Tuesday, August 28, 2018

RINGS #5


4 comments:

Chic Silber said...


This is also Lillian Leitzel

Chic Silber said...


I was told that Frank McClosky

traveled with her to Europe &

handled her rigging including

the date in Copenhagen where

she took a buster that ended

her life a few days later

At that time she was married

to the famous trapeze artist

Alfredo Codona

David Soltanoff said...

Looks to me more like Erma Ward than Leitzel.
By the way I'm the person who put Vicky Unus
videos on Youtube.

Roger Smith said...

Taking another look at this one, I'm inclined to think this is a guy. It's not Leitzel.

Another story is that McClosky was indeed Leitzel's rigger, but more importantly he was her spotter. It is said that some clatter offstage distracted his attention just as her swivel snapped during her one-arm planges. He was standing directly under her, and could have broken her fall, but she hit the floor beside him. Codona was appearing at the Berlin Wintergarten, and took the next flight to her bedside. She was alert and told him she was all right. When he stepped off the plane back in Berlin, he was met with the news his wife had died. He brought her ashes back to America on the MAURITANIA, and they are interred together in Inglewood, California. Leitzel's accident happened at the Valenia Music Hall, in Copenhagen, Denmark, on Friday, February 13, 1931. Another great star whose last appearance was in Copenhagen, was Judy Garland, in concert there, in March, 1969. Judy died the following June 22, at age 47.