6th Year November 14, 1977 Number 46

3IC3-Lots of new faces will be in evidenee in the 1978 Circus Vargas program. Set to join the big

circus are Ron and Mitzie Gill, Bridget Bal lant ine , The Plunket t Family, Christopher James, theHying I,anes, the Schmitt-Albulet high wire duo, plus an as yet unnamed cat act.

leaving the show after three years are the Kit-mentis, who will spot date; others leaving afterone season are the Carlos Twins, Roger Regor, high wire, the Hraun's Rocket Ship act , Frank andKstrelita, now in their second season, who will also spot date d u r i n g the upcoming year. Ruebenand Magaly, foot jugg l ing and head balancing trapeze, are reportedly going to the Carden-JohnsonCircus next year. f ~~~7~ ~~~ : " ~ ~~~

readied in California under the direction of Mil -lie Ward. Judy Baker will join Sir Wil l iam andTommy Baker w i t h a l iberty dr i l l of 6 horsesnow being trained in California. She wi l l appearin the center ring, with twin 8 horse drills inboth end rings.

Wally Naght in w i l l be debut ing two acts of4 bears each for both end rings, while his ownlarge bear act wi l l be featured in the center ring.

New on the show now is Rex Williamswho is breaking the Vargas herd of elephantsfor new routines. The show acquired two babyelephants at Alexandria (Va) br inging the herdto 17. By 1978 the herd is expected to be in-creased to 20 bulls. Rex is put t ing three ringsof 5 bulls each, and adding a wa lk ing longmount with the entire herd in the program.

A new Grand Entry type Spec, Midnigh tin Las Vegas, is hav ing its f i n i s h i n g touches

(Continued on Page 12)

BLE FO« LIMITED ENGAGEMENTS

HOLLYWOOD ELEPHANTSContact

PAUL V. KAYESuite 519 • 1880 North Vine Street • Hollywood, California • 90028

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Page 2 November 14, 197 '

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Box 391, Sunland, Calif. • 91040(213) 352-4277 (213) 352-2454

i : i ) D I E BACKSTEIN and his father deliveredthe old ( 'arson k l iarnes tent to the show atHuntsv i l l e , Ala., where the tents were switched.The run from Decatur (111.) took 20 hours.

ALBERT BARNARD, Jr., has been electedpresident of the Bette Leonard Tent CFA forthe coming year.

ALTON JONES and his wife, formerly of Jop-lin, Mo., have moved to: Westminster Village,5601 Bethel Road, Muncie, Ind. 47302. Thecouple celebrated their Golden Wedding anni-vcrsarv on \m 2nd

THANK YOU

. J O H N N Y W A L K E R (Caudi l l ) Jr .

Fur v o u r purchase of a new ( I M C Crew ('ah

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465 N.E. 102nd StreetMiami Shores. Fl». 33138(305) 751-0206

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Circus Kirk has been drawing good crowds forits tall tour and on Oct. 23rd won a special lo-cal write-up in the Greensboro (NC) Daily News

The Soils-Sterling Tent CFA plans to erect ahistoric;!! m a r k e r a t S i i rbm t;an, W i s e . , h i h o n -or i he three- Lindemann brothers of circus fame

Overseas opt ions for 'Tins Is H a w a i i . . . O n lee'have been picked up for the month of JanuaryThe show's 1978 edition is scheduled to openon M a r c h 2nd , i l ( . r r e n - u l h . ( l i n o

Two former guards al the M e m p h i s (Term) / . < > < >have been charged w i t h j j r a n d larcetu and re-

In Memoriam

CHESTKH 'Chef C. SIEDELL (63) died at Lin-coln, Nebr., on Oct. 4th. Chet was an activecircus fan, collector and historian.

CONCHITA M. SCHNEIDER (Erikson) of Tam-pa, Fla. died in that city on Oct. 25th at theage of 71. Shi- had been an aerialist for over 60years and t r a v e l e d w i t h such shows as K i n ^ l i n ^liros., Clyde Heatty and o the r major indoor andoutdoor circuses. Survivors include her husbandKarl Schneider (Krikson), a daughter, Mrs. Dor-othy Yerkes, of California, two sisters and twograndsons.

ceiving and concealing stolen property in thethe f t of several ostriches from the /<>«.

P h i l l i p s (iti has donated p ro j ec t ion equipmentand two movies (Day of the Thundering Herdand !,aw and Order) to the Tom Mix Museumat Dewcy. Okla.

Both Circus Vargas and the Royal LichU'nsteinCircus played Memphis (Tenn) on the same dayliLsl month and bo th were pictured on the samepage of t h a t c i t y ' s Commercial Appeal (Oct. 29)

INTERNATIONAL ANIMAL TRAINEROol 13. T.

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The Circus Report Page 3

Death Defiers From Around The World

TWIN EXCHANGESWAYPOLES

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DUO CRISS-CROSSINGAERIAL MOTORCYCLES

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TEMPORARY ADDRESSTILL APRIL 1978

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UNIT 2. TILL APRIL 1978. RBBB Cl RCUS WORLD

U N I T 1 NOW A V A I L A B L E

Magictime USA - Prof. MillerNov. 16 Poughkeepsie, N.Y.

