Monday, July 05, 2010

The Clarke Family #3


Scan13038, originally uploaded by bucklesw1.

From the 1944 Program.

I once asked Ernie how it felt to be a feature on the Greatest Show
on Earth and she was extremely modest about it and said it came
about partially due to the long standing friendship between her family
and Edith and Robert Ringling.
Not only was her picture on the front cover of the program but she was
surprised to find that she had a private dressing tent, much to the dismay
of the Old Guarde. At first she was very lonely but eventually talked
Neets Deisler into sharing the tent with her.

Posted by Buckles at 7/05/2010 06:58:00 AM

3 comments:

Roger Smith said...

This photo was among those in the program feature "Beauties of the Big Top". Along with the program cover above, I had this one also expertly copied, and working in Parley's dining room, framed them together as a present for Kim.

06 July, 2010 03:42
Buckles said...

Roger, who has the incredible framed picture of Ernie leaping from a rosinback into an aerial split?
I have never seen it in print.

06 July, 2010 07:31
Roger Smith said...

BUCKLES: We have that photo here, in poster size. The family refers to the trick as the "split jump". Ernestine is some 6 feet in the air above her favorite horse, Stranger, who is her mount in the 1944 program cover featured here. As is seen, the split jump was in practice in an outdoor ring. Mrs. Hanneford monitored Stranger, and cued the photographer. Ernestine said that when the gait was right, she felt Stranger taking the steps leading up to a sudden high jolt of his rump, and she'd be set to coincide for her classic leap.

06 July, 2010 22:35

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