Sunday, May 25, 2025

SUNDAY OUT OF THE PAST: Blundering “Biography” of Leitzel & Codona, a Book You Can't Put Down -- PLUS SPECIAL BONUS from George Brinton Beal! ...

This revised review is drawn from additional research following the posting of my earlier review of the book. More about this at the end.

Book Review, Revised
Queen of the Air: A True Story of Love and Tragedy at the Circus
Dean Jansen, Crown Publishers

Here is a book for the ages, or so I originally thought and wrote.  The subjects tackled by author Dean Jensen — Leitzel and Codona, and Ringling in all its glory — are of course immensely compelling.

In her fiery heyday thrilling spectators with high-energy gymnastics under the big top, Lillian Leitzel was arguably the greatest solo star ever to grace the rings of Ringling. So transcendent a figure had she become, that American soldiers during World War I voted her “the most beautiful and attractive woman in all the world.” (5.26.25 -- confirmed by AI!*)  And that included Hollywood. Men of note, Henry Ford among them, are said in these precarious pages to have lined up to play suitor to the charismatic performer.  Did they or didn’t they?  I have my doubts.  Even with Alfredo, I have my doubts.

More likely, everything was carefully choreographed to build up an epic image bigger than life, bigger even than the circus itself.  A mythical image now made even more mythical (and at times heartlessly cruel) by an expedient author of dubious ethics. Make no mistake:  There is plenty here to enthrall and entertain readers with little interest in big top history.  Plenty here that may be genuinely rich and even revelatory. But for my money,  too much of it bears the mark of either incredibly careless research or slyly calculated distortion to inflate story-telling dynamics. Shame on Crown Publishers for daring to describe this a biography.          

Conceived in rape,  Leitzel grew up to be her own best agent, and once installed on the Ringling caravan — granted an entire car on the train, a private tent on the lot, and a maid, Mabel Cummings — she reigned like a self-appointed queen.  Nobody dared question the coming and goings of  their blazing headliner, whose first two ill-fated marriages come off looking more comical than sincere.  

She doted on giving circus children morning lessons in her tent.  And under the big top later in the day, her spectacular entrance pitted the diminutive dynamo — all of 4' 9", against the lumbering 6' 4" Willie Mosher, uninformed like a hotel doorman, who escorted her into the ring. (Believe it or not, there is no mention of Mosher in the book that I recall, nor does his name appear in the index.)  Lillian threw kisses to the crowds as she whirled furiously above them, teasing her way up to the big trick — her famous one arm rollovers numbering sometimes over a hundred. Those spinning revolutions composed, in Jensen’s own beguiling two-word description,  a “white blur.” I have never come across a white a blur in the scarce film footage of her act that I have seen.

A JOYFUL EXUBERANCE

How good was the act, really?  If I have a problem with Leitzel’s art and this sensationalizing treatment of her life, it is this: Of the footage I have seen from the  late 1920s,  I want — oh how I want — to feel a thrill I can’t quite feel. In photos out there, her leg extensions can be awkward, the transitions from one trick to the next, labored. Of the rollover plange, equestrian director Fred Bradna wrote in his book,The Big Top, “It was not a beautiful sight; it was not supposed to be.  It was a test of stamina.”  But there is something maybe more at work. By shunning  – or failing -- the polish of ballet that others such as Con Colleano incorporated, Leitzel may have intensified the passionate exuberance she projected, a rough tumbling spirit as lively as the three ring circus on the move.

ENTER HER GREAT LOVE
          

Trapeze god Alfredo Codona comes through as a bit more humble, though in the end he turns stark raving mad. He and Leitzel in love – or playing to each other’s need for constant attention and rumorizing —  tangled ruthlessly in romance, tormenting the hell out of each other by flaunting side affairs.  Roll the drums!  Silence all vendors!  Leitzel wins the prize for Greatest Act of Cruelty on Wedding Day.  That is, if you wish to buy Jensen’s blundering tale of how Leitzel kept Alfredo and guests waiting for over three hours at the alter. Yes, three hours.  In fact, calm down, kids — they were married on time between shows in Chicago.   It was at a wedding reception following the night show that Leitzel lost herself for a couple of hours, driving Codona into a panic.             

TWO UNFORGETTABLE ENDINGS

When Leitzel’s rigging fails in Copenhagen, sending her to her death in 1931, I wept. So did I weep being pulled though the last punishing days of Codona’s tragic end, trapeze god felled by a fall, down to failed ringmaster, and then onto car garage mechanic in Long Beach, CA.        

