Guy Gossing, he and his wife had a terrific Tiger Act, very clean, European style--we worked together on tour in 1973--he's seen here in 1977 after a tiger attack in Chicago. |
Thursday, May 03, 2012
From Jerry Digney #1
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
12 comments:
I knew Guy Gossing quite well. I would hardly describe his act as a "European" style. It was a fighting act from start to finsh...and he used a lot of tradional American circus music to go with it.
Jimmy,
You beat me to the punch. I was going to suggest the very same thing. Comparing Gossing to a "European" style act, is like saying Richard Nixon was not a crook. :) There, I beat you to the punch.
Wade Burck
I agree with Jimmy Cole. In fact first with lions and later with tigers. Both kind of scary. Also cats doubled up in small cages and he fed the meat by lifting the door and throwing it in. He had a crippled leg and limped all throughout the act and elsewhere as well. He and his wife were the sole take carers, driver, cage people, etc. not a fun act to work with. He ended up staying at Hermann Lippizan ranch and sold the act [tigers] to Hugo-Eddie Schmidt. tanglefoot
Guy's tigers were known for working hot. They were also superbly kept, making his entire presentation first class from the backyard to the ring. He was a gracious host to visitors, and gave me a memorable tour of his cages, detailing the personalities of each tiger, and his relationships with them.
sorry to have started a sh-t storm. guys, 40 years ago is a long time, so forgive the shaky details!
Wade...You mean that You, Col. Herriott and I all agree on something! And yes Nixon was a crook...and Col. Herroitt will 2nd that for sure!
Thank you Roger Smith.
JC Hall
Several years ago, 24-Hour Man shared this one with us: "When Bill Golden was leaving Cuneo, I suggested that Guy's act was for sale, his reply, "I wouldn't go in that cage with a bazooka!!!"
Maybe I should have mentioned what most will remember; that 24-Hour Man was Bill Strong's handle.
Jimmy,
John Milton agreed with you, not me. It would kill him to agree with me. I still trying understand if "doubled up in small cages" and "superbly kept" are the same thing or something entirely different?
Wade Burck
Wade, There were several cat acts from that era who's shifting cages would not meet today's standards. Guy kept his cats as well as he could, but the "plywood box" cages were crude and crowded to say the least. Lifting the doors up to feed the cats and to clean the cages was scarey to watch, but even more so if you had hoof stock in the same area! Guy and his wife always seemed to be very pleasant to other performers and visiting circus fans.
James C. Hall,
Remember the blue boxes with the white scroll's that the white tigers were kept in? I had just never heard them described as "well kept." What happened to the act after Eddie Schmidt?
Wade Burck
Post a Comment