19 Hoboken, N. J.

The Canadian tour of the MoscowCircus included the following cities.

Sept. 21-25 Ottawa, Ont.27-Oct 2 Montreal, Quebec

Oct.

Nov.

5-10 Toronto, Ont.13-17 Vancouver, BC20-23 Calgary, Albta.25-30 Edmonton

2-6 Winnipeg, Man.

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Tickets for performances were pricedat: $5.00, $6.00 and $7.00

ROUTESMoscow Circus

Nov. 15-20 Cincinnati, Ohio

PAL CircusNov. 19-20 San Francisco, Cal.

Ringhng-Barnum - Blue Unitto Nov. 20 Cleveland, Ohio

Ringling-Bamum • Red Unitto Nov. 20 Chicago, 111.

Royal Hanneford CircusNov. 19-26 New Orleans, La.

Royal Lichtensetin CircusNov. 14 Mobile, Ala.

15 New Orleans, La.18 Baton Rouge

Wonderland Circus RevueNov. 14 Eastover, S. C.

16 Denmark/St. Matthew

OTHER ROUTES

Ice CapadesNov. 15-20 Fresno, Calif.

Showtime FolliesNov. 12 New Orleans, La.

17 Durham, N. C.

Th i s Is H a w a i i . . . On ILTNov. 16-20 Wellington, N. Z.

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Page 5

BILLY BARTONTHE INDESTRUCTIBLE AURELIA HALL jack-kni-fed her rig enroute to the Dallas Shrine Date, sufferedtwo broken ribs, was wrapped in bandages, Then drovean additional 600 miles to make the date. She toldwild animal trainer ROGER SMITH: "When Nini getsa scratched finger we have to put HER in IntensiveCare." (They did, too. Jeannine almost lost her armto infection).

Aurelia is scheduled for a hip operation following theTexas dates, will get a new "ball and socket". Shespeaks of the forthcoming ordeal as if she's alreadygot It whipped, promises to be back on her feet in 3days, home in less than 10 - knowing Aurelia, that'sthe way it will bel

Speaking of infections, VASH E K cut a fingernail tooclose, ended up with a serious case of blood-poisoningwhich was this close to being fatal I Dn top of it all,he hung his rigging and worked several dates with abandaged hand, in agony throughout, and never oncecomplained. Talk about troupers I

It's indeed true that JIM NORDMARK has fielded twounits, the second one a magic variety revue, which ison the road. Both units reopen in late January. NOWit can be told - just as I quietly predicted to intimatefriends since the start of the season CIRCUS VARGASpositively plays the Sunshine State this winter andwill NOT make a California fall tour as in the past.

IT's rumored that AL and JOYCE VIDBEL will be atStorytown USA in 1978, and a fact that LES BLOCKSwill appear for the summer at Fantasy Island whereJON ZERBINI annualed for 13 seasons! Jon, it is re-ported, will manage the HUBERT CASTLE Circusand be on tour with that show all season.

FANTASY ISLAND Bigwigs trekked to the BentleyCircus in Johnstown (Pa) to look over FRANK andJANET BURGER and LILLI-ANA with an eye to hav-ing those acts at the Theme Park this coming summer.Janet and Frank's chimp KELLY was such a successon National TV playing tennis opposite ELIE NASTASE that moresuch major sports events have beeninked for this talented simian.

SNAPSHOTS: CARMEN HALL'S precocious Baboonsare the HIT of the Texas dates....TOMMY BENTLEYwound up with "producers' feet" in Johnstown whenhe kept one eye on the show, spun Candy Floss, "sat"Vashek's inclined wire guys, and walked a hundredmiles daily....But, this I'll say: he remained calm andcool throughout....BILLY EARL had a small granu-loma removed from his leg (which was benign). Thestitches have now been removed and he is doing fine.

Billy has added a "rocker base" to his sword balancingladder which gives it a "sway pole" effect...GEE GEEENGESSER, who returns to Cirque Gatini in 1978 forher 3rd season, was forced to layover in New YorkState enroute to Florida when one of her elephantsdemolished a pony stall in the animal semi....Afterbreaking both wrists, LONI VAN V O O R O E N decor-ated her casts with jewels, draped the jeweled plasterwith feathers and went right back to work !....DameKATE HANNEFORD was honored on her birthdayat the Shrine Circus in Knoxville with full centerringhonors KARL and CONCHITA ERICKSONare both hospitalized in Tampa, Conchita's conditionis serious ED RUSSELL is now back home in Cali-fornia....BUCK NOLAN's CB "handle" is the "Wan-derer" (should be "Browser" since he's such a fleamarket freak)....EM and OSSIAN WIRENGARD'sson, B. WIRENGARD, Jr., had a successful season inDenmark with his breakaway sway pole thriller....Finetrumpeter ROY R08INETTE has a varied backgroundof classical and Broadway musical experience....WESand FLORINE OLER wound up their long fair sesonOct. 29th. Meanwhile they and son, PHIL, are tour-ing with Garden's SHOWTIME FOLLIES....Thepoodle, ABNER, which was acquired from JIMMYDOUGLASS years ago, finally had to be put to sleep....JANET and FRANK BURGER are breaking a smalldog for ETHEL JENNIER's sword balancing act.

