Wednesday, October 04, 2006

From Circus Whitey


Okay- you guys want to talk hotels, lets talk hotels. I have stayed at the Webb in Hugo, at the Sherman in Chicago, the Central in Macon, and the great Massimiliano Truzzi's Colonial in Sarasota and I know a little about hotels. Here we have the Half Moon Hotel- kindly tell it's location and it's significance in circus history. Whitey

Posted by Buckles at 10/04/2006 12:05:00 AM

9 comments:

Buckles said...

Is this the hotel at Coney Island where John Ringling died?
If so it was more opulent than I had supposed. Owing to his financial state at the time I had imagined more of a flop house.
Was Sam Gumpertz the owner?

04 October, 2006 00:14
GaryHill said...

Looks like one down in Galveston? But I bet Buckles is correct!

04 October, 2006 01:01
Anonymous said...

History repeats itself years later?

04 October, 2006 07:55
Anonymous said...

I have also stayed at the Webb in Hugo, The Central in Macon and the Bearees in Peru and the were not opulant by any means. The donecker and tub and sink were community and down the hall. Probably in a foregone era they might have been high class, but at the Webb it was fun to lobby up with Shorty Linn, Jack Turner and other great Hugo show guys.

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

When I first moved to Hugo to work the cage act. I was put up at the WEBB HOTEL. I was scared to go through the lobby where a lot of men would be watching TV. It was quite a shock with the bath down the hall. I was used to the PALMER, FRENCHLICK, etc. Looking back now I had more fun at the WEBB. That cot in the zebra stall was a lot more fun too. Those were the days my friends.!!!

04 October, 2006 10:50
Anonymous said...

In 1932, when John Ringling stayed at the Half Moon Hotel, he was unaware that the reason why he was there was not for what he believed it to be. One can say that he was lured in a trap who's outcome was, that before the end of the year the control of the Ringling circus Empire changed hands. Sam Gumbertz detroned the last of the circus kings and controlled the destiny of Big Bertha for the following 5 seasons (1933-1937). - Giovanni Iuliani

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

Little did John Ringling know that his stay at the Half Moon Hotel was not for health recuperation but rather of the downfall of the last circus king. While Ceasar had Brutus, John contented with Sam Gumpertz who was given the control of the Ringling shows (1933-1937). While it might be "just business" Sam didn't attend the furneral of his old pal John.

04 October, 2006 11:30
Anonymous said...

To my knowledge circuc history does not suggest a conspiracy in regard to Gumpertz and in fact it was Gumpertz who first was i9n Sarasota and he in turn advised and induced his friend John and then Charlie to come to Florida. Now when John lost control it seems that Gumpertz would look for the best interests of John and pay off the indebtedness to put the circus back in Rinling hands. I believe Gumpertz did just that and that there never was litagation to wrest control from Gumpertz after that was done. During his years it seems he did a fine job and left th show in good shape. Naturally John had emotional problems on loosing control of his empire and was difficult with family and friends.

04 October, 2006 15:00
Anonymous said...

Richard Reynolds says - -

When we had the Coney Island outing at the 2004 CHS convention, present-day Coney Island impressario Todd Robbins met us at Nathan's Famous for a brief tour.

I asked Robbins where the Half Moon was located in relation to Nathan's. (The hotel is now long gone.) He said it was several blocks to the west in the direction of Manhattan. He indicated that Dreamland, once managed by Gumpertz, was back to the east of Nathan's - -I gathered it was at or near the present site of the NY Aquarium.

AS noted by others, when John Ringling lost control of RBBB in the summer of 1932, the deal was done at the Half Moon.

JR was in no position of strength. He was a minority owner of the show (1/3) with the two Ringling ladies owning 2/3.

JR had run the show as thorugh he was sole owner and had a done a lot of things that exposed him to a suit for an accouniting and mismanagent, all to the detriment of the other owners, inter alia, never consulting them about major decisions affecting the show, using show assets to invest in the new Madison Square Garden and buying Sarasota County bonds to build roads and highways.

John R.was bitter at how those he thought he could trust had turned against him, at least in his mind. He clamied that circus lawyer John Kelly went over to the other side, that the two ladies sided against him and with the note holders, and that the Gump saw an opportunity to take control and did.

J R. did file a suit and sworn depostions wre taken from all the principals. They are preserved at the Parkinson Libray in BAraboo and make for interesting reading, much of it never published. The depositino of John Kelly was particualry damaging to JR. If he was loyal to JR you would never know it from his testimony.

Of course Kelly later did time for helping RBBB evade taxes. Recovering from that, he later founded CWM.

04 October, 2006 18:16

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