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<p>Djando: /* Image Gallery */</p> <hr /> <div>{{Languages}}<br /> [[File:Cirque_d'Hiver_by_day_2023.jpg|right|500px]]<br /> ==Cirque Napoléon, Cirque National, Cirque d'Hiver==<br /> <br /> ''By Dominique Jando''<br /> <br /> <br /> Located in the heart of Paris, between the Place de la République and the Place de la Bastille, at the edge of the historical Marais, the Cirque d’Hiver is the world’s oldest extant circus building. It is also the world’s oldest circus still in activity: It opened its doors in 1852. Its address, at 110 rue Amelot, may seem inconspicuous, but at that precise point, the rue Amelot opens onto the Boulevard du Temple through the small Place Pasdeloup: The Cirque d’Hiver is therefore quite noticeable, practically &quot;on the Boulevards.&quot; <br /> <br /> === Louis Dejean’s Circuses ===<br /> <br /> [[File:Louis_Dejean.jpg|300px|left|thumb|Louis Dejean (c.1850)]]The Cirque d’Hiver (literally, the ''winter circus'') was built for circus entrepreneur [[Louis Dejean]] (1786-1879) to serve as his circus company’s winter home. Dejean already managed the [[Cirque des Champs-Elysées]] in the fashionable ''Jardins des Champs-Elysées'', which he kept open from May through October. Up to 1846, his main establishment had been the [[Cirque Olympique (Paris)|Cirque Olympique]], located some five hundred yards from his new circus, on the portion of the Boulevard du Temple that disappeared in 1862, during the renovation of Paris by the Baron Haussmann, to give room to the present Place de la République. <br /> Dejean had sold his old Cirque Olympique in 1847; although it had been built only twenty years earlier (in 1827), it had already lost its appeal and was not practical anymore. Like many circus buildings of its generation, it had been designed with both a circus ring and a full theater stage, and consequently, it was easy for its new owners to transform it into a legitimate theater, the ''Théâtre du Cirque Olympique''. With no permanent home in the winter, Dejean had taken to sending his troupe abroad, to London or Berlin, for the winter season. Although these forays into foreign lands had proved successful enough, having a new winter base in Paris still made more sense.<br /> <br /> Thus, Dejean asked Jacques-Ignace Hittorff (born Jakob-Ignaz Hittorff in Köln, Germany – 1792-1867), the City of Paris’s Chief Architect, to design the plans for a new circus. Hittorf had already built the Cirque des Champs-Elysées for Dejean, as well as its twin counterpart, the Panorama (today Théâtre du Rond-Point), which were part of the master plan for the renovation of the Chanps-Elysées gardens in the 1840s. Hittorff had also supervised the redesign of the Place de la Concorde (notably with the addition of his own monumental fountain, ''La Fontaine des Mers'') and he would later build Paris’s Gare du Nord, the twelve ''hôtels particuliers'' (townhouses) that surround the Arc de Triomphe on the Place de l'Étoile, and many other &quot;classic revival&quot; pieces of work&amp;mdash;a style of which he was one of the most influential proponents.<br /> <br /> In the 1850s, on the area where the Place de la République stands today, the Boulevard du Temple arched and widened into a section that was popularly known as the ''Boulevard du Crime''&amp;mdash;for the many crimes committed onstage every night in the melodramas that were the main fare of the Boulevard’s numerous theaters. With its alignment of theaters, cafés-chantants, and other popular attractions, the ''Boulevard du Crime'' was the heart of Paris’s entertainment district, a favorite destination for Parisians and visitors alike.<br /> <br /> The piece of land Dejean was able to secure was situated at the eastern end of that section of the Boulevard du Temple, just before it became the Boulevard des Filles du Calvaire. Although the location looked like an afterthought in regard to the ''Boulevard du Crime'' itself, it was still a prime one. Yet the empty lot was far from ideal: it had very little depth, and was below street level. The place had to be leveled, and its lack of depth would prevent Hittorff from building the vast foyer that would have been expected for such a large amphitheater.<br /> <br /> === Hittorff’s New Circus ===<br /> <br /> [[File:Cirque_Napoleon_Elevation.jpg|thumb|400px|Cirque Napoléon elevation (1852)]]Nonetheless, the circus Hittorff began to build on April 15, 1852 was spectacular in many ways. It was a regular ''icosagon'' (a twenty-sided polygon), 42 meters (138’6”) in diameter, with a cupola reaching 27.5 meters (90’8”) at its peak. Its architectural peculiarity was that, unlike other circuses built before it, there were no columns inside the amphitheater to support its cupola: the surrounding walls, 55 centimeters (1’8”) thick and 16.25 meters (53’7”) high were reinforced at each angle by internal and external pillars that helped absorb the cupola’s weight.<br /> <br /> Unlike the Cirque Olympique, Dejean’s new building was not equipped with a theater stage. Not that Dejean had shunned it: Hippodramas were extremely popular in the mid-nineteenth century in circuses as well as in theaters&amp;mdash;although circuses had a strong advantage over theaters since they could use both ring and stage for spectacular, action-filled, three-dimensional equestrian dramas. But the neighboring playhouses, which didn’t want to see yet another circus building transformed into a competing theater, had requested that the new circus be built exclusively for equestrian presentations&amp;mdash;with a ring and no stage, like the Cirque des Champs Elysées&amp;mdash;and Dejean had to yield to their wish in order to obtain his permit.