When the big Ringling-Barnum 100th Anniversary show arrived in San Diego in July 1970, I was ready to photograph it! I’d recently acquired a camera that took different lenses including a telephoto lens. To get the fullest possible photo coverage, I attended three different performances. From over 100 color slides, slightly over 50 made it into the final cut. Here they all are. Some of these have been posted here before, but this is the first time that they all have appeared together. Enjoy! |
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Blue Show 1970 #1 (From Eric Beheim)
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In the second year of its tour Dick Chipperfield, Jr. replaced Evy Althoff's tiger & horse act in the 100th Anniversary Edition. Dick Chipperfield presented two cage acts, that season,lions and leopards. His cage acts were in addition to Charly Baumann's tigers. I believe that that was the only year that Dick Chipperfield appeared with Ringling Brothers.
I also believe that it was the only time that both Ringling Brothers' units appeared in the Garden in same year. The 100th Aniversary Edition followed the 101st Edition into the Garden that year. - Henry
Johnny Herriott told me that year the two elephant herds passed each other in the Lincoln Tunnel and the Press was treated to an unexpected surprise when Irvin Feld personally appeared at the toll booth to pay the fee.
i thin Henry's right about the Garden as I think the Felds extended the date and needed a second show in there to fill out the time; the Lincoln Tunnel stunt with Irvin at the toll booth got a lot of publicity.
p.s. by the time i was with the show in the 70s, the Garden date had mushroomed to nine weeks of solid business and consistent publicity; the circus at the Garden was a media magnate in those days--also in that era there were no suburban NY venues except Nassau. Halfway thru the NYC run, they took the elephants out on the streets for an "airing of the elephants" stunt which got a lot of coverage. Only date i know that exceeded the Garden was the 12 week run all summer in Houston (10 weeks too long), also i think in 1970, as Judge Hofheinz owned the Astrohall--two of the more memorable off the charts dates were the first year in the Superdome where we played to something like 50,000 people opening nite--show looked like a postage stamp in that huge venue but business was over the top. other time was the year we went head to head with Circus America in DC--we played the ancient DC Armory while they played the brand new Capitol Centre; we still did well and it was a marathon besting them in the press, who had a field day with the Irvin Feld-Abe Pollen (he owned the Capitol Centre) circus duel.
I had joined the show in January 1970 and was in San Diego and the rest of the California dates helping my mentor Cotton Fenner.
Art Ricker
One of the dramatic changes that said big things were going to develop under Irvin Feld was the spectacularly enlarged program booklet offered. Tom Parkinson contributed a historical piece and lots of old photos were used. Chappie Fox was developing a relationship with Irvin Feld at that point and his influence was beginning to be seen in the program. I believe Chap was the one that made Feld aware of the then historic value of the old titles in the Ringling arsenal. Jack Ryan, can you tell us more about that new program booklet?
Cotton Fenner was a Feld person that had been on the show for the Feld dates a number of years prior to their acquisition of the show in 1968. Art Ricker, can you tell us more about him and what else he had done for Feld other than and prior to the circus?
Dick Flint
Baltimore
The herds did not pass in the tunnel -- I was there, walking with the Blue Show elephants all the way -- with numerous press people in tow.
Had taken a car out to New Jersey. Went to Paul Hudson's car on the train for a few hefty shots of Jack Daniels to prepare for the walk.
The Red Show had already moved out when the Blue was brought into the Garden for 2 weeks. This was the very first instance of a march through the tunnel. It happened because of a rail strike that stranded the Blue train in Kearney, New Jersey. Irvin did pay the toll, 50 cents an elephant. He borrowed a $20 bill from me which I never got back.
Dick, naturally for the 100th Anniversary Edition we used many historical photos. I tried to do pages that would contrast circus stars of the past with those of the present. We invited Tom Parkinson to write a history piece and Bev Kelley to do another. I don't recall Chappie's involvement in the Program Book at all.
Dick,
Addendum to the historic photos thing: I went from NYC to Baraboo for a week in 1969 and worked with Bob Parkinson to select photos, posters etc. for the 100th Anniversary Program Book. Also spent a lot of delightful time with Chappie and Sophie. Remember a wonderful night they took me, along with Tom & Marilyn Parkinson, up to The Dells for a great dinner.
On that visit, also met Col. John and Lady Mary Ruth for the very first time.
In those days, reproducing a photo or piece of artwork wasn't nearly as easy as it is today. A scanner? What's that?
Jack
more names from the past: Cotton Fenner--what a gentleman he was--interviewed with him in Boston for a promoter's job early on as he was a veteran Feld associate in charge of the advance and also oversaw promotion I believe for the Felds at the summer season Carter Barron Amphitheatre in DC, which we were still promoting when I joined the show...I didn't get the promoter's gig but ended up a few years later as publicity director for the circus, In the interim, Cotton oassed away suddenly; I worked with his adorable wife, Dr. Mildred Fenner, for a long time as she came on board after Cotton died to develop an educational curriculum for the circus--she was a delight, had been former head of the NEA. Paul Hudson, old school circus manager--worked with Lloyd Morgan as i remember; came off the King Bros. Circus and others before it. His wife (Pauline?) was a showgirl on Ringling--don't know that they were with the show for a long long time.
for this show, Irvin debuted four cartoon characters in costume (Ring, Ling, Barnum, Bailey--something like that) as a sort of signature group that was licensed that year on a bunch of retail merchandise. They even appeared in the show but only lasted a few seasons. Show merch from 1970 also features them.
jerry -- paul hudson was superintendent on sells and gray from 1962 up until at least 1967, which was when i lost touch with the show. i'm not sure but i believe he went with bill english when bill left sells and gray. i know bill broke him into contracting during that period. a lot of people got sells and gray and king mixed up because they were both beatty-cole corporation shows and were the same size during that time. before sells and gray, he was on the mills show. his wife was chris, who was sells and gray's elephant empress, a petite blond beauty with a great sense of style and a razor-sharp wit. i don't know how long she traveled on ringling -- when i interview paul for the daily press in hampton, on his first year, he said chris had gone back to florida. i don't know if that was permanent or just a quick trip home.
No the elephants did not pass in the tunnel. We were parked with the BLUE sHOW TRAIN SOMEWHERE IN eLIZABETH, n.j. aND because of a railroad strike they had to truck the horses, camels, etc. and Hugo and Axel did walk the elephants thru the tunnel anbd Ervin did get the great pub. by paying the toal. but it was an exasparating time as the trailers hauling the ring stop loadec by backing up to the stock cars at the dock and walking them right in. At the Garden there were no runs and weDHAD to rig hay bales, plywood etc. to jump them off. Plus it was a long interval waiting for each traiuler to pull up to the Garden. I was there
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