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Sunday, December 30, 2018
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4 comments:
Cliff had been a promoter for
Miller-Johnson & then with his
partner Joe Muscarella bought it
to become Circus Vargas
A great show much anticipated each year in the Marysville-Yuba City CA area. Only other shows were Big John Strong and Bentley Brothers. Vargas set up in the Marysville Mall. Rex Williams and the Carillo Brothers come to mind. Bentley showed in an outdoor ball park and featured Herbie Weber and the Winn Brothers. Big John set up in a parking lot and featured Sugar & Spice, Bill Schreiber, "Swami Amazo Benbotta" and elephant Nina.
Cliff's version of Vargas
history is as embroidered
& "enhanced" as are so many
other circus stories kinda
like "fairy tales"
For 6 months in '75, I had the Howard Suesz 7-tiger act, and we closed on November 30, in Hammond, Indiana. I remember we heard Jimmy Troy died that day in a fall from his single trap act. So we get back into Edmond, Oklahoma, Winterquarters, and Suesz has Cliff Vargas and Wally Naghtin come in to audition me and the tigers. Vargas said fine, and Suesz booked them for 14 weeks, but I advised I wasn't going. Andrew Kirby was manager, and he almost fainted when I turned it down. He got mad thinking I was holding out for more money, but it wasn't that, and I told Kirby why. I knew long since Vargas was a screaming madman in the backyard, with a penchant for firing cat acts. I also knew I had no intention of subjecting myself to anyone's shrieking jags, and would load up and blow, so the decision I made was not to go. Later, my objections were verified by Johnny Herriott, who said Vargas raged at everyone for having trailer awnings or a backyard cookout, and to this day I don't think I missed a damn thing by turning down Cliff Vargas.
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