Tuesday, March 11, 2008

Wayne Frazen Bellaire, Michigan 1985 (From Bob Karczewski)


Wayne Frazen Bellaire, Michigan 1985, originally uploaded by bucklesw1.

"Okha", "Tusca" and "Megu".

Posted by Buckles at 3/11/2008 05:55:00 AM

18 comments:

Casey McCoy Cainan said...

Okha, Costi, and Magu. Which were named after towns in the countries from which they originated. The dromedary in the background was named Clyde.

11 March, 2008 10:06
Anonymous said...

To Casey; I recall when Wayne got that European tent and made the push up for the middle out of gas pipe, but it worked. In visiting him during that time I asked him what he thought of his imported tent and he said to me, quote," I will never buy another of those "Commie" tents again". Typical all American Wisconsin ethnic German Wayne Franzen. What a guy. Those Africans were trained by Wayne just like Okha. Made no difference to him, but they still, in typical African fashion, shit in the ring.When he got and trained Okha he and I were both still in Wisconsin and he would come to CWM. He broke her to lay down on the wrong side and realized that when he saw mine and someothers, but it really wasn't a problem and he got the job done. What a guy. He didn't know the meaning of hard work, to him it was just another day.

11 March, 2008 12:53
Casey McCoy Cainan said...

Mr. Herriot,
I remember the push up top (coopola?) very well (I lost the pins for it several hundred times in my 10 years there) and you are absolutely rite about his work ethic, it was unsurpassed. He must have eventually trained Okha to lay to the left side, cause by the time I got there she always did. As a youth, when I would ask about liberty acts, your act was always referenced in high regard, as his favorite. Though he always chose to work his POA's without trappings, and we know your stance on that, I feel his liberty drill was among the best I have seen to date (when he worked it). I will always appreciate the years I could spend around him.

PS..
haven't we all seen plenty of Asian elephants shit in the ring?

11 March, 2008 13:24
Buckles said...

Bobby Gibbs always claimed that was the reason Rex started working the act from horseback.

11 March, 2008 13:35
Anonymous said...

Buckles,
God love Bobby. Speaking of Bobby and horseback, you don't happen to have a photo of he and his noble steed, upsidedown in the drainage ditch at Baraboo, do you. When he described it to me, I thought, "if this isn't entered at Vienna in the Riding School archives, there is no real justice in the world.
Wade Burck

11 March, 2008 14:52
Anonymous said...

Casey,
When people used to point out GGW's work ethic(European style), I pointed out Waynes(American style). I also pointed out the only difference was one drove a corvette to a custom train car to shower afterwards, and the other soaped off under a garden hose, leaning on an old truck.
Minnesota may be above Wisconsin, John Milton, but North by God Dakota is above both of them. And because it is colder there, I have alway been required to do less work then Wayne. So don't start. LOL
Wade Burck

P. S. First time I ever met Wayne Franzen, he was running around the lot, in his stocking feet, with 6 in. of sock flopping off the end of his toe's, because and I quote, "don't have time to put my shoes, on. The generator is not running right and it's almost showtime." Crazy man indeed. I'd like to have had some of the time with him that you got, Casey.
Wade Burck

11 March, 2008 15:19
Harry Kingston said...

Wayne Frazen was a good friend through the years and his cats and horses acts were very well received.
I saw his circus the years before he got killed and and he was using a tent D. R. Miller gave him as times were tuff.
Wayne's Circus played many Texas towns around me and I visited almost all of them. I missed one town as I was tried running all over the lot taking photos and helping out. The help said where the hell were you yesterday and I said you all wore me out, I am tired.
One town I took Wayne to eat just to get him away from the circus for a few, and had a great talk about his circus and his training of his animals.
Wayne was a work-aholic and I remember him doing the cat act and returned to help take down the arena.
I sure miss him and his Frazen Bros. Circus as he always put on a super circus.
Harry

11 March, 2008 16:15
Anonymous said...

CASEY- YOU DIDN,T MENTION "CECIL" THE LLAMA. THE OTHER ACT WAS A GOAT ACT. DOING EVERYTHING A ELEPHANT ACT COULD DO. THIS INCLUDED A WALKING LONG MOUNT. THIS WAS IN THE EARLY YEARS. THIS ACT BROUGHT DOWN THE HOUSE SPECIALLY IN THE MIDWEST. EVEN GUNTHER CALLED ONE NIGHT, TO DISCSS THE GOAT ACT. IT WAS ON THE NEXT RBBB SHOWM FOR TWO YEARS
BOB PHEBUS

11 March, 2008 18:15
Anonymous said...

Excuse me Mr. Anonymous....Cecil was a sicilian donkey....the Llama was named Chico....FBC alumni...JZ

11 March, 2008 19:51
Bob Karczewski said...

Wayne also used horse direction commands (gee and haw) for left and right when he trained his elephants. He once told me how upset he was when his Dad sold the work horses that they had worked the farm with and bought the first tractor to do the work. In the later years before his death he had bought a Percheron that was used in the show. I saw the liberty goat act the first time I ever saw Franzen Brothers Circus at the Genesee County Fairgrounds. It was out of the ordinary and will always stand out in my mind when I think of Wayne and his circus. Casey, I had taken a picture of you and Chad Franzen practicing your juggling in the backyard on the lot in Bellaire, Michigan, but it is not clear enough to post.

