Saturday, May 12, 2007

Beatty-Cole blowdown #10 (From P.J. Holmes) Vol.2


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Posted by Buckles at 5/12/2007 05:31:00 AM

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

In looking at these photos, I can tell from the lettering style on the trucks, Beatty's arena, and the old style seat wagons, that this would be from the 1964 season.

Some of the photos suggest that they may have been taken in Texas.

Roger Smith, can you pin an exact date & town on these?

12 May, 2007 07:13
Karen Glenn said...

WOW! Shannon, you outdid yourself on this banner at the top of the blog! NICE and so cool! Great job!

12 May, 2007 08:38
Capt Snug said...

I recall Beatty-Cole had a blowdown in upstate New York. Is there more information on this?

12 May, 2007 10:15
Anonymous said...

Buckles, this was not the blow-down in Auburn, NY. That happened in 1968 and I was in it. It happened at night and near the end of the show which was being shortened to get it over and out. The elephants had just left and the flying act was going up to their rigging when the tent started to go. It had been storming really bad but most people did not leave because it was raining so hard. All of a sudden the wind hit and the tent began to puff up like a balloon so much that the quarter poles were swinging in the air. Then the tent blew over the grandstand toward the bandstand side and collapsed. There were some serious injuries and many people trapped under the canvas but luckily no one was killed. What a mess. Some of the elephants bolted and the police got calls from people who saw elephants in their backyards. I don't know where this blow-down happened but I knew it wasn't Auburn when I saw the big cat arena still in the center ring.

12 May, 2007 19:33
Anonymous said...

Mr. Beatty summoned me from the show, when we played Ft. Wayne, to his hospital room, in Chicago. I was to take the Cadillac to Rochester, pick up his Airstream, return it to Weeping Willow trailer park and hook it up, pending his release from the hospital. I was gone at the time of the blowdown, and wasn't paying attention to things back on the show. I think I made note of the town, but I need to look further.

13 May, 2007 19:34
Anonymous said...

I would like to thank everyone for the help with these photos.I purchased a box of 160 photos from a dealer a few years back that had removed them from a family album. These are from the 20's and 30's to this set of the blow down on Beatty-Cole. The paper from these early albums will fall apart and most of the information was lost before I had them. They belonged to a Japanese family with Kaichi and Hama as members. Oldest are RBBB maybe in the 20's.They are on the Belli Circus in Aalborg,Demark in the 20's or 30's. With the Wirth circus in Wales and Sydney Australia late 30's maybe. Back to RBBB in about 39 or 40, to w/q in the 50's with them in the sail loft. I had wanted to put them back in some sort of order. Only a hand full of commerical photos in the lot,and would be glad to send more. Could use some help with the Wirth and Belli photos from your overseas readers if anyone is interested.
Didn't know if anyone knew them or their family after they left Ringling and maybe when they took these on Beatty-Cole.
regards,
P.J.Holmes

13 May, 2007 23:28
Anonymous said...

Belli is an old European name dating to the late 18th century animal showman Antonio Belli and was one of the principal Danish shows in the 20th century. It toured as Cirkus Giovanni Belli for a number of years up to 1924, then just as Cirkus Belli from 1924-30 and from 1932 into the 1950s. It has a unique American association because Tom Mix toured with them for the 1939 season. The show's history is well-covered in the first volume (pages 178-199 and 282-284) of Anders Enevig's three-volume CIRKUS I DANMARK published in Copenhagen a few years ago by the Dansk Historisk Handbogsforlag.

You should contact my friend Ole Simonsen through his wonderful Danish circus news website (which is in English), http://www.circus-dk.dk/engindex.htm
By chance, Ole and I worked together during the summer of 1968 and I had the great pleasure of introducing him to the Beatty-Cole show in Pittsfield, Mass., shortly before their Auburn blowdown! The next year, he took me to see the Schumann show the last year they appeared in the Copenhagen circus building. You'll note Ole has introduced a few American show terms (dog and pony, high grass, etc.) to his Danish website audience!

Dick Flint
Baltimore

14 May, 2007 01:44
Anonymous said...

there are several members of the family Belli still living in Germany and Australia
if you would i could try to contact them


if you post the picture i surely love them
because i'm trying to write a book about Belli

there are more circus belli

Circus Gebr. Belli
Circus Belli (Denmark)
Circus Haryy Belli

they are all related to each oher

regard

Isabella

Robel 222 dot Gmail dot Com

20 May, 2007 02:32
Unknown said...

I was a prop hand under the "Top" when it blew down. The elephants had just left the arenas when the wind started to blow up. I was setting the net for the flying trapeze when everything happened. I received a rope burn to my hands. I remember the poles swinging around and the people that scattered falling on the ground. All personal of the Clyde Beatty/Cole circus must be applauded for their efforts of helping the people to get out of the downfall, many performers were hurt while evacuating the people that were under the canvas. The next day the elephants were used to clean-up the mess. The Auburn newspaper had taken pictures of the event and was published the next day. Jack Doyle (82 years young)

04 August, 2018 16:24

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