The distance between most of those poles was sixty feet. Composed By Karl L. King, Arranged By Andrew Glover F.I.L.M. Alamy The entire Ringling clan descended on Baraboo for the funeral, as did circus people from across the country and townspeople who admired the old man. CIRCUS is a six-hour series that takes you on an unforgettable trip with the legendary Big Apple Circus. It had been Forepaugh and Barnum for so long, that the death of that rival was significant. Then the Spanish flu struck. No triumph decreed to Roman generals, wrote one reporter, could have equaled the procession of Forepaughs Aggregation of Animals Even Alexander the Great would have made a poor show in comparison.. All of that said, however, these are not pure victims. Wazee Digital H. Crowell Pepper Narration: In the end, though, it was a groundbreaking innovation that would bring a century of circus tradition to a close. American Antiquarian Society You cannot come to a circus and still believe as you previously did. It was a way to show off how many performers there were, and sort of set the stage for what was going to come. In 1921, ninety thousand spectators had watched Jack Dempsey knock out his opponent to retain the heavyweight title. Its insane. Original funding for this program was provided by Shows took over rail yards. La Norma Fox: Your whole body is like you are welded into the circus. African-Americans did the most difficult work, the dirtiest work, the toughest work. Role of Narrator taken by Class Teacher. Circus World Museum, Baraboo, Wisconsin Even the Ringling circus was struggling. Narration: He does something remarkable. In '52 she was a sensation. Narration: In response to the gloomy mood of the country, the clowns seemed to have taken over at the circus in the late 1930s. But she never had a tantrum, unless there was a good audience around to enjoy it.. Missouri History Museum, St. Louis There was action all around. Narration: When the show hit the road in April 1873 after a two week run in Manhattan, everyone was astounded to see how much bigger it had become. Shelburne Museum Archives, Harry T. Peters Circus Collection He was a male African elephant; the males are much, much, much bigger. I feel like an outcast from society, a bearded lady said. It was a totally different world. The wages couldnt be the same. They took very little money out in those first few years for themselves, but they really enriched the show. John Polacsek Collection The daring scheme to tour the colossal circus through Europe was the brainchild of James Bailey, a showman whose improbable rise to the top was legendary. Metropolitan Museum of Art, Elisha Whittelsey Collection Forepaugh accused Barnum of lying. It became very personal. Some, its not bad, some, got killed immediately. Jackie Leclaire: My father turned to me and he said, Jackie, Im sorry, but Im afraid youre going to have a very short life in circus business. He didnt think that theyd ever pull out of this. Narration: In 1841, Barnum took over a fading collection of natural history exhibits in lower Manhattan, reopening as Barnums American Museum. Circus Baby and Glamrock Freddy Show - YouTube Even so, many performances were late and forty-two were canceled . Richard Reynolds: You're spending your money to see people in tights, shorts, and tight costumes, was considered immoral. But the Circus is still here.. Whether you were a child or an adult, seeing a giraffe was totally unheard of and seeing wild cats, zebras, African animals, Asian animals. I dont think people really thought about the backstory. Even that wasnt enough to make ends meet. Fred Pfening Iii: Bailey would set himself up a little table near the front entrance of the circus and he was constantly receiving telegrams from his advance people, telling him what they were doing and him sending an advice out. Employees of both shows were unsure about their futures. 5. When Ringling refused to sign the contract, his most formidable rival, veteran showman Jerry Mugivan, stepped in. State of the Art | Art history Why the circus fascinated modern artists (Image credit: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York) By Alastair Sooke 7th March 2017 Painters from Seurat to Matisse. Dominique Jando: The problem with the front somersault is when you do your rotation, your head goes first and then your feet arrive, but your head cannot see whats going to happen because your head is looking up at that point. You were in your own little cubby-hole and that was your privacy. Something had to change. State Historical Society of Iowa - Iowa City, Paul Juhl Collection And then, it also serves as a grand entre into the performance itself. We only are here once. The show took place in a circular wooden arena constructed by a British trick rider named John Bill Ricketts. She was, Bailey claimed, the first elephant born in the West since the Roman Empire. Everyone on the train knew that after decades of expansion, the unthinkable was about to happen. The elephants are loose, the ropes are greased, and an acrobat has fallen! Matthew Wittmann: One of the things that would make the Barnum & Bailey partnership work so well was that they had very different personalities. Approximately 15 minutes long. North refused to sign a contract with union leadership and pickets followed the show on the road. Matthew Wittmann: Its very hard to think of the circus as not being for children now, but through the mid-19th century, it was really not aimed at children. When John heard