Friday, April 12, 2013

Aerialists #3

Posted by Buckles at 4/12/2013 05:36:00 AM

4 comments:

Chic Silber said...


Lillian Leitzel (Pelikan) died from

a fall from the trapeze in Denmark

while performing in a Music Hall

(See obit to follow)

12 April, 2013 10:50
JACKIE said...

What a beatiful phots of Leitzel. She must have been very young at the time. I have an autographed photo of her that she gave to my mother. She signed it to Edna LeClaire, "Little Willie". I had never heard the name, but it must have been some nik-name of my mother when she was on the show in the late 20's and early 30's.

12 April, 2013 11:56
Roger Smith said...

Leizel's death in February 1931, in Copenhagen, resulted from a crystallized swivel on her web, while she was executing her signature one-arm planges. Her rigger, Frank McClosky, was standing beneath her, and had just looked offstage when she plummeted to the floor directly beside him. She sustained fatal head injuries, but was able to advise her husband, Alfredo Codona, to return to his engagement at the Winter Garden. As soon as his plane landed, he was told she had died.

Leitzel never worked trapeze, but she tried. Following her 1928 marriage to Alfredo, he and brother Lalo devised a series of collapsible mechanical devices to extend the pedestal board in the flying act so tiny Leitzel, standing 4 feet 10, could reach the bar. None of them worked, and game as she was, Lillian could not be included in the Flying Codonas.

12 April, 2013 17:23
Chic Silber said...


My error in quoting from the obit

posted above about the trapeze

I do recall hearing your version

of the fall Roger from Tommy Clark

who heard it from Frank himself

12 April, 2013 21:23

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)