ON THE SCENE WITH BENTLEY BROS: ClownRICK SMILEY is the nephew of famed BOBBY KAYE....LILLI-ANA was presented with roses by the pro-ducers on the second show opening day, was thrilled,said: "First time this ever happened to me!".. JOHN-NY CANOLE was a daily visitor throughout the run....The PLUNKETTS arrived, sans June, who stayed be-hind to look after her daughter Jan who was havinganoperation....DEBBIE (Toca) PLUNKETT workedin MARK ALLEN's Magic Act Deb's sister is nowflying in the Garden-Johnson flying act....VASHEKand KATHY have,.ty this Time, flown to Switzerlandfor a month's visit.Johnstown marked Kathy's finalperformance until the baby is born in March - mean-while sister, Cindy, subs for her in the act....WALTand BARBARA KING went from the Johnstown dateto spots for HUBLER and will make the EvansvilleShrine Date.CHUCK SCHLARBAUM ran into 80 yr. old retired

.bandmaster RAYMOND ESCORTIA on a visit to Bar-aboo this summer. The pair then visited DOMBROW-

(Continued on Page 8)

Pa HI- 6 November 14, 1977

FOR SALE PHOTOS5,600 Still Photos (8x10) of Circus Actsperforming with the Dobritch Int'l Cir-cus from 1955 thru 1962.

Condition Very Good . . . $595.00Carriage Extra

ANTHONY HANOCAP. O- Box 9333

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Acts currently being featured at Old Chicagoinclude: Martin Lamberti, juggling; Miss Bar-bara, web; the Nachans Trio, trampoline; Mar-tin Lamberti, hand balancing; Bruski's Dollyand Her Darlings, bike balance; The FlyingIbarras. Other features at the facility are: Char-lie Baffle's Magic Show, the Old Chicago Key-stone Kops Banjo Band, Alberta Massee at theBell Wagon and the Old Chicago Duo.

Members of the International Circus Band atOld Chicago are: Emit Hahn, director and cir-cus coordinator, Lloyd Fengel, cornet, JerryZezulka, comet, Del Bergeson, trombone, JoeDrick, baritone and Steve Young, drums.

MiscellaneousThe Sells Kioto King, CMB, held its Fall ModelCircus K x h i b i t at Wcionsocket, R. I., on Nov.11-13.

WANTEDDUE TO ENLARGEMENT OF SHOW

Animal MenHorse Grooms

Lead StockGeneral Help In All Departments

Handyman (Combined welder/carpenter)

All Positions Require Diesel Truck Drivers

Contact: BOB ZANOTTICIRCUS VARGAS(415)348-8456

Hanneford CiPCUSTalent appearing with the Royal HannefordCircus at White Plains (NY) on Oct. 22-23 in-cluded: Charles Schlarbaum, Jerry and BrianMaas, band; two hair hangs and two ladders;Tajana, tigers; The Lancelots, high wire; ClownWash Day; Los Latinos, low wire; Mr. Monarch,one finger stand; Isabella, balancing; Mr. Aris-tocrat, one finger stand; Aerialetta II and theaerial ballet (3 webs and 3 ladders); Sir VictorJulian and his Little Stars; The Oscarians, ris-ley; The Riding Hannefords; The Flying Aztecs;Senor Rai, magic; Karen, doves; Jo Ann andSunny, the seal; Tajana and Rama; Hanne ford'selephants and the Great Huberto, foot slide.

Mike Naughton

Gorilla SuitsStill only $435.00.

Everything from AnimalCostumes, Clown Shoes

to Miniature Cars.LUo I U ll Ito 3108 Monroe Road

Charlotte, North Carolina 28205SEND $2.00 FOR A COMPLETE CATALOG.

The Circus Report

r ««iW^ iw.BIG JOHN STRONG

HOLLOWAY PRODUCTIONSFORA

SUPER SEASON

ROBIN MARIE MIGUELITOMERAZ

Thank YouBilly Barton

For Your Bouquet in Circus Report

Thank YouCast & Crew John Strong Circus

For Your Bouquet in the Center Ping

PageS November 14,1977

Circus OrganistWith Own Equipment

AVAILABLE THRU JAN. 1978

Contact: RAY HARTZELL404 So. Meadow Valley Dr.Las Vegas, Nevada 89107

Show FeaturesThe program presented at Huntsville (Ala) onOct. 28-30 by the Sam T. Polack Circus featur-ed:Clown come-in; Local Shrine Units; Overture;Miss Caroline; Lilli Ana, leopards; the BurkettDuo, aerial perch; Clowns; Miguel, tightwire;Gowns; The Dymeks; Jack and Sandy Fulbrightand their horses; the Obandos, high wire; MissLydia, single trapeze; Vidbel's ponies; Ful-bright's ponies; Clowns; the Carlos Duo, perch;Hair Hang; Clowns; The Elkins Sisters; Vidbel'selephants; the Espanas Flying act.

The show was produced by Sam T. Polack; A)Dawley was the announcer/ringmaster; RonKelroy was prop boss; John Asbury directedthe music and Clown Alley included: John andLorraine McKay, David Chabira, Les Schmitt,Tom Phelps and Machele Malvem.