<br /> <br /> The house could accommodate 3,900 spectators distributed on three concentric seating sections, with standing room in a small ''promenoir'' running around the periphery of the house, behind the last row of seats. The seating, which consisted originally of narrow benches covered with crimson velour, and with a stiff back support, was notoriously uncomfortable&amp;mdash;a detail that chroniclers of the time never failed to mention. Today, the seats are conventional theater seats, and boxes have been added (in 1923) after the third row in the lower section&amp;mdash;modifications that have lowered the capacity to 1,800 seats&amp;mdash;but the space between each row has remained unchanged, and is still limited: for all its glory, the Cirque d’Hiver has never been a comfortable house!<br /> <br /> [[Image:Cirque_d'Hiver_-_Pradier's_Amazone.JPG|thumb|left|300px|Pradier's Amazon]]The decoration of the house itself was indeed impressive. The most eye-catching element was (and fortunately, still is) the ceiling, inspired by the ''velaria'' used to protect the audience from the sun in Roman amphitheaters; its sheer size, as much as its rich ornamentation, makes it hard to miss&amp;mdash;even today, in spite of the fact that its view as a whole is slightly obstructed by the lighting grid. <br /> <br /> At the periphery of the house, a series of twenty paintings by Félix-Joseph Barrias and Nicolas-Louis Gosse, telling the history of horsemanship, adorned each panel of the polygonal wall. These are not visible today: They have been masked in 1955, and are now awaiting restoration. (A few of them have unfortunately disappeared, and others have been badly damaged by more than a century of neglect.) The house was lit by twenty ornate gas chandeliers distributed on its periphery, and by another giant chandelier above the ring.<br /> The stables, with room for 52 horses, were located in a long rectangular building at the back of the house, with a courtyard opening Rue de Crussol (a street perpendicular to the Rue Amelot). The building’s second floor accommodated the dressing rooms, various workshops, and living quarters at one end. Like the house, the stables were lavishly decorated; they included a superb fountain adorned with a bas-relief by the sculptor Astyanax-Scévola Bosio, which is still visible today.<br /> <br /> Outside, the façade displayed two friezes running on the circumference of the building, sculpted by Bosio, Francisque-Joseph Duret (the author of the famous Saint-Michel fountain in Paris), Jean-Baptiste Guillaume, Eugène Lequesne, and Antoine Dantan&amp;mdash;all artists of recognized talent and great reputation. The main frieze depicted the creation of the horse by Neptune, and its training by Minerva. <br /> <br /> Two equestrian statues framed the entrance: a seductive Amazon by James Pradier on the left (which is said to have been modeled after the famous equestrienne, [[Antoinette Lejars]], and was the second version of a statue whose first version adorned the façade of the Cirque des Champs-Eysées), and a Greek warrior by Duret and Bosio, on the right. Frieze and statues are still in evidence today, but the Victory holding a lantern, which originally topped the building, has long disappeared.<br /> <br /> === The Cirque Napoléon === <br /> <br /> When the new circus opened its doors on December 11, 1852, nine months only after the beginning of its construction, Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte, the nephew of the late Emperor Napoléon I, had just proclaimed himself Emperor of the French under the name of Napoléon III a few days earlier, on December 2. <br /> <br /> This political event, however, hadn’t come as a surprise. After the fall of Napoléon I in 1815, France had reverted to a disappointing monarchy, during which a nostalgic cult of Napoléon and the Empire had steadily grown into a popular movement&amp;mdash;fueled in no small part by the numerous pantomimes and hippodramas to the glory of the Emperor staged at the Cirque Olympique, and repeated (on a smaller scale) by other circuses. <br /> <br /> [[File:Cirque_Napoléon_Inside.jpg|thumb|right|400px|The Cirque Napoléon in 1852]]After the abdication of King Louis-Philippe in 1848, the French Republic was proclaimed and Louis-Napoléon, back from years of exile in New York and London, had been elected its first President by a landslide. It then became obvious that the restoration of the Empire was lurking around the corner&amp;mdash;and since its inception, the wily Dejean had called his new circus, Cirque Napoléon. And for his first official public appearance, the new Emperor himself inaugurated the circus that bore his name&amp;mdash;or his uncle’s, for that matter. <br /> <br /> The Equestrian Director of the new Cirque Napoléon was [[The Franconi Dynasty|Adolphe Franconi]] (1800-1855), heir to France’s first and foremost circus dynasty; its Régisseur (or Artistic Director) was [[Ferdinand Laloue]]; and its Equestrian Master, in charge of the all-important high school (dressage) presentations, was the most famous equestrian and riding master of the time, [[François Baucher]]. The opening program offered to the Emperor included, among other artists, the celebrated clown [[Jean-Baptiste Auriol]]; the beautiful ballerina on horseback [[Coralie Ducos]]; and the god of horsemanship himself, the great Baucher.