Thursday, November 01, 2007

Arky Scott #7


Scan000010402, originally uploaded by bucklesw1.

Helen and Arky Scott with Cole Bros. Circus 1944.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Another of the long pole elephant men. I remember it well and I was one of them. I believe Freddy Logan was the last.

Anonymous said...

Johnny, Lou Regan also used a long pole, which he called a "herd hook". He used a "Lockhart" with a lash for performances. He frowned on "cane hook's" and said they were usually used by elephant ride men. Wade Burck

David said...

It seems like I remember a tiger trainer Wade Burck with Ringling blue unit back in the 80's. Am I right and would this be the same person?

Anonymous said...

That all depend's. And you are David who(you are not a divorce attorney, are you?) Wade Burck(maybe)

David said...

I assure you, I'm just a circus fan.

Anonymous said...

In these shots, and even in the DeMille picture, Arky seems stern, even severe in demeanor. In fact, he was funny as hell. He could deadpan the most hilarious lines, and walk off with that long, slow "haa-haa-haa" laugh of his, leaving us rolling in his wake.

After he came back from his cancer surgery, he walked over to where Mabel and I were standing prior to her show. Mabel asked, "Arky, how are you doing? Did you have a bad time of it?" Without missing a beat, Arky grabbed her left breast and said, "Oh, God, Mabel! They cut me under here", and he grabbed her right breast and said, "and they cut me under here!" He ran his finger to her belt buckle and said, "and they cut me all the way down to here!" Then he grabbed up both her breasts and said, "and aw, Mabel, they cut me all the way back up to here, and goddamn, it was awful!" He walked off with that slow "haa-haa-haa" laugh, giving me a wink. Mabel was positively aghast. Her jaw was hanging open, and for the first time since I knew her, she was at a loss for words. Scarcely had his laugh faded into the Elephant Barn, than Mabel turned to me and in a devastated voice said, "That goddamned ARKY!!"

He was funny. So funny, God rest him.