Dear Mr. Woodcock,
"Dear Mr. Woodcock" does seem very formal, since I feel like I
already know you, but calling you Buckles might be a little too
presumptuous of me.
I have seen you (and your family) preform on a number of occasions
both with Ringling Brothers and the Big Apple Circus. I may have
even seen you perform at the Catskill Game Farm. I do remember seeing an
elephant act on our visit, but at the time did not pay much
attention as to who was presenting the elephants. Our sons were young then,
so it would have been in late 80's, early 90's.
I found your Blog by accident while I was surfing the Internet. I
am quite happy I did. I
am a daily visitor. I check back often during the day so I
can read the newly posted comments. I totally enjoy it. Your Blog
has reawakened my enthusiasm for the circus. The pictures on your
Blog are extraordinary. Your commentary and the posted comments
have given me new insight into the circus.
There are times though; some of the posted comments make me feel that I am
eavesdropping on private conversations. The only thing that
could add to my enjoyment of your Blog is to know more about
some of the your regular posters, like Karen Glenn,
Dutchess42 (a.k.a, Rebecca, Anonymous, Low Beams), and Gary Hill.
They all seem to be former performers. I have told my friends about your Blog.
Your knowledge of the circus is very impressive, and your personal
experiences are the circus. I could think of nothing more enjoyable than
listening to your stories and being able to ask you questions about
the circus.
There is one area where your vast knowledge would be of a help to me.
I have often wondered about what happened to some of the performers
after they left Ringling Brothers. Most of them are wild animal
trainers. One of those performers is Wolfgang Holzmair. A while
back I had read on a web site that he was living
in France and writing his memoirs. That web site has either moved
or closed down. I haven't heard or read anything since. I was
looking forward to reading his book.
I have had the privilege of meeting several circus performers. I have met
Charly Baumann (twice), Gunther Gebel-Willams, Mark Oliver Gebel,
Fred Logan and Baron Lilov. Each was very gracious. Charly
Baumann and Gunther autographed their books for me. I had my
picture taken with Gunther. One Sunday
morning I went to the Bronx to where Clyde Beatty /Cole Brothers
was performing to take some pictures of the tents and vehicles.
Fred Logan saw me, and was kind enough to take me around the lot and answer
questions. How is Mr. Logan doing? I saw on your Blog that
he had been hospitalized.
I have to agree with your friends, I think it is time that you did turn
author, but not for just one book, but three books. Your first book should
be your autobiography. The title that I remember being mentioned
on your Blog, "Seems Like Yesterday" is perfect. The second book
would be devoted to the American Circus, its history, its
personalities, with your perspective. The
book would spotlight how the circus has changed over the years from
its humble beginnings, though the "Golden Age", to the "Gunther
Era", finally to the present circuses with no rings. Maybe you could even
include a prediction for the future of the American
Circus. The final installment of your trilogy would be simply
titled "Elephant Men". The book would be the stories of elephant
trainers past and present. Each chapter would highlight a
different elephant trainer, such as Captain Hugo Schmidt, Axel
Gautier, Fred Logan, William Woodcock, etc. You could even do a
feature on some of the more famous elephants, like Jumbo and Anna May. All
the books would contain a large number of your wonderful pictures. It's something
to think about.
I have seen and read many of the comments on this year's circus, the
136TH Edition, few of them positive. When I saw pictures of the
staging for the 136TH Edition, my first thought was that it looked
more like a set for a production of "Wizard Of Oz", with that giant circular
television screen and large curtain, than for a circus. Even the
commercials for this
years edition seem to lack something. There is no excitement.
They don't promote anything.
The only thing that they seem to hype is their free "All Access
Pre-Show". Even that has
diminished in recent years from the first one. Can the tour be
going all that well?
The New York Daily News and Ringling Brothers have combined for a
promotion offering five dollar seats for its stay at the Garden.
One of the more interesting comments that I have read came
from Kenneth Feld. In defending his new edition, he said, "No show
survives 135 years without making changes". My uncle also had a
favorite quote, "If it ain't broke,
don't fix it".
If this "new" circus is an attempt to compete with
Cirque Du Soleil it failed. I believe that most people will tell
you, if they wanted to see a show like Cirque Du Soleil, they would
go see Cirque Du Soleil. Ringling Brothers should stick to the formula
that has worked for them over the years. It did make them "The
Greatest Show On Earth".
