Friday, December 22, 2006

Carmen Hall #2

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7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Clyde Beatty-Cole Bros. Circus -Circa 1983...Which is as much as my aging brain can recall...I know Carmen was on the show the year my daughter was born because she was instrumental in helping me with breast-feeding techniques! Not only is Carmen an awesome trainer but an absolutely wonderful person!
-Cindy Potter

Anonymous said...

I'm sure there will be a few souls having been invited for morning coffee by my mother and been enlightened by the company of Carmen's Mandril, as he entered the trailer and sat at the head of the table also for his morning coffee.

Anonymous said...

Impressive act, trainer and props and waredrobe. Top notch!

Anonymous said...

The circus stays with you in more ways then one. I get a lot of complements on my kennel. If you did not know it was home to about 60 pets you would never know it. Planning, upkeep, paint, theme decor, lots of elbow grease, Everything sparkles. Four tent tops. Guess I do have a circus after all. My wardrobe even matches. MUDDY PAW PRINTS all over my body. {dog prints}

24-HOUR-MAN said...

Trudy & I were in her trailer in Mexico City, and she brought the Mandril in and sat him on the couch beside me, he was drinking coffee & wearing a gold chain with a huge Gold Medallion, and I was afraid to so much as breathe.

Anonymous said...

Re: Carmen Hall's "(Princess) Myimmba's African Baboons," one of the 1st (if not the actual 1st) public viewing of this colorful & novel act occurred with a children's section outdoor circus at the Michigan State Fair, Detroit, in late August, 1975, running into Labor Day. Co-Producers Joe Bauer & Bill Hall (Bauer-Hall Enterprises) hadn't seen the new act, but took a chance on its quality aspect, based on Carmen's fine dogs/ponies number she had shown for us during a Hamid-Morton Circus tour. Carmen's Detroit debut with the baboons met & exceeded our expectations, & we found her new act a fairly easy sell for future bookings.

We subsequently recommended Carmen's baboons to Kenneth Feld, & it took 12 years & 3 personal visits/viewings by him before a deal could be struck. In fact, Carmen's brother, Ervin, made it to Ringling-Barnum before Carmen, as he worked a troupe of smaller female baboons for 2 years on the red unit. Carmen finally played Ringling as a center ringer for the 1988-89 blue unit, & for a few months in 1990 before Eric Adams' dogs replaced her.

When attempting to sell the act to Mr. Feld, we stressed that Carmen's "would be the 1st performing African baboons (act) in Ringling-Barnum history." "How do you know that?," he asked. "Because I have studied history of The GreatestShow on Earth," was our response. -- Bill Hall

Anonymous said...

Kenneth Feld had to view Carmen's act 3 times before he signed her???
Well, that says a lot doesn't it.
If he REALLY knew anything about talent he would have JUMPED out of his seat the FIRST TIME he saw the act and rushed backstage to begin negotiations. He should have signed her as soon as she put the baboons in the truck and before she changed wardrobe.