Tuesday, November 07, 2006

Ringling-Barnum Circus 1948 #4 (From Bill Strong)

Posted by Buckles at 11/07/2006 06:15:00 AM

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Buckles, I recall you telling me of the maximum height requirement for Ringling specs at the new Madison Square Garden in NYC. What was it, 10 feet?

07 November, 2006 06:43
Buckles said...

This, of course, is the old Garden on 8th Avenue, plenty of clearance here.
I suggested howdahs on the elephants (even a double howdah)for the 1978 show and was told that the back door clearance was only 10'.
I have since been told that the clearance is actually 12' but too low for howdahs with riders in either case.

07 November, 2006 07:12
Anonymous said...

I recall attending an IAAM (International Association of Auditorium Managers) meeting the first year the Ringling show played the new gardens. The story of the day was how "the elephants ate Madison Square Garden." Apparently the ceiling was so low that the elephants soon discovered that it was great fun to push the ceiling tiles out of their frames. Then they discovered that it was fun to pull on the suspended frame work. Finally the whole ceiling came down on the line. Does anyone remember that?

07 November, 2006 16:29
Anonymous said...

George, I have a couple of dogs that think they are elephants. Anything is fair game. If no one is watching its theirs. I was with Dotty Kellys elephants one winter playing for Fleckles. We got stranded in a blizzard and had to house the elephants in an abandoned filling station. This place was supposed to be empty. After we left it was empty of all conduet. water pipes, track, etc. Its amazing what they can find to play with. [Which means destroy] Now I know why they have night watchmen on an elephant line.

07 November, 2006 18:09
GaryHill said...

I actually flooded the 5th floor backstage of the Garden in 78! Charlie wanted his tiger cages steam cleaned and I had to make a dam of sawdust and clean them damn cages like they were brand new! The drains couldn't keep up with all the water I was using and the sawdust clogging the pipes! The only time I hated my job!

07 November, 2006 20:37
Anonymous said...

There were photos of the elephants' pranks with the ceiling at the time, I think in AB. They installed live electric lines aloft to discourage the fun.

We all neglected to mention poor Emmett Kelly in this photo, exiting at Right.

09 November, 2006 16:51

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)