the news, he sprinted next door. In Baileys absence his rivals, the Ringling brothers, had been hard at work, expanding their circus into his territory. They allow you to look the absurdity of your humanity and they allow you to laugh at yourself. And so, you cant survive if you dont bring five, ten, twelve thousand people under the tent for each performance and that requires enormous skill. The circus leaves town and she is left behind to convalescence at a local minister's house. You just look at her and knew that she was unusual. Historic Films Archive, Llc The props for "Play Dead," the opening show at Phantom Theater in Warren, were hauled down from Montreal in a 15-foot truck on June 10, accompanied by the cast of six international circus performers who will rehearse until the show's opening performance June 29, and run through July 2. That feeling of confidence wouldnt last very long. And I went over to the silver wagon and told John North that there would be a strike. Gretchen Stone Cook Charitable Foundation New York Public Library Janet M. Davis: A 19th century writer called the circus, our season of imaginative play. What the circus offered is this ability, in a way, to dissolve oneself, to have an out-of-body experience. It took 245 horses pulling one hundred wagons to move the show. After five months on the road it turned back east, finishing the season in Detroit at the end of October. La Norma Fox: When somebody tell you, you got sawdust in your veins, thats exactly what it is. There was a museum. Even the most basic commodities were in short supply. It can do no harm to boys, the poet Walt Whitman wrote after visiting the circus, to see a set of limbs display all their agility A circus performer is the other half of a college-professor. Narration: Colleano was rivaled on the wire only by a German act, the Wallendas. He was beautiful. Al. Bailey used the telegram against Barnum, publishing it widely with the caption: What Barnum Thinks of our Baby elephant.. Nigel Rothfels: Part of that opportunity was to touch them, was to touch their skin, touch their hair. Deborah Walk: Of all the brothers, John Ringling, felt the hardships of the family life more than others. He saw no option other than sitting out the following season. He even sold tickets for a tour of the generator. Heather Merrill They began before dawn as curious observers began turning out to watch the circus arrive on the outskirts of town. Over the course of the 1860s, the nations network of railroads had almost doubled to more than fifty thousand miles. Presidents and First Ladies accompanied them to the circus. It had become an annual tradition they loved. 8 Legendary Circus Performers | HISTORY Narration: One of the very best ways to lose a lot of money and to lose it quickly, a reporter for Fortune Magazine observed, is to start a circus. Every year through the 19th century, circuses proved the point, surviving one season or maybe two before going belly up the next. Jennifer Lemmer Posey: When one wants to go to the cinema, the films were there every day, every week, whereas the circus is only there once a year. Johnathan Lee Iverson: The hardest truth ever uttered is, The show must go on. In the face of terrible mishaps, in the face of deep sorrow, the show must go on because the fact is life works that way too. All Rights Reserved. Kip Savoie, Assistant Camera Australian National University From then on, the quarters were open to the public twice-weekly as circus personnel and animals prepared for the following season. Its magic is universal and complex. I had an ice pick. Once the circus started traveling, however, it became apparent that Bailey had a host of problems, many of his own making. Matthew Wittmann: They name it Columbia. Circus Olympus by Lindsay Price - Shop Play Scripts - Theatrefolk Watertown Historical Society It takes years and years, and dedication, mentally, physically. In the aftermath of the fire, management tried to repair the circuss public image, pledging the shows future profits to compensate the many victims. Its kind of unimaginable that theres this animal several tons in weight that can take a penny out of your hand. The last notable circus pantomime A circus play, not necessarily mute, with a dramatic story-line (a regular feature in 18th and 19th century circus performances). Narration: If you think circus life is glamorous, said one performer, spend your honeymoon in the married peoples car, which carries 64 persons.. Barnum by the London Zoological Societycausedan uproar in England. Walnutts Antiques When the luxury Pullman cars finally arrived on June 1, 1870, the travellers gloated that the journey had taken just eight days. They called it Ca dZan, House of John. Narration: The fire spread with alarming speed. And so, in many ways, it is the most visible form of corporate capitalism during the Gilded Age. This game is rendered in mobile-friendly HTML5, so it offers cross-device gameplay. them couldnt speak a word of English and a quarter couldnt read , but neither was a handicap at the circus. Circus - Theme Song - YouTube So, the American system was not encouraging to try to do something new or create acts. Oklahoma Historical Society Dolores is the older, resentful sibling caring for her sister, Rachel, a stuttering teen that falls in love with Joe, a circus roust-a-bout. He has remarkable energy. By 1928, eight years after the first commercial radio broadcast, a quarter of American households had radio sets. Narration: A swell of