Tuesday, February 07, 2006

Mills Bros. Circus 1963/ Spec floats


As long as I can remember the Mills Show was heavily sponsored and enjoined as such with an iron clad contact. The Sponsor would get a generous cut on all tickets sold in advance but must present "X" amount of money at 11:00 AM on show day or they would immediately take it down, move on and send in their lawyers. No nonsense.

Posted by Buckles at 2/07/2006 06:33:00 AM

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

I actually saw Jack Mills do this very thing in Dayton, OH...Sponsor had a party the night prior and didn't have Jacks money the next day...He pulled the show off the lot onto the next town....Ii was brought up just 20 miles from the Mills Winterquarters, Circleville, OH....whitetiger

07 February, 2006 09:44
Anonymous said...

I was on the show in 1962 and saw the same thing done in a town in Michigan.
One of the vendors accidentally sold two toys to a towner on the lot. They were bought back when this was noticed so they were not in violation of the agreement. When the guarentee wasn't made the cry went out "tear her down". We did and arrived at the next date hours early.
But that was the way it was.
Jerry Jay

07 February, 2006 13:09
Buckles said...

I had heard that also included in that contract was the understanding that the show would up and ready by a certain hour. Failure to do so would invalidate the contract in the Sponsor's favor.
Needless to say the show moved with considerable assiduity.

07 February, 2006 13:26
Anonymous said...

To Jerry Jay:

By chance were you a clown on Mills Bros. and then drafted into the Army in early 1964? May be a possibility we crossed paths at Med. Supply School at Ft. Sam Houston in San Antonio, TX.

07 February, 2006 14:34
Anonymous said...

The very same. I wish my memory was as good. Can you email me at Jerry-J@msn.com. And maybe I'll recall our meeting. Jerry

07 February, 2006 23:07
Pat Cashin said...

Wait, wait, wait now... I may have just come to the circus industry recently but let me understand this correctly...there WAS a time when the sponsor was expected to live up to their end of the contract?

There WAS a time when the show didn't cow tow to the sponsor's (and every single one of their representatives) every single solitary whim (and abuse that to no end)?

There WAS a time when shows travelled with what you call here "spec floats"?

If you say so, I'll give you the benefit of the doubt but it don't sound like nothing I've seen ; )

~P

07 February, 2006 23:44
Anonymous said...

They just don't make show folks like they used to. Anything legal now is a big joke. Some F^#*&%^ lawyer will find a loop hole and keep you tied up for years. Most people just give up and give in. I don't. Thats why I have spent the last three years going to court. Very miner things, but when you know you are right, I was taught not to take crap from anyone. So far so good. Might be in the Pokey after this Friday.

08 February, 2006 12:29
Anonymous said...

This photo brings back some memories, though not of the Mills Show. Paul Kay bought the floats and they came to our farm in Ohio which sort of served as the
"Winterquarters" the prop truck stayed there and I worked on the equipment, which meant restoring these floats. They were hauled crossways on a flatbed semi trailer driven by Phillip Douglas McDonald. With no place to put the fibreglass "Ali Baba", Phillip carried him in the passanger seat, if someone passing was looking Phil would pretend to carry on a conversation with the dummy. Once he parked in a truck stop and while walking across the parking lot, some trucker leaned out his window and yelled, "HEY, MOTHER GOOSE".

09 February, 2006 17:17
Anonymous said...

Paul Kay, Now thats a name I have not heard in years. Is he still with us?

09 February, 2006 19:09
Anonymous said...

"Yes Rebecca there is a Paul Kay"
Yes Paul is still around, the only date he does now is The Hadi Temple Shrine date in Evansville, Ind. and he hasn't lost his touch. It is the biggest indoor date in the country, with 16 acts in, "The Little Aerial Number". The Aerial Ballet consisted of 12 Webs, 7 single aerial acts, And TAVANA LUVAS as the feature, AND a 16 piece LIVE BAND!

10 February, 2006 15:11
Anonymous said...

JC showed a new white tiger act there in IND a couple of weeks ago. For some reason I missed that date. If I had known Paul would be there you can bet I would not have missed it for the world. I don't live that far away and have friends in the town. The WEB act was always my favorite. When Jenny Walinda was running the showgirls way back then, It was a beautiful site to see. She even put me in the air. About ten years ago while visiting Carson and Barnes, Barbara wanted me to show OKIE.s daughter the way we did it in the good old days. I could not lift my butt off the ground. People just don't realize how hard that act is too do. Circus showgirls make it look so easy.

11 February, 2006 11:44

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