With Leitzel gone, Alfredo, right, defaulted to his flying partner Vera Bruce,center, begging her over and over again to marry him. Really?  According to Jensen’s end notes, he drew this stormy account from a story, “The Mad Love of Alfredo Codona,” allegedly penned by Annie Bruce for True Story Magazine in 1938,  a tabloid-leaning periodical known for taking rewrite liberties with submissions, and also publishing the work of fiction writers   Why did Jensen not defer to more credible accounts at hand, one by Fred Bradna in The Big Top;  the other by author Robert Lewis Taylor in Center Ring?  In fact, Bruce had been trying all along to steal Codona away from Leitzel.  

RINGLING AS NEVER BEFORE REVEALED         


Beyond Leitzel & Codona, the circus of Ringling, as narrated by the masterfully fact-altering Jensen, rides high and wide on revelations so startling as to leave me dumbfounded.  How did it take so long for some of these things to surface?  As long, maybe,  as it took Jensen to concoct them.  He mentions dozens of taped interviews, and I hope these will end up in a legit space.  They could turn out to be a gold mine.

                  

For example, there is the sighting of married man Charles Ringling --- seen here with Leitzel and his son, Robert ---  spotted in a darkened movie house with his head resting on the shoulder of showgirl Anna Stais, his arm around her. The spotting of it was done in only a few nervous seconds by flyer Butch Brann, having just slipped into seats with “Dolores.”  In his own words, as quoted: “Then I saw who was in the row just ahead of us.  It was Charlie and Anna Stais ... Dolores and I hightailed it out of that row.” To the balcony they fled.  I have a question for those into movie house intrigue:  How could Butch have known for sure from the back of a figure sitting directly in front of him in a darkened theatre that it was his own boss. – one of the brothers who banned “accidental meetings” between the sexes on the show?  

 MISSING IN ACTION

Away from gossip and dirt in the shadows, how about something as important as who first threw the first triple?  Ernest Clarke was not the first flyer to nail it.  That honor goes to Russian-born  Lena Jordan, and if you don’t believe me, check out Wikipedia.   Still  don’t?  Okay, how about Guinness Book of World Records?  In fact, the record was impressively explored and certified on the Circus Historical Society history message board, July 1, 1965.

What makes these blunders more inexplicable is that Jensen drew from the likes of Fred Dahlinger (“how many times did I call on him while producing this book?”), Greg Parkinson, Fred Pfening III.  I have to wonder if any of these three were asked to read the manuscript or proofs.  

A LEGACY BARELY A BLUR

Curiously, the legacy of Lillian Leitzel does not hold up well in lists out there of all time circus greats, although these lists are so wildly different as to make each seem meaningless.Her name is totally missing in several I have examined. On others, she is never at the top. The History Channel places her at the bottom of a list of 8, below May Wirth.  She fails a list of 15, the most phenomenal female performers.

Sadly, we may never be able to see the Lilian Leitzel that others saw in her best years.   What I enjoy the most in film footage is the spectacle of her crossing the lot, with her maid trailing her, on her way to the big tent where the crowds are waiting to be thrilled.  I love the warm waving looks Lillian Leitzel gives to bystanders on the way. Her true love.

To me, Queen of the Air feels like contaminated goods, and I no longer have the faith in it to buy my own copy.  How would I know what to believe? Perhaps the experts of what qualifies as “biography” will find me off base. So be it.  I am not of the school that dismisses objectivity as out of date.   Some standards of conduct should forever be worth fighting for.  

TWO STARS, kindly awarded.

For more about the book, I discuss Queen for the Air with Timothy Tegge in an earlier post on the subject.  In fact, had Tim not answered my second e-mail asking for his input, this revised review would likely never have been.

 first posted 5.25.21, Park Your Memory at the Marquee.

SPECIAL BONUS FROM GEORGE BRINTON BEAL 

By sheer serendipity,  I came upon rare candor from author George Binton Beal, this found in his little magazine, The Call of the Calliope, from December 1955: “In public she managed to appear beautiful in a dainty, doll-like way that is difficult to describe.  Actually she was an ugly misshapen little woman  doing an ugly awkward act which by means of her great genius she made beautiful to behold.”

On her death” “Many show folk do not believe that her rigging broke and hint at fowl play ...I remember so clearly one  night when Leitzel and I were chatting ...She looked down at her taped and bandaged wrist, then up at her rigging ... Then, turning to me she said, ‘Some night, Mr. Beal, I’ll just let go and there won’t be any Lillian any more.'"

