The Dolly Jacobs and her Elephants
Posted By thecircusblog on June 18, 2009
Dolly Jacobs with her elephants. This is one of her publicity pictures used for the Greater Olympia Circus.
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The Circus Blog by Ivan M. Henry is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 United States License.
Based on a work at www.thecircusblog.com.
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Ringling Menagerie & Tim McCoy
Posted By thecircusblog on June 14, 2009
The Ringling Menagerie tent was huge and the animal cages went all the way around the tent between the side poles and the three quarter poles. The interesting thing about this picture is aside from the animal care takers and grooms, you can see some of the native American performers along with a photo of Tim McCoy seen in the center. He was with the show at this time in 1937 but I guess he just couldn’t make the photo op.
Jungleland Animals
Posted By thecircusblog on June 14, 2009
Little Bimbo with one of the Henry Tyndall chimps. Henry had a repore with chimps, the like of which I have not seen since. His ques were all silent and he perfected this method in his motion picture work. It was necessary be to be quiet while shooting a scene. At the compound he worked his act the same way so not to confuse the chimps. The chimps would go through their routine as if there was no trainer….Once in a while you could see his hand move giving a slight que.
Peggy and Mac Mc Donald
Posted By thecircusblog on June 14, 2009
Peggy and Mac McDonald with the Besalou Elephants on Pollack Bros Circus 1954. Louie Stern owner..Louie was lucky to have one of the finest elephant trainers and that was Mac. After Mac came another great trainer, Buckle’s Woodcock.
Circus Music: Rolling Thunder
Posted By thecircusblog on June 13, 2009
(Background or stories about this song)
Click here to listen to “Rolling Thunder”
Check out more circus music here
THIS IS DEDICATED TO TIM DONAHUE AND TO HIS FATHER.
Mr. Henry,
Congratulations on a wonderfully engaging web site. The photos and anecdotes are fascinating. I applaud your commentary about the positive influence of the circus as well. My father instilled in his children a life-long love of the circus. As a city boy from a very poor neighborhood, he learned to escape some of the worst elements of his childhood by dreaming about a life in the circus. He always enjoyed the set up and the breakdown as much as any show. It inspired him to some of his greatest personal success as an organizer of a local charitable fair. Circus music helped hm recover from a coma as well. If you ever have a chance, that would make a wonderful addition. Thank you.
Sells Floto Hipo
Posted By thecircusblog on June 13, 2009
The Sells and Floto Circus playing at Solders Field, 1931. This is when you could have extraordinary acts in the circus. Have you ever seen any thing like this before………….unbelievable. For those of you that may not know the hippopotamus is one of the most dangerous animals in Africa and kills numerous people each year. A great deal of credit has to go to the animal trainers of that time on the Sells Floto circus.
Mabel Stark in Japan
Posted By thecircusblog on June 13, 2009
Look at the love in this lady’s face. There is no doubt whatsoever that her tigers were her life. This is a Christmas card that she sent to her friends while she was in Japan.
Mabel Pelke
Posted By thecircusblog on June 13, 2009
A NEW STAR UNDER THE ‘” BIG TOP”.
Miss Mabel Pelke, Sells Floto circus. 1920’s.
Mabel Stark and Shercon
Posted By thecircusblog on June 13, 2009
Mabel Stark and her tiger Shercon. Look at the size of this gorgeous animal. This photo was taken at the Jungleland Compound in the mid 1950’s. I would often watch Mabel practice with her cats. One day she invited me into the arena with her and about 8 tigers. I entered the arena and stood beside her………She said to the tigers ” alright we have company so lets be nice” and with that we started doing a few tricks. I suddenly realized that I was being trained too. It was a proud moment in my life to be tutored by Mabel Stark.
Do You Know Who He Is?
Posted By thecircusblog on June 10, 2009
He was a famous circus owner. Can you name him?
THANKS MARGARET
iT IS…….. JOHN RINGLING NORTH.
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