From Mike Naughton

Happy 100th Birthday Kurt Schoppner! The cast and company of the Yankee Doodle Circus held a birthday party for Kurt Schoppner in Haverhill, Massachusetts on Saturday, March 8th. His 100th birthday was last September. Surrounding Kurt are The Fabulous Darnells (left to right) Elfie Elkin, Hanne-Lore Schoppner and Trude Schoppner, Kurt's wife. Kurt began his career as a hand balancer in his homeland of Germany. Later he was the business manager for the Elkin Sisters acrobatic trio. The Elkin Sisters were a top-notch act consisting of Trude, Elfie and "Honey". They appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show, the Red Skelton Show and the Ethel Merman touring variety and most major Shrine Circuses at least twice. Retiring from the acrobatic act the Elkins transformed themselves into The Fabulous Darnells presenting two acts: magic and dressed dogs. The Elkins/Darnells have been a show stopper in each of their 10 tours in the past 29 years with the Yankee Doodle Circus. Kurt and the ladies head to the Jose Cole Circus and a busy summer of fairs and festivals in the USA and Canada. They return to Yankee Doodle Circus in two years for the 2016 tour. HAPPY BIRTHDAY KURT!