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==In The Spotlight==
 
==In The Spotlight==
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[[File:Rudy_Horn_at_Tower_Circus.jpeg|right|280px]]
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[[File:Henrik_Henricksen_with_medals.jpeg|right|250px]]
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===RUDY HORN===
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===HENRIK HENRICKSEN===
  
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Rudy Horn (1933-2018) was one of the best and most successful jugglers of the post-WW2 era; he was not only a great technician: It took a long time for his cup and saucers juggling routine on unicycle, which was his trademark and was unique in its time, to be emulated—principally by Chinese acrobats!
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Henrik Henricksen (1880-1952), nicknamed "Tiger-Henricksen," was, in the first half of the twentieth century, one of the greatest cat trainers of the Hagenbeck school—although his spectacular style was markedly different from that of other German cat trainers of that school. His large group of tigers (up to sixteen at times) included a giant and quite dangerous Siberian tiger named Cæsar, which he presented alone at the end of his act. His was a remarkable presentation which won him his circus title, "The Tiger King."
  
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He was born Rudolf Horn in Nuremberg, Germany, on February 14, 1933, in a circus family. His father, Rupert Horn, had worked as a strong man before appearing in a teeterboard act and eventually creating an aerial duet, the Duo Rupertis, with his wife, Brigitte. Rudy was initiated to juggling a little by accident, on Christmas Eve 1940. His father started juggling with three apples to entertain Rudy and his baby sister, and did a series of passes to Rudy, who showed an innate ability to catch and return the fruits; after ten minutes, he could juggle them by himself! His professional path was decided then and there.
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In his book ''Les Dompteurs'' (1929), French circus historian (and amateur cat trainer) Henry Thétard described Henricksen’s tiger act thus: "Henricksen’s act was truly superb. The ''dompteur'', a blond athlete with a blushed complexion, didn’t work with the usual German phlegm. He 'started' his tigers ''en voltige'' and added interludes of bravura to his training exercises: gun firing, props shattering, all the gamut of a presentation ''en férocité''. It was a beautiful combination of the two methods.” 
  
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Rudy went through the usual training of all circus children, starting with acrobatics, to which were added tap dance and, four hours a day, juggling practice with his father and his maternal grandfather, Benedikt Schiefer, the family’s juggler, who owned a small touring circus. In late 1942, Rupert Horn contacted the manager of Nuremberg’s WinterGarten Theater and suggested that he hired his son for the WinterGarten’s Christmas show. (Rupert had been drafted by the Wehrmacht, and although he was based in Nuremberg, he and his wife couldn’t work anymore.)
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He was born Hans Heinrich Lühr in Hamburg, Germany, on January 21, 1880. His father was a carpenter and his mother, who was French-born, a piano teacher. Very early, Hans showed a great interest in animals and, as a kid, enjoyed training mice and rats. At the age of twelve he asked the well-known cat trainer [[Julius Seeth]] to take him as an apprentice; a little nonplussed, Seeth responded that he would consider it once Lühr had finished school!
  
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Rudy, who was only nine years old, was indeed very young, but he could fit in the "young prodigy" category: He juggled three balls, three clubs, five hoops, and ended with sending atop his head with his foot a saucer, a cup in the saucer, a spoon in the cup, and a piece of sugar to crown it all. The manager was reluctant at first, but he eventually caved in: As the war dragged on, good performers were increasingly hard to find. Thus, Rudy made his debut in 1942 in the WinterGarten’s Christmas Show in Nuremberg, adding to his act a little acrobatic routine and some passing that he performed with his grandfather: Young Rudy stopped the show! ([[Rudy Horn|more...]])
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Eventually, Hans became a carpenter like his father. Then opportunity stroke: he landed a job at the famous Hagenbeck’s Tiergarten (zoo) at Stellingen in Hamburg. He was seventeen and soon became an apprentice to [[The Hagenbeck Family|Wilhelm Hagenbeck]] (1850-1910). After a couple of years, he was given to present a group of fifteen polar bears trained by Hagenbeck—who was the leading specialist of these animals. (Henricksen later claimed in interviews that he was involved in expeditions to the Spitsbergen archipelago, in the Arctic, to capture some of the bears.) ([[Henrik Henricksen|more...]])
  
 
==New Biographies==
 
==New Biographies==

Revision as of 01:20, 2 February 2019

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Circopedia was originally created with the support of the Big Apple Circus,
and has been inspired and funded by the Shelley & Donald Rubin Foundation.

In The Spotlight

Henrik Henricksen with medals.jpeg

HENRIK HENRICKSEN

Henrik Henricksen (1880-1952), nicknamed "Tiger-Henricksen," was, in the first half of the twentieth century, one of the greatest cat trainers of the Hagenbeck school—although his spectacular style was markedly different from that of other German cat trainers of that school. His large group of tigers (up to sixteen at times) included a giant and quite dangerous Siberian tiger named Cæsar, which he presented alone at the end of his act. His was a remarkable presentation which won him his circus title, "The Tiger King."

In his book Les Dompteurs (1929), French circus historian (and amateur cat trainer(English/American) An trainer or presenter of wild cats such as tigers, lions, leopards, etc.) Henry Thétard described Henricksen’s tiger act thus: "Henricksen’s act was truly superb. The dompteur, a blond athlete with a blushed complexion, didn’t work with the usual German phlegm. He 'started' his tigers en voltige and added interludes of bravura to his training exercises: gun firing, props shattering, all the gamut of a presentation en férocité(French) In a cage act, the presentation of big cats in a confrontational mode, stressing their dangerous nature — as opposed to ''en douceur''.. It was a beautiful combination of the two methods.”

He was born Hans Heinrich Lühr in Hamburg, Germany, on January 21, 1880. His father was a carpenter and his mother, who was French-born, a piano teacher. Very early, Hans showed a great interest in animals and, as a kid, enjoyed training mice and rats. At the age of twelve he asked the well-known cat trainer(English/American) An trainer or presenter of wild cats such as tigers, lions, leopards, etc. Julius Seeth to take him as an apprentice; a little nonplussed, Seeth responded that he would consider it once Lühr had finished school!

Eventually, Hans became a carpenter like his father. Then opportunity stroke: he landed a job at the famous Hagenbeck’s Tiergarten (zoo) at Stellingen in Hamburg. He was seventeen and soon became an apprentice to Wilhelm Hagenbeck (1850-1910). After a couple of years, he was given to present a group of fifteen polar bears trained by Hagenbeck—who was the leading specialist of these animals. (Henricksen later claimed in interviews that he was involved in expeditions to the Spitsbergen archipelago, in the Arctic, to capture some of the bears.) (more...)

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CIRCOPEDIA is a constantly evolving and expanding archive of the international circus. New videos, biographies, essays, and documents are added to the site on a weekly—and sometimes daily—basis. Keep visiting us: even if today you don't find what you're looking for, it may well be here tomorrow! And if you are a serious circus scholar and spot a factual or historical inaccuracy, do not hesitate to contact us: we will definitely consider your remarks and suggestions.

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