This African came to Cole from the Detroit zoo in 1935. At the time he was the only African on an American circus. But, he developed TB and died from it at the end of the 1936 season.
From what BARBARA has written, Jean Allen was to her what Mabel Stark was to me--intensely instructive is one way to put it. Tough as nails, hard-nosed at times, demanding when necessary, but sure as hell full of the deeply held knowledge of the Old School. If these great old-timers held to the rule of "Don't give away the act", they did sometimes take a few of us aside and impart the closely-held core of the work. They were extremely jealous of their profession, and when they shared any part of it, those of us like Barbara and me knew to seriously square up and listen.
When Clyde Beatty taught me what he did about anything, especially how to run his tunnel door, the rule I quickly understood was: "Learn all of it right now, never forget a detail of it, and never make your first mistake". He didn't speak those exact words, but his intensity did. That's how he learned it, and that's how he taught it.
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Jean Allen with Jumbo II on Cole Bros in 1935.
I believe that Jean was a
mentor to Barbara Woodcock
This African came to Cole from the Detroit zoo in 1935. At the time he was the only
African on an American circus. But, he developed TB and died from it at the end of the 1936 season.
From what BARBARA has written, Jean Allen was to her what Mabel Stark was to me--intensely instructive is one way to put it. Tough as nails, hard-nosed at times, demanding when necessary, but sure as hell full of the deeply held knowledge of the Old School. If these great old-timers held to the rule of "Don't give away the act", they did sometimes take a few of us aside and impart the closely-held core of the work. They were extremely jealous of their profession, and when they shared any part of it, those of us like Barbara and me knew to seriously square up and listen.
When Clyde Beatty taught me what he did about anything, especially how to run his tunnel door, the rule I quickly understood was: "Learn all of it right now, never forget a detail of it, and never make your first mistake". He didn't speak those exact words, but his intensity did. That's how he learned it, and that's how he taught it.
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