<br /> <br /> On November 12, 1859, the Cirque Napoléon was the set of a historic event: The creation by a young French gymnast from Toulouse, [[Jules Léotard]], of a new circus discipline, the flying trapeze. A marble plaque located just behind the curtain, on the right side of the ring entrance, still commemorates the event.<br /> <br /> In 1861, the Cirque Napoléon began hosting the ''Concerts populaires de musique classique'' (Popular Concerts of Classical Music), which were presented each Sunday at 2:00 pm under the baton of Jules Pasdeloup (1819-1887). His orchestra, the Concerts Pasdeloup, still exists to this day, and the little square in front of the Cirque d’Hiver, which opens the rue Amelot onto the Boulevard du Temple, has been named Place Pasdeloup after the popular conductor. The Sunday concerts remained a tradition until 1884.<br /> <br /> === The Cirque d’Hiver ===<br /> <br /> In 1870, after the humiliating defeat of Sedan in the war opposing France to Prussia, the deposition of Napoleon III on September 4, and the proclamation of the second French Republic, Dejean felt it wise to rename his circus, ''Cirque National''. He eventually retired two years later, in 1872, and his two circuses went under the management of [[The Franconi Dynasty|Victor Franconi]] (1810-1897), Adolphe’s cousin, who had taught King Louis-Philippe’s children to ride, and had been the ''Écuyer Privé'' (private riding master) of Napoléon III. <br /> <br /> [[Image:Victor_Franconi.jpg|thumb|left|250px|Victor Franconi]]In 1873, Victor Franconi, whose republican feelings seem to have been hazy at best, finally gave the circus its present title, ''Cirque d’Hiver'' (Winter Circus). (The Cirque des Champs-Elysées, which had been renamed [[Cirque de l’Impératrice]] during the Empire, and then Cirque National des Champs-Elysées in 1870, became the [[Cirque d’Eté]]&amp;mdash;the ''summer circus''.) Franconi, and his son [[The Franconi Dynasty|Charles]] (1844-1910), who would succeed him, were among the last tenants of the great equestrian circus tradition. But Europe was entering the industrial age, and the audience’s tastes were beginning to change. <br /> <br /> Indeed, the circus, too, was changing with the times; not that great horsemanship had completely lost its appeal, but gymnastics and physical exercises were enjoying a growing interest. Léotard was in: He had become the circus’s first international acrobatic star&amp;mdash;and, thanks to his tight costume (to which his name would remain associated) revealing his athletic figure, he became also one of the first sex symbols in show business. And sadly, the likes of Baucher and the Franconis, who had been among the brightest stars of the French equestrian circus, were already on their way out. <br /> <br /> Additionally, the Cirque d’Hiver began to face serious competition. The American circus entrepreneur and former equestrian and clown, [[James Washington Myers]] (1823-1892), had built a circus in the neighborhood, Place du Château d’Eau (today's Place de la République): the [[James Washington Myers|Grand Cirque Américain]]. Inaugurated in December 1875, it hosted Myers’ shows until 1879. Myers, who brought a new style and new acts to the Parisian audience, was extremely successful. When he was touring, the occasional tenants of his building were generally foreign companies (mostly Italian), which also gave a taste of novelty. <br /> <br /> [[Image:Charles_Franconi.jpg|thumb|right|280px|Charles Franconi]] More importantly, in June 1875, the Belgian equestrian [[Ferdinand Beert]] (1835-1902), known as Fernando, had opened a new circus on the Boulevard de Rochechouart, at the foot of the Montmartre hill, the [[Cirque Medrano (Paris)|Cirque Fernando]] (which would become later, in 1897, the legendary Cirque Medrano). Then, in February 1886, the entrepreneur [[Joseph Oller]] opened the [[Nouveau Cirque (Paris)]], rue Saint-Honoré&amp;mdash;a very elegant and comfortable circus, equipped with a state-of-the-art ring that could be lowered by a hydraulic system to reveal a water basin.<br /> <br /> While the Franconis maintained the old equestrian tradition in their two Parisian circuses, Fernando offered its popular audience a lighter fare, whose main attraction was the clown [[Geronimo Medrano]], known as &quot;Boum-Boum.&quot; Medrano was often the star of amusing topical revues written especially for him, while the Nouveau Cirque specialized in joyous water pantomimes&amp;mdash;and would soon feature in them two clowns who were to become the toasts of Paris, [[Foottit &amp; Chocolat]]. The [[Buffalo Bill’s Wild West]] also visited Paris in 1889, and so did the giant American circus [[Barnum &amp; Bailey]] at the end of 1901. In the midst of all these novelties, the Cirque d’Hiver, staunch defender of the classical equestrian tradition, was increasingly becoming passé.<br /> <br /> In the last decade of the century, Charles Franconi, following the lead of Fernando and the Nouveau Cirque, produced a series of pantomimes, old and new, in the ring of the Cirque d’Hiver. Some were successful, but still, Fernando and the Nouveau Cirque had become the circuses of choice for the Parisians&amp;mdash;with a mostly popular and bohemian audience for Fernando, while the Nouveau Cirque catered to the elegant clientele that, before, had frequented the Cirque d’Eté. In 1899, just two years after the death of his father, Charles Franconi had to close his summer circus on the Champs-Elysées; he concentrated his efforts on maintaining the Cirque d’Hiver alive and profitable.