ation. He is constantly on the move like histeacher, Hoxie Tucker.

He seems to always know what's going onand be at the right places at the right times.He is courtious to everyone, and has the op-eration organized. Hoxie apparently was inthe process of grooming Lewis for this po-sition, and the move on Mr. Tucker's partwas a wise one.

I was impressed with the entire operation,as you will be when you visit the Hoxieshow. It's worth traveling 100 miles to see.

WE EK COMMENCING TO-DA Y, SUNDA YMATINEE. MARCH 3d.

* BILL_OF_AILRACTIVLN°VE1:T1E?Th« World F&moui Terpelchorenn AnUtt.

PAPINTAIn Daixllnc Dances Never Before Seen on

Any

Wilson and WaringT r n n i > u i l * n i l c Stars In Farcical Frivolities.

OriskanyTrioTh« World'* Omtcst Equilibria.

Root. Hittiard & Co.In "The I/ lttU-it Girl.'

Katherine BloodpoilW i t h an Knt l i* Oianev of Repertoire.

JOHN LE HAYVcntrlloqulul < ' o

BARDAcrobatic Marveli.JLABT WEEK OK

Dumond's MinstrelsTh« Famous I-Yench Musical and Vocal Artlvis.

THE GREAT AMERICAN BIOGiiAPHParquet, t>o. any seat; Uajconir. I V . (."hlldren,

lOc, . i t . y part exc+pl reserved. A few front row*reserved (we; front rows of I** I cony r«-•ervrj. no.

The above advertisement appeared in TheSan Francisco papers on March 3, 1901.


SPEAKING OFby JIM PARKER

Ken and Bernie Berwin, magicians, are nowat the Pare Safari in Hemmingford, Quebec,for the summer with their magic show. Earl-ier they had worked the Velladrome in Montreal and then arrived early at Pare Safari andhave been busy ever since.

Pare Safari is about 40 miles south of Mon-treal. They will feature about 40 animals intheir illusion show, including their new fea-ture, Ali, a bengal tiger. In addition, theywill have two male assistants, two girl boxjumpers, a bi-lingual M.C. plus themselves.

The staff and management has been extre-mely cooperative in preparing their perfor-mance area and added a new roof over thestage, all new drapes, new lighting, newfloor and refurbished the back stage area.

Incidentally, Gee Gee and Roy Wells andher elephants also are enroute to the samepark so there should be a lot of jack-pottingwhen they arrive.

Recently in an article in CR on the RinglingRed Unit, the author extolled about the'new' western clown number, however, ve-teran clown Dennis Stevens of Sarasota, verified that the late great Paul Jung producedthe number not only once, but twice on BigBertha - once under canvas in the 1950's andagain in the 1960's.

I remember seeing it once myself under PaulJung's direction, and of course the only mas-ters of mirth left from it are Lou Jacobs andDuane Thorpe, who both play a very activepart in the current edition. It is a very wild,colorful and active number and I hope theforerunner of a return to the big clown pro-duction numbers, like the revived fire housenumber was.Judy Baker reports that recently Jesus Re-

nato and Bobo Fuentes and Victor Gaonawere in Florida and purchased two elephantsand a giraffe as well as a brand new specialCadillac. Additionally, Renato acquired 12new liberty horses over 16 hands high andBilly Baker is currently breaking them inSouth America. Also five more baby ele-phants are on order, and Jesus Fuentes ob-tained a new dog and pony act. Judy is onebusy gal and keeping up with her is a fulltime job I

Tommy Bartlett's Water Circus program isvery well done and features a full page on thefollowing circus kinkers - Dave Merrifield's

Helicopter Trapeze (he has two full pageswith fabulous color photographs, which heso well deserves), The Nerveless Nocks (alsOa beautiful two color page spread), famedjuggler Dieter Tasso, Jim and Heidi Groganand Mark Pilger (twp page spreads) and theClassic Contortionist Rudolph Delmonte.

Unfortunately, I have never been able tocatch either of the two Water Circuses, oneat Pigeon Forge, Tenn. and the other at theWisconsin Dells, however, judging from theprogram, photos and stories it should reallybe a must see.

Anna and Pinky (Delmonte/Fritz) write theyare in Piegon Forge and it is absolutely beau-tiful and that three shows are given per daybut everyone is so nice and congenial andprofessional it is a pleasure to go to work.Pinky is glad for the three shows as thatmeans less time to practice with Anna andif you ever witnessed a practice session youknow why he is so happy at not having thatextra practice time. However, as he wellknows, because of Anna's strictness he is theclassic contortionist that he is.