* Beware: I am learning that AI can be as wrong as right, and can't seem to self reconcile contradictory information it puts out in separate answers to essentially the same question,  differently worded. See my post a ways down, AI Goes to the Circus. re: the first triple somersault.

Wednesday, May 14, 2025

SEND BACK THE CLOWNS! The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly of The Re-imagined Ringling, from REDDIT

I'd never gone to Reddit before for reviews to quote, but to my surprise,  under a thread headlined  The Good, the Bad, and The Ugly of The Re-imagined Ringling, I found a slew of even-handed comments by people who, for the most part, seemed neither aggrieved  circus fans or the PETA crowd, itself never missing a chance to spread more anti-traditional circus hate. These  voices reveal much that we have only been able to speculate about. 

So I am posting these here for a few days, and will then move the post down deeper.          

Highlight Quote:

"The robot dog Bailey was met with mixed reactions. I have never witnessed hundreds of people mass-discussing something all at once, which was bizarre."

u/Skater73 avatar
Skater73 6mo ago

I'm deeply concerned with the lack of audience showing up for these shows recently. I saw the new Ringling back in March, and the audience was quite large on a Saturday night. However, recent tour stops seem to be struggling to get people in the door, especially for evening shows.

I have seen a lot of advertising on TikTok, YouTube, and local media outlets but not much in the way of physical billb live in a mostly rural state with an older oards, fliers, etc. This is a major mistake for our area, as we population that likely won’t see much of it.                                               
    
hexualattraction
4mo ago

I was working at a stadium and Ringling came through. I didn't get to sit and watch the whole thing like a normal patron, but I did see quite a bit. I believe Equivokee - the three guys doing physical comedy are in fact clowns, like trained as clowns, but I believe since the US has such a bad association, they had them pare down the things that folks associate with clowns.

For example, even board games from Europe that feature clowns get stripped of them with localization, in order for the American market to engage/play/buy them.

All this to say, I think if Ringling performed outside of the us, clowns would be more apparent,and that it's kind of an American thing that they've been stripped out.

I did find the competing acts to be strange, it felt like so many talented people were sort of shoved off to the side, I think to try to keep peoples focus somewhere, but it felt pretty disrespectful to the performers.   

r/circus icon
Go to circus r/circus•
6 mo. ago

 The robot dog Bailey was met with mixed reactions. I have never witnessed hundreds of people mass-discussing something all at once, which was bizarre. I will personally miss the animal acts, but I am interested to see what can be done with similar technology as Feld Entertainment has used puppets and animatronics in other shows.

The Bad: For a show focused on human talent, it’s incredibly disappointing to see the removal of time honored roles such as arena clowns and ringmaster. There are several show guides and physical comedians which were entertaining in their own right, but it mostly felt like a hollow attempt to distance the new show from its past.

The stage direction is somewhat confusing. During the BMX stunts, a Chinese pole act was taking place on the opposite side of the arena. As someone else recently mentioned in this subreddit the circular overhead screens were missing, which would have been nice as I could barely see it even from the lower level.

The sound was a bit muffled, which often confused the audience resulting in lukewarm responses. I have no experience with entertaining but I imagine that can be a real confidence killer

Other notes: I attended Sunday’s performance midday and some friends attended in the evening, the arena was less than half full on both occasions. Historically our city has produced a good turnout. I am unsure if this decline in attendance is due to the retirement of traditional acts, loss of relevance, cost, or other factors. The show will be in town this weekend and the following with approximately two shows daily Friday-Sunday, so maybe the others will fair a bit better.

Our friend’s six year old daughter was attending for the first time and lost interest several acts in, they did not return after intermission.

r/circus icon
Go to circus r/circus•
6 mo. ago

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly of the re-imagined Ringling 

conclusion: Like many others I am left feeling a bit mixed. The performers were excellent, but the show itself needs work in several areas.

Ringling may have a difficult time living up to the expectations of longtime fans and retaining first-timers after the revival tour. I will be returning when and if it is renewed, but my friends and their daughter may not.

Needless to say, it is vital for Feld Entertainment to be receptive to feedback if they hope to remain relevant and continue turning an audience. 

ccb621
6mo ago

Aside: Why not post this after you’ve seen the show and have more to contribute to the conversation?

The animals will never come back. They are public relations and logistical nightmares.

I attended a show in Oakland, CA. The arena was not very full. The tickets were about $225 after fees for my family of three. We’ve paid more for Cirque du Soleil and far less for Monster Jam (for almost the exact same seats). 