JOHN HERRIOTT was the guest speaker at theRobert Dover Tent, CFA, annual meeting, heldat Camp Hill, Pa., on Oct. 29th.KIRBY GRANT (Sky King) recently visited hisex-long time personal manager STAN KRA-MIEN, at the Kramien Bird Farm in BrushPrairie, Wash. Kramien was the manager whosigned Sky King for his long tour with Carson& Barnes Circus starting in 1965. Sky King willbe appearing on some of Kramien's Christmasshows this year.

O P E N I N G FOR PROMOTER who likessteady work in Medium Size Towns. Musthave references.

STAN KRAMIEN and Associates(206) 256-6178

Buy yourself and your circus-minded friendsa gift you'll really enjoy - color photos ofyour favorite circuses and performers. Over2000 available!For Details, Write to:

CUSTOM COLOR CIRCUS PHOTOS1509 South Clinton Avenue

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BILLY BARTON (Continued)

SKI's BAR (a subscriber to CR) where a conventionof Model Builders found themselves serenaded bytrumpet duets.COUNT-COUNTER-POINT: WES and FLORINEOLER were flying to their Orangeburg Fair date byseparate air routes, the from Showtime Follies, hefrom the Bentley Bros. Circus engagement. At theCharlotte (NO stopover they found themselves to-gether on the same flight into Orangeburg - and com-pletely by accident ISee you down the road, luvs.

LIBERACE and the Acrobats of Taiwan areappearing at the Nugget Casino in Sparks, Nev.,through Nov. 20th. The show also featuresthe Casino's elephant "Bertha".

BILL BIGGERSTAFF expects to take deliveryof a new trailer unit which will enable him towork more efficiently as he tours with CircusVargas.

FOR SALERINGUNG CIRCUS PROGRAMS

1957 - $ 4.00 each - Post Paid1968 - $ 2.75 each - Post Paid1972 - $ 2.50 each - Post Paid1973 - $ 2.50 each - Post Paid

Send Check or Money Order to:

COLLECTABLESP. O. Box 1154 Venice, Fla. 33595

The Circus Report Page 9

MAGICTIME USAby Atos Aras

It's tough to project magical illusions from asmall stage tucked away in the backend of abam-like gymnasium.The audience in the Rider College Gym, Law-rence Township, N. J., on Saturday, Oct. 22had to sit on either those small, hard, metalfolding chairs spread out on the basketball courtor equally uncomfortable wooden benches,perpendicular to the stage, which probably af-ford.m-good view of a basketball game, but alousy perch from which to see Stu Miller andall the rest make magic.The unlighted Scoreboard made it clear neitherRider nor Visitor scored a point all afternoon,but Magictime USA scored a lot of them as evi-denced by the enthusiasm of the SRO house(gym). Which goes to prove that when a thea*trical production can be successful out of it'selement, it's bound to score points in a famil-iar setting.Without any ado whatsoever, Rabbi the clowngot the kids higher than a kite shouting "Hel-lo's" and other nonsense. Even the mommiesand daddies were laughing. Rabbi did his job.The come-in had 'em wanned up."Another Opening, Another Show" was thelead off number of the overture as things gotgoing musically. A trumpet, organ, percussioncombination cut the show with precision. Theselection of charts was imaginative and reflect-ed a long-time familiarity with, and knowledgeof, show music.Flanked by three flashily wardrobed female as-sistants, Stu began with the doves. He pulledthem from impossible places. He worked thewater vase and a few silks. Rabbits and duckscame from noweher; Sara (Mrs. Miller) waseverywhere, always smiling.Next came the Doll House. Stu's many daysand nights on the bally stand in front of CircusSide Shows prepared him well for his oratoricalstyle of presenting magic.Stu and Rabbi came back for some sure-firelaugh producing, face transplanting, flapdoolewhich saw Rabbi survive without a scratch.Stu then had four kids from the audience comeon stage for several participation stunts.

A Trip to the Orient and dividing a girl in sixequal parts showed that Stu still has a magicalway with the ladies.

Adding variety and changing the pace, MisakoSen presented some excellent unicycling, clubjuggling and giraffe unicycle dancing, twirlingtwo batons. Ms. Sen finished juggling three firetorches. A polished presentation.In white shirt, white tie and white tails, Prof.Miller made the whate-gowned, dreaming Prin-cess rise; hooping her risen form from all pos-sible directions — proving beyond doubt — andthen resting her down again. A masterful preen-tation of levitation.Next, Rabbi, the last of the circus buffoons, asStu dubbed him, had three members of thesponsoring group on stage for a balloon infla-tion contest.The Olde London Punch and Judy Show fol-lowed, easing into the bag of magic tricks pitch— 50 cents. The economics of the Circus SideShow appeared in the limelight of MagicTimeUSA. Prom the response, MTUSA had plenty ofgas money to get out of town.Intermission.Satan's Bride, the girl to leopard illusion, be-gan the post-intermission part of the program.The audience was happily astonished.Prof. Miller, in sequined jacket, pulled a dogfrom an empty cylinder and then a girl appear-ed from an empty box just after a sword hadbeen thrust downward through it's center. Im-possible.Stu had two kids on stage for some rope cut-ting and joining. And then he cut Sara (hiswife) in two. Naturally, he put her back togeth-er again. The daddies in the audience seemedto enjoy this one the most.Rabbi returned with some magical comedy.The Joe Horwath Chimps (3) were ama/ing.An excellent presentation. The simian boxingmatch had the crowd in stitches.The Trunk Exchange followed with some plea-sing comedy diversion using two members ofthe local sponsoring organization.Lastly, Prof. M i l l e r presented the Amazing Mr.X, ala green and red frocked Trappist monkwith the head of a devil. A beautiful switch. Hereally fooled 'em with this one.