11 March, 2008 20:59
Casey McCoy Cainan said...

Harry,
Your comment could be misleading. I believe Wayne only played one season in the Great State Of Texas, which would have been 74 or 75. That season FBC and Daily Bros/Jungle Wonders both opened in the Rio Grande Valley. The Daily show did a fine job of "boxing in" Franzen, nearly putting the fledgling show out of business. Wayne told this story many times, and would finish with "haven't been to Texas since, and don't care to ever go again". Wayne did play alot of towns on the LA. border, which were surely close enough for you to visit.
Wade,
Crazy man indeed. I knew it to be fact when 2 weeks into WQs, Wayne and my uncle Curtis felt they were getting fat, so began a daily (as in every day of the week) regimen of waking at 5:00 AM to go jogging, because training of animals was to start at 7:00 AM sharp, everyday.
Bob,
Zych is correct the donkey that was the show mascot, and Okha's lover was Cecil, the llama was Chico, later replaced by a Guanaco, trained by Dick Kohlreiser named Chico as well.

11 March, 2008 21:04
Casey McCoy Cainan said...

Bob,
Which film company or photographer must I thank for the picture being to blurry to post? It is a blessing, although Chad was an amazing juggler and deserves alot of credit for making "us" look good over the years. The Percherons (King and Jack) you mention were Tinas for a bareback act. Some years later I bought a team of black Percherons that looked identical from Gopher. Upon picking the horses up I asked their names, and it seemed Eddy Kudeman had given them names from the "Hogjaws Manual of Equine Names". Rather then have to look around to see who was watching before I said their names each time, I changed them to Ace and King.

11 March, 2008 22:35
paulniebauer said...

As I was on Franzen '74,'76,'82-'84 I had the pleasure of knowing Wayne quite well. Often times I would broach the topic of him working his animals for another producer and taking it easy(er). He never went for the idea. I think among maybe some other issues he simply took great pride in doing two things that he had always dreamed of doing and those were to present his own animals in his own circus. He was the oldest of three growing up on a small farm in Wisconsin and knew very well what it was like not to have much. A number of times we would be working the front door and he would watch some young boys that were hanging around but not buying a ticket. When he was convinced that they didn't have the money he would approach them and verifying that they indeed did not have the price of admission would take them in and make sure they had something to eat, a souvenier and a decent seat for the show. It was fun to watch their expressions when the same man who let them in was introduced as the owner of the show and then stepped in the steel arena with 10 lions and tigers. I believe this gave him as much pleasure as almost anything.

11 March, 2008 22:58
Casey McCoy Cainan said...

Mr. Niebauer,
We never worked on Franzen at the same time, though there were a million stories still lingering around about you by the time I arrived. You were always talked about with the up most respect. You are absolutely right about Wayne "looking out" for the underprivileged kids. He surely never forgot how broke they were when he was a kid, cause I heard all about how broke, every time I bought a pair of shoes that cost more then 75 bucks. When I was 15 and he caught Chad and I smoking cigarettes in the sleeper shower, he didnt mention anything about our health, but rather "do you realize how much money you are going to waste on this stupid shit?" He will never know how accurate he was. I miss him almost everyday.

12 March, 2008 00:20
Anonymous said...

I am with Harry about Wayne spending alot of time in East Texas in 74' and 75'. Played every wide spot in the road. We had the Silverlakes sometimes right down the street in the next little town. Was thinking Daily Bros didn't get off the ground till 75',but it could have been 74'. Dory gave Gopher tons of old Al G Kelly Miller paper to start with, and they sometimes wouldn't even cover up the K-M name when they put it up. Wayne always put you to work, but that was ok with us.
P.J.Holmes

12 March, 2008 00:33
Bob Karczewski said...

Casey, the blurry pictures are the result of my not having a camera with a split screen focusing setup and my experimentation with different film speeds. I will keep looking through all of the pictures I have. I even got to video tape the performances with Wayne's permission. He was a great showman and a great person. When you stop and think about Wayne's background growing up on the farm and training all of his animals himself, it is amazing. It would have been something to have seen Wayne jackpotting with Gunther.

12 March, 2008 06:03
Harry Kingston said...

Casey,
You are as wrong as they come as Wayne played Texas and in Louisiana close to the Texas border alot more than once.
One year he drove the hole show to open in in the mud at Winnie, Texas as I was there.
There were few towns in Texas Wayne missed as he played many.
I am heading this weekend to see Kelly Miller open in Hugo, and visit with John Ringling North II again.
I will get to see you in your den of fury up close.
P. J. thanks for your comments as always as we visited every circus that played our areas.
Harry

12 March, 2008 07:46
Casey McCoy Cainan said...

Harry,
I maybe wrong, I don't know about wrong as they come, but possibly mistaken. I would say he probably did play the fall of 74 in TX, then opened in the spring of 75 there, as thats the story Wayne had told. I have the route cards 86-93, which some how are missing all those TX dates I guess. Easy with the "Den of Fury" cracks, I don't want people assuming I am of the "American Style".
Wade,
Notice how I passed on the open door to an alibi for the act.

12 March, 2008 09:33

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