<br /> <br /> === The Cirque d’Hiver In The Dark ===<br /> <br /> But in spite of often interesting programs, the Cirque d’Hiver had lost its appeal. The dignified Place de la République, which had replaced the lively ''Boulevard du Crime'', worked as a buffer between the theater district on the west side, and the short section of the Boulevard du Temple on the other side, where the Cirque d’Hiver stood alone, isolated from the bright life of the west-side &quot;Boulevards.&quot; Finally, at the end of 1907, Franconi and his shareholders leased the Cirque d’Hiver to movie producer Serge Sandberg (1879-1981), who transformed it into a movie house for the Pathé Company. Charles Franconi didn’t survive this disgrace very long; he passed away three years later, in 1910.<br /> <br /> [[File:Cirque_d%27Hiver_Postcard.jpeg|thumb|left|400px|The Cirque d'Hiver c.1905]]A projection booth was built above the seats of the third section, facing the artists’ entrance&amp;mdash;in front of which a movie screen had been erected&amp;mdash;and the chandeliers disappeared. Obviously, a large part of the house could not have a good view of the screen. If only for its shape, not to mention its lack of comfort, the Cirque d’Hiver was not a very good movie house, especially as the movie audience was becoming more sophisticated.<br /> <br /> In 1917, Sandberg transformed for a time the Cirque d’Hiver into a theater. The great French actor Firmin Gémier (1869-1933), who was developing a non-elitist, popular theater of quality with mass appeal, used the place for spectacular productions, such as a French version of ''Œdipe, Roi de Thèbes''&amp;mdash;following in the footsteps of Max Reinhardt’s own extravagant spectacle, ''Oedipus Rex'' (1910), which the German director had produced at [[The Schumann Dtnasty|Circus Schumann]] in Berlin, and which had become an international sensation. Gémier's theater experiment at the Cirque d’Hiver was the forerunner of the ''Théâtre National Populaire'' (TNP), which he created after WWI, in 1920.<br /> <br /> Then, the Cirque d’Hiver reverted to the movies, with the same mediocre success. Finally, in 1923, Serge Sandberg sold his lease to a theater entrepreneur named [[Gaston Desprez]]. Desprez came from a family of industrialists; he had developed equipment for the French Army during WWI, but his true passion was show business. He had already purchased movie houses in several provincial cities, managed a theater, and produced a circus show at the municipal circus of Troyes (whose building is still extent), in the Champagne region. His two younger brothers, Marcel and André, shared his interests and had developed successful thrill acts for the circus.<br /> <br /> === Back to The Circus: Gaston Desprez ===<br /> <br /> From the outset, Desprez announced his intention to give back the Cirque d’Hiver to circus arts, and his first move was to restore the building to its former glory. It had been carelessly modified during its years as a movie house and a theater, and was not suited anymore for circus performances: The ring, for one, as well as the stables, had disappeared. The architect put in charge of the project was Louis Gagey. The rehabilitation work lasted only three months, but was nonetheless extensive.<br /> <br /> The internal structure was reinforced, especially the structure supporting the seating, which had been built in wood and was not in a very good shape; it was replaced by a support made of concrete. The seating itself was entirely refurbished with modern theater armchairs, and a row of boxes was installed behind the third row of seats in the lower section; it made the circus a little more comfortable, although the space between each row of seats was still limited. The house was repainted and redecorated, with notably a beautiful series of gilded winged horses, recovered from the short-lived (1866-1867) [[Cirque du Prince Impérial]] on the neighboring rue de Malte; they were placed above the ''vomitoires''&amp;mdash;the audience entrances to the house&amp;mdash;and are still there today. <br /> <br /> [[Image:Gaston_Desprez.jpg|thumb|right|300px|Gaston Desprez]]Backstage, the stables were reinstated in one aisle of their original building, and the other aisle was transformed into a vast foyer for the audience, decorated as a winter garden, with a fountain (which has since been removed) in the middle. In 1924, a painted frieze picturing all the acts that had been seen at the Cirque d’Hiver during the first Desprez season (1923-1924) was installed at the top of the foyer’s walls. It is still visible today. Among its subjects, a likeness of Charlie Chaplin is often seen as a tribute to the building’s past as a movie house; it is actually a picture of [[Charlie Rivel]] impersonating Chaplin’s Tramp character in Rivel’s trapeze act, ''Charlie and the Rivels''.<br /> <br /> The new Cirque d’Hiver opened its doors on October 12, 1923. The former equestrian acrobat and clown [[Louis Lavata]] was the ''Régisseur de Piste'' (Equestrian Director), and Pierre Blondeau, Desprez’s future son-in-law and right-hand man, managed the front of the house. (Blondeau would later run a talent agency.)