Cirque remains the pinnacle for me. Ringlimg isn’t there. The show was too kinetic and distracting. There were screens with performers’ names and countries glaring just at the performances were beginning. This would be fine if there was one act; however, at one point there were three separate acts happening simultaneously! I had no clue who to watch.

This was barely okay for aerials. I think they had straps in the center with two folks on silks to the sides. This was downright insane when they had an aerial performance and folks jumping through hoops. 

I felt like they were trying to toss in a buinnch of acts to make folks feel they got a good value. In reality it felt cheap—quantity over quality. I recall at one point wondering why the show hadn’t ended because it just felt so long. 

I don’t think everyone needs to follow Cirque exactly, but it might help to learn a bit from their model. A story or through line connecting the performances would greatly help the flow and progression feel less frenetic.

I hope they make it work. I saw one of the last performances of the old company in Providence, RI, and it was quite good, so I know someone can help write a better show.

 No-Commission-242
4mo ago

I won't waste my money again.  I knew that there would be no animals,  but didn't know that there wouldn't be any clowns.  I've got my memories from when I was a kid and I'll have to live with that.  It's bad that I built it up to the grandkids and had to look at the disappointment on their faces.  All of the people around us felt the same.  Take them to Chuckie Cheese and everyone will be a lot happier,  plus you can get them much better souvenirs.

Sunday, May 04, 2025

SUNDAY MORNING NOW: The Show Must Go On ... or Must it? ... Big Top Ballyhoo Shuns the Old ... Circus Reviewer Reveals Crowd Size ...

12,557 page views on 5/6 - my most popular post ever

RINGLING IN RETREAT? - One bot mutt for sale? Has appeared with the Greatest Show on Earth.

What is happening to Ringling? To Circus or not to circus? That may be the pressing question dogging Kenneth Feld for the next ten months while he  creates an  “all new’ edition.  How new? How different from the first? Does he need ten months in hiatus to figure it out?  Thriving entertainments usually have next year’s model in the works, ready to take up the parade when the current cast leaves it.

Seems severe to me. As I understand it, when a company closes down for an extended period of time, usually the reason is too re-invent itself or its product line – in order to stay in business.  Ringling closed down mid-way in the 1956 tour when John Ringling North struck the big top for good and made known his plans to move it indoors. Some fans hoped he would change his mind.  No luck. He had foreseen a more viable future ahead.

If the Felds have been reading the outcry of unhappy Ringling customers on Yelp (average 1.5 stars), they  can’t ignore the enthusiasm most Americans still evidently feel for animals and clowns. When you take away two of the three staples of circus, up goes a roar from the masses. The last to cry ‘no!” on Yelp:

Thalia H.
Norfolk, VA  Mar 22, 2025

"I've never been so humiliated in all my life I'm going to the circus in New York City at Madison Square Garden for many years as a child every year I never missed a circus there were animals and clowns I don't know what Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus is doing now with these acrobats nobody wants to see acrobats a circus is not a circus without animals and clowns it was a waste of my money I am so disappointed I don't know what in the world to do I will never attend another Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus again without the animals and clowns."

"Humiliated" That's a new one. From AI? 

I have no idea what their business has been. I only know that when Ringling played the 18,000 seat Crypto.Com Arena in Los Angeles, according to an inside source at the arena who took my call to inquire about business, they were drawing between six and eight thousand per show.  

Strategic blundering?  Even the smartest of showman can make big mistakes: When  Feld removed the elephants from the show, winning high cheer from animal rights hysterics and their fawning media acolytes, I was left dumbfounded by his not having at the same pivotal moment also removed the big cage act as well.  This gave PETA sanction to continue harassing customers outside the arenas.  Give them a dog and pony show, and they'd come off looking like fools.

And then, six years later, when Feld unveiled his comeback edition., I was left equally baffled by his wholesale elimination of clowns and animals.  Will ten months in circus rehab give him pause  to consider a more fulfilling outcome?

What to expect? At the moment, even Keneth Feld may not know.  But he has plenty of time to bring off perhaps the most spectacular comeback in show business history by reinstating the dazzling  totality of what Ringling once stood for.  It is not irrational to imagine dogs and ponies and horses and kitty cats, among other domestics, bringing back a major part of  “the greatest show.”  When I saw the last old-school edition around 2017, a pig coasting down a slide nearly stole the show . 

The circus that no longer dares speak its name needs to come back.

