Saturday, February 23, 2008

From Dick Flint


Karin & Ginny, originally uploaded by bucklesw1.

Sue Lenz and Bill Hall identified Nadia Houcke in one of the 1956
Ringling color photos recently shown. Here is her grandniece Karin
Houck with Ginny Frisco on the red unit, two great ladies that meet
and great the public during the animal open houses as seen here in
Wilkes-Barre, Pa., last June.

Incidentally, Nadia's late brother was the immortal trainer Gilbert
Houcke whose physique captivated all the women in Europe when he
appeared barefoot in a loincloth originating the act of Tarzan taming
the tigers on all the major shows during the 1950s-60s. Nadia's nephew
is Sacha, Jr., late of Ringling but now with Pinder in France, who is
the father of Karin and Sarah. Karin remains on Ringling/red working
with the elephants and presenting a zebra act and is sixth generation
in the circus. Houcke is a great name in European circus history: the
first generation performed at Astley's in London and worked for
Franconi in Paris; in addition, the family line includes such historic
names as Tourniaire, Bidel, and Rancy.

And Ginny, I'm pleased to note, originates from right here in the
Baltimore area!

Dick

Posted by Buckles at 2/23/2008 05:53:00 AM

14 comments:

Anonymous said...

Actually, Karin and her sister are 7th generation if you go back through the Rancy line of her great-grandmother to Jean Rancy (1785-about 1860) and his wife Sabine (?-1860), both rope dancers. The paternal Houcke line is "only" 6!
Dick Flint
Baltimore

23 February, 2008 09:36
Anonymous said...

Dominique Jando, a keen critic of circus acts, once told me that Gilbert Houcke was the greatest tiger triner of all time.

23 February, 2008 16:18
Anonymous said...

Mr. Reynold,
Who is Dominique Jando? What did he do? I have never heard that name before. Thank you.
Wade Burck

23 February, 2008 19:01
Anonymous said...

An all this time I thought Wade Burck was!

23 February, 2008 19:37
Anonymous said...

Mr. Burck, Dominique Jando was originally a well regarded clown in Europe.

23 February, 2008 22:59
Anonymous said...

I am surprised that Mr. Reynolds would even suggest that the remark of Mr. Jando in regard to Mr. Houcke could be recognized at having any clai8m whatsoever as to his rating among wilod animal trainers. I have heard from those that swaw him that he was handsome, well costumed and presented a very fine act to great acclaim. However, right here on the blog we have seen some stuff from Europe over the years that are awesome, to say the least, and I would suggest the this remark by a former clown would leave alo0t to be desired for in depth comprehension, and of course I wonder how aware Mr. Jando of America's contribution to the field over the ye3ars from both import and home grown trainers. I have been in the trenches of circus and quite aware of its goings on for some seventy years and I never heard of Mr. Jando being a highly recogtnized critic of the animal t5raining art5s.

24 February, 2008 08:44
henry edgar said...

if i were looking for an expert to name the best circus tiger trainer of all time, i'm sorry, i would ask another tiger trainer. or at least another animal trainer because i believe only an animal trainer would be qualified to voice an opinion like this. mr. houcke has a great reputation and i wish i had seen him perform, but i have never before heard anyone say he was the best of all time. that means he was better than charley baumann, better than mabel stark, better than alfred court, and better than any number of other legends. did this man ever even see any of our american trainers such as mabel stark? we all have our favorites, but how do we decide who the greatest of all time is? how many of us even saw mabel stark in her prime? have any of us even seen EVERY good tiger act in history? if so, we could say this was the best in my opinion, but only another trainer knows if someone is a good trainer or a good presenter -- and there IS a difference -- or if the person is simply someone who can sell an act no matter the animals do. after what we've learned about the monte carlo awards, i question european experts more than ever. Does this quy have any credentials in tiger training or breeding?

