Monday, March 17, 2008

Ringling-Barnum 1968 #6


Ringling_Hugo6, originally uploaded by bucklesw1.

"Duane Thorpe in the foreground with "John" on the small tub" Buckles

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

Duane was indeed a terrific mentor to all of the First of May clowns. He was also known as 'Uncle Soapy' and he kept things very lively in the Alley. We couldn't have asked for a better teacher on the road.

Buckles said...

Not to be confused with "Uncle Creepy" also of Clown College fame.

Anonymous said...

Buckles;
What ever happened to this little John elephant?

Buckles said...

I really don't know. Maybe some Circus World people could fill in the blanks.
"John" was included in Axel's herd when they returned to the Blue Show in 1980 but was soon returned to Circus World. Darryl Atkinson would know the circumstances.
Next thing I heard, Bouthellier had bought him and they both headed north.

Anonymous said...

Next question...
What happened to Bouthellier?
I saw him in Kingston, NY one year (around 1982-83-ish)when he was visiting the Beatty Show...
:-)
Cindy Potter

Buckles said...

He died last year.

Anonymous said...

Does anyone know how Billy B died or what happened to him? Thanks

Anonymous said...

i heard throat cancer those ciggerates got the best of him .CleanRaul