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10 comments:
Is that Wayne Franzen?
It's Wayne and Tony. What a great guy. He'd be pounding stakes, supervising set-up, and doing an interview at the same time in the morning. Do 4 acts in the show. Tear it down in the evening and half the time it seemed double jumped trucks. He never seemed to forget anyone. If a fan showed up from across the country he would not only remember them but would greet them with, "What are you doing here all the way from New York." The man never made any money, I literally loaned him $20 in a gas station one day, but he loved the circus as much as anyone I ever met. The business lost a special guy when he died.
I will forever regret that I never got to meet him. A lot of people echo Richard's comments.
Is this the cat that killed him
I don't remember. I think so but I'm not sure.
I remember one time we were in Menomonie Falls Wi. and the sponsor was a car dealer named Ernie von Shaldorn. Ernie sponsored a show every year for a local group. Ernie was like a big kid at the circus. There was always cherry pie for the show because Ernie would always shoot a circus themed commercial after the first days shows. Wayne had Tony in the showroom doing a sit up on the hood of a new car. As animals do Tony decided to cheat and lean against the windshield. There was a loud crack and everybody went quiet and looked at each other and then at Ernie. Ernie broke out in laughter and practically fell on the floor. He was having so much fun the cost of new glass didn't bother him.
Another year, another show and Ernie had to buy a hood when an elephant sat on it and some cleaning was required when the world's smallest horse took the world's biggest dump in the back of a hatchback.
Wayne was a great guy and worked very hard to keep his dream going. Always took the best care of his animals. I don't think you can see all the animal acts today on any show that Wayne had on his show:
Elephant act
Cat act
Pick-out horse
Mixed exotic
Comedy pigs
Bareback riding
High School horse
Liberty ponies
This is a picture (likely in 1983) of Wayne and Tony one of a set of twins born on the show. Cindy was the other twin. Luca was the tiger that killed Wayne in 1997. The first year out in 1974 Wayne's best animal act was made up of 7 goats. All working off a leash. "The largest and finest aggregation of trained goats in the entire world today!" Wayne spent long hours training in Wisconsin when he wasn't teaching high school shop class. Goats aren't the easiest critters to train but Wayne had tine and was more stubborn than they were! The fiberglass globe was made of the same mold as Okha's globe which was injected with a plastic foam giving it the strength needed for the weight of an elephant. He saw a steam kettle in a junkyard on the road and immediately thought it might make a good mold for the globes. He was right. A little fiberglass company in Wisconsin executed the job - same company that did his ringcurb.
Thanks Paul did you work with Wayne
Hi Chic. I did. '74,'76,'78,'82,'83,'84. One of my best memories was working the front door with him when he noticed two young boys hanging around. Eventually it was show time and he asked if they were seeing the show. The older of the two - probably brothers - said no because they didn't have the money to buy a ticket. He waited a few more moments and decided that the older boy was telling the truth. Then he invited the two in, had them pick out something at the concession stand and then took them into the big top and had them pick out something at the souvenir stand and sat them down in the choice seating area. I can only imagine their wonderment when I introduced Wayne Franzen and his jungle companions a few moments later! Wonder what they told their folks when they got home! Wonder if their folks believed them!!
Hello Paul, When Wayne first got started he used to spend his late fall/early spring playing school districts here in Texas. With his teaching background, he fit right in. He would play all the middle schools and jr highs and then jump to the next district. I think he had three trucks and maybe a couple of Wells Cargo trailers at the time. Used to get off work and help them tear down.
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