CIRCUS BALLYHOO --- FACE OF A BARN TO FACEBOOK

Long gone are the days when splashy 24 sheet lithos covered half the town. When was the last time you spotted circus imagery on a billboard?  Across the Big Pond, some Brit circuses are now almost exclusively  marketing on  social media, and gradually giving up on  newspaper ads pushing discount coupons. As covered by Douglas McPherson in The Stage, show owner Zippo revealed that he has  stopped running them because nobody appeared at the ticket window with one. That is, while there was a ticket window. Heck, even the red wagon is disappearing over there  as Paulos and Circus Zyair are shutting theirs down. 

But not so fast, argues Julia Kirilova of the Big Kid Circus:  “Posters still have a big impact. People still expect to see them. We are a business which depends a lot on feelings and nostalgia. Everyone knows circus and has a distinct memory of it. Our job is to find a way to make them remember that feeling, whether that is through a short video clip on TikTok or a poster.”

(I guess I was a dinosaur a few years ago, when I picked up a coupon offered in a Vargas newspaper  ad, took it with me to the show and tried getting a resistant lady at the ticket window to honor it. She nearly scowled, claiming never to have known of such a thing.  I let it go, feeling like a stool pigeon from a long lost world.)

Zippo told  McPherson that everyone buys on-line tickets on their phones as they enter the midway.  No need for cash and tickets.  And Sir Douglas rues a day walking the grounds where only yesterday, billowing tents had adorned it.  “There won’t even be a discarded leaflet or ticket stub in the grass to prove it was over here?"

Well ... maybe with luck, a loose nut from a bot mutt?

REVOLUTIONARY CIRCUS REVIEWING LISTS CROWD SIZES

Also over there in Brit land, get this:  A reviewer for the Circus Diaries blog, Charlie Holland, is listing crowd sizes.  Recent disclosures:  300 (about one third of the tent) at Zippos; 500 (half a house) at Big Kid.   That's quite refreshing, although yes, I can imagine that many fans would rather not know. But this does not surprise me. I often see those kinds of turnouts when I go to a circus.

Still, it's nice to see a reviewer taking the time to address both parts that make up a circus performance, the show itself and the audience.  A trend?   Don't bank on it.

Saturday, May 03, 2025

SUNDAY MORNING NOW: A Challenging New Day at the Greatest Show on Earth: Hyperactive Set Design, Feeble Direction Suck the Life out of an Ageless Delight

 from 7.15.24

Acrobatic Circus Review
Ringling Bros / The Greatest Show on Earth
On You Tube at Columbus, OH, 8 months ago


Preface. I had imagined being lyfted out to the Oakland  Coliseum, right up to the arena.  No, I would have been dropped off at a gate on the edge of a parking lot along one of the town’s deadliest streets. No thank you.

Once, again, as with Vargas last year, I am left muddled in a dizzy dichotomy between the acts and the production. So, let us take them one at a time:
        
THE ACTS

On balance, they are a sturdy, sufficiently accomplished  lot — when not hooked to lifelines, falling into nets, or grabbing hold of rigging between tricks. To my (jaded?) eyes, only a precious few rang my WOW bell.   Most of the action favors the customary staples: teeterboard, webs,  hand balancing, contortion,  juggling, flying trapeze, high wire, double wheel, Rola-bola, and the human canon.

The show lifts off now and then, and I wished there could have been more of the show-stopping mastery produced by two absolutely terrific risley acrobats. A+ in my book.  In fact, for me, the highlight of the program. 

Other notable high points include two criss-crossiing trapeze acts, which marks a refreshing interlude from the norm.  And there are two double wheels instead of one, offering a tad more tingle to what is regularly expected. These riders worked overtime.

In addition to the staples, show offers gaucho dancing and young bike-riding daredevils up and down ramps. 

At the top: America’s own Wesley Williams, who has a talent for being human, something this show could use a lot more of, scores big time with his sky high ride on a 35-foot high unicycle. I felt a genuine thrill even though he was life-lined; without which, a crash landing over the audience could spell catastrophe.  His act has been split into parts performed at intervals. A shame, but the show benefits from his ingratiating recurring presence.  Indeed, what is lacking the most in this strange antiseptic comeback is a personality.

Where was the robot dog? I might have missed him during Wesley's turn. The you Tube I saw appeared to contain the entire show from start to finish.

A couple of kind of charming clowns take up little space inconsequentially.

THE PRODUCTION:

As for Ringling’s over the top set – stay with me here --- I saw three hills (or platforms), roughly spaced as in the old three-ring layout. On and around them, the performers tend to look smaller and diminished, like ants lost in a maze of flashing light patterns that grab our attention, in effect dissipating the action. In effect, disrespecting the artist. Whatever was Kenneth Feld thinking?  Does he have so little faith in his talent pool which he claims to be world class? 

