Monday, November 05, 2007

Clyde Beatty #2


beatty two, originally uploaded by bucklesw1.

Posted by Buckles at 11/05/2007 06:14:00 AM

14 comments:

Anonymous said...

Sometimes I look at a great picture like this one and I'm convinced that the sorry state of the world, or my little corner of it is all about wardrobe. I spent the summer on a midway in a polo shirt and ball cap, or even a teeshirt now and then. Forty years ago I remember my dad doing the same thing is a white shirt and a tie and a Bailey hat. In so many pictures out of costume Beatty is always a sharp dresser. Sixty years ago I suppose that went with bing a "superstar," but on some lot in WI it also said, this is somebody you take seriously. Part of the reason I always like to put somebody in a tie in every "confrontation" with activists is because at least when it plays back on the local news visually at least everybody is reminded that on our side we have "adults." People to be taken seriously.

05 November, 2007 09:23
Anonymous said...

A few years ago Mr.Cuneo came to visit me at a Fair....As he sat in a chair next to the ticket box..(so we could chat while I worked) dressed in his "typical garb with a tie and one of his "collector" canes...3 prominent "Carnys" walked up to him and said, Its GOOD to see a Old-time showman, keepin a show on the road....then they shook his hand!!!...after they left, Mr.C turned to me and told me I should dress like him..He said wearing a tie...comands Respect....Later He tookover the "Box" while I ran a quick errand...When I returned he handed me the money he had collected...as he did...he said, Now Jim...its all there!..You know Me...I'm Honest!..Yes Sir, I replied, I always trust a guy in a Tie!......Jim Zajicek P.S. He didnt want to leave the box tho..He liked collecting the scratch!!!!

05 November, 2007 11:52
Anonymous said...

My Dad used to claim if you were a press agent or working the advance for a carnival or circus you could dress better than anybody in town. But if you were the Patch you probably wanted to dress like a City Counselman and never better than the Mayor.

05 November, 2007 13:00
Anonymous said...

This is a vivid example of how well The Curator listen's to sage advice. Mr. Cuneo said " you should dress like me, in a suit and tie".
What Zajicek heard was "you should dress like me, in a Wilber's Feed Store hat and a Murphy's Midway jacket. Hey James C. Hall, bring me that box of ammo. Numbnut's just emptied the Colt. Wade Burck

05 November, 2007 14:00
Harry Kingston said...

Yes sir,
Clyde Beatty in this photo has the dapper dan look and he is a real snappy dresser.
I love those two tone shoes he has on. Before i got married i had brown and white and black and white ones. But married life they are now gone with the wind.
Who was another well dressed circus person was Harry Rawls. Every time i saw him he had on a suit and a tie and looked like he owned the circus.
Harry and Mary are a class act in show business.
Another well dressed person in show business is Bob Snowden another one always in a suit and a tie.
Harry

05 November, 2007 14:42
Anonymous said...

As the gunsmoke clears......No Wade, Right senario.. Wrong people....I believe Mr. Hall said I should wear a "Boater" with garters...like Mr. Tupper (Toby Tyler) However, what I heard was a "Fedora" like Al Renton (Eeka The Jungle Girl*)..Umm,and Wade.. Snake-skinned Boots go with neither....Jim Zajicek *famed Girl/Geek show

05 November, 2007 14:57
Anonymous said...

Don't forget Ward Hall either. This past August Ward & Co. were setting up at the MN State Fair and Carson & Barnes was playing a four-day stand less than 10 miles away at a Shopping Center. It was pouring rain all day and Ward showed up on the lot for an evening show dressed to the Nines in a white suit, pressed dress shirt, a sporty bow tie and a fresh carnation in his lapel. There was a huge crowd on the midway and in the menagerie and the people parted as Ward walked up like Moses parting the Seas. Now that was an entrance that demanded respect! Neil Cokcerline, Minneapolis, MN

05 November, 2007 14:59
Buckles said...

In 1978 we were playing Oakland with the Blue Show when I received a call from Cliff Vargas saying he would be in town Sunday and could I get seats for him and his entourage.
In those days we always took the animal tents down early on closing day so we could make a quick getaway.
We were in the process of doing this when someone asked, "Who on earth is this coming?"
All work came to a complete standstill as I greeted Cliff (dressed in pristine white from head to toe) then led them all down the ramp to mine and Barbara's dressing room.
When I returned to the elephants Rammy Sammy Haddock asked, "Was that really the Pope. I heard Ted say it was!"

05 November, 2007 15:30
Anonymous said...

when i first started as a press agent, bill english told me to always wear a coat and tie when i was on the lot. i listened to every word he ever told me and i will always be proud to tell people i got my degree in circus adance from the bill english university. he was a great man and the more i hear about other owners and managers, the more i believe he was one of the best of all time. His integrity was unimpeachable; his word was his bond and a handshake meant more than any contract.

05 November, 2007 19:02
Anonymous said...

i somehow managed to miss putting
my name on the bill english comment. it wasn't made by the mysterious anonymous, it was made by me forgetting to fill the form out right.

05 November, 2007 21:14
Anonymous said...

Talking about two - tone shoes......many years ago Robert Perry's father and uncles used to wear highly polished two-tone shoes with photos of themselves mounted on the caps. Before my time, of course! Steve Robinson.

06 November, 2007 01:11
Anonymous said...

Mr. Robinson, could you do me a favor, and ask Mr. Perry where his father had those shoe's made. Also, ask him if they can mount a photo on python or any other snake skin. Wade Burck

06 November, 2007 07:51
Anonymous said...

Some years back, someone leaked the salary sheet for 1930s Garden run of the Ringling show. Clyde Beatty drew a yard a week--even as a star attraction with the Big Act. This remained the set amount when he annually returned to Hagenbeck-Wallace. I've heard many times they didn't pay him much, but agreed to buy his suits. Even in the depths of the Depression, on a paltry salary, he looked like a million dollars.

This goes to his childhood. The Beattys lived literally on the wrong side of the tracks in tiny Bainbridge. Margaret Beatty, going it alone, took in laundry, while her eldest, Clyde, grabbed every odd job in town to help out. They were dirt poor then, but Margaret was known for keeping her children clean. Mr. Beatty honored this all his life with a fresh haircut, a close shave, shined shoes and top of the line suits and ties.

06 November, 2007 16:37
Anonymous said...

Mr Burck - Robert and I are pretty much the same age so that would be before his time as well! We're talking about 60 or so years ago.

07 November, 2007 23:29

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