Wednesday, May 25, 2011

Spec #3


Spec-3, originally uploaded by bucklesw1.

16 comments:

J Goodall said...

Looks like Prince Paul on the far right.

Anonymous said...

wrong make-up for prince paul. he had a total "white face" wrong eyebrows. Its not him.

Mike Naughton said...

Jimmy Armstrong on the far right and I will take a guess that the little person with the Mickey head is Frankie Saluto.

However, the black and check costume is not a Mickey costume. The photo of the spec inside the tent (also in this series) shows the traditional Mickey body/pants.

Mickey of the comedy/acro act THE GUTIS told me that his nickname was Mickey because he wore the costume when with RBBB.

The mystery remains unsolved.
Stay tuned to this channel for more details as they become available.

Anonymous said...

I believe that is Jimmy Armstrong on far right and Frankie
Saluto with the mouse head.

Bob Momyer

Anonymous said...

J - Prince Paul was my first thought, too. But, I'm not seeing the same detail when I blew up the picture. I also thought it was Frankie Saluto in the Mickey outfit. ~frank

Buckles said...

I have been at my keyboard all afternoon patiently waiting for someone to acknowledge Schwartzie.
He was around the show forever.

jerry digney said...

here you go--I see Schwartzie in the Goofy costume--i knew him later as the irascible timekeeper for Llyod Morgan; for 1970 100th anniv. show, Felds intro'd four Ringling Barnum characters and Schwartzie was one of them, I believe he was the blue elephant!

FRANK CURRY said...

HIYA BUCKLES!
I believe Alvin Schwartz,"Schwartzie",became timekeeper on the show, and was married.

He eventually retired to Sarasota and had a regular job.
Nice guy!

John Whitfield said...

Mickey is definitely Frankie Saluto.

Jim A. said...

That a Pluto costume, not Goofy. Pluto is Mickey's dog, Goofy's the character that talks. I'm sure you're correct about who's inside.

Disney has always been protective of the characters. The legal paperwork that had the characters in the circus and in the film would be interesting.

GaryHill said...

Capt, wasnt Schwartzie paymaster in Winter Quarters??

Chic Silber said...

Alvin was 1 of Art Concello's

"forty thieves" & indeed was the

timekeeper & train compartment

"stupidvisor" for many years

His son wrecked 2 performer's

busses & then was given a brand

new custom fitted straight job

with 6 brand new Super Troupers

that he also wrecked on 3rd trip

I still have the damaged lights

In his later years Alvin was the

bridge tender on the Venice North

draw bridge & Dick Brown from WQ

became tender of the South bridge

Chic Silber said...

1 of those 2 wrecked busses became

the frame & front end for Elvin's

1st cannon (the space shuttle)

Roger Smith said...

Schwartzie at L, then Frankie Saluto minus his pink slips, possibly Sonny Riley (?), then my friend from the Castle show, Jimmy Armstrong, who blew the backyard bugle, which duty Mr. DeMille included.

Talk about a man who was Generally Useful, Schwartzie could walk into any job on the lot and do it justice.

Anonymous said...

I thought that Walt Disney threatened to sue the show for using his animated characters without permission, but with the costume change, North got around the threat of the suit, although everybody still associated the character with Mickey Mouse. Perhaps DeMille payed the royalties necessary for the movie use. It's just like the old "Mickey Mouse in the Glass House" balloons that many butchers sold; all of a sudden they were being called "Swissy Mouse in the Glass House" balloons, probably due to the long arm of Disney's Lawyers?
Neil cockerline, Minneapolis, MN

Eric said...

The printed Ringling program for 1951 thanks Walt Disney for permission to use his cartoon characters. It specifically mentions that Alice in Wonderland, the March Hare and the Mad Hatter "are from his current all-cartoon feature "Alice in Wonderland," so this was sort of a movie promotion tie-in.