Alfonso and Lydia Burkett enjoyed theirJapanese engagement but are happy to beback stateside. While they were in Japan,their faithful dog, Chow Chow, passed awayat the age of 16 years, leaving them only To-go. We animal lovers know what it is tolose such a companion. They have been spotdating and now are back at Fantasy IslandPark in Grand Island, NY, for the summer.Bill Garden's Showtime Follies appeared in

Tampa on May 27th and provided a nice cleanstage circus. Music was provided by Joe andBobby Eddy taking turns on the drums andDanny Daniels on the organ. Acts included:Ruwill's plate spinning, Joe Eddy, magician;Jackie and Sharon Burke's dogs; Robert Fair-child, sword balancing; Campa Family, com-edy music; Joe Eddy, balloon artistry. Inter-mission; Joe Eddy, magic;Hans and SigridRuwill, adagio; Robert Fairchild, juggling;Burke's Chimps and the Carlos (Campas)unicycles. All acts had outstanding ward-robe and flashy props and the show waswell received. Visitors on the lot includedBilly Rodgers and the Wirengards whom Ihad not seen since the Wally Yee Circus inHawaii in 1960. They are nice people.Stu Miller, Magic Time USA, reports he is

having a good season, and at the same timehas been able to visit with a number of folks


SPEAKING OF (Continued)

on various circuses.Mis huge company includes 13 people (five

show girls and a 3 piece band), a lion and anewly acquired leopard. Stu has an extensiveroute and both he and his lovely wife, Sara,are congenial show folks, so be sure to catchMagic Time USA when it is in your area.Walter Hall, six foot, seven inch sword swal

July 13, 1981

lower, is no longer at Circus World, but isnow back on the (> nY Beatty-Cole Bros.Circus side show eating fire, thus giving ve-teran Jim Windland an even stronger sideshow this year. "Wally" trouped on the Beatty show last year and makes an impressivebally as always has fantastic wardrobe andshowmanship. Incidentally, I understand theBeatty show continues to pack them in.

ABBOTT'SMagic Get-Togetlie

THESE PERFORMERS:NEIL FOSTER

LANDIS SMITH ft COJOE RIDING

RALPH KARCOMMIKE YOUNGER

JOHN HOWANDIVAO & CO.

BOB LEWIS & GINNYKARRELL FOX ft CO.

TONY KARDYRO

BOB <RAM£R & CO.DEE YIP LOO

TONY GRIFFITHDAVID LINSELL

GORDON MILLERMARIEN HOPMAN

DALE SALUAKKEN MUZEL

CHRIS JAKWAYHARK ft MARLYNN EVANS

HARRY BLACKSTONE

THESE EVENTS:

FOUR BIG PUBLIC SHOWSSPECIAL BENEFIT MATINEELADIES EVENTSMAGIC MINISTERS SESSIONTHREE ALL-STAR LECTURESTALENT CONTEST (UNDER THE

DIRECTION OF NEIL FOSTER)VENT-0-ftAMACLOSE-UP SHOWSDEALER DEMONSTRATIONS

AUGUST 12-13-14-15Don't miss this one!

**Send in your registration now!

Each rear the Get-Together Showsare always a sell-out!

This year promises to be no exception!

send all registration* to Recil Bordner, Colon, Michigan 49040

COLON. MICHIGAN

Want to Buy

+ Juggling Equipment

+ Sword and Dagger Routine

+ Cup & Saucer Routine

+ Cigar Boxes, etc. - Urgent!

*-

Contact:

PERRY BROS. CIRCUS

Miss D. Perry

4 Reynolds Street

Rosewater, S. A. 5013

Australia

Fo* SaleCircus Holiday could not pay forequipment. Have for sale: 60 ft.round end tent, 3 • 30 ft. centers,side walls, poles, stakes - bothwood and iron. All is 90% goodas new condition.

All in a 32 ft. low boy van trailer,with sleeping for 6 working men.Has a '69 IHC tractor.to pull theequipment.

CASH ONLY PRICE $23,000

Small 12 ft. concession trailer withcotton candy, popcorn, snow ma-chine-Price: $2,800

Phone:216-656-3819

Carl or Jim Conley2635 Norton Rd. Kent, Oh. 44240

WANTEDELEPHANT MAN

Must be able to handle ride

— Clean Operation —

Don't need any heat

Call:

ELEPHANT WALK, INC.