humanity flocked to Brooklyn on April 10, 1871 to see the most elaborate entertainment ever mounted in the United Statesa dizzying array of human oddities and acrobats, museum exhibits and wildlife, jugglers, trapeze artists, and strongmen. So, in short order, every large American circus is travelling on the railroads. Budget Films Stock Footage Circus Plays" Teaching Resources | TPT Carrie Phillips, Assistant Director of Audience Engagement Five months later, surrounded by family and friends, Phineas Taylor Barnum died in his sleep. But for workers and performers alike, circus life was simply too exhilarating to give up. On New Year's Day 1916, after two years of illness, Al Ringling died of Brights disease at the age of sixty-three. Narration: And then finally when the evening show was over, Al Ringling supervised the circuss departure. Voices Casting Determined to keep to schedule, Al worked through the night persuading the railroad to loan him equipment to take him to the next stop, Marion, Ohio. American Experience is a Production of WGBH, which is solely responsible for its content. Jacob J. Gayer/National Geographic Creative Emory University Portrait circa 1850. Just six weeks later the stock market crashed. Barnum was very much the man that wanted the spotlight. She was a performer from the time she took off her sandals until she came back down. No swearing. !. He was one of these people that got circus fever, and he left with the circus. Michael Lancaster, Great-Grandson, Charles Ringling: The kids were out of their minds even from the moment they off-loaded the equipment. They couldnt drink. Roger Smith And the act of claiming hundreds of yards of space vertically, horizontally, in defiance of death, really becomes the signature of this enormous new form of circus. John Ringling, a reporter wrote, is known as a cold and phlegmatic man.. Houghton Library, Harvard University Matthew Wittmann, Archival Materials Courtesy of Associated Press Bailey, on the other hand is very private, very reserved. The sale of Jumbothe African elephant to P.T. It took nine hours to extinguish the flames. When they got to town the next morning, theyd maybe set up, take a few hours of sleep and then there was the parade and then there was an afternoon performance, and then there was an evening performance and then you did it all again. As was traditional, the tent had been treated with a highly flammable mixture of gasoline and paraffin to keep it waterproof. Narration: That November, John Ringling fell ill. Everything cost much more than it had been. In 1884, there were almost fifty. He came up with the idea of shooting a person, most specifically a woman because that added to the excitement of it. Composer, Igor Stravinsky, wrote the music. The Leamy Ladies swung from a rotating contraption devised by their agent. Circus - Theme Song SuperJessTheMess 22.1K subscribers Subscribe 267K 22M views 13 years ago 73931 views to ONE MILLION!!! Twelve-year-old James was intrigued by Baileys roving line of work. Burdened by the heavy weight of failure, many under-employed Americans were drawn to their antics. Fred Dahlinger Jr.: He would be the titular head of the operation, but have no authority or power whatsoever. The Adam Forepaugh Circus, however, would not much longer be the greatest threat to The Greatest Show on Earth. A thousand miles west of Bridgeport, five sons of a poor immigrant harness-maker had just launched a one-ring wagon show. All the railroad companies provided were the locomotives, cabooses, crews, and track. Narration: Some observers predicted that the Barnum and Bailey amalgamation would be too unwieldy to put on the road. Barnum banned drinking on the show grounds and hired detectives from the Pinkerton Agency to keep everyones wallets safe. Free Library of Philadelphia/Bridgeman Images Stagecoach Inn, Newbury Park, CA The show makes enormous amounts of money. Bailey returned to New York in the summer of 1902 boasting of how hed overcome every obstacle: the Atlantic Ocean, a babble of foreign languages, and endless red tape. New York came to you. Narration: The circus kicked off with the two combined herds of elephants, followed by seven troupes of aerial performers, May Wirth with her backwards somersaults, and some six hundred other performers. The crowded circus lot was a perfect breeding ground for pickpockets. They were five brothers that got along. Narration: In 1902, the year James Bailey returned from Europe, some 650,000. immigrants arrived in the United States. Narration: Tickled at the prospect of one more adventure, Barnum signed on. Well sort of. The whole experiment of America is daring. Enjoy the daily content and make. Anxiety was rife in Bridgeport that fall. Mccaddon Collection, Princeton University Library The people of America, they declared, are not going to let go of the circus any more than they are going to relinquish pride in the Pilgrim Fathers. Nigel Rothfels: Jumbo was a very, very big elephant. It ceased operations in 2017. When the 1908 circus season began, the two shows toured separately. So, in the past, the sideshow had involved twelve, fifteen, twenty different figures or acts. Narration: To many of the visitors, the immensity of the operation confirmed their belief that the Ringlings domination of the entertainment world was unshakeable. Narration: By 1900, with Bailey away, the brothers felt emboldened to steal his slogan claiming their circus was: The Greatest Show on Earth. NIGEL ROTHFELS: A lot is made of