24 February, 2008 10:10
Anonymous said...

Johnny and Henry,
Thank you. That's is exactly what I was trying to get to. I'm glad you got there first. Now you can be the "bad guy", and we can keep that jealous nonsense and other crap out of it.
I too was suprised and said a loud WHAT!!!, at Mr. Reynold's statement Johnny. Abe Goldstein told me that Pat Anthony was the best, and if you asked the great Dime Wilson, I'll bet I know who he would vote for. Joe Sherman favored me, but I suspect it had something to do with me loading he and Chester's trunk, each move out night.
I disagree with you, Henry about fellow animal trainer's/contemporaries deciding. Are you sure you fully understand the MC nonsense? Gunther get's my vote, but that's only because he did it longer then Adam Burck. If I am around in 30 year's, I will probably change my choice. Until there is some sort of standard decided on and accurate record's are kept it will alway's be a hug, hug, two cheek kiss, and that is a poor way to crown a king/queen. Number of animals? Number of acts? How many show's worked on? One show all career? Dirt, rubber, ring mat, One ring affair, three ring extaveganza? "Kiss 0 Death" or multiple hind leg walks? Animals happy, or unhappy? Handsomest/cutest? Best costume, rhinestones or loin cloth? What is the standard, Henry. Still photos? Come on, your a publicist. Joe Montana look's real "poised" on his rookie card and it is a nice "presentation." I have seen photos of him after hitting the ground for the 10th time, where he didn't look so handsome. But he was a winner, and went into his Hall of Fame, with a number of well deserved awards. This debate will continue on through history until a standard is agreed upon. Our Hall of Fames, "Awards" festival, certificates, proclaimations, etc, etc. will alway be under scrutiny, and more like a presidential campaign, than a factual achievement.
Wade Burck

24 February, 2008 13:05
henry edgar said...

for wade: it's the "greatest tiger trainer of all time" that got me, and that's why i said only another trainer could say that. I can argue forever over why one still photo is better for press than another. we can all talk about costumes and props. we can quibble over why a triple was so rare in codona's day but is now almost as common as the passing leap. it's easy to spot someone who is a master showman and think their act is better than it is vs. the trainer who is very talented but is so good he makes it look easy and therefore fails to create any excitemnt. many of us today will pick smoke and mirrors over basic training. but only a real trainer knows how hard, say, a hind leg hop is vs taking a treat from a trainer's mouth. a tiger walking on a board or a pair of ropes vs leaping onto an elephant or a horse or leaping through a hoop held over a trainer's head. which tricks are easy with some animals and hard for others of the same breed vs those that are hard no matter how smart the individual animal might be. is it easier to train a tiger to do a roll-over or spin when the trick is done in the arena alone vs a cage filled with 20 animals. most of these questions can only be answered by someone who has actually broken trained and presented a group of tigers.

24 February, 2008 14:05
Anonymous said...

Whew! - -I did not mean to stir up so much controversy.

Lest he dismissed too quickly with a “what can that French clown possibly know,” I should point out that Jando was a co-founder of France’s first professional circus school and a co-founder of the Paris circus arts competition. He spent 19 years as the associate artistic director of the Big Apple Circus. So, he would appear to have some bona fides in judging the quality of this or that circus act.

When he expressed his Gilbert Houcke opinion to me he was with the Big Apple. I only know him casually but he came across as a man of definite opinions. He projected the sort of personality I associate with theater critics. Buckles knows him well.

Of course, who was the best of this or that is certainly a matter of personal preference. “The best” is influenced by so many subjective influences as to be unquantifiable. How did one feel the day he saw the act - - was he influenced by others - - was it the sort of thing he naturally likes etc., etc.

And I never saw Gilbert Houcke myself.

24 February, 2008 15:08
Anonymous said...

Thank you Mr. Reynolds for mentioning who Dominique Jando is.
I found him to be very knowledgable in the circus arts, being able to discern the difference between fluff and substance. As far as Gilbert Houcke being the best ever, I think we have allready covered most of the areas of the possibilities of subjective opinions. But during my time in Europe I did run into many knowledgable circus performers and animal trainers both young and old who held the name of Gilbert Houcke in very high esteem

24 February, 2008 16:24
Anonymous said...

Larry, Your comments is certainly accurate as to his abilities, but in my early times around these shows the great "Togare" seemed to be the man of the hour, but here in the USA it seems MR. Beatty held forth for 42 year5s.

24 February, 2008 20:11
Buckles said...

Every year with Big Apple we had the customary "end of the season party" at which some acts were lampooned by other performers.
My favorite was a skit called "What does Jando do?".
Nuf Ced

24 February, 2008 21:16
Anonymous said...

Wade G. Burck & friends,
My name is Tom Holbrook I am researching the Sherman Brothers, Chester Sherman & Joe Vani Sherman,...Looking for stories, photos, programs and folks who saw their acts.Please help where you can,
Thank you,
Tom
bozo_history@yahoo.com

04 April, 2008 10:35

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)