(Continued on Page 12)

11)N

ovember 1

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97

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The Circus Report Page 1

\0flft THE BARTON -IENNIER\ J CENTER R I N G A T T R A C T I O N S

The A*tec

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- N O N I G H T C A L L S P L E A S E -

Page 12 November 14, 1977

It won't be long now and HolidaySeason will be with us - send yourGreeting for the annual Christmasedition of Circus Report now • besure you don'frdelay. (No increasein advertising costs).

BIG CHANGES (Continued)Also returning neitt year are Miss Loni and MissBarbara, foot juggling in end rings in identicalwardrobe and routines. While they are workingChristopher James' wire rigging will be set inthe center ring.

Remaining with the show are Semon's Chimps,the Baker Clown Trio, Ringmaster Mike Gor-man, Bandleader Jim Gibson, clowns JohnnyPierce, Zapatta and Habibi, and the Braunsfrom Germany who will function in a "frontend" capacity.

The Circus Vargas side show format has beenabandoned and has been turned into an elabor-ate menagerie and petting zoo, with more ani-mals being acquired almost daily. The Windlandsremain in charge of this operation which fea-tures a two-headed cow.

REVIEW (Continued)

Finale. All members of the cast were introdu-ced. They received a well deserved, long lastingcompliment from an appreciative audience thathad just witnessed a fine, lustrous performance.Truly an afternoon of mystical entertainment.Surely Prof. Miller and Company have somesort of divine connection with supernaturalagencies, or forces of nature. At least it seemedthat way to me, for awhile, on Saturday after-noon, October 22, 1977.The Company: Prof. Stu Miller, Magician; SaraDiaz Miller, Lead Assistant and Misako Sen;Jerry Weintraub; Rabbi the Clown; Joe and AvaHorwath, Chimpanzee act; Bernadette Bowmanand Rennie Wong, Show Girls; Jack King, Mus-ical Conductor; Doc Swan and Peter Montal-bano, Musicians.

THE CIRCUS REPORT Is published each week byDon Marcks. 525 Oak St., El Cerrlto, Calif. 94530.Phone: (415) 525-3332.SUBSCRIPTION RATE: $12.00 a year; Oversea*via Surface Mall $15.00ADVERTISING RATES (per Issue): Minimum Adis $5.00; Quarter Page $10.00; Half Page $15.00;Full Page $25.00 (Please no color work).

Now Booking for 1978

also Winter Dates

v.c,p

P. O. Box 554Gibson ton , Fla. 33534

Telephone:(813) 677-7542

Hie Circus Report Page 13

ExpectingTwo African elephants at the Knoxville (Tenn)Zoo • Toto and Sapphire • are expecting andthe births due next year will be the first in theWestern Hemisphere for captive African ele-phants.

Appearing unaffected by it all is Ole Diamond,the 27,year old father-to-be, who, it is claimed,is the largest African elephant in captivity.

Zoo director Guy Smith III announced the ex-pected births last week and has launched a cam-paign to raise $65,000 for construction of fa-cilities for the calving and to keep Ole Diamondaway from the mothers when they give birth.

Toto belongs to the Bronz Zoo (NY) and hasbeen on loan to the Kmoxville Zoo since 1975.Her calf is due next March.

ImprovingActress Nanette Fabray, admitted to a hospitallast week after being knocked down by an ele-phant, has been moved from the intensive careunit, hospital officials report.

Miss Fabray was said to be improving steadilyafter the accident during the filming of a scenefor "Harper Valley PTA."

The elephant reportedly was irritated by aprankster and hit Miss Fabray in the chest withits trunk knocking her across the set.

You can order your Cir-cus Report subscriptiontoday and start receivingit at once.

The low cost of $12.00a year is a real buy intimes, so join your show,friends each week andread Circus Report...

Fill in the coupon below and mail it along with$12.00 to: Don Marcks, 525 Oak St., El Cerrito,Calif. • 94530

Name

Address,

City

FOR SALEWhite Tops magazine (assorted 1954 to 1971

15 copies $20.00Bandwagon magazine (assorted 1962 to 1971

15 copies $ 20.00Let's Star a Circus (Danish and very good)

$ 5.00Memories of Joseph Grimaldi by Dickens

$ 5.00McSorley's Wonderful Saloon (Paperback)

$ 2.00400 Tricks You Can Do by Thurston the

Great $ 4.00Magic With Cards by Garcia (paper back)

$ 2.00Hoffman's Tricks With Dice, Dominoes,

etc., (Rough) $ 5.00The Great Houndini's - Last Years TV show

(paperback) $ 1.508 mm Movies Super 200 ft. Greatest Show

on Earth - Part 1 and 2 $ 15.00Circus Thrills (Castle) $ 7.50Circus Slicker - W. C. Fields in Super 8 mm

sound film $ 15.00Rings Around the World • Silent film in

Super 8 mm B&W $ 8.00Same film in color $ 18.00

Anbody remeber the Candy Pitch? I've gotone of the larger boxes marked XX, Fullof all kinds of circus goodies and surprises,at a special introductory price of $ 25.00These will not be sold in your local storesuntil after Christmas, OK? Who's going tobe first at just $25.00?