It appears that Ringling Brothers has also adopted the Cirque Du
Soleil style of naming each of their shows. The Blue Unit is the "Circus of
Dreams", the Red Unit is "Bello-Mania, and the the Hometown Edition
is now "An Upside Down World".
The circus opened at the Garden on March 23. They had the
parade of elephants through the midtown tunnel. The parade
seemed to be a shorter parade than ones in the past years. The
reaction to the
ring-less format has not been good. In their review, the Daily
News referred to this year's edition as "Circus Minimus" and the
"Lamest Show On Earth".
For me, the first true sign of spring has always been the appearance of "The
Greatest Show On Earth". This year, however I may be breaking my
personal consecutive streak of 36 years of trekking to the Garden to see
the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus. I have no
interest in going. It is not even about the circus having no
rings. It is more about it having no tigers. It's a tough
decision.
In talking to my oldest son about the circus I asked him if
he and his wife would be going this year, and he said no. For him,
it is not a question of a ring-less circus or no tigers. In
Washington, D. C. where they live they would see the 135TH Edition. My son
said that he felt was not worth it. He feels that over the past few
years Ringling Brothers has been in decline. As has the quality of
their acts. I have to agree, but I think it may be longer than a few years.
This spring Ringling Brothers will have some competition in New
York City. Universoul Circus and will be in the area during
Ringling Brother's stay. Not to long after, Cirque Du Soleil's new
circus, Corteo" will arrive in New York. The Big Apple Circus will
follow later in the Spring and play Long Island.
Did you know that ringling.com has not produced a new E-zine since
December 19, 2005? That would seem to say something about the
state of things at Ringling Brothers.
I know a little bit about you. Perhaps you would like to know a
little about me.
My interest in the circus had humble beginnings. I saw my first
circus when I was very young, sometime in the early 50's. As the
story that I was told goes, my Dad who at the time was working for
an oil heating company was given a call for Madison Square Garden,
the old one. The call was not for the Garden itself, but for
Ringling Brothers Circus. The circus needed someone who was an
expert in steam heat to repair the calliope. My Dad did. As a
"tip" he was given passes to the circus for the family.
I don't remember a whole lot about that circus, but I do remember
the sideshow, we got an autographed picture of a "cowboy" who
worked with bullwhips, the menagerie, and three rings of lions,
tigers, and bears (oh, my!). That probably explains my interest in
wild animal trainers. Unus fascinated my Dad.
Growing up, when all my friends wanted to be policemen and firemen,
I wanted to be a wild animal trainer. My "act" was Siberian Tigers
and Polar Bears, "Sovereigns Of Siberia, Monarchs Of The Frozen Tundra". I
also presented an elephant act consisting of six African Elephants.
At the time, the appearance of African Elephants in a circus was a rarity.
I had my own toy circus. It was the Marx "Super Circus". It had
all the acts, all the animals, a tin big top, and a side show. I
still have some of the figures. They have survived fifty plus
years.
My visits to the circus were infrequent until 1969. I was looking
for someplace to take, an impress, a young lady that was very dear
to me and I was very much enamored with. I settled on the circus.
It was then
that I first saw Gunther Gebel-Williams. He was making his
American debut. The impact on me was immediate. I don't know if it was
the girl, Gunther, or a combination of the two, but that night
rekindled a fire in me that still glows today. It started my string
of 36 years of not missing an appearance of Ringling Brothers at
the Garden.
When the Garden stay was close to three months, and the tickets
more affordable, I would attend three
times, once each month. Each time that I went, I would see
something different.
I worked part time at a local stationery store while I attended
school. The owner, my boss, knew of my interest in the circus
and on occasion would tease me about it. What he didn't know was that
several of his customers had ties to the circus.
An older gentleman, who would come into the store every morning for his
New York Times would always talk to me about the circus. One day,
he came in and asked me if there was a performer that I would like
to meet. My first response would have been Gunther, but the Blue
unit was in town, so I answered Charly Baumann. He then asked if I was
going to the circus. I, of course, answered yes. Nothing more was
said. The next day when he came into the store he told me that I
was going to meet Charly Baumann, everything was set. I was to go
to the performers
entrance and tell the guard that Merle said it was "OK". I did just
that. I wandered around and ended up in clown alley, where a clown
directed me to Charly Baumann. We talked for a few minutes.