Jumbo being essentially taken from the British and that is in a way a metaphor for Americas rise. It was a part of my life. You can just imagine the, you know, to go to some little town in Arkansas or some place and to be able to see that. The first tour under John Ringling North ended four months early. On the night of February 13th, Leitzel was halfway through her act at the Valencia Music Hall, when a swivel snapped. Michael Lancaster: They were disciplined, highly disciplined. Roger Smith: The show was underway. La Norma Fox: We have people that love circus so much theyll travel everywhere to follow the shows. The pay was meager, the work never-ending. Narration: The brothers felt forced to make a decision, they never would have anticipated a few years earlier. Composed By Karl L. King, Arranged By Richard Whitmarsh Bailey disagreed. Published by Schott Music Gmbh & Co. Kg (Ascap) Tino Wallenda: At the end of the performance, the audience were whistling and they were stomping their feet, which in Europe would be a great insult. Barnum & Bailey signed a contract on May 26th, 1880. Theyre the ones who was really heartbroken that the tent would not go up anymore. James W. Cook: The Ethnological Congress is an expansion of the sideshow. Alisa Placas Frutman Richard Reynolds: They had those big cat tunnels across the hippodrome track. It was supposed to be a little bit racy, a little bit dangerous, but you didnt want it to be fundamentally disturbing. Not all trainers were gentle. It's that yearning of being able to defy gravity, to fly through the air, to be that princess on a back of the horse that everyone is looking at. Cummings. Wirth's good looks and daring stunts won her legions of admirers and frequent mentions in the gossip pages of newspapers. Deborah Walk: To be the Greatest Show on Earth, you need to be the greatest show on earth, and that means drawing from all corners of the world, the unique, the wonderful, the incredibly talented. Ammed Tuniziani, Trapeze Artist: The power that it takes to do a triple is very hard. Fred Dahlinger Jr.: The discrimination that was present in America at that time against African-Americans was embraced by the circus. You had to advertise, something new, something exciting to get people to come to the show. After quarantines shuttered performances several days in a row, they packed up the Ringling show two weeks early. Star players had become national celebrities. When the greatest show of all could no longer perform these annual rituals or take this enchanted journey, it was clear the circus had lost its place at the heart of American life. The following year, Ancillotti was joined by the sensational Mauricia de Tiers and her dip of death. Narration: In the end the only agreement reached was that workers could help pack up the show for the return to Winter Quarters in Florida. A few weeks earlier theyd held their first votes-for-women meeting. In 1886, Barnum and Forepaugh temporarily made peace. In 1874, he copied Barnum by introducing a second ring and vastly exaggerating his line-up of performers. Narration: By the time the show reached Rutland, Vermont in the middle of June, the promotion had so saturated the area that visitors came by the thousands from villages in neighboring New York State. Promoting their circus as the Greatest Show on Earth, Barnum and Coop hired a twenty-two-person advertising department. Then all those people came pouring out. Even though the city was still picking up after the storm, crowds swarmed to see the show. Sakina Hughes: I think the circus doesnt get enough credit for just the amazing work that the African-American musicians did in spreading ragtime and jazz music. A slew of news reporters documented the last ever Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey show under canvas. To show guys, it was like nirvana to not have to play these little crossroad towns. What he cares about is what the public cares about, and he cares about giving it to them in a package which is exciting and profitable and will generate buzz. Their circus featured a handful of contortionists and jugglers, one clown, and Als wife Louise. Britney Spears - Circus (Official HD Video) - YouTube The showmen knew this, because they had beautiful scenes, gilded and painted on the tops of the wagons, so that people could see that too. Dominique Jando:Ricketts was by all accounts, even while he was still in England, quite an extraordinary equestrian. And the ring breaks as Mike climbs in, so it's actually a . Nothing so discourages a performer, he would say, as an utter lack of appreciation.. Holder Printworks And we just kept counting them as they came out. You are a performer, and you stay a performer until the day you die. I must have had it in my gizzard here, or somewhere. Fred D. Pfening Iii, Author: Their longtime attorney was quoted as saying, The Ringling Brothers didnt come up the hard way, they came up the impossible way. They really did start without a dime, and it really is an extraordinary story. Composed by Igor Stravinsky To meet the demands of the military conflict, President Woodrow Wilson took control of the railways, prioritizing the movement of troops and materiel. Quietly and swiftly every night it [picks] up in its magicians arms theatre, hotel, schoolroom, barracks, home, whisking them all miles away, and setting them down before sunrise in a new place.. So, she too runs away and joins a circus. In 1929, John Ringling confronted the lucrative boxing industry head on. On