The following images are frame enlargements
from Charly Baumann’s appearance on the Ed Sullivan show. This must have occurred around 1964 shortly
after his arrival in the U.S. to appear with Ringling-Barnum. (He is still using
a conventional steel arena rather than the mesh cage he used in 1965.) It is
quite possible that Clyde Beatty saw Charly’s act via this television broadcast.
If so, it could substantiate Charly’s
claim that Beatty told him that his (Charly’s) was the best tiger act he had
ever seen.
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Monday, August 17, 2015
Charly Bauman #1 (From Eric Beheim)
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7 comments:
Kismet was a very special cat
& had a unique relationship
with Charly till the very end
I was there when she turned
A tragic end to her story
This must have been the practice
arena from the backyard in Venice
Here’s what Charly wrote about Clyde Beatty in his 1975 autobiography TIGER TIGER: “Clyde Beatty and I were never competitors, for I came to America just shortly before he died . . . I respected his showmanship. Likewise he respected me as a trainer and once stated that I had “the best tiger act in the world.”
I saw Charly for the first time in Charlotte, NC in 1964. He worked eight tigers in the second half of the show and in a barred arena. The cats' seats hung on the arena and were chrome with wood tops, like the jump pedestals. The next year I saw the show early in the season in Greenville and they were still using the old arena but later in the year the mesh arena was used. Those nice looking cat seats couldn't be used and the tigers sat on some basic plain seats - but the act was still terrific.
I cannot verify what Mr.Beatty said to or about Charly. To my knowledge, they never met. With Mr. Beatty still in the hospital, Charly and Bob Dover visited, hoping to meet him and see the act. What they got was Prop Boss Tommy Clarke leading a drunken Red Hartman to the safety cage door, to walk through a severely cut-down presentation of 9 lions. Charly and Bob exchanged glances that read, "What the hell is this?" Later, I saw Charly's book. I found one page recounting all the girls chasing after Charly, and the next page extolling his long, loud applause. With no chance for verification, I didn't find it surprising that Charly would help himself to this supposed compliment from Clyde Beatty.
Charly was on Sullivan once, on Sunday, March 29, 1964, according to Classic TV Archives (CTVA). The program listed him with 7 tigers.
That would have coincided with his 1st
date in the "Old Garden" with the long
NY Easter engagement for Big Bertha
From March 24th through May 10th
I was introduced to Charly later on
that same year by Trolle Rhodin
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