Mills Bros Circus

Posted By on December 4, 2009

 circus-ad-2The Mills Bros was another great American circus.

                                                                            See comment.

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Hagenbeck and Wallace Circus

Posted By on December 4, 2009

circus-adTake the time to read some of the great names and just look at that ticket price.

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1956 Beatty Circus Ad

Posted By on December 4, 2009

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This is what is known as a stinger ad, used in 1956 and several seasons after because it was effective and simple to read. They even made a poster from this ad. What made this ad different was the combination of artwork and photography.

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Clyde Beatty Movie Ads

Posted By on December 4, 2009

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The great Clyde Beatty did it all from movies, books and the circus, He had what it took to be an actor, performer and circus owner. There was even talk of a TV show on a Hollywood television station KTLA in the late 1950’s. He is one of a kind….there will never be another Clyde Beatty.

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MaKimba and Ivan

Posted By on December 4, 2009

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Every now and again the local newspaper of whatever town we were showing at would come out and do a little story on you. Some of the time they would get it right….this was one of those times. This story took place in late 1973, It was about my circus life, philosophy and the relationship with a large family of performing chimpanzees. MaKimba, my top comedy chimp is pictured here giving a little wave to the camera during the interview. He always knew when he was on…..he was such a ham and he would constantly upstage me.  As you can see here he was a very large chimp, about 155 lbs at the time of this photo. This is the chimp that took my Bongie’s place after his death in Las Vegas. It took a few years for him to develop into a comedy chimp but when he did he was great.

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Hagen Bros Circus Ad

Posted By on December 4, 2009

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It didn’t take much in the old days…just a good clean ad to let the people know that there was a circus in town.

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Cristiani Bros. at Soldier Field

Posted By on December 4, 2009

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I have had the pleaure of knowing most of the Cristiani family, from perfomers to circus owners.

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It is Something Wonderful

Posted By on December 4, 2009

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Thanks Casey for the photo. This is a large rock formation that forms the appearance of an elephant.

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Memo from Ivan

Posted By on November 25, 2009

A few days ago a person emailed me concerning photos and information about Bones Hartzel and the Locken Family that were on the Siebrand Circus in the 40’s and 50’s.  By accident, I deleted the email and I would very much like that person to contact me again regarding those photos.

New Blogging will start soon. Thanks for your patience.

Thank you,

Ivan

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Memo from Ivan

Posted By on November 13, 2009

DEAR FRIENDS AND FANS OF THE CIRCUS BLOG.

I AM RECUPERATING FROM OPEN HEART SURGERY AND WILL BE BACK BLOGGING IN ABOUT A WEEK.  THERE IS LOTS OF NEW THINGS TO COME.

VERY BEST.

IVAN

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