Friday, February 13, 2015

More Digney Pix #6


4 comments:

Chic Silber said...


The Pattersons worked for Pappa

Zacchini as cannon flyers & the

little girl is Laura aka Dinky

who was killed in a Superbowl

accident in 97 in the Superdome

Roger Smith said...

Walter Patterson was among the hardest working feature performers I've seen. I visited RB in the '60s, when he was catching the flying act, working the cannon, and had a third act--I'm trying to recall--maybe a double trap act. Between shows, he was practicing a trampoline act that was far advanced and complicated. Quite a man in that pre-Feld era.

Ole Whitey said...

Roger: You're probably thinking of his excellent center-ring trampoline act.

Walter was a Nashville boy, went to Isaac Litton High School and was sort of adopted by the Edmondo Zacchini family, whose daughter Duina also lived here.

I saw Walter several times after he left the road and worked as a union stage hand here. I think Ruth was a local girl but I'm not certain.

And yes, Walter was a real all-around performer first class. .

Chic Silber said...


The girl on the left is Wendy