Sunday, February 10, 2008

Loyal Repensky Family #2


Scan000010825, originally uploaded by bucklesw1.

Posted by Buckles at 2/10/2008 06:04:00 AM

19 comments:

Anonymous said...

dose anybody know if this loyal fam
is related to the loyal fam. in france

10 February, 2008 06:16
Anonymous said...

Anybody have the names?

10 February, 2008 07:49
Anonymous said...

I believe man in the center to be the great Adolph Delbosq and his wife Mary, [a cousin] to be upper right. Loyal is a great circus name for many early generations and all part of family tree. Recall Alf Loyals dogs, among others.

10 February, 2008 08:28
Anonymous said...

We see Alphonso on the right facing front and Guistino on left. Ladies are hard to get each one right, but it would be Zefta, Germona, Albertina, Joe Galasso's wife, [ I can't recall her name] among others. All sesational performers.

10 February, 2008 08:34
Anonymous said...

I remember hearing this, BUT I would like to emphasis that it might not be 100 per cent accurate...The Loyals roots are in France and somewhere along the line the "Repensky" name was added because someone married into a Polish family which claims royal roots. The Repensky addition was a bit of a status symbol at the time.
DISCLAIMER: This information is not guaranteed to be based on actual facts...just like most of the information in the circus business.

10 February, 2008 09:09
Anonymous said...

There was a Loyal who was part of Franconi's company in France as early as the 1780s and his grandsons were directors of several of the great circuses in Paris (Cirques d'Été, Hiver and the Nouveau Cirque) in the late 19th century. Supposedly, because there were so many Loyals working as ringmasters at the time, all ringmasters were subsequently referred to as Monsieur Loyal. Listen closely to the exchanges between the clowns and the ringmaster in any French circus today and you will discover the clown is addressing "Monsieur Loyal."

And what a classy studio photo shot of the period! They don't make 'em like they used to!

Dick Flint
Baltimore

10 February, 2008 12:34
Mike Naughton said...

Several years ago Peggy Mills and Pedro Murillo were on my show, the Yankee Doodle Circus.

I asked Peggy about the name "FRANCONI DUO" her sensational double trapeze act when she was with the Espana Family.

She told me that the first time they presented the act in public they were on a George Hubler date and that they DIDNT have a name for the double trapeze. George Hubler is the one who christened them the "FRANCONI DUO" and the rest is history.

I hope I remembered these details correctly.

10 February, 2008 13:25
Anonymous said...

great photos of the loyal fam
and thanks to all the info ...
as a member of the smith/loyal fam
i would like to thank buckles
for posting the photos
keep up the good work
emile

10 February, 2008 13:57
Anonymous said...

Tripoly,Aldo,Raymond,Ermides.
cristiani.there Mother was a Zerbini.maried to cristiani.
Ermides wife of Justino.
a great man.

10 February, 2008 15:38
Raffaele De Ritis said...

Of course the american Loyal are the same of the French dinasty. The first Loyal in circus I know about is Claude Loyal around 1830. He was most surely a direct pupil of Paul Cuzent (one of the founder of the modern "high school" and one of the first great European circus companies).
A bareback act "The 5 Loyal" is later mentioned around 1880 by some historians.
As Mr.Flint remembers, many of the Loyal, in different generations, managed the great parisian circus buildings along two centuries.
The ringmaster French word "loyal" comes first by Theodore Loyal, that perfected the classic modern ringmaster role around 1860. But the connection of "loyal" as comedy straight man in clown acts is due, later, to George Loyal in the 1930. His father, Jimmy Loyal, was one of the very first white face clowns in the history.
I have a question too: who was exactly Giustino's mother? Do she was a Cristiani?

10 February, 2008 16:50
Raffaele De Ritis said...

The Loyal-Repensky troupe must not be confused with the Giustino Loyal's own troupe.
In fact, if they arrived together in America in the early 30s, Giustino then founded his own troupe in the later 40s, while the Loyal-Repensky continued to perform.
I will appreciate if someone could perfect those informations and tell more.

10 February, 2008 17:09
Raffaele De Ritis said...

I've put toghether some more information, hoping interesting. Giustino is son of Giulio Loyal and Giuseppina "Ghini" Travaglia.
Travaglia is an obscure equestrian family now estinguished because they was mostly females. But is interesting the role of the Travaglia family in the circus history: one of them, Vittoria, was the wife of Ernesto Cristiani (Lucio's father); and another one of the Travaglia sisters married a gymnast called Pietro Larible founding another talented dinasty.
It must always be remembered that all the great italian equestrian families were striclty relatives.
For example, Ernesto Cristiani's sister was the mother of the legendary Enrico Caroli...who with Lucio and Giustino is remembered as one of the three greatest bareback acrobats of last century (Enrico is the only of them that never crossed the ocean).
Zavatta, Zoppè, Canestrelli, Zamperla etc. are also more or less linked to those families in their early generations, before to come in the Usa.

P.S.
The anonymous information about the Repenky name I confirm is the same version I knew. A Repensky never existed into the troupe.

11 February, 2008 04:55
Anonymous said...

To Mr. De Ritas;
Guistino did briefly leave the family act and along with his wife contracted on Cole Bros. in 1945.He put together an act with Fred and Mickey Freeman, Jimmy Riffanach, Gee Gee Engesser and I believe either, or, Pat Scott or Jinx Adams and some of Cole P)ercherons. It was short lived and believe at seasons end he returned to the family. Maybe not, as he did put some show owned riding acts on Ringling at times and also turned up on Beatty for ntheir seco0nde tour in 56.

11 February, 2008 08:46
Anonymous said...

The other sister would be Estorina. I do noy know the name of Guisti8no's wife. Alfonso had a wife called Lilly. When Joe Galasso married in the family he was in the act. Adolf and Mary departed the act when he became a pri8ncipal circus horse trainer and then with "Seranado" the musical horse. All great showpeople and performers.

11 February, 2008 09:09
Raffaele De Ritis said...

Other informations from Italian remembrances. Giustino's sisters correct names risults to be: Simona, Albertina and Romana.
The Repensky name comes from Antoinette Repensky, a French girl (of Polish origins) that married Jules Loyal (Giustino's grandfather).
But still, I can do some mistakes and I will be happy to be corrected.

11 February, 2008 17:29
Anonymous said...

My grandmother Lilly was Alfonso's wife not Zio Guistino's..!

09 July, 2009 15:53
Simone' said...

My grandmother was Simona Loyal. I carry her name sake. Is there anything anyone can tell me about her?

22 April, 2010 23:24
Anonymous said...

Hello, I would like to know who was Giustinos father, my great great grand father was Jules Loyal married to Antoinette Repensky and my great grandfather was Antoine Loyal Repensky who came to South America. Antoine had three children called Carmen Loyal Palacios, Ema Loyal Palacios and Antoine Loyal Palacios.

28 September, 2010 22:20
Anonymous said...

Simone I am your cousin Armando Loyal
Alfonso was my grandfather
my sister is named Simone
and regarding Antoine Loyal
iwould like to be in contact with you

02 October, 2011 17:57

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