<br /> <br /> When Desprez entered the arena, circus and variety were enjoying an unprecedented vogue in Paris&amp;mdash;and the competition was fierce. Boulevard de Rochechouart, the Cirque Medrano had become more popular than ever, thanks in large part to the extraordinary success of a superlative trio of clowns, the [[Les Fratellini|Fratellinis]]. To be sure, the quickly aging Nouveau Cirque, rue St. Honoré, was reaching the end of its life (it would close in 1926), and the giant [[Cirque Métropole|Cirque de Paris]], opened in 1906 Avenue de la Motte-Piquet, was not faring much better (victim of its sheer size, it would close in 1930). <br /> <br /> However, the [[Empire Music-Hall Cirque|Empire]] theater, which called itself &quot;Music-Hall Cirque&quot; and opened in 1924 with a mixture of variety and classical circus&amp;mdash;on the model of the WinterGarten and the Scala in Berlin&amp;mdash;became an immediate hit, and great circus acts regularly starred at the Folies-Bergère and the Casino de Paris, Paris’s legendary revue theaters, and in music-halls (variety theatres) such as the Olympia, the Alhambra, and Bobino.<br /> <br /> Fortunately, Desprez saw big. He hired the best acts of the moment, including his brothers Marcel and André with their amazing double somersault in automobile&amp;mdash;“piloted” by the stoic daredevil André, and especially built by Marcel, who was an engineer. In September 1924, Desprez scored a remarkable coup: [[Rodolphe Bonten]], Cirque Medrano’s director, had foolishly denied the Fratellinis a salary increase for the new season; Desprez immediately lured them to the Cirque d’Hiver at their conditions, and named them Artistic Directors, a title more honorific than real, but which was clever advertising.<br /> <br /> For the winter season of 1926, Pierre Blondeau signed and brought from the United States one of the most celebrated circus acts of all times, [[The Codonas]], with the legendary triple-somersaulter Alfredo Codona. This was indeed another coup: the flying trapeze’s brightest star in the circus where Léotard had invented the specialty! It definitely re-established Desprez’s Cirque d’Hiver as one of Europe’s premier variety houses, a circus to contend with. (The Codonas would return Rue Amelot in 1930.) Then, in 1927, the Cirque d’Hiver hosted for the first time the [[Gala de l’Union des Artistes]], the original &quot;circus of the stars&quot; and Paris’s most prestigious gala benefit, which had been held previously at the Nouveau Cirque. This tradition would continue until 1974. (It was resumed once, in 2010, in an unsuccessful attempt to revive its tradition.)<br /> <br /> === The Return of Circus Pantomimes ===<br /> <br /> In 1931, Desprez resumed the Cirque d’Hiver’s long tradition of circus pantomimes, taking his cue from Berlin’s [[Circus Busch]], where the genre was flourishing with considerable success under the management of [[Paula Busch]]. The first of these spectacles was ''La chasse à courre'' (&quot;The Dear Hunting&quot;), a musical and equestrian piece, replete with horses, hounds, dears, and the Fratellinis, and featuring an interesting painted scrim surrounding the ring, which served as a set. A string of successful pantomimes would follow.<br /> <br /> [[File:Fratellini_Poster_(1927).jpg|thumb|left|300px|Les Fratellini in ''La Chasse à Courre'' (1927)]]In the spring of 1932, Desprez launched an itinerant version of the &quot;Cirque d’Hiver de Paris,&quot; which began touring the French provinces under a big top during the spring and summer season. Then, in November 1932, the Cirque d’Hiver hosted one of the famous water pantomimes of the other, itinerant Circus Busch (also known as [[Jakob Busch|Circus Busch-Nürnberg]]), ''Les nuits du Kalifat'' (&quot;The Caliph’s Nights&quot;), with an elaborate piece of equipment that transformed the ring into a water basin&amp;mdash;albeit a rather shallow one. ''Les nuits du Kalifat'' was the forerunner of the spectacular water pantomimes that would make, in the years to come, the reputation of the Cirque d’Hiver.<br /> <br /> Lavish water pantomimes, which had been the trademark of Paris’s Nouveau Cirque, had been equally popular at Moscow’s [[Circus Nikitin]], and at Blackpool’s [[Tower Circus]] each summer in England, and they were especially successful at Berlin’s Circus Busch. These circuses had all been equipped with a ring that could be lowered to reveal a water basin, and Desprez decided to install such a ring at the Cirque d’Hiver. Once more, he asked the architect Louis Gagey to design the plans for the new sinking ring and its water basin, while the technological aspect of the work was entrusted to the Castiglione engineering company.<br /> <br /> The extensive work was completed in only one month. The basin, built of concrete, was 4.20 meters deep (about 14 feet), with a twenty-ton (metric) ring floor that could be lowered by a hydraulic elevator system; for this operation, the ring's heavy coco mat was removed, and the water passed through slots in the floor, as in the original system used before at the Nouveau Cirque. Openings in the basin's wall gave underwater access to the pool. The Cirque d’Hiver’s ''piste nautique'' (nautical ring) was inaugurated in November 1933 by the legendary ''meneuse de revue'', Mistinguett (1875-1966), then France’s greatest variety star.<br /> <br /> The water basin was not the only improvement Desprez brought to the Cirque d’Hiver for the 1933-1934 season: A small stage was added above the ring entrance&amp;mdash;which could be connected to the ring with a removable staircase&amp;mdash;and electric installations were modernized (with notably the addition of a crown of powerful lights under the cupola, and underwater lighting for the water basin). Finally, a roof was built over the Rue Amelot courtyard, which would allow, among other uses, proper housing for exotic animals when needed.