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Sunday, December 31, 2006
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10 comments:
Did David still have the Lion, leopards and German Shepards in this act? I saw him in 73 at the Japanese Village and Deer Park in CA. and again when we were on the Blue in NYC. He was at Great Adventure in NJ.
Dave had a very large lion with a spectacular mane, although I don’t remember him in his act at Circus World. He also had the biggest German Shepard I have ever seen, rumored to have been breed with wolves if that is possible. The dog was more of a worker than a performer; I believe that he would keep the tigers in line. Once upon a time while Dave was too occupied in the political arena to present his act, this Shepard was living with a handler in a trailer by Lake Hamilton. One day, after this dog finely let me get out of my truck I had the honor of sitting next to him on the steps of the carport, something that could have never happened in the circus setting around the cats or McMillan.
Gary Hill,
You bring up an interesting question about McMillan on Ringling, did he ever actually present a cat act over there as he often claims in his publicity? I do recall a male l1on in the act when he was at Circus World. he sat right by the tunnel door, and would swat at the tigers as they entered.
These were the hottest cats I ever saw work. He did have his tiger act at Circus World when Ringling still owned it for a while. Therein may be his claim to being on RB&BB.
I never got to know McMillan, he did not connect well with circus fans, hardly anybody else either.
Dave was his biggest fan, and hard to get to know. I remember his father was always a friendly face at HoJo’s with an intriguing cockney accent. Since we both were regulars at the bar I spoke with Dave’s Dad more than Dave. My Brother-in Law, Eli Whitney, worked for McMillan so I had on occasion been to Dave’s house. Once while sitting in the living room Dave’s father takes off his artificial leg and rubs his nub. I’d known him for more than a year and didn’t know he had a wooden leg.
If memory serves me and if I took the time to watch an old Super 8 film I have of his act. I would be able to say that I think he rode or the lion walked over him on a high walk of some kind? The leopard was a black and I really don't remember the dogs in NJ? He was always giving the tigers baby bottles but the trick that I laughed most at was his sidecar motorcyle !Jewell New and I went to Great Adventure on a day off from the Blue in NYC.Jewells motorcyle trick with Kenneth was something special, I always thought? McMillian wasn't friendly at all and acted like he never met me in CA 3yrs earlier. Didn't bother me, I was a cageboy, doorman no EGO there!
David's act was called the flying tigers and they definately flew. This was done with alot of push on the animals. But the end result looked great. Poncho was the male lion that worked in this act. He also had a leopard come in at the end os the act to do a leap into David's arms. But John Cox and John Campolongo worked some of McMillian's cats. I spent several years boarding Some of David;s cat at my facility and doing promotional work with them. The act at Great Adventure in NJ had as many as 22 or 23 tigers in it.
Did David ever own some young white tigers?
David owned white tigers in later years after his circus days.
Dave and his brother Brian came to Ringling with Gunther and the Circus Williams animals as professional grooms I guess you could say. They were kind of wanderlusts and had been on Knie, maybe Smart or Cipperfield etc. We called them Mike and Johnny and Mike [Dave] was key to the cats and elephants. [he could handle the tough Tiler of the elephant tiger act] Johnny was more with the horses. I believe Mike helped break the seven tiger act that Gunther worked. Mike liked to box and put on the gloves with all comers. They had some beef with Gunther and left the show and were missed. I believe they were Irish boys but were fluent in German and Spainish. They told me alot about their circus travels in Europe and had worked around some very good trainers. Very interesting guys. Both have made a place for themseelves here. I think Brian was booked in Baraboo for a season with an African elephant and some other stuff. It has been quite some time since I have seen them. They knew all the scuttlebut about some interesting people.
The lion's name was Pancho, but he didn't do much in the NJ act. The German Shepard wasn't in the act, but he ran the Tigers around in the open area (caged) where they exercised. They were afraid of him. Dave had 17 tigers, 1lion, 2 leopards (1 black; 1 spotted), 2 cougars, and a bear that could shoot hoops (more or less) in 1976. I worked for him that summer. He led an extraordinary life so I thought that I might write a screenplay about him, but never got down to FL to ask him about it. He is like a real life Forrest Gump or Walter Mitty without the stupidity or vivid imagination.
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