On the  outer two ant hills of Ringling, other acts endeavor  to snare a little attention, one of them, a group jump-roping troupe that may go four-high.  I would love to have seen more of them.

Spectacle?  Dancers and hand clappers circle the arena periodically in an effort to rouse the audience, which can feel somewhat hollow and obligatory. 

A trend not worthy of the “Greatest show”–  The insidious invasion of mechanics are of no help here. These tell-tale safety wires can render the user a lazier, less skilled artist, no longer needing to rely on exacting technique in order to avoid a plunge. Thus, they now can get away with being sloppier, less tautly disciplined.  The performance suffers.

Music: An amorphous recorded soundscape with a cold  heavy beat left me in a fog.  Totally unmemorable.  This, from the Greatest Show on Earth?  This from a billionaire  circus owner?  

At the  very end of the performance, Wesley alone, in street clothes, comes running across the set -- a touching human image closing out a cold, impersonal enterprise.

All of the above notwithstanding, the crowd was large and responsive. For all we know, the show may be cleaning up, in which case look for more of the same to continue.  But why do I still see widespread hostility in Yelp Reviews, still  averaging 1-1/2 stars?  (Vargas is drawing 4).

Let me close with a recent Yelper from Brian, Willow Grove, PA, May 29:

 "Save your money. The American circus is officially dead. There is no Ringmaster. There are no clowns. There is no pageantry. There is no National Anthem. You cannot buy a pennant. There are no programs sold. They won't even say: "May All Your Days Be Circus Days." They lamely announce: "May All Your Days Be Ringling Days." This costs hundreds of dollars a ticket?"

 My Rating:

Acts B+

Production values: D

May all your days be better than this one.

First published 7.14.24

MIDWAY FLASH! ... Surprise! Guess Who's the New CEO of Circus World?

When I learned last year that Scott O'Donnell had resigned his CEO post at Circus World (it sounded more like he'd been eased out), it did not make any sense at all, so I thought of the decks being cleared for a big name in the museum's history.  One name that came to mind:

Parkinson.

I was half way there. The other half?

Julie.

Down the Covington Chute comes a press release from Circus World:

"Following a national recruitment, the Wisconsin Historical Society is pleased to welcome Julie Parkinson as the new site director for Circus World in Baraboo."

I wonder how really really hard a time they had in reaching this decision? 

In my year end wrap, I had written about O'Donnell: "A big big loss in my outsider opinion.  A new CEO yet to be named.  The selection might tell us about the split.  Watch for a big name insider."

Sadly, it all makes sense.  Entitlement rules the day.

MIDWAY FLASH! MIDWAY FLASH! Scott O'Donnell to Leave Circus World ... Dave Salutos, Another Exit ..

from 8.28.24

updated: 9:21 AM

The sudden exit of CEO Scott O'Donnell from the ringmaster's desk at Circus World took me by total surprise.

News of his exit came through a Don Covington link.  Naturally my first thoughts where, why? Had he been let go?  So I called CW this morning, to inquire, and they put me through to Scott, which marked the first time we have ever spoken. 

Was it his decision, I asked him?

Yes, he answered. 

Why?

He said he does not share a new vision held by  the state government, which now owns Circus World Museum. For most of its  existence, CW operated as a virtual private enterprise.  But that changed about four years ago, when the Wisconsin State Historical Society came in with much needed funding and assumed  greater control.   Evidently, they now want more power at the Top.  Or were they hoping to effect a "resignation"?

Momentous achievements on the job, not good enough?  A press release from Circus World overflows in citing O'Donnell's "countless transformative contributions," including preservation of Ringlingville, creation of a master plan "that will enhance the visitor experience for generations to come," and the "driving force" behind the Society's acquisition of the Al Ringling Theatre.  This and more, in but eleven seasons?  Something is wrong with this picture.   

I asked Scott if he will miss being there, and his answer sounded more like one reluctantly leaving.

"I put my heart and soul into Circus World" he answered. Clearly, as I heard him speak, the job meant a great deal to him, and yet he is leaving without rancor, ready for an "encore" somewhere else.

Scott's departure will be in tandem with Dave Salutos, who is  retiring at the end of the current season, following a 40 year run.  Ominously, this adds another layer of implicit intrigue to a back story.

Sheer speculation on my part, we may find out what was really going on when we learn who will next assume the CEO desk.

There are some things in life that just don't make sense.  This feels like one of them to me.

