Gil Gray Circus
Posted By thecircusblog on September 8, 2011
Fargo, North Dakota, Shrine Circus. Gil is standing on the extreme right next to the man with trombone. Can you pick out your performer friends?
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The Stake Line
Posted By thecircusblog on September 8, 2011
I can’t tell you how many times I was on the stake line. I did not begrudge it; it surly will keep you in shape. Many of the old tent crews would play a game with a “First of May.” They would take a sixteen pound sledge hammer, hold it at the very end of the handle with their arm straight out, hammer in a vertical position, and slowly bend the wrist, allowing the hammer to fall toward your face. All you had to do is touch your nose with sixteen pounds of steel and bring it back up.
OK, Newcomer, you got it?
There was always a taker. The tent crew made it look so simple. Inevitably, when green help got hired and one was a little cocky, you could bet on him being laid out cold on the……… STAKE LINE.
The story is true, but the tent crew and circus pictured above is unknown to me.
Helen Hagg’s Chimpanzees
Posted By thecircusblog on September 8, 2011
This is one chimp act I never saw. Not that I didn’t want to, I just never had the opportunity. I bet they were good, though, After all, it was a chimp act!
Lotus
Posted By thecircusblog on September 8, 2011
This is a very famous 1903 photograph by Bob Wallace for the Golmar Bros. Circus of Lotus the Hippopotamus. She was a female Nile Hippo and she eventually became the most famous. The fact that Lotus was a female, and that her species was a Nile Hippo, made her easier to handle.
Males are indeed quite different. As they get older, they become very dangerous and constantly vicious. If provoked, which is very easy to do, they have a surprising amount of speed in their charge.
In 1916, Golmar Bros. sold Lotus to James Patterson. Then in 1919, Patterson sold her to the Al G. Barnes Circus. Ringling gained control of the Barnes show in 1929 when John Ringling bought out the American Circus Corp, which, at that time, was owned by Jerry Mugivan and Bert Bowers.
Lotus died in 1954 at the Ringling winter quarters, Sarasota, Fla. On the Barnes Chow she had been trained to pull a cart. I believe this was her only claim to fame other than being on exhibition.
Frank & Lee
Posted By thecircusblog on September 8, 2011
Frank and Lee Ternary were a comedy dance team. Their venues were mostly Nite Clubs and some Fairs. Home base for them was New Orleans. Photo from the 1940’s.
Strawberry & Julia Russell
Posted By thecircusblog on September 8, 2011
When I saw this photo from the Carson Collection, I had to post it. The Russells were a comedy song and dance team that truly entertained you from the beginning to the end of their act. Dad and I worked a couple variety shows with them. They were a pleasure to be with. The last I heard of them was though the grapevine that they had a long engagement with Harlem on Parade. Early 1950’s
The Little People
Posted By thecircusblog on September 8, 2011
A family of little performers, the Three Del Rios from Madrid, Spain. The name of the circus is unknown to me, however, the date of this photo is 1938.
Comedy Teams
Posted By thecircusblog on September 8, 2011
Here is another photo from the Carson collection. I am getting a lot of comments on these old pictures and even quite a few phone calls. I just got one from Pat McMahon, who said that he was delighted when he saw old friends from the 40’s and 50’s.
I get a lot of calls from show people I have never met and I don’t mind it at all. So, if you wish to call, here’s the number – 602 359-6372.
Smiles
Posted By thecircusblog on September 8, 2011
Smiles………. Ya, They sure are a fine looking group. From left to right, my uncle Glen Henry, Shelby Jackson and Babe, Shelby’s wife. I’m not sure of the young man’s name. It might be John Harriott?
I have written very little about my uncle Glen, or for that matter, any of my uncles. So I guess now is a good time. I will start off by saying that they held their circus upbringing with honor and each, in their own right, were fine performers in whatever acts they presented. Their versatility provided them a successful life in show business.
I want to include my aunt Bertha and Max Grieg, who was like an uncle to all the Henry siblings. What makes me so proud of them all is that I have never heard a person speak in a bad way of them. There were always those who would tell me a short story about a time that someone in me family helped them out in one way or another. I try to live up to my family’s good reputation. There has been a few times I’ve failed, but that makes me try even harder.
Kandra thanks for the wonderful story about our family…THIS COMMENT IT IS A MUST READ!
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