Saturday, October 08, 2011

From Buckles #4

Dutch was a pretty sharp guy and managed to have "The Sensational Ortons" and "Swing And Sway The Orton Way" copywritten under his own name, Verne Lidke, after their divorce Gracie married Rich Barnsdale and continued in the sway pole business but was unable to use her own name in her billing.
Dutch remarried toured Europe with this act and later built a nice home in Dallas but was killed when the rigging collapsed while practicing in their back yard.
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Posted by Buckles at 10/08/2011 05:44:00 AM

7 comments:

Mike Naughton said...

http://www.britishpathe.com/record.php?id=40019

1955 Olympia in London, Bertram Mills Circus, newsreel with a short piece on "Swing and Sway the Orton Way". Would this be your relation, Buckles, or his second wife?

08 October, 2011 07:50
Buckles said...

I believe it's the second wife.
Dora?, Dory?

08 October, 2011 08:55
Roger Smith said...

Strange how I can watch any wild animal act and feel right at home. But some acts give me the willies. We had The Great Bruno and his breakaway sway pole on Castle. Nice guy, but I could never watch his act. Same with Bill and Trudy's Los Kimris Duo--way too dangerous for me. I avoided high acts with sway poles atop, like Sport Matthews, and Marvin Seabright, who advertised "Always Highest". Those guys can have it. You can usually do something about attacking big cats, and I've seen elephant men correct bad moments. But when someone goes into a fall, everyone is helpless. I still bear a lifelong horror of witnessing a bad fall like Buckles describes here with the Ortons. Me, I played it safe down here on the ground.

08 October, 2011 16:16
Anonymous said...

I believe that he was killed whilst practicing a new act with two others for an act commissioned to appear at the Blackpool Tower Circus in England.Does anyone know if this is correct ?

08 October, 2011 16:40
Little John said...

That is interesting Roger, anyone that knows me should attest to the fact that I have no business around exotic animals. It seem to me that animals train me what to do. I check in daily because I admire the Captain's wit, and I like being a small part of you Circus folks. However who could not admire all those swelling punk males back then dripping in musk, and respect the men who could back them up. Back in my twenties, and about 50 pounds ago, I was very confident in my grip, and I was high (in the air) a lot of the time. I never jumped rope on a high wire, or climbed a sway pole, but I would do that before I'd try to get through barn blocked by the butts of Hugo, or Vance.

08 October, 2011 19:15
Anonymous said...

this is my family.

07 May, 2015 10:57
Chic Silber said...


There have been plenty of swaypole

mishaps which have included many

that resulted in mortal tragedy

Carla Wallenda at 78 continues to

work on her Aunt Rietta's pole

07 May, 2015 14:08

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