Friday, December 05, 2008

Russell Hall #2


Scan11048, originally uploaded by bucklesw1.

Russell Hall, at right, owned the only one-man circus in the world. He did the entire performance consisting of both domestic and wild animals.
His show had a menage horse, a trained bear, dogs, ponies, monkeys, sheep, pigs and goats.

This 1941 picture was taken in Macon, Georgia and includes his elephant "Tena" purchased from Charlie Sparks (Downie Bros. Circus) the year before. At the onset of the war Mr. Hall was drafted into the Army and he was compelled to sell his elephant which he did to the Kelly-Miller Show.

The first group of elephants I ever worked was on the Texas dates in 1956. D.R was short a herd worker and I presented an act in an end ring that included this elephant "Tena" and two more "Margaret" and "Elsie".
And in spite of everything I did, it went OK.
Buckles

Posted by Buckles at 12/05/2008 06:06:00 AM

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

If RB streamlines any further, then RB will be the next one man circus.

05 December, 2008 07:25
Anonymous said...

Over forty years ago Jack Niblett wrote in The Bandwagon of Fred Abel's One-Man Circus, in the British Isles.

He said, "This living link with the past travels the country roads of the English Midlands with his three donkeys and a few dogs and gives shows wherever he goes and whenever he feels like it."

He added, "I have yet to catch up with the elusive Mr Abel, but I am still hot on his trail.

I wrote Jack maybe ten years later to ask about his search; he had yet to locate the show or meet the star performer.

05 December, 2008 21:21

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