JACK BENNETTBox 362 Miami, Okla. 74354

State

THE GREAT MAYO (Wm. Patterson), escapeartist, was the main attraction at the La Cum-bra Plaza Shopping Center in Santa Barbara(Calif.) Oct. 28-31. His appearance there tiedin with the anniversary of Houdini's death onOct. 31,1926. Following the Santa Barbaradate he left for performances in the PalmSpings (Calif.) area.

gLTON JOHN, rock star, announced his retire-ment from live stage performances at the end ofa concert in London last week.

Page 14 November 14, 1977

THE CIRCUSGeorge Hubler produced another great circusfor the Hajji Grotto at Bedford, Ind., on Oct.29 and 30th. The show was presented in theBedford Jr. High School Gym, with perform-ances at 2 and 8 on Saturday and 2 and 5 onSunday.

The show opened with Joe Sherman directingthe Clown Come-in and Boom Boom Brown-ing's Trio played the overture.

After the National Anthem the program gotunderway with Johnnie Laddie & Co, balanc-ing; Clowns with 'Hot Dog' gag; The JoselitoBros, and their Madcap Chimps; Miss CathyEnglish, trapeze; The Stevens Troupe, tramp-oline; Mr. Sherman and Mr. Hardy, magicians;Susan Sheryll and her Royal Afghans; AerialBallet with Miss Bumpy and Miss Cathy; Clownnumber with Joe Sherman and Mr. Hardy;Johnny Zoppe's Rhesus Monkeys; Jorge Bar-reda, lions (8).

George Hubler's next date coming up is at Troy(Ohio) on Nov. 12-13. ^ Don Sandman

IT'S NEWBobby Gibbs and Don Anderson have formed acircus and horse spectacle for select spring dateswhich will feature the Gibb's animals and theAnderson's Texas White Horse Troupe.

The show will run about !'/& hours and will car-ry its own concessions, a 60 k.w. light plant andseats for 4,000 people. A wild west type can-opy will be used instead of a tent.

The show will be geared to play rodeo arenas,ball parks and shopping centers. General man-ager for the show will be Don Anderson of theWhite Horse Ranch, Troup, Texas. Informa-tio n about the show is also available from BobGibbs, Rte. 4, Box 550, Mission, Texas.

Fair DateOler Entertainment Productions have set a largenumber of fair dates for 1978, including theOrangeburg (SC) fair Oct. 9-14. The program atthat fair will headliqe the Barton-Jennier Cen-ter Ring Attractions (5 acts) and the Bonnie& Clyde musical comedy team. Organist Flor-ine Oler will back up the show.

Acts Wanted- ( D o i n g Two or More N u m b e r s ) -

F O R T E N T C I R C U S

Send: Photos , descr ip t ion of acts, and salary r equ i remen t s

Eros. Circ-as6106 East 32nd Place -- Su i t e 103

Tulsa , O k l a h o m a - 74135

The Circus Report Page 15

MIKE PIKE, bandleader for Clyde Bros.-Car-den-Johnson Circus, has just completed musicalscores for TV commercials to be seen nation-wide in '78. Mike's latest spots are for WarnerLambert Industries, makers of Schick products.DON and INGA WOODS are wintering theirhorses in the Texas Rio Grande Valley area forthe winter months.GLEN and ETHEL HENRY played Harlington,Texas, for Garden-Johnson on Oct. 29-30.

DION YOUNG, lion trainer with Carson & Bar-nes Circus left that show to work for JUNGLELARRY in Florida.RON and JOY HOLIDAY have their big catsat the "Million Dollar Dump" for the 2001Nights show in Houston.MELVIN SILVERLAKE was seen with his bigsnake show working the Fair at Dallas (Texas).

GUNNAR AMANDIS, GIL MILLER, HOW-ARD SUSEZ, Sr. ATAYADE, M. GATINI andGEORGE HAMID were all visiting the ShrineCircus at Houston, Texas, last month.BOBBY and ROSA GIBBS have signed to workwith the GERALD SOULES "Circus Girard" in1978 (May 3o thru Labor Day) where in addi-tion to their animal acts they will work a ponyride and elephant ride.GARY HENRY is playing dates for JIM HET-ZER in the West Virginia area, with his comedycar and pony.LOU REGAN worked camels and elephants at

AGENTS WANTEDFOR 1978 SEASON

E U R O P O R A M A , INC.223 West Main St., Suite 205

M e d f o r d , Oregon - 97501Phone: (503) 779-7441

He's FinedA state jury at Antlers, Okla., has found BillBoatright, of that city, guilty of maintaining apublic nuisance by keeping animals at his localtruck stop. A fine of $100 was assessed againstBoatright, who represented himself in court.Boatright said he would be getting rid of his ani-mals this winter, including a 600 Ib bear, a.tigera leopard and two lions. He said he would pro-bably give them to the Carson & Barnes Circuswhen the show returns to its winter home atHugo, Okla.Boatright was brought to trial after his tigernearly severed the left arm of a local man whoventured too close to the cage on April 17th.On Aug. 27th the bear bit and severely injureda 5 year old boy who with his grandmotherposed for a picture alongside the cage, theanimal was uncaged at the time.

the Dr. Pepper Circus in Dallas, Texas.STAN KRAMIEN, magician, was featured onTV's "Knockout" show seen on Friday, Nov.4th.

