Clines Elephants
Posted By thecircusblog on September 28, 2012
Johnny and Milonga Cline’s elephants named Princess, Dell and Molly. This photo was used for their publicity. I think the photos were taken on the Rudy Show in the mid 1950’s.
-
-
-
-
The Circus Blog by Ivan M. Henry is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 United States License.
Based on a work at www.thecircusblog.com.
Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available at http://www.thecircusblog.com.
Great London Circus Setting Poles
Posted By thecircusblog on September 19, 2012
This can be the most dangerous part of setting up the circus…..pulling up the center poles. In haste…. trying to get the show up and ready for the afternoon performance. There is that chance that the rigger will forget to put a safety cable on. For each pole there are three to four cables and if one is missing or not fixed properly you will loose a pole causing great damage to equipment or life. This was one of the jobs I had check and double check …..all rigging, bull-cable, mud blocks, bale rings, etc. When all was ready the truck would pull forward lifting by cable the first pole. The pole is secured leaving just a little play in the safety cables. Each pole there after is put into the air much easier.
Thank you Harry for your kind comment and yes it brought back good memories.
Cappi you could be right. Thanks for your comment.
Great London Circus Centers Up
Posted By thecircusblog on September 19, 2012
All the sections of canvas were laid out by the Spool truck. Bruce Robinson, boss canvas man calls out for the men to line up for the unfolding making it ready for stretching out. Bruce stands far back for all to see and hear him. It is somewhat like the military, barking out orders only not as harsh……….Sometimes.
Great London Circus Stretching Out
Posted By thecircusblog on September 19, 2012
Stretching out the canvas all has to be done in unison. Bruce in the white coat would call out, “All together now, lift it up, shake it out, get some air under it, PULL it back.” In one burst all would run backwards equally pulling the canvas to the outside. If you have done this before it is easy but if you are a newcomer most likely you will trip and be covered over. No one stops once the pull has started. It’s good for a laugh watching someone crawling out from under the canvas. The section must all line up correctly for each can be laced to the other. Lasing canvas is hard to explain…. you have to see it done to learn.
Great London Circus Tying Off Bailring
Posted By thecircusblog on September 19, 2012
All the canvas has been stretched out, laced and at this time attaching the peaks to the bale ring. This is done with rope and chain. After all the canvas has been tied off the big top is ready for hoisting the center poles. Bruce Robinson keeps a close eye, there can be no mistakes here!
Great London Circus Seat Wagons
Posted By thecircusblog on September 19, 2012
The show carried 7 seat wagons. It sure made for a fast set up. Seen here is the spool truck on the right. The show had everything needed for a fast set up. We had 60 one day stands, then a few sponsored spots which gave us a little rest and then back to one day stands. Then we ran out of steam back east when it got cold. Soon after we folded.
Great London Circus Ready For Crew
Posted By thecircusblog on September 19, 2012
The seat wagons were owned once by the Miller Bros Circus. They were in pretty good condition when we got them. Just needed a few minor repairs now and then.
Great London Circus Seat Stringer
Posted By thecircusblog on September 19, 2012
Once the stringers were laid out, the seats could be pulled down and locked in place. There was a total of six sections of seats on the wagon, stacked three high in each section.
Great London Circus Seats Up
Posted By thecircusblog on September 19, 2012
The seats were a bench type with scissor legs that would easily fold together to clasp the seats for loading. On set up and between shows I would send a crew to check the set to make sure they were still locked down. There were times the scissors would be out of place. The only problems with this kind of seating is because of the blocked off ends you could not high seat the audience. There is a couple funny stories about high seating. I will write about them later. At the beginning of the season Sid ask me if I would keep an eye out on a few things. It turned into a job.
Great London Circus
Posted By thecircusblog on September 19, 2012
George Matthews Great London Circus was owned by Sid Kellner. This was one of the best looking shows out on the road in 1975. The big top peaked out at 48 feet with 50 foot centers and 120 foot round ends. Dad and I had worked with Sid Kellner when he put out James Bros in the early to the mid 1960’s. He was a gentlemen and still is to this day. Never once did we ever have to worry about money then or when he took out The Great London. The 1975 season started out jammed up and continued on for most of that year until the beginning of fall. We were playing in Ohio, Akron Canton area. The weather took a turn for the worst, cold and rainy. Sid knew the end was near, he said to me we didn’t head south west soon enough. In a small apple orchard outside of Akron, Ohio the show and performers jungled up while Sid went west trying to book some fast dates. Everyone was willing to wait it out for a few weeks but things did not work out on Sid’s last minute booking tour….. It was all out and over. I headed west to Arizona and put together Henry Bros Circus. I talked with Sid over the phone every so often, sometimes for for an hour or more remembering the good old times.
-
-
Follow The Circus Blog
