Friday, April 18, 2014

Jennier #4


6 comments:

Chic Silber said...


I'm told there was a tremendous

age difference between Walter

& Ethel & they had a daughter

John Herriott said...

They had a son and daughter, Jo-Ann who did a fine aerial act [selland grey],etc. They had a fine home in Peru, Ind.

Ethel had been an orphan and was raised by Mighty Haag family and was very close with the Silverlake family. Harry Haag married the sister of Josephine Silverlake. Sons are Melvin, Jimmy, Harry jr, and a daughyter.

She and Walter were married for many years and he was probably 10-fifteen yrs. older. They had two great acts and eventually went to RBBB wher the divorced and she married Jack Joyce. that marriage failed aftrer va few years and she remarried a younger person and was a flaymboyant oerformer into her seventies.She would work seals herself with Walter and later worked "leaping greyhound" act and pony, exotic act trained by Jack Joyce. She also did a sword balancing act on Beatty-Cole, etc. Walter in late yrs. traveled and assisted daughyter JoAnn and lived into his eighties. Fine folks and great dedicated show people.My parents, myself were associated with them over the yrs.

Roger Smith said...

I had known Jack Joyce off and on through visits, by then most recently on the Ringling show. I met Ethel when Jack's mother, also named Ethel, died in 1968, and they came to Thousand Oaks to bury her. Jack asked me to be a pall bearer, along with a veteran elephant man named Whitey. He was not with us at Jungleland, and I never knew any more about this man. For a long time, I was taken by surprise when Mabel Stark knew all about my comings and goings at my apartment, just down the street from her home. She knew when I had a girlfriend over, and when I came home with another 12-pack of beer. Mabel couldn't see me from her house, and it was not until much later I learned my neighbor was Jack's mother who told Mabel on me. Then the whole thing became funny. Jack was either performance director or assistant then, and said to Ethel, "Honey, let's get Roger over on the Ringling show with us." She was enthusiastic, and Jack told me to stand by for his letter. Never heard another word.

Dick Flint said...

Thanks, Johnny and Buckles, for providing the photos and answering the questions Chic and I had asked about the Jenniers.
Dick Flint
Baltimore

Anonymous said...

Does anyone know what Jo Ann is doing these days and also....what line of work did Walter Jennier go into? Thanks...Charles Hanson

Anonymous said...

I was referring to Walter Jennier, Jr. in the above post. Thanks.. Charles Hanson