NOW AVAILABLEOne of the Most U n i q u e and O r i g i n a l Acts in the W o r l d

FESS R E Y N O L D S AND HIS L I B E R T Y B R A H M A BULLS

Six Bulls - Can Work A n y w h e r eAlso Six Pony Libert Act Plus "Frosty" the Comedy Bull

Contact : FESS R E Y N O L D SBox 782Lebec, Calif. - 93243

Phone: (805) 248-6195

Frosty - Twister , The Bull f romthe Sky, Walt Disney Product ionsW a r n e r Bros. "For Pete's Sake"with Barbra Streisand

Page 16 November 14,1977

THE MOSCOW CIRCUSby Gordon D. Brown and George ChapmanFollowing a seven city tour of Canada, whichCanadian impressario J. Sergei Sawchyn saidcould only be described as a "monster hit" theMoscow Circus heads into Chicago for an open-ing of the U. S. tour on Nov. 8th.The animals and props sailed Aug. 30th fromMurmansk aboard the S.S. Andreev, arriving inMontreal on Sept. 14th. The 65 member Sovietcompany arrived by air on Sept. 15 and 17, tobe joined by 25 Canadian travelling staff. Theanimal contingent consisted of 20 bears, 12horses, 8 house cats and 3 dogs. The show mov-ed on six 45 ft. semi-trailers and one 40 ft. semihorse van, all rented in Canada.The circus was presented in a more intimatemanner than in previous tours with a new re-duced seating plan involving an ingenious cur-taining reducing the capacity of some arenasup to one-half. Every seat was advertised as a"great seat". The single European-style ring,which travels in its own 45 ft. semi, is about45 ft. in diameter with a specially developedrubberized and 3-M Tartan surface, eliminatingthe fussy sand and clay composition previouslyused on other tours.The show opens with a brief colorful GrandEntry with capisoned horses and flags. TrimLudmilla Kanagina after intoning "Welcometo the Moscow Circus" grasps a cable and iswhisked up to roman rings and swinging singletrap and a finale with some Vickie Unus-likeone arm planges in the dome of the arena. TheZamotkins offer good teeterboard, climaxed bythe unduplicated catapult from the boardthrough a somersault on stilts.Russia's newest great clown, Yuri Kuklachov,at age 28 is heralded as the inheritor of the lau-rels of the great Popov. Without make-up, butwith an amazing rubber-face he imitates a rockand roll musician, plays an accordion, jumpsoff a teeterboard, rides a unicycle, climbs aperch pole, juggles and balances his tabbycaton his finger. His work with kids, young andold in the close-in audience is classic.Larissa and Victor Sungurov bound up anddown a 15 ft. giant staircase of (bar re Is withvigor and lots of fun. Marina Osinskaya soloeswith a tricky rigging and three types of highwire work.

Valeri Guryev juggles and then catches on hisneck, solid steel balls with occasional passeswhen the cannonballs hit the floor with a sick-ening thud, but he continues to smile through-out. Marina and Larissa Petrova have a goodaerial gymnastic whirl on a very high circlingrigging. The first half closes with "The Incred-ible Dancing Bears of Nellie and Rustam Ka-seyev", winners of the Gold Medal for Origin-ality of the European Federation of Circuses.Highlights are the "dress-ups" a la Victor Julian,great comedy with five "Fierce, Fighting Lions"alright bears in great antics and the soccer gamewith some expert drop-kickers. The ballet, agypsy dance and the Masha dancing the Kalin-ka brings down the house.Oleg Lozovik's team of six start the second halfwith "The Dream Aerial Flight". After earlystandard flying trap tricks, two men set 15 ft.below the pedestal pump as on a giant swing.On the second flight, the foremost flier takesoff and literally soars in a high, long trajectoryto the hands of the regular catcher. With thehouse lights out, and luminous suits, and heav-enly music, and then the revolving mirro-ballwhile all the fliers revolve, this is without adoubt a real first.Mareyev and Korseyev show split-secondxom-edy and skill on a poorly inspected perch pole.Sergei Ignatov, the finest young juggler in theUSSR is called the "Juggling Juggernaut".Again in the dome, Ludmilla Golovko and Pe-ter Lubinchenko on independent moveabletrapezes show some unusual ball balancing.Tamerlan Nuzgarov on his brilliant white steedraces down a steeply inclined ramp to begin theCossack Riding finale with their "MountainLegend". Audiences whistle, yell and clap inappreciation and continue with the Grand Fi-nale when Kuklachov, tired of trying to "begoff finally distracts the ringmaster and exitsthrough his legs.Boris Tatish ili, with a fair amount of maracasplaying himself, leads a trip of a featured pian-ist, a drummer and trumpet with the show andlocal helpers with 3 more trumpets, 5 saxa-phones, 2 trombones and 1 electric bass, 1 rfcry-thm guitar and a violin, through a varied andfar from traditional book.Director N. Yadrenov and Technical DirectorE. Akifyev head the staff.