<br /> <br /> The first &quot;water pantomime&quot; to use the new installations was ''Tarzan'', a French adaptation of a Circus Busch’s original, with all the necessary equipment, set and costumes imported from Berlin. It lasted only one day: Unfortunately, Desprez had &quot;forgotten&quot; to secure the rights to the famous character created and closely protected by Edgar Rice Burrows... Elements of the show were hastily re-adapted by director Géo Sandry as a vehicle for the Fratellinis, ''Les Fratellini en Afrique'' (&quot;The Fratellinis In Africa&quot;), which didn’t fare very well. <br /> <br /> ''Les Fratellini detectives'', which followed, was not more successful. The summer tours of the Cirque d’Hiver big top, even after Desprez re-named it ''Cirque Fratellini'' en 1930, had lost money. The new water basin and other renovations were still to be paid, and the recent productions had not recouped their costs. Maxime Morin, the President of the ''Société du Cirque d’Hiver'' (which had replaced Franconi’s ''Société des deux cirques'') decided to terminate Desprez’s lease at the end of the season, and to offer the circus to the highest bidder.<br /> <br /> === Enter The Bouglione Family ===<br /> <br /> The brothers [[Cirque Amar|Amar]], whose traveling circus, one of France’s most prestigious, played Paris in the winter under a wood-and-canvas structure (known in French circus lingo as a ''semi-construction''), began negotiating a lease. But they were quickly outdone by the [[The Bouglione Family|Bouglione]] family, their main competitors who, like them, had debuted in the traveling menagerie business. The Bougliones accepted to assume the debt incurred by the recent renovation of the circus, which the Amars had been reluctant to include in the deal.<br /> <br /> [[Image:Cirque_d'Hiver_poster_(c.1935).jpg|thumb|right|300px|The Bouglione Brothers (c.1935)]]The Bougliones were a family of Sinti Gypsies. They had made their fortune with a successful hoax: After having purchased an old stock of unused posters for the 1905 French tour of the [[Buffalo-Bill’s Wild West]], they had launched a colorful, if suspicious, ''Stade Buffalo-Bill'' in 1924. In spite of a very European circus program, they had managed to lure under its big top Belgian and then French provincial audiences, who were apparently content with a lively and rather exotic atmosphere (certainly owing more to the Bougliones’ vibrant Gypsy blood than to the American West) and a makeshift &quot;Wild West&quot; presentation at the end of the show.<br /> <br /> In 1928, the Stade Buffalo-Bill hit Paris; although the savvy Parisian circus and variety critics and a large part of the audience were not fooled, the Bougliones met with the same success in the capital as they had in the provinces. But the deception couldn’t last forever, and the following season, they abandoned Buffalo-Bill and began touring under a variety of names, before settling to their own in 1933: ''Cirque des 4 Frères Bouglione''.<br /> <br /> Their sudden arrival onto the Parisian circus scene, however, was the result of a quarrel with the brothers Amar over the acquisition a large group of elephants from the recently bankrupted Czech [[Circus Kludsky]], in which the Amars had finally outsmarted the Bougliones. The Bougliones took their revenge in derailing the Amars’ deal with the Société du Cirque d’Hiver. As the late Joseph Bouglione once told this writer, &quot;We didn’t know really what to do with [the Cirque d’Hiver]: We had never had a sedentary life before; but it was a victory, and it was an opportunity.&quot;<br /> <br /> Indeed, the Bouglione brothers (Alexandre, 1900-1954; Joseph, 1904-1987; Firmin, 1905-1980; Sampion, 1910-1967) seized the opportunity: More than eighty years later, the Bouglione family still owns and exploits the Cirque d’Hiver. Instead of just getting a lease on the circus, they made a deal with Maxime Morin, and became partners with him in the ownership of the old Cirque d’Hiver company. In time, the company would change names, and the Bougliones eventually remained its sole shareholders.<br /> <br /> The Bougliones reopened the Cirque d’Hiver on November 17, 1934. The house had been repainted and refurbished afresh, and the opening had been preceded by a street parade, as the Bougliones used to do when they toured the provinces under canvas. Not to be outdone by the Amars, the parade displayed an important herd of elephants that included the Bougliones’ two pachyderms, three more borrowed to the ''Jardin d’Acclimatation'' zoological garden in Paris, and a group from [[The Althoff Dynasty|Circus Althoff]] in Germany. Smart advertising indeed, since the most distinctive element the Bougliones were bringing to the Cirque d’Hiver was their important menagerie of exotic animals.