 Sad to see you go, Scott. 

posted 8.28.24

Saturday, April 19, 2025

AI Goes to the Circus and The Clowns of Misinformation Have a Field Day

Artificially meeting up with AI for some Q&A, here are some samples I threw its way and how it responded to each.   HI stands for Human Intervention, myself.

Where can I find the lyric for the song, Come to the Circus from the movie The Greatest Show on Earth?

AI:   The song "Come to the Circus" from the movie The Greatest Show on Earth doesn't have a specific song title or lyrics. It's a musical piece used in the movie's soundtrack, and it's part of the musical score, not a song with specific lyrics. (HI, it did have lyrics)

Who invented the three ring circus?

The three-ring circus was invented in 1871 by P.T. Barnum and William Coup,  founders of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus. This innovation allowed for multiple acts to perform simultaneously, creating a more dynamic and entertaining spectacle.  (HI, make that 1881, by Barnum and Bailey)

Who moved Ringling from big tops to hard tops?

AI:  Irvin Feld is credited with moving Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus from outdoor tents to indoor arenas. He purchased the circus in 1967 and made the transition to permanent venues like sports stadiums and arenas. This shift significantly impacted the circus's profitability, transforming it into a successful enterprise. (HI, it was John Ringling North and Art Concello)

I heard the show closed in 2017, but then returned to the road in 2023?

AI:  In 2023, Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey did return with a new show, but it was not a touring show and was only performed in one location. (HI wrong)

Let's take on the still-contested triple somersault on the flying trapeze. Who was the first to accomplish it?

Two answers.  Who knows, there may be more.

AI:  The first circus performer to successfully execute a triple somersault on the flying trapeze was Lena Jordan, a Russian-born trapeze artist. She accomplished this feat at the young age of 12, although the first officially recognized triple somersault was performed in Australia in 1897.

AI:  The first aerialist to consistently perform the triple somersault on the flying trapeze was Alfredo Codona. He was a member of the famous "Flying Codonas" family and achieved this feat in 1919. The New York Times and BnF / CNAC reported on his accomplishment.  While Lena Jordan is credited with performing the first triple somersault in 1897 in Australia, she did not achieve consistent performance of the trick like Codona. Wikipedia notes that Jordan's first triple was recorded in Australia, but she also performed it in the US in 1896. Alfredo Codona, however, is known for perfecting the triple and making it a part of his regular act

But what about Ernest Clark? 

AI:  Yes, Ernest Clark is generally credited for completing a triple, though there have been others like Lena Jordan, who have also made claims. While some circus old-timers say that Clark tried it infrequently and wasn't always successful, his accomplishment is a significant milestone in trapeze history.

And what about claims that Antoinette Concello was the first  woman to throw a  triple? 
 
AI:   Yes, Antoinette Concello was the first woman to successfully perform the triple somersault on the flying trapeze. She was a member of the legendary "Flying Concellos and was known as the "Greatest Woman Flyer of All Time" for this achievement. Britannica and other sources confirm this.  (HI Jordan is the correct answer)
 
Why are there so many conflicting claims around this subject?  Even YOU contradict yourself. 
 
AI:  Conflicting claims about the first triple somersault in circus history are likely due to a few factors: the difficulty of verifying historical feats, the use of safety harnesses, and the evolving definition of what constitutes a "first" successful performance. Several performers, including the Clarkes and Alfredo Codona, have been credited with achieving the trick, sometimes in practice sessions rather than official performances.  Here's a more detailed breakdown:
 
 Verification Challenges:

    Documenting circus performances, especially from the early 20th century, can be difficult. Accurate records of practice sessions and the specific details of safety harnesses used might be incomplete or lost to time.
    The Role of Safety Harnesses:
    Some claims involve performers like the Clarkes using "mechanics" or safety harnesses to assist in the triple somersault. Whether these harnesses count as a true accomplishment is a matter of debate.
    Defining "First":
    Some claims refer to the first successful triple somersault in a practice session, while others focus on the first time it was performed in a public circus act. This distinction adds to the confusion.
    Alfredo Codona's Legacy:
    Alfredo Codona was a highly regarded aerialist known for consistently performing the triple somersault in the 1920s, even after a deadly fall, making him a prominent figure in circus history.
    The Clarkes and Miguel Vazquez:
    The Clarkes are credited with achieving the triple somersault in a performance of the Publiones Circus in Cuba, and Miguel Vazquez is known for successfully perfoing it and the quadruple somersault, though not in a live show.
 
End of interview.
  
Aside from too many sloppy and  conflicting answers, I was impressed by the last section under Verification Challenges. So maybe AI is better at analysis than facts?

