Friday, July 30, 2010
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13 comments:
Is this not child prodigy? Mister Mistin Jr. on RBBB
To John Whitfield. What is the layest on Vicky?
I'd say it is indeed Mr. Mistin, Jr
who played the, was it, xylophone or marimba? Exceptionally well too. AS a kid seeing this show I remember being amazed that somebody so young could play so well. He starred in the early
'50's as I recall. Anybody know what happened to him ?
Paul Gutheil
I visited the Ringling show briefly in LaCrosse, Wis. in 1953.
Didn't get to see the performance since we showing at the local fair and our performances conflicted.
Quite a few former Cole Show people there and I asked Mickey Freeman how the star of the show (Mister Misten) was going over.
She immediately became quite defensive and explained how intelligent and polite he was.
I wondered if they rallied around him from loyalty to the show.
On the other hand I was 18 and a smart-ass so who knows what caused her reaction.
Called "Baby Mistin" by many performing personnel with RBBB in 1953, this Belgium import was among
circus president John Ringling North's somewhat "controversial" discoveries, in that critics contended Mistin was "not circus." He stayed only 1 year with Ringling. In 1954, we believe, we caught a variety show on George A. Hamid's Steel Pier in Atlantic City, NJ, & saw a youngster billed as "Master Ralph" do a solo stint that closely resembled the Mistin routine. Ralph had darkened locks, & we often wondered if he was a transformed, renamed Mistin. It's still an unanswered question to us some 56 years later. Any takers? -- Bill Hall
Great placement of that sidewall
rope in the bottom of the photo
Maybe that's why the Mr title
I can only imagine that the kid was able to hit some really high notes with his pants up to his tonsils!:)
Bill Hall and I discussed Mistin a few weeks back. I am pretty sure Ralph Heid was the name he used later. He died a few years ago and worked all over Europe. I had an email from him and he was interested in a poster of Mistin. Later he told someone he was not Mistin.
You can find him on youtube. The Theme for Circus Renz was written by Heid and is worth listening to.
Heid had the curly hair, great eyes, etc. Search the net for more on him. His bio mentioned working circus in this country but never used the word Mistin. I am almost sure he was the little dickens.
There were a lot of stories on Mistin. He is said to have kicked Casey Stengel in the shins.
Bob Good
I well remember his performance in the Ringling center ring. I also remember being very puzzled as to what this act was doing in the circus.
Did it sell tickets? I somehow doubt it.
Jack
Mister Mistin stole my cap pistol. My great uncle George had special priveleges when RB played Butte in '53. He was sitting in his '51 Buick in the back yard, and during the matinee, when the rest of the family and I were watching the show, MM must have spotted my cap pistol and holster in the rear window of the car. He approached my uncle George saying he wanted it. UG had the gun in his hand telling MM he couldn't have it, and the kid just grabbed it an ran. Oh, well... it made for an interesting memory and a great story.
Yes, comparing photos at same age they look so much alike, curly locks and all, except Ralph has darker hair color.But Ralph seems more pleasant, cherub like, compared to mischievous Mistin. Biography on Ralph says he came to US in 1954, one year after Mistin's appearance in 1953 at Ringling Bros.Hmm, a mystery still!
i have a UK concert Programne from 1973 that features a summary of the career of Roger Mistin "who started playing a miniature xylophone in his father's well known musical act". He appeared in the concert with his wife Audrey. The were billed as 'The Mistins" and the act included Roger roller skating. A photo attached to the biography shows Roger Mistin playing the xylophone. I would love to post up a scan of it, together with the full biography underneath. There is now a clip on YouTube of "Baby Mistin" performing on the Abbot and Costello TV Show. 1954 I think.
Ian
I suspect from this video that "Baby Mistin" became "Mister Mistin" to confirm his gender?
https://youtu.be/Q2Ot80bXsdA
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