<br /> <br /> In January 1935, the Bougliones staged their first pantomime, ''La reine de la Sierra'' (&quot;The Queen Of The Sierra&quot;), which began a long string of extravagant, often exotic spectaculars that included songs, music, wild animals, water frolics, and a cast of actors, singers, dancers, clowns, acrobats, and animal trainers supported by the extended Bouglione family. These spectacles were conceived by the prolific director [[Géo Sandry]], and for them, ring, stage, and water basin were used at their fullest. For the 1935-1936 Holiday season, Géo Sandry produced what would remain the masterpiece of the genre&amp;mdash;and a Bouglione staple until the 1960s&amp;mdash;''La perle du Bengale''. <br /> <br /> During WWII, and the German occupation of Paris (1940-1944), the Cirque d’Hiver reverted to simpler productions that mixed circus and variety, until the German occupants gave the management of the two Parisian circuses, the Cirque d’Hiver and Medrano, to [[Paula Busch]] and her son-in-law, the producer Emil Wacker, who had lost their circus in Berlin to Albert Speers's city planning. They took possession of the Cirque d’Hiver on December 15, 1940. It was just a futile attempt at improving Franco-German relations through entertainment&amp;mdash;and the Bougliones were soon allowed to repossess their circus, which reopened under their management on March 22, 1941. They continued to exploit it during the War with programs that mixed circus (with pantomimes that starred the clowns [[Alex Bugny|Alex]] &amp; [[Achille Zavatta|Zavatta]]), variety, and sport exhibitions.<br /> <br /> === The Post-War Era ===<br /> <br /> The immediate post-war years translated into a boon for the circus industry throughout Europe. The Bougliones (who still toured with their Cirque Bouglione during the summer months, participated in other circus ventures, and rented out some of their animals to other circuses), took good advantage of the windfall. The Cirque d’Hiver was more prosperous than ever; the production of lavish pantomimes had resumed with considerable success, some of them serving as a comic vehicle for Achille Zavatta, who was well on his way to stardom. <br /> <br /> In 1946, the Cirque d’Hiver was once again renovated, notably with a significant enlargement of the stage above the ring entrance&amp;mdash;including the building of a large stage frame, in a style more reminiscent of the 1930s than of the Second Empire. <br /> <br /> [[Image:Cirque_d_Hiver_Program_1957.jpg|thumb|left|300px|Program Cover (1957)]]In 1955, the Cirque d’Hiver’s menagerie itself became an important draw as the Bougliones acquired a widely advertised adult gorilla named &quot;Jacky.&quot; That same year, the circus became the setting for Carol Reed’s movie classic, ''Trapeze'' (1956), starring Burt Lancaster (who was a former circus acrobat), Tony Curtis, and Gina Lollobrigida&amp;mdash;who was doubled in aerial sequences by [[The Bouglione Family|Sandrine Bouglione]]. (It is for this occasion that the deteriorating paintings by Barrias and Gosse on the peripheral walls were covered by decorative elements and disappeared from public view.) Released the following year, ''Trapeze'' was an international success, and indeed an extraordinary advertisement for the Cirque d’Hiver. It is today an interesting documentary on the venerable Parisian circus at that time.<br /> <br /> The last original pantomime produced at the Cirque d’Hiver (in 1958) was ''Davy Crockett et Jimmy Boy'', which surfed on the wave of Disney’s international movie hit, ''Davy Crockett, King Of The Wild Frontier'' (1955). Afterwards, only a few scattered revivals of ''La perle du Bengale'', in different shapes, lengths, and under various names, just served as a reminder of a long tradition that was now vanishing.<br /> <br /> From 1954 to 1978, the Cirque d’Hiver hosted the long-running, monthly television show, ''[[La Piste aux Etoiles]]'', which made the Parisian building familiar to anyone in France who had a TV set. The Cirque d'Hiver also continued to host annually the Gala de l’Union des Artistes until 1974, and the [[Festival Mondial du Cirque de Demain|Gala de la Piste]], with a few interruptions, between 1959 and 1980. In 1977, and from 1988 to 2006, the [[Festival Mondial du Cirque de Demain]] was also held for one week each year at the Cirque d’Hiver.<br /> <br /> In 1981, French TV personality Yves Mourousi (1942-1998) produced the Mark Bramble, Michael Stewart and Cy Coleman's hit Broadway musical, ''Barnum'', at the Cirque d’Hiver. For the occasion, the circus underwent again a series of renovations, notably the addition of new chandeliers above the second tier of seats on the periphery of the house, designed after the originals that had disappeared when the circus was transformed into a movie theater. The project included the restoration of the cupola decoration, the installation of a lighting grid, and the refurbishing of the circus’s corridors with marble floors. These improvements were paid for by the City of Paris&amp;mdash;which compensated largely for the failure of the musical.<br /> <br /> That event, however, opened new perspectives to the Bougliones. Since the 1960s, the Cirque d’Hiver had performed only three days a week and on holidays. Joseph Bouglione, the last of the original brothers was aging (he would pass away in 1987), and his sons, [[The Bouglione Family|Sampion]] (b.1938), [[The Bouglione Family|Emilien]] (b.1934), and [[The Bouglione Family|Joseph]] (b.1942), had already ceased the tours of the once mighty Cirque Bouglione. As for Joseph’s elder, [[The Bouglione Family|Firmin]] (b. 1932), he had left the family's enterprise and established his own Cirque Bouglione in Belgium. The circus scene was changing; the Cirque d’Hiver had trouble adapting to a new era, and was running out of steam.