Friday, March 29, 2019

CARD #3


Posted by Chic Silber at 3/29/2019 12:24:00 AM

4 comments:

Charles Hanson said...

The Great Charlie Campbell....He later moved to Atlanta, Ga and still continued the "Today Is Circus Day In". At one time he toured the "Palace Car" with Marie O' Day....In todays' world....that would last about two minutes. Back in the day, Charlie said he would play small town squares and often the local police dept. was the sponsor. He was a circus guy through and through...
"

29 March, 2019 15:33
Rick Whelan said...

The Ringling-Barnum route lists the dates just before the tragic Hartford circus fire on July 6, 1944.

29 March, 2019 20:46
Roger Smith said...

CHARLES: Some tender souls might not know the saga of Marie O'Day. Your telling would be better than mine.

29 March, 2019 21:01
Charles Hanson said...

Marie O'Day: The stories vary but supposedly she was a night club entertainer in Salt Lake City, Utah. Her jealous lover/common law husband stabbed her in the back and cut her throat. He then threw her in the Salt Lake where she remained for several years before washing ashore. The story goes she was preserved/mummified from the salt content in the lake. This was around 1925 and supposedly the funeral home sold her to a traveling showman to try and recoup some of his expenses. No one ever claimed the body. She had red hair and her nails still grew according to a handbill put out by Charlie Campbell. Dub Duggan had owned Marie O'Day (Do not believe he was the first owner) and he sold her to Charlie Campbell. She was placed in a very elaborate touring truck billed as the Palace Car.She toured from about the mid twenties to the mid-seventies. Some showmen charged a set fee to view the mummified body. Charlie Campbell told me he worked her as a ding....where the good folks entered one side and exited the other side. Usually, there was a turnstile and someone was seated there who would give you the "Look" that a donation was expected. State Laws were a lot different during that time period. Some showmen who exhibited her offered a huge cash payment if "Not Real". Supposedly, the body was examined by medical personnel more than once and all verified she was authentic. Charlie Campbell told me he sold her to "Hoot Black" and others owned her after that. Last I heard, she was still around (not on tour) but stored away. It is hard to believe that Marie O'Day toured for so many years as a mummified person...But it was a much more simple time and folks did not make waves like in today's world.

29 March, 2019 22:30

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