Saturday, October 07, 2006

Carmen Hall 1977


Hamid-Morton Circus.

Posted by Buckles at 10/07/2006 06:21:00 AM

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

What wonderful wardrobe and props. You just don't see this kind of work and style anymore.

07 October, 2006 14:10
Anonymous said...

I caught this act when Carmen as on Ringling. Never before or since have I seen an act of baboons. Plenty of flash and style, as is assured with acts presented by the Halls.

07 October, 2006 17:41
Anonymous said...

I might be friend biased, but Lee and Judy Stevens baboon act was a great act as well and both of these acts are sorely missed in the circus ring today.

08 October, 2006 15:41
Anonymous said...

One of the greatest animal feats I've ever witnessed was this lady lined up at the back door wating to go in for the act. The seven baboons started to fight, fur and costumes were flying. The curtain opened for the act to go on and all baboons were lined up in full waredrobe ready for the act. This all took place in less than one minutes time. Truely amazing.

09 October, 2006 12:43
Anonymous said...

Richard Reynolds says - -

Without a doubt, from the standpoint of exotica, this was the greatest “monkey act” ever. In 1984 Carmen had 2 drills, 2 mandrills,1 gelada, and 2 hamadryas baboons. Nothing like that has ever been seen in the circus ring. The mandrills are spectacular with their red noses and swollen nasal ridges in electric blue. The drills are close to the mandrill except they have a plain black face. Exceptionally rare, drills occur only in a limited area of Cameroon and are very nearly extinct. There are a few breeding groups here and there in the West including Zoo Atlanta.

The gelada has a bright red patch on it chest and a hairy cape over the shoulders. It occurs only in a limited range of Ethiopia. The hamadyras, once widespread, occurs in a now limited range that includes Ethiopia , Sudan and Somalia. It was once found in Egypt where it was known as the sacred monkey.

I have never, ever heard of a gelada baboon on a circus besides the one Carmen had. Mandrills and drills, yes. The spectacular colored mandrill would be a natural for a circus man. B&B had one back in the 1890s. The first I ever saw, at least that I can recall, was in the RBBB menagerie in 1945.

Mandrills and drills large and potentially dangerous animals and Carmen must have been ever on her guard. Their huge canine teeth are formidable. One of Carmen’s mandrills weighed 95-pounds when she had him and he later grew to 125 pounds of solid muscle. You’d better know what you are doing with an animal like that.

There have been a lot of baboons in circus acts over thee years but they mostly featured common species such as the olive and yellow found across much of sub-Saharan Africa. Lee Stevens' animals were of one of these species.

I have photos of a common species of baboon riding hippo Tam Bon (or Bon-Tam) on the Sells Floto show in the 1920s. RBBB Red had hippo Zusha in 1997-98 with a baboon riding on her back in the ring.

The problem with baboons from West Africa (mandrills and drills) is that they are prey to the bush meat trade. It has been written that in Gaboon mandrill meat is more prized than imported beef or mutton. All monkeys in West Africa are being wiped out by the bush meat trade and it has the horrible side effect of infecting humans with all sorts of contagious diseases such as AIDS and Ebola Hemorrhagic Fever.

10 October, 2006 00:38
Anonymous said...

Mr. Reynolds, formidable is a very weak word to describe Carmens male Mandrell Suki's fangs. One time her moron brother Jimmy, had her set Suki beside me on the couch. I assumed the "monkey" sensed I was a fearless animal man, and would act accordingly. As I started to sip my coffee, that great beast leapt into my lap, flashed his white lids and "big, big, big, formidable teeth. Using my animal skills, I composed myself instantly, and "handed" him the coffee. He took a sip, and flashed me again. While brother Jimmy is rolling on the floor, Carmen say's "he wants more sugar. I put so much sugar in his/my coffee, he had to drink it with his fingers. Another act I feel honored to have seen, and been around. Wade Burck

10 October, 2006 09:19
Buckles said...

Karen, I'll give you the real skinny.
Having given in to the allure of power and politcs, in Southern Hillsborough County, Mr. Lee is now better known as "Big Daddy".

11 October, 2006 09:13
Anonymous said...

Talk about a slow learner!!!!! It just dawned on me that Mr. LEE and LEE STEVENS are the same person. Told you I had ADD.

11 October, 2006 11:05
Buckles said...

When I was a kid on the Wallace Show I once wandered off the lot and got run over by a car. Fortunately it passed completely over me and I wasn't injured. My dad later told me that he was taken to the Police Station where he got a thorough ass-chewing, during which time he was constantly called Mr. Lee.
When told that his name wasn't Lee, the Police Chief said, "Well, we asked him his name and he said it was Buck-lee!

11 October, 2006 11:27
Anonymous said...

Karen I make crib size affcans [?] for folks in the nurseing homes. They are just the right size for those in wheel chairs. Not too heavy for them to tuck in and under without help. Maybe Mr. LEE could use your quilts for that also.

11 October, 2006 13:14
Joe said...

I worked with Carmen back in 93. I was the drummer in the Circus pit band. There was an incident during a performance where an elephant got lose during her performance and wreaked havoc in the arena. Her and her son were lucky to have escaped unharmed. Is Carmen still performing?

17 December, 2018 21:39
Carycomic said...

If so, it's probably for a European circus, post-RBBB break-up.

07 September, 2019 10:27

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