Pablo Noel #1 (From Henry Penndorf)

4, originally uploaded by bucklesw1. Bill, I was very happy to read that everything went well for Ben, and that he is already on the road to recovery. That makes for a very Merry Christmas. These pictures of Pablo Noel come from the same Time/Life web site as the pictures of Alfred Court that I sent you previously. Seeing these photos of Pablo Noel bought back memories of when I saw him perform with Ringling Brothers in 1972 at Madison Square Garden. You read little about him. He had a very entertaining act. As I recall Pablo Noel's act was not a large one, maybe seven or eight lions. He did have one of the largest lionesses that I had ever seen. According to the Ringling Brothers program Pablo Noel came to the United States from Spain's Circus Feijo Castilla. At the time Feijo Castilla was also know as the Spanish National Circus ( I don't think that circus still exists). Pablo Noel spent two seasons with Ringling Brothers, 1972, and 1973, before returning to Europe(?).&! nbsp; In 1974, Pablo Noel's spot on the Blue Unit was taken by C hristiane and Erhard Samel's Mixed Cage Act. Here are a couple of the comments on Pablo Noel from the 1972 program... "Combining comedy with daredevltry, Senor Noel has introduced to the world of wild-animal training a score of utterly amazing and dangerous innovations." "Lions are my life," says Pablo Noel. "I try to present them to the audience as the dangerous jungle beasts they are-but, there's always time to have a little fun!" These are a few of my memories of Pablo Noel's act...First, he had a penchant for putting his head in a lion's mouth. Pablo Noel worked his act in very close proximity to his lions. In one part of his act, Pablo Noel would take a running leap, and land on a group of his lions that were reclining on the arena floor. He would follow up this part of his act by rolling on the arena floor and wrestling with one of his lions. Two of his lions were named "Pyx" and "Tarzan". After viewing the pictures of Pablo Noel, I did an Internet search and could find little information on him, and only a few pictures. I was interested in finding out more on his performing history, like where he went after Ringling Brothers, etc., and some basic biographical information. Pablo Noel appeared twice in Life Magazine during 1972 (the April 14 and September 8 editions).&nbs! p; The September 8 issue contained a picture of Pablo Noel after he had been injured in the cage. There is one picture of Pablo Noel that I remember, but did not find. When I first saw it I smiled. The picture looked to have been taken at winter quarters during a rehearsal/practice session. Pablo Noel's lions were lounging in an outdoor arena. Sitting on the stomach of a reclining lion was Pablo Noel non-chalantly sipping a cup of coffee. I am not positive, but I believe that photo may have also appeared in Life Magazine. In my looking for information on Pablo Noel, I came across something that I hadn't read before...that Henry Schroer and Jeanette Williams are cousins. I found that information on the Circus Williams web site... www.circus-williams.de/history3.htm Bill, have you ever considered adding a "where are they now" feature to your blog? Stay well, Henry