Saturday, May 20, 2006

Don Curtis pictures #1


As I'm sure you know, Don Curtis is our CFA President-Elect and I had the pleasure of dining with him and his lovely wife Ann a few months ago in Sarasota.
At the time he mentioned that his parents had Bumpsy Anthony to dinner one evening back in the 40's and his father took these pictures afterward in his studio.

Posted by Buckles at 5/20/2006 05:52:00 AM

18 comments:

24-HOUR-MAN said...

BOW IN THE PRESENCE OF ROYALTY!!!!
THERE ARE SOME THINGS WE ARE ONLY ALLOWED ONCE IN A LIFE TIME

20 May, 2006 08:07
Anonymous said...

Mr. Anthony was certainly a unique Circus Clown Charactor! any relation to Mark ? Another compatiable personality ?

20 May, 2006 08:29
Anonymous said...

I don't believe he is related to Marc Anthony. Bumpsy's last name was Hulme, if memory serves. I have his obit in my trunks.

I last saw him at the Heart O' Texas Fair. He was on the back-end of Gene Ledel, as was Sport Matthews working the single lion act, Big Pat.

20 May, 2006 12:10
24-HOUR-MAN said...

Good grief, the last time I saw Sport Matthews, he was doing a Portable Cradle Act on Reynel's Broadway Review, on the Cetlin-Wilson Shows.

20 May, 2006 13:32
Buckles said...

On the subject of clowns, last Friday CBS News did a piece on the Elephant Stud Farm in Central Florida.
The spokesperson for the Farm was former Ringling clown Janice Aria.

21 May, 2006 00:31
Anonymous said...

I did not see the piece and the person probably did a fine job for RBBB. I just wonder why they had a clown do it instead of an elephant person. Any animal person as far as that goes. Its these little things that get my nickers in a bind.

21 May, 2006 08:29
Anonymous said...

Sorry about the :A: thing. I was not paying attention

21 May, 2006 08:30
GaryHill said...

Dutchess, Janice was a former clown and a very good one at that. She and her husband, Mike had a bear act at Circus World. Janice is a very good animal person, too bad we all lost Mike quite a few years ago.

21 May, 2006 09:26
Anonymous said...

Gary. I do admit I made a mistake about Janice. They were very great animal people and she deserves an appoligy from me. Janice,I am sorry I jumped the gun. Even a Dutchess should get her facts straight before she opens her fingers. You were and are acredit to the circus. Again I am sorry for what I wrote.

21 May, 2006 10:35
24-HOUR-MAN said...

I'd like to mention also that the Golden Retriever Act Was trained with the help of Barbara's Mother, Mrs. Ray. Janice, Mike, & Gil, spent lay off time at our Circus Farms, in Ohio, and were lots of fun & a pleasure to have as guests. The same goes for Ben, & Anna May!

21 May, 2006 12:50
Anonymous said...

Kudos for anyone that can put together an act of Golden Retrievers. In the dog world they are almost as brainless as Afgans

21 May, 2006 16:55
Anonymous said...

Irish Setters are second behind Afgans.

21 May, 2006 17:33
Anonymous said...

I remember a story that I hope is true: I was told that Mike and Janice were on the Newlywed game, won, and the Grand Prize that was selected especially for them was their black and white bear cub Cloie.

21 May, 2006 19:45
Anonymous said...

when I was a kid, sometimes if you picked the wrong door you'd get a booby prize of a lion cub, or a baby elephant or a llama. I don't know if the winners were allowed to keep their prize, but I used to be seething with envy.

21 May, 2006 23:29
Anonymous said...

On Let's make a Deal, I forgot to add

21 May, 2006 23:31
Anonymous said...

It amazes me how so many of you know so much about TV and the movies!! When did you find the time and where did you get the electricity? I don't remember having that much free time. Everyone was always working either in the show or careing for the stock. The power plant was shut off after the tent was down. And they did not have video back then.

22 May, 2006 11:42
Anonymous said...

Sport Matthews said several times, "What am I doing with lions? My dad was a lion trainer. I'm an aerialist." Sport died of a heart attack during the time he was working a group trained by Dick McGraw, and Dick came back to take the act out for Sport's wife. This act was returned to Jungleland and were the lions Dick broke me on--Sammy, Congo, Numa, Tarzan and Simba.

Sport's father, Bob Matthews, was a great friend of mine. His single lion act with King Tuffy worked mostly vaudeville. This lion was a rare giant, who weighed 800 pounds. He is credited with being the first wire-walking lion, in 1925. One other this size was Swede Johnson's Big Johnny.

Jungleland had the animals for Let's Make a Deal. Danny Dent and I took Nila the Hippo down to NBC the night in 1968 when Elvis taped his comeback special. The Colonel staged a big spec entrance for Elvis at the back door of NBC, and this elaborate entourage paraded by us in grand style. Two studios down, when Elvis walked by the cast of Hollywood Squares, Phyllis Diller had to be helped to a chair.

22 May, 2006 13:52
GaryHill said...

I thought Janice was on "This is your Life" she wanted a bear so they gave her Chloe?

22 May, 2006 15:25

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