Cole Bros Circus

| March 25, 2009

“Those were the Days”….. 1880 to 1980 when America had it’s  greatest circuses…. Cole Bros being one of many. If the  family’s of today could visit the circus of  yester-year  they would be amazed . It was true family entertainment that never offended anyone. It brought out the imagination of adults and kids alike. It was a […]

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Cowboy’s of the Circus

| March 25, 2009

Most of the large circuses  had an after show. They had a guest star and the most popular were the cowboy heroes of the silver screen. Ken Maynard was the star of the after show of Cole Bros. Circus. Other stars like Tom Mix and Hop-along Cassidy owned their own circuses. The Cisco Kid and Leo Carreo were guest […]

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Chimp Contract

| March 25, 2009

Mr. and Mrs. Tony Gentry with” Jiggs” discussing their contract in the back yard of the circus. Jiggs is getting ready to sign for another season. I met Tony when I was a young man. He was a man of many talents as he was involved in circuses, motion pictures and a good animal trainer. […]

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The Glenn Henry Famlly

| March 25, 2009

 This is a publicity flier.  Gary Henry with the elephant and Glenn Henry working the pony drill, Ethel with her dog act.

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Max and Gertie Crige

| March 25, 2009

This photo was taken at Max & Gertie’s anniversary. We called him Uncle Max as he was considered part of the Henry family, not by blood but by long time association. Max’s father was the band leader of the J.E. Henry circus in the early 1900’s. Max had a sister named Maxine on the show as well.  She […]

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Dr. Pepper Circus #1

| March 25, 2009

This is the front entrance of the Dr. Pepper Circus. I have never seen a banner line in front of a circus entrance before…..however it looks effective. Note the Dr. Pepper booth in front. Another Bill Strong photo.

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Dr. Pepper Circus #2

| March 25, 2009

This photo was given to me by Bill Strong. The Dr. Pepper circus, which I personally never saw, but what I have been told was very successful and unique. This photo is a blow off of the circus. Any further information will be appreciated.

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Tarzan Zorbini

| March 25, 2009

I met Tarzan only once, on a cold and rainy day in Los Angeles. I was driving down the freeway and noticed this European style tent going up. It caught my eye and I stopped and asked this man whose circus did this belong to….and he looked over, covered with mud and answered “Mine…..Zorbini”. I […]

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Teddy

| March 25, 2009

Henry Clay was the trainer of  Teddy. I got this photo from a friend of mine and it also  came with an interesting story. This photo was taken in the 1930’s at William Hall’s compound in Lancaster, Mo. The purpose of the compound was to retrain elephants that had a bad attitude with people or other elephants. […]

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Johnny and Milonga Cline

| March 21, 2009

The Johnny Cline elephants, Princess, Dell and Molly. Johnny’s wife, “Emelia”, better known as Milonga, is seen in this photo. Chata, Easter and their brothers Henry and Lalo are all Escalants. Milonga lives in Fiorida …at the age of 87 and doing quite well.

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