504 -861 -4207

Between 8 and 10 a.m. C.S. T.

Gospel Magic $* *

•Clown Make up OW-' ^V/ *'Balloon Sculpture l^3^"' i 4if

• Costuming> Fund Raising

Come to Houston

For information, write or call:

HOUSTON CLOWN SCHOOL6944 Bissonnet Houston, Texas 77074

(713)499-5828

— Housing Available —

Paye28

in theAMERICAN TENT SHOWS FEATURED

Eighteen former tent show musicians, com-edians, actors and magicians were in Washing-ton recently, to take part in the SmithsonianInstitute's "A Celebration of the AmericanTent Show" held on the Washington Monu-ment Grounds on June 24-28 and July 1-5.

During a 60 year period, around the turnof the century, the most popular form ofentertainment in American smalt towns wasthe tent show. A tent repertory group wouldcome into town, set up their tent and paradedown Main Street. That night, they'd per-form a series of skits, musical numbers anda dramatic presentation, and sell candy ormedicine when the crowd was big and goodnatured.

The show in Washington featured such per-formers and entertainers as:

Marcy Maynartl who grew up-in her parentshorse-drawn tent show. Her first acting rolewas as an infant in "Uncle Tom's Cabin."She and her husband Tex, met as teenagersand at one time had their own show. Today

July 13, 1981

they are touring with Hoxie Bros. Circus.Ken and Roberta Griffin, are old-style ma-

gicians. They do big illusions and have touredall over the U.S. as well as overseas. Their as-sistant, Ed Doherty, is a magician and enter-tainer in his own right.

Betty Bryant, worked on her father's showboat, floating down the rivers of America inthe1920'sand1930's.

Dale Madden and his wife, Lois Stillian. performed in repertory for many years. Today,Madden is a circus organist and is creditedwith being the one who introduced the or-gan to the circus as a replacement for bands.

Howard and L. C. Armstrong, and Ted Bo-gan, play infectious, bouncy, swing music.They were one of the few black string bandsto play in large tent medicine shows.

The "Hired Hands" are a blue-grass groupwho performed in the south. They spent anumber of years traveling with tent shows.

Fred Foster "Doc" Bloodgood, was a me-dicine show pitchman for 11 years duringthe Depression.

Mary McClain "Walkin" Mary" is a gospelsinger who once sang the blues in minstrelsand medicine shows on the road.

Clowning At It's Best

High Stilt Walking

Slapstick

Balloons

Magic and

Clown Band

COCOMICHAELPOLAKOVS

International Clown

Rte. 1 - Box 290Catlettsburg, Ky41129

Phone:(606)928 9313


covering distanceRINGUNGRED

BY SALLY PAYNE

The Greatest Show on Earth, played Free-dom Hall at the Kentucky State FairgroundsJune 17-21 (Louisville). The weather wascomfortable for the stand, with a light show-er or two, but on Sunday (21) there weresevere storms skirting the area, but passingEast to hit the Blue Grass Fair at Lexington,Ky. Bob Meyers Carnival had the date for theLions Club.The Ringling Blue Unit was due in Lexing-

ton June 23-24, but the routing was changedon short notice and they went on to Hunts-ville, Ala., instead. Heard it had somethingto do with the Lions Club holding its fair.

Ringling Red closed in Ptiilly, June 14thbut the train did not get away until early onMonday a.m. and did not get to Louisvilleuntil Tuesday, at 4 p.m. The overland vehi-cles made better time as most of them werein at 2 p.m. Tuesday, but they said it was arough trip. The penna mountains and lotsof curved roads the rest of the way.When the train got in at 4 p.m. they start-

ed bringing the 'wagons' over, it's a 4 milehaul from the runs. The 'cats' were the on-ly animals brought over, because they wait-ed 'til Wednesday a.m. to bring over the leadstock. At 7 pm Tuwesday we went back overto the Auditorium and itn as closed up, norigging started, so they had a night off andneeded it. It was a 767 mile jump and theywere tired and had a hard day ahead ofthem, to be ready for the 7:30 opening onWednesday night.This is the first time we can remember that

RinoJ ing- Barn urn has made Louisville twoconsecutive years, and also the very firsttime Louisville has been on the route thefirst year out with the new performance,so that was a special treat for us who Lovethe Circus.

