Wednesday, January 02, 2019

CLYDE #7


8 comments:

Chic Silber said...


This might have been that

cursed Christmas show at

the old NY Coliseum that

occured during a newspaper

strike in the early 60s

Perhaps it was while the

NY Mayor was John Lindsay

Chic Silber said...


It was in that building

on Columbus Circle that

Tommy Clarke made friends

with Exhibit Stagehands

which gave him opportunity

to join their local

Chic Silber said...


That's IATSE New York Local 829

Exhibition Employees & Bill Posters

A unique combination

Roger Smith said...

When did Tommy actually leave the Beatty show to finish his career with Local 829?

Roger Smith said...

The above question comes from remembering when George Werner left the show with his final illness, Tommy Clarke took over Big Top along with his duties as Prop Boss. We all saw him soldier on remarkably, but it was clear this was damn near killing the man.

Chic Silber said...


I'll give Carlos a call to find out

Perhaps Kenny might know

Chic Silber said...


I do have a pair of his white gloves

that he gave me himself in Philly

Roger Smith said...

The b.g. cats, L to R, are the venerable topmounter, Pharoah, then the very tough Sultan, and looking at him is a young Duke, at the time learning to roll the barrel.

Caesar is performing his rearing sit-up. He, along with Sultan, Duke, and two lions not seen here, Congo and elderly Simba, came out here to Jungleland in '66, from Beatty-Cole, when Red Hartman got 86'd and Hoover came in. Arriving with the lions were tigresses Princess and Judy. The final disposition of these Beatty cats is a long, sad story.

Notice the three 6-foot hickory poles in the center seat, under Caesar. These were formally listed as "round, tapered sorting poles", and came in bundles of 50 from the Split Hickory Company, late of Hope, Arkansas. I'm lucky to still have the one I shellacked for Mabel Stark, and one of their elephant canes. All were formed from No. 1 grade Arkansas hickory. This company closed and re-opened under a second management, the Bruneau (sp?) Ivory Handle Company. They also closed, in 2008, and the building burned down in 2012.