Tuesday, September 25, 2018

TRAPEZE #9


Posted by Chic Silber at 9/25/2018 12:34:00 AM

10 comments:

John Shepherd said...

The man himself, I believe. Jules Leotard, who started it all.

25 September, 2018 08:11
Chic Silber said...


Yup but his name was actually Laotard

25 September, 2018 09:32
Roger Smith said...

He originated the flying trapeze act, at the Cirque D'Hiver, in Paris, albeit from many efforts toward achievement. The year is given as 1857. When Burt Lancaster's Mike Ribble character exclaimed that Leotard "invented the trapeze on this circus a hundred years ago", he wasn't off by much. Jules is also said to have been the first to wear tights up there, so when you girls pull on your Leotards, spare a thought for who passed them to you.

25 September, 2018 15:25
John Shepherd said...

Chic, What's your source for the spelling of his last name? I find nothing on line (Wikipedia and other sources) that puts the 'a' in it. I'd defer to those with more knowledge of French (i.e., just about anyone) for the appropriateness of an 'a' in that position.

26 September, 2018 08:31
Chic Silber said...


I believe it was Sampion Buglione

while showing me some memorabalia

in the family apartment upstairs

in Cirque D'Hiver many years ago

26 September, 2018 09:16
Chic Silber said...


I was invited to a few dinners

by the Buglione family thanks

to Sampion Timmerman who is

their cousin & a good friend

of mine for half a century

26 September, 2018 09:21
Chic Silber said...


Wikipedia is a crowd sourced source

(It aint the Britannica)

26 September, 2018 09:23
John Shepherd said...

I agree that Wikipedia ain't Britannica - Britannica has more errors - and should be taken as a first source (like any encyclopedia). The rest of my Google search, however, didn't show your version of the spelling (even as an alternative). That prompted my question.

Interestingly, a link to Rosa Buglione's BBC obituary is featured on the current CHS webpage. Nicely written obit with some interesting sidelights on the "animals in circuses" debate in France.

Thanks for the information.

26 September, 2018 10:06
Chic Silber said...


Although I've never dumped

my historic Britannica John

the entire set has remained

nearly virginal as I can't

recall back to it's useage

Just a poke at Wiki as it

became the gospel to some

26 September, 2018 10:25
Roger Smith said...

Wiki does say they print what they get, but try to vet what they can. Still, they insist Clyde Beatty was "a big game hunter", which he never was, and "a lion tamer", when there is no such thing. So, like Chic says, they are crowd-sourced, and anything might get on their page.

Same with IMDb. I thoroughly corrected a superficial bio of Clyde Beatty on there, but they still kept the wrongful stuff from Jon Hopkins. They also claim to seriously vet input before they post it, but don't stand corrected when the real bios come in.

So girls, you can say LAY-o-tards, or LEE-o-tards, screw the reference works, and still feel at home in your tights.

26 September, 2018 17:49

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