Wednesday, April 16, 2025

MIDWAY FLASH! ... MIDWAY FLASH! ... RINGLING HEADS FOR BARN ... PROMISES "BRAND NEW EDITION" IN JANUARY ... RESIGNS CACERES, AUDITIONS ACROBATS ...

 UPDATED  HEADLINE from Alex Smith in the field.

 I tried linking onto the "Sign Up" page for updates, and this appears: 

Hmm. We’re having trouble finding that site.

Wednesday, March 19, 2025

Ah, What Unmitigated Joy It Was, When Circus Ruled the Hearts of America! ... Here's John Ringling North's 1951 Opus at Madison Square Garden, Opening Night Galla for the Heart Fund ... AI Botches Big Top History! ...

Updated below, 3.20.25

Movie Star to Circus Star!  Is that you, Celeste?

Thank you, Shutter Stock!

Yeah, Jimmy, high nose it!  I can feel your joy. That's the greatest Greatest Show up, down, and all around!.

I'll take greatness in grainy any day over schlock in pixels. 

How I would love to have attended one of those Opening Night Galas at Madison Square Garden, when the arena could be drenched in famous faces.
 
 
Do you see any faces wreaking of issues?  Looks to me like a totally embracing crowd
 

There Goes Otto, back into the audience that he can't stay away from!
 


Weary Willie, what are you thinking?  To clown or not to clown?

Serendipity tossed these dazzling mages my way.  The year is 1951.  We're at the circus, opening night at Madison Square Garden ---  a benefit performance for the Heart Fund.  Do I see celebrities riding the floats?  Is that Celeste Holm on the elephants trunk? (Marilyn Monroe rode one in 1955)  My favorite is of Jimmy Durante lapping it all up on the sidelines.

This was the show being filmed by Cecil B. DeMille for scenes in his his epic film The Greatest Show on Earth.  The cameras rolled in Sarasota and would be rolling once again when the show hit the canvas road in Philadelphia.

********* updated:

PS I wanted to sign off by quoting some lines from "Come to the Circus" from the GSOE, so I googled in vain for the lyrics, and got this from the latest advance in digital domination:

AI Overview
Learn more
The song "Come to the Circus" from the movie The Greatest Show on Earth doesn't have a specific song title or lyrics. It's a musical piece used in the movie's soundtrack, and it's part of the musical score, not a song with specific lyrics.  

Artificial Idiocy anyone?

From AI to DC: 

Came an e-mail from a friend to this blog, not the first time he has offered valuable corrections or missing facts needed.  DC for Don Covington, referring me to  a record I already have and was only listening to a few weeks ago! Okay, maybe I preferred pushing how impossible it was googling up the lyrics (never had trouble finding any song before) over re-listening to Harold Ronk's highly entertaining A Seat at the Circus with "Mr. Singing Ringmaster."  A record I highly recommend to all.  So I put the record back on my turntable.  Ronk opens the show on a high note:

Come to the circus!  See  the circus!  If we're not very careful life can overwork us!  So take today, and make it gay, for there are too many tears along the  way ...

One for DC. None for AI.

Thank you, Don.

Monday, February 17, 2025

Legendary Breakthrough at the Circus--- Dancing At Last Holds Its Own

How could it be?  How could a group of dancers ever hold their own against, if not exceed the talents of the best circus acts on the bill?

Mine eyes have seen a revelation. for the first time, four-star choreography in the ring.  

If you live long enough, you may be surprised in ways you could never have expected.  Over the years, I have seen many kinds of dancing in league with clowns and elephants. Some was good enough as filler between acts and prop changes. Some fairly pedestrian. Some, well, at least lively.  But not of a caliber you would expect to find in a professional venue centered in dance and ballet.

Until now. I'm almost afraid to re-watch the You Tube on which I discovered this, for fear I might have over-reacted. But let me leave that for now and ride the waves of something that deserves top drawer respect

These nimble dames are jazzy.  They're funky.  I see saucy shades of Fosse.

The acts between the footwork? Mostly good enough. Three stand outs include a cradle casting duo and a lovely low-wire ballerina who performs both softly and intrepidly well, and on her toes. But here is where the dancers, flapping large wings, messed up my sight lines.  I strained to see the star, and wanted to scream, off with their wings!

Weakest of all, ringmaster overkill. Best of all, wrapping the show with a smartly placed powerhouse of tumblers forming pyramids and individually taking turns thundering around the ring trough somersaults and flip flops. I could feel a hurricane of horses sweeping me away.

Okay, name of the circus?  Candyland 2024 from Zippos. A forty five minute show, easy to look up on You Tube.