The only TV coverage we saw was paid forby the circus and no TV station's remoteequipment was seen at the circus. The localnewspapers, the Courier-Journal and Louis-ville Times, were stingy with their space andboth of those papers are owned by one com-pany, who also owns a TV station WASHChannel II.We need some "Dexter Fellows" again, to

bring in copy and have those City Editors

on their "Friendship list" and "cross theirpalm" with tickets, maybe then the circuscould get some space, and with copy bysomeone who knows what the circus it allabout.

Speaking of Dexter Fellows, looks likeRingling has been reading "This Way to theBig Show." The adjectives they used to des-cribe the show must have been borrowedfrom the book, but I am glad they did, be-cause all of them were needed to describethis year's production of the Red Unit, sobe sure and buy a program and read it all,it is very interesting.

If you take movies, take your camera or astill camera or something that will take stillsfast - click, click, click - to get pictures ofthe elephant blankets in "The Circus StreetParade," spec. Each of the blankets has aword - Ringling • Bros. • Barnum - and - Bai-ley - Circus, all done in sequins. A brilliantidea of the designer and a monumental taskto sew them on • but beautiful beyond words.The show runs 2% hours. Activity in the

back yard started to jump during the 5:30show and moved along fast as soon as it (theequipment) could be headed for the runs.The next stop was Oklahoma City, anotherlong jump - 810 miles.

"A Long Way To Go and A Short Time toGet There" as Jerry Reed's song goes.

Goodbye/au revoir/adios/adio/ auf Wieder-sehen/do wtdsenia/istenhozzad/ila al-laqaa.

BriefsLAST OF THE MED SHOWS

BY PAT BISSONETTE

Tommy Scott's Old Time Medicine Showplayed a 2:30 matinee, Sunday, June 28th,in St. Cloud, Minn. The sponsoring Knightsof Columbus had the Cathedral High SchoolGym three quarters full.After a balloon and Chinese yo yo pitch

the show got off to a rousing start fillingthe hall with snappy western music andmodern tunes through a good P.A. system.

The band featured Mike Harris, a one han-ded banjo picker and 12 string guitar play-er. Darrell Sayer is a good upbeat drummerand guitarist and doing a dog to gorilla il-lusion amid screamping moppets. Debbie


D

WEDICINE SHOW (Continued*

Me Mann's specialty is a snapshooting actwith hubby Jack on tarqets. Dry humor issupplied by "Ole Bleb' a 30 year veteranof the show, he also does an audience par-ticipation whip :ct as the Masked Rider.

Two circus performers add comedy relief;Rick 'Berme the Clown' Parrot is an excel-lant gymnast, juggler on and off his twodiiicycles and working pocket magic withkids front the audience. He's also a ventril-oquist, but not in this show. Rally Kmcedoes a clever perch act from a table perfor-ming magic a-top the pole

Wardrobe for band are black turtle necksweaters and pants with yellnw smocks andsequined arm bands and top itats Perform.ers were rewarded with apprw -drive crow!

July 13, 198

PeopleAUSTIN MILES has been signed to be theringmaster for the Christmas Circus in St.Croix, Virgin Islands, Dec. 20-21.

FOR SALE2 Baby Spotted Leopards, Hand-

raised (5-18-81)1 Male Black Leopard, IVfc years,

Leash broken/gentle1 Female 2 year old Spotted Leo-

pard - Leash brokenThis year's Kodiak and Black Bear

Cub - Hand raised/leash brokenand gentle

Last year's Black Bear Cub Leashbroken - A few tricks

Breeding pair (proven) of White Ar-tie Wolfs

5 Bird Macaw ActTrained Pigeons

Call or Write:

(213)3966586 or (805)495-2122

864 Carlisle Rd., Thousand Oaks, Ca.


MEL MILLER (54) who was connected withthe circus from at least his early teens, diedon Mar. 5th in the Washington, DC area aftersuffering a stroke. He was one of the earlyCircus Model Builders, and handled publicrelations and publicity for various circuses.

He was a clown with Ringling-Barnum in1945-46, was with the press dept. of OaileyBros., and worked with the Wallenda Circus,the Bartok Circus and the Continental Circus

at the New York World's Fair. He became thesecond curator of the Ringling Museum ofthe Circus and later was RBBB's Director ofSpecial Exhibitions and the first Director ofthe Clown College.

MiscellaneousA movie about animal trainer Dave Hooverhas been completed and is presently sched-uled for ai ring sometime in September orNovember.

Circus Report, July 13, 1981, Vol. 10, No. 28

Documents

Transcript of Circus Report, July 13, 1981, Vol. 10, No. 28