He autographed picture a picture for me. He even playfully punched me in
the shoulder. Charly Baumann was a strong man. I was in awe. At
that night's performance, Pablo Noel did not perform. As part of
his act Pablo Noel would place his head in a lion's mouth. During
his presentation, Charly Baumann
placed his head in a tiger's mouth. As you are aware, that was not
a regular part of his act. I know it is not true, but I felt he did that
just for me. I later found out that my benefactor
was a long time friend of Merle Evans. He lent me a copy of Merle
Evans' autobiography to read. The the inscription that was written
inside the book, and signed by Mr. Evans impressed me.
Next door to the stationery store was a liquor store.
A retired gentleman owned the store. He picked his friends very
prudently. He did like me. He would come in and we would talk
about a number of
things. He asked me what were my plans for after graduation. What
was my dream job? I said the something to do with the circus. He
encouraged me to write to Ringling Brothers and ask about possible
employment. I did. A few weeks later I received a letter from
Ringling Brothers and the
office of Allen Bloom, inviting me to D. C. for an interview. My
letter along with a letter of recommendation from John Ringling
North had been given to Mr. Bloom for action. The liquor store
owner had been a classmate and friend of Mr. North while they were at Yale
University. He apparently had contacted Mr. North on my behalf.
Our sons inherited some of my fondness for the circus. My older son more
than the younger. My oldest son has become a big fan of the Cirque
Du Soleil. When they both were younger, and after we had attended the
circus at the Garden, they would play circus on the floor with
their toys and animals for weeks. They even created a ring, a tent, a
cannon and other props to make their circus more authentic. It was
fun just to watch them play.
I possess a diversified but modest circus collection. Programs,
posters, pictures that I have taken, mostly slides, videos, and a number of
books. Two large, "full sheet" circus posters hang in our living room.
They are from 1973, and the circus' stay at Madison
Square Garden. The first one is the Max Coplan, Lou Jacobs, "See
you at the Circus" poster. The second poster features a leaping
tiger and lion. I consider them both "classics".
At night I like to surf the Internet and look for news, stories,
and pictures about the circus, particularly wild animal trainers, past
and present. If you have any favorite sites that you would like to share, I
would be grateful for them. I also visit the web sites for
different circuses. Currently, I am on my tour of German circuses.
That was probably more about me then you wanted to know. I apologize.
Finally, we come to the reason for my E-mail...I received an
E-mail from my oldest son, with an article that appeared in
the Washington Post. The article concerned a court case that was
currently going on in Fairfax, Virginia. I thought you might be
interested in reading about it. The case was Ringling Brothers
versus PETA. The article detailed a trial with more intrigues than
a 1940's spy movie. Both sides accusing each other of espionage and
counter-espionage. The trial is already over. It lasted about two weeks.
You may already know all about this, but since I hadn't see any mention of it
on your Blog, I thought I would send the articles about the trial to you.
I have enclosed the links to the articles that appeared in the
Washington Post about the trial. I hope the links work. This is my
first attempt at including a link in an E-mail, and I had to go it
alone. Just like you, I have a computer guru, my
youngest son. Unfortunately, for me, he is away at school.
The last two links are to the reviews of the 136TH Edition of Ringling
Brothers that appeared in New York Newsday and the Daily News. The
Newsday article is the article
that was referenced to on your Blog by Joe Giordano.
Circus Company Goes on Trial in Spy Suit
Fairfax Jury Told Ringling Circus Hired Private Eye To Infiltrate PETA,
Circus Exec Cleared in Spy Case
All clowning aside, it's truly a ringless circus -- Newsday.com
Circus minimus
I think it is obvious that this E-mail was not written in one day
but over several days. Believe it or not, I am not known as a
prolific letter writer, but my friends will
tell you that when I do write, I do tend to be a bit long
winded. Maybe it's the subject.
Since I started this E-mail, I read a post on your Blog that you had been in
the hospital. I hope it was nothing serious, and you are well on
the road to recovery. Subsequently, I have also noticed a post by
one of your readers on your Blog for the PETA trial.
Thank you for your patience. I am a just a fan.
I am going and close this E-mail now, the same way Ringling
Brothers has ended their performances for so long with one of the
nicest sentiments that I have ever heard...
"May All Your Days Be Circus Days".
Henry Penndorf |
