Tuesday, October 27, 2015

More RBBB #15


Posted by Buckles at 10/27/2015 05:30:00 AM

1 comments:

Roger Smith said...

James Albert Hal Smith came out of Enid, Oklahoma, to become self-taught as a top wire-walker, spoken of in the same breath as Con Colleano and Harold Barnes. In the Great Depression, when he first reached his prime, he shrewdly realized he had to overcome his often-violent prejudices, and take on a name that would keep him booked by the Jewish booking agents he secretly despised. He became Hal Silvers, and worked steadily. He also hated anything not American, and was incensed when he arrived on the Ringling show to find John North had named him Hubert Castle, to make him sound foreign. But it was there he starred as a Center Ring solo for 4 years, and made the cover of LIFE magazine. He remained Hubert Castle as he proved among the very few performers who had the sheer brains to segue to the Front End, and make a success of his own show.

27 October, 2015 18:41

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