<br /> <br /> === The Renaissance ===<br /> <br /> [[Image:Salto_Program_1999.jpg|thumb|right|300px|Program Cover for ''Salto'' (1999)]]In 1984, the Cirque d’Hiver became a house for hire, and began hosting a series of theatrical production, recitals, fashion shows, etc., with only a few incursions back into the circus world. From 1986 to 2007, the Festival Mondial du Cirque de Demain occupied the ring for one week every year, and the burgeoning [[Cirque du Soleil]] performed there for one month in 1990. In 1997, Muriel Hermine, former Synchronized Swimming European champion, created and starred in ''Crescend’O'', an aquatic show directed by [[Guy Caron]], for which the old water basin, practically idle since the War, had been completely rebuilt.<br /> <br /> Then in 1998, the new generation met with the then family patriarch, Sampion Bouglione II (1938-2019): His son, [[The Bouglione Family|Francesco]], and his nephews, [[The Bouglione Family|Joseph Junior]], [[The Bouglione Family|Louis-Sampion]], [[The Bouglione Family|Regina]], [[The Bouglione Family|Thierry]], and [[The Bouglione Family|Nicolas]], expressed their will to resume a circus season at the Cirque d’Hiver. Circus was back; several young Bougliones had performed in other circuses and ''varieté'' shows all around Europe, and they were well aware of the success of circuses that were defining new trends in the way of presenting circus performances. They wanted to be part of this circus renaissance.<br /> <br /> After a few renovations, notably of the ring, which had slowly lost the characteristics of a true circus ring from one theatrical production to another, the Cirque d’Hiver reopened its doors as a full-fledged circus on October 1999, with a circus production titled ''Salto''. Brilliantly cast, staged, lit, and costumed, accompanied by a superb orchestra, and with the participation of a seductive group of girl dancers (who would become known in following productions as the ''Salto Dancers'' and eventually reinforced with a couple of male dancers), the show was an immediate and unmitigated success. Since ''Salto'', a new production has graced the ring of the Cirque d'Hiver each year from October through March, meeting each time with increasing success. And in 2002, the production titled ''Le Cirque'' celebrated brilliantly the 150th anniversary of the Cirque d'Hiver.<br /> <br /> ===The Restoration of an Architectural Landmark===<br /> <br /> In the summer of 2008, The Cirque d'Hiver's façade underwent an extensive restoration: vanished decorative elements were rebuilt; the friezes, which had been damaged over the years, were repaired; and so were the equestrian statues, external lights, stained glass windows, etc. The building's original colors were reinstated, and the painted frieze in the foyer was restored; the vibrancy of its original colors, muted by years of exposition to cigarette smoke, became visible again. Other extensive work has begun in 2026, notably the restoration of the murals inside the house (which are badly damaged and have been hidden from view since the 1950s). The work is scheduled to be done during dark days over a five-year period, and it also includes a revamping of the house with new seats and installation of easy access for handicapped patrons.<br /> <br /> == Suggested Reading ==<br /> <br /> * Adrian, ''Histoire illustrée des cirques parisiens d’hier et d’aujourd’hui'' (Bourg-la-Reine, published by the author, 1957)<br /> <br /> * Christian Dupavillon, ''Architectures du Cirque'' (Paris, Editions du Moniteur, 1982 &amp;mdash; reprinted with additions in 2001) ISBN 2-281-19136-2<br /> <br /> * Louis Sampion Bouglione and Marjorie Aiolfi, ''Le Cirque d’Hiver'' (Paris, Flammarion, 2002) ISBN 2-0801-0798-4<br /> <br /> * Dominique Denis, ''Cirque d'Hiver, Direction Gaston Desprez'' (Aulnay-sous-Bois, Éditions Arts des 2 Mondes, 2011) &amp;mdash; ISBN 978-2-915189-24-7<br /> <br /> ==See Also==<br /> <br /> * History: [[The Bouglione Family]]<br /> * Video: [[Robin_des_Bois_(1943)|The Pantomime ''Robin des Bois'']] at the Cirque d'Hiver (1943)<br /> * Video: [[Cirque_d%27Hiver_History_Video|Cirque d'Hiver: A Visual History]] (2008)<br /> * Video: [http://www.hdmedia.fr/visite-virtuelle/hd/cbpHgpi4k-cirque-d-hiver.html Virtual Visit of the Cirque d'Hiver]<br /> <br /> ==Image Gallery==<br /> <br /> &lt;Gallery&gt;<br /> File:Cirque_Olympique_(1837).jpg|The Cirque Olympique (1837)<br /> Image:Cirque_des_Champs-Elysées%2C_c.1880.jpg|Hittorff's Cirque des Champs-Elysées (c. 1850)<br /> File:Louis_Dejean.jpg|Louis Dejean<br /> File:Cirque_d'Hiver_project.png|Project for the Cirque d'Hiver (1851)<br /> File:Cirque_Napoleon_Elevation.jpg|Cirque d'Hiver - Elevation (1852)<br /> Image:Cirque_Napoléon_(1852).jpg|The Cirque Napoléon in 1852<br /> File:Cirque_d'Hiver_details.png|Architectural details of the house (1854)<br /> File:Cirque_d'Hiver_Façade.png|Cirque d'Hiver - Façade (1854)<br /> File:Cirque_d'Hiver_-_gradins.png|Cirque d'Hiver - seating design (1854)<br /> File:Cirque_d'Hiver_-_Coupe.png|Cirque d'Hiver - cross-section (1854)<br /> File:Cirque_d'Hiver_-_Plan.png|Cirque d'Hiver - Plan (1854)<br /> File:Cirque_Napoléon_Program.jpg|Cirque Napoléon Program (1854)<br /> File:Cirque_Napoléon_Inside.jpg|Interior of the Cirque Napoléon (c.1855)<br /> File:Cirque_Napoléon_(c1860).jpeg|The Cirque Napoléon (c. 1860)<br /> File:Hittorff_Portrait.jpg|Jacques Ignace Hittorff (1869)<br /> File:Cirque_d'Hiver_-_Galice.jpg|Poster by L. Galice (c.1890)<br /> File:Cirque_d'Hiver_1900.jpeg|The Cirque d'Hiver (1900)<br /> File:Cirque_d'Hiver_postcard.jpg|Advertising Postcard (c.1900)<br /> File:Cirque_d'Hiver_Seating_Plan.jpg|Cirque d'Hiver Seating Chart (c. 1904)<br /> File:Cirque_d%27Hiver.jpeg|The Cirque d'Hiver (c.1905)<br /> File:Cirque_d%27Hiver_Postcard.jpeg|The Cirque d'Hiver