The Circus Report Page 17

A -fLf-Sfvailable.Now Booking For the 1978 Season

LIPKO'S COMEDY CHIMPSP. O. Box 32

Florence, N. J. -08518

Phone: (717)467-2316

It's A LawIt's against the law to molest a skunk ape inFlorida. Just last week the legislature's HouseJustice Committee approved a bill making it il-legal to molest the legendary anthropoids oc-casionally reported seen in the swamps ofSouthern Florida.

The committee approved a similar bill by Rep.Paul Nuckolls, in its last session, but it neverreached the House floor.

Nuckolls rounded out his pitch this year withpictures of a purported skunk ape. He refusedto vouch for their validity, but said, "If youtalk to some of these people who think they'veseen it, they believe it."

LLOYD BRIDGES and BRITT EKLAND starin "The Great Wallendas", a film about thespectacular career of the famous circus family.Production is now underway in Sarasota, Fla.,with Bridges playing the part of KARL WAL-LENDA and Miss Ekland playing JENNY.

A M E R I C A ' S NO. 1 M A G I C S H O W

18239 N. E. 182nd Ave.Brush Prairie, Wash.

98606

Phone: (206) 256-6178

Variety ShowA Variety Show sponsored by the Firefighter'sAssociation has been playing cities within thegeneral San Francisco (Calif) area this past weekwith good attendance at all performances. Tal-ent for the pre-holiday show was booked byWaldon Webb Entertainment Agency, of VanNuys, Calif.

The program, backed by Veme Rolle's 12 pieceorchestra, featured: Tom Kelly, MC/comedian;The Wheelers, musical comedy; Wally Lee andLinda, magic/illusions; Gale Robbins, vocalistand Johnny O'Brien, comedy/harmonica.

A V A I L A B L E - - A V A I L A B L E - A V A I L A B L E A V A I L A B L E

IRONBERG'S ANIMALSMiss Tina's Poodle RevueSun Dance, the Appaloosa Pony and Friends

P. 0. Box 866Redding, Calif. 96001

Marku Polo, Dancing High School HorseMiss Lani's Trick Roping

Phone:(916)547-4277(916) 243-5491 (for messages)

Page 18 November 14,1977

The Kelly ShowThe Emmett Kelly, Jr., Circus, produced byLeonard Green, appeared at Mount Lebanon(Pittsburgh, Pa.) on Oct. 29th for three perfor-mances, sponsored by the Performing Arts forChildren in cooperation with the Mt. LebanonJr. Women's Club and the Parks and Recrea-tion department. Business was excellent withtwo packed houses and a 3/< house. Response bythe committee was enthusiastic and a returnappearance looks favorable for the show in '78.The show was housed in the Mt. Lebanon IceRink with boards covering the ice for the oneday showing. The program featured: Overture;Introduction of Ringmaster; Greeting by Em-mett Kelly, Jr.; Cimse's Wolfhounds and Poms;the Kneisley Duo, cradle; Emmett and rope;The Aristocrats, trampoline; Emmett and Nan-cy in the levitation; Jo Ann and Sunny, themusical comedy sea lion.The second half included: Kassle's Kingdom ofBears; Emmett and feather; The Pisanis, tumb-ling; the Cyclonians, unicycles; Aerialetta II,aerial thriller; Charlie Van Buskirk was the an-

ELEPHANT MAN

AVAILABLESCOTT R I D D L E

.. 5177 Maison AvenueLos Angeles, Calif. - 90041

Phone: (213) 257-1905

nouncer, while music was provided by GilesAusting, drummer and Al Dilemia, organist.An extra added attraction was scheduled out-side the arena when Donna (Wilson) Kneisleyperformed a slide for life from the football sta-dium, across a field, stopping just in front ofand across the street from the Ice Rink, whichwas too low to accommodate the slide.The Emmett Kelly, Jr. Circus will play a dateabout Thanksgiving time in Florida, followedby a week-long Christmas engagement (Dec. 25-31) at Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.

WantWant to hear from man and wi fe team who both can dr ive,to work a w e l l - k n o w n top c i rcus act on a yearly basis.

Top Money or a 50/50 deal to the right people.

Man must be a r igger or know aerial rigging. Girl must be ape r fo rmer

Al l E q u i p m e n t Furnished

Act opens in F e b r u a r y and closes in November .

Fo r f u r t h e r de t a i l s w r i t e :

R O C K E T C A R , Pipe Creek , Texas - 78063

The Circus Report

o o

ORIQINA TOR —NOT IMH A TOR

"CHEERFUL" G A R D N E RPeerless Trainer of Unequalled Llephant Acts.

Presenting (he Challenge Herds of the Whole World.

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