Thursday, July 07, 2005

Gentry Bros. Circus 1922


My father trouped with a guy named Walker Morris, a musician who sent him these pictures while with the 1922 Gentry Bros. Circus. This had once been a show of great renown but after having been sold by the Gentry's the only thing remaining of it's glory days was the title. It looks like a very hot day with an excellent crowd and fortunately the big top is air conditioned. Buckles

Posted by Buckles at 7/07/2005 07:33:00 AM

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Several lovely ladies painted on that banner line. Sideshow Blanche perhaps typifying what was to found inside. That could account for all the men on the lot. Bigtop looks much patched.

07 July, 2005 14:06
Anonymous said...

Hi Buckles,

Your recent postings about the Gentry Bros. show reminded me of some rather obscure Gentry Bros. trivia: during the 1930 Christmas week, Gentry Bros. appeared in the Fox Theater in San Bernardino, California. This engagement also included a free street parade. Photos taken during the engagement appeared in the 1/17/31 issue of THE LAST WORD, a trade publication that was sent out to all west coast Fox theaters to help them promote their programs. (I have a copy of this issue in my collection.) According to the photo captions, the circus drew big crowds during its engagement.

Best,

Eric

07 July, 2005 16:56
Anonymous said...

We can look to Emmett Kelly's book, CLOWN, in which he relates leaving a show and taking an offer from Gentry. Upon arrival, he learned they were carrying "about half the lucky-boys in the business", and found himself gazing upon this "ugly and patched" stretch of canvas. Chastened, he returned to the show he just left, barely in time for the season. Roger Smith

13 July, 2005 16:58

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