March 28th, 1919, gale forces winds buffeted New York as a late winter storm pummeled the city, leaving roads and rails coated in ice. Richard Reynolds: Ill never forget, my mother was very worried, worried about fire. Jackson Eagan He remembered practicing as many as seven hours a day, determined to perform a feat on the wire no one else had ever accomplished: a front somersault. Would that describe him in one word? The Documentary Investment Group: Over time, with Mables help, he would remake himself. Ann Marie Costain Jason Longo Derin Bray Its not an American president. Thats why you had to have so many acts going on at the same time. With just a handful of large cities and very few exhibition halls, showmen struggled to attract audiences. Jennifer Lemmer Posey, Curator: When you get to a three-sheet poster, at that scale youre approaching life size. Henry Paprill, J.W. What the tent establishes, is this way of circusing that becomes distinctly American. Polly of the Circus (1907 play) - Wikipedia Janet M. Davis: A turning point had been reached, because in this era of unionization, the circus strike marked a departure from an older era in which circus workers were extraordinarily expendable. Narration: Between 1842 and 1868, some forty-two million people swarmed through the doors of his museum. The sidewalks were packed and people spilled onto the streets for the first Barnum & Bailey parade in England. That little girl no one ever identified. Or . At least one of them, an indigenous Australian named Tambo Tambo, was brought to America against his will. Theyre gods. With a cast size of 48 students, the talented performers at Wabasha Kellogg High School in Wabasha, MN definitely understand the true meaning of the word "ensemble". So what he would do is he would charge them a quarter if they wanted to just go through the menagerie and see the animals, which a lot of people did because theres an unquestioned educational value to that. After a stay of many months, the assembled menagerie accompanied by a vast staff of handlers, marched to the coast. But the partners had far more than their extraordinary profits to be proud of. Narration: Like many circus impresarios, P.T. Narration: For the first few seasons, the Ringlings were a regional outfit. He loved the community and the community loved him. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign The women of the Barnum & Bailey circus had already signed up. And whats more is he had five tents housing five separate attractions. 2018 WGBH Educational Foundation Wherever they were, John and Mable were surrounded by the affluent and celebrated. Narration: It was the most remarked upon train journey of the decade. I knew I would do that work. He ordered the design and production of eighty-two different lithographs and then sent his publicity team out on three advance cars to plaster the route with posters. Criticalpast Marjorie Cordell Geiger Lowery got rid of blackface makeup, added women to his troupe, and performed a repertoire of ragtime and the blues. Buyout Footage Narration: In Europe, circus family have their own circus and created circus performer long before circus school. His cast was so huge, he claimed, a second ring was all but essential. Matthew Wittmann: Jumbo delivers, by all accounts. Performed by The United States Army Band Strongwoman Katie Sandwina, vice-president of the circus womens Equal Suffrage Club, was among those present. Everybody could see the same thing. When she wiggled her toes that got peoples attention. Barnum stoked the media frenzy. Narration: As tents got bigger, performances became more perilous. Narration: James drifted from place to place, picking up work as a farmhand and stable boy. We all love miracles. The Connecticut Historical Society Their profit for the year was $602,000. It was the largest circus anyone had ever seen. When the big top performance began, Chang the Chinese Giant led them into the main pavilion for the opening procession. I felt like a part of my life had ended. Then, the Ringlings loaded up twelve wagons and hit the road. In a decade when America was booming, the Ringling Brothers big top was the place to be. Dominique Jando: In the circus performance, there is always danger lurking, and the audience perceives it. She told the astounded Ringling team that she broke in her cats herself. She got everything that he knew and she took it from there as a tiger trainer. James W. Cook: Barnum is really the central figure in making freakery a dominant theme in 19th century mass entertainment. He fashions himself a go-ahead Yankee who is relentlessly entrepreneurial, full of energy and self-made individualism. They were a logistical problem, as far as he was concerned. There were fat ladies and skeleton men, hirsute children and albino twins, giants, sword swallowers, and William Henry Johnson, known as Zip, What Is It? a performer who started with the Barnum show in the 1870s. Eulogies in newspapers across the country praised Bailey for his many achievements, most notably taking American culture to the rest of the world. Matt Disbrow Barnum took home two hundred thousand dollars himself. She began performing with her mother and her aunts when she was just eleven. The Nation. Roger Smith: This young blond comes busting through a rickety old gate, asking to be a tiger trainer and everybody was ready to throw her out. Matthew Wittmann Collection, Film Transfers Holder Printworks Drama Play Circus Teaching Resources | Teachers Pay Teachers - TPT