Monday, November 28, 2005

Madison Sq. Garden 1978 #3


This is Dalilah being delicately mounted up on "Charlie" for "Opening" with the assistance of Jerry Aria. The African is "Billy". Check out the wardrobe and elephant blankets, gone forever.

Posted by Buckles at 11/28/2005 06:36:00 AM

13 comments:

Anonymous said...

RBBB had a rep of very low pay. It was supposed to be enough that they let you play on them. Reasoning be you could use it on your resume for future work on another show. That worked in the old days. I learned that you can not eat newspaper clippings. I will be the first to admit I loved every moment of the circus. Would have worked for food as they say. Even that was better on the Mud Shows.

28 November, 2005 07:56
Anonymous said...

What happens to all these costumes and blankets? Do smaller circus buy them. I think one year kelly Miller had a lot of RBBB spec things. I remember Margrets head piece falling apart during a show. It had been on RBBB years ago. Dry rot

28 November, 2005 13:09
TheShaz said...

Isn't that me on Billy right there? I remember for "Opening" both me & Shane rode the africans. I rode again for "Spec" while Dalilah rode the Pirate ship.

28 November, 2005 13:16
Buckles said...

Indeed it is!

28 November, 2005 13:33
Anonymous said...

One again proving...as our tech guy at my company likes to point out -- the webmaster is always right!

28 November, 2005 13:39
Anonymous said...

Bad as RBBB wages may be or may have been -- consider the circus company based in the French speaking north that can charge $100 for a ticket while allegedly paying some performers working under H2B visas less than $200 a week

28 November, 2005 13:58
Anonymous said...

Show biz is crazy, so why did we do it and wish we could do it again. We love the circus. I get Shane and Shannon mixed up. Who is who?That baby being held by the elephant is a gem. Things just keep getting better.

28 November, 2005 14:52
Anonymous said...

Is elephant bull Charlie on this picture identical to the Charlie who is today Ringling´s breedin bull?

28 November, 2005 19:21
Buckles said...

Yes it is but today I think he affectionately referred to as Charlie Manson.

28 November, 2005 20:29
Bob Cline said...

Hello gang,
I certainly am not one to account for the RBBB wardrobe but over the years, friends that worked there told of the people that sat there for weeks with seam rippers peeling the sequins off of the material to reuse some other time. Others have told of the one event in particular where two truckloads were sent to the dump only to be picked up my others and sold to anyone with cash in their hands. And sadly there are a few pieces I am aware of that were simply stolen and displayed in their basements now. Like Buckles has said, the wardrobe now pales in comparision to 20 years ago.
Bob

29 November, 2005 05:52
GaryHill said...

Buckles did you ever get a Press Kit for the years you were on the Blue Show? I have one with lots of pictures of your kids. I will try over the holidays to get my son to help me send you as many as I can. Gary

29 November, 2005 17:52
Anonymous said...

Buckles, what were your years with the blue unit? I was there for the first season working with COTTON FENNER....a man who loved the circus and circus folk.

I used to come up with what I thought were great promotional ideas and Cotton would always say, "Boy, this circus will be 100 year old next season and we don't need no new fangled ideas to get there!"

29 November, 2005 18:36
Buckles said...

I never met Mr. Fenner but I feel like I have since my friend Frank Curry has regaled me with many of his stories.
I was at the Ringling Park 1974-77.
On the Blue Show 1978-79.
You may recall the 1994 train wreck in which elephant boss Ted Svetesky was killed. I went back on the show to break in Graham Chipperfield to take over the herd. So I was back on the Blue Show all of 1994 and part of '95. I tell everybody I got time off for good behavior.

29 November, 2005 22:25

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