Friday, May 04, 2012

From Jerry Digney #11

Harold51 by bucklesw1
Harold51, a photo by bucklesw1 on Flickr.

UNITED PRESS: Harold Ronk, RBBB backstage, 1953, NYC, when he was the vocalist and not the ringmaster. It's never been clear when Harold joined RBBB. From this we know he was there for sure
as early as 1953 as vocalist, but was it for building shows only? Some pundits claim he never worked under canvas. His NY Times obit said he joined RBBB in 1951. As for "Singing Ringmaster,"
that began in 1957. Harold was around 32 when this was shot. Side note: UPI Caption says "Backyard Warbling," don't know that Harold would find much humor in that!

Posted by Buckles at 5/04/2012 05:33:00 AM

2 comments:

Roger Smith said...

I have the Ringling programs from that era, 1947-1957, and the earliest Harold's name appears is in the '51 issue, as Vocalist. I have no history of him other than program listings. He didn't sing in DeMille's movie, and became vague when asked who did. I was later told, without solid verification, that the booming, untrained voice singing "Picnic in the Park", and "Popcorn and Lemonade", belonged to publicist Norman Carroll. That provoked new arguments--so if someone has it right, here's your shot.

04 May, 2012 16:34
Rick Faber said...

Hello, I have been researching the 1954 show in detail and can shed some light on Mr. Ronk's appearances that year. He was on the show through the first couple months of the road tour so he definitely was with it under canvas. When he closed, Ricky Dawn replaced him. By the way, 1954 was the first year that the soloist was "on stage". Prior to that he had been unseen. Count Nicholas was the ringmaster and announcer in 1954. Hope this helps. Rick

04 May, 2012 16:58

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