Ben Williams

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Revision as of 22:52, 28 October 2008 by Djando (Talk | contribs) (Elephant Trainer)

Elephant Trainer

By Dominique Jando


Ben Williams was born in Fort Worth, Texas, the son of aerialistAny acrobat working above the ring on an aerial equipment such as trapeze, Roman Rings, Spanish web, etc. Barbara May and elephant trainer Rex Williams. When Barbara remarried with another elephant trainer, the legendary Bill “Buckles” Woodcock, Ben began working with Buckles's star elephant, Anna May. He was six years old. Eventually, Buckles and Barbara Woodcock helped him create a fast-paced duet with Anna May, to which Barbara added a leopard named Odin.

Like the rest of the Woodcock family, Ben has worked in all major American circuses, and was featured with Anna May in the 108th edition of Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey's Greatest Show On Earth in 1978-79. In 1982-83, Ben Williams and Anna May were featured in the the Big Apple Circus's second Holiday season at Lincoln Center, in New York—inaugurating a long association between that circus and the Woodcock family.

Ben Williams subsequently performed with the Big Apple Circus on several productions until 1994, along with Anna May and other Woodcock elephants. Starting in 1989, his presentations often included his wife, Darlene, a former Ringling showgirl, and their two daughters, Stormy and Skye. A short time after his last engagement with the Big Apple Circus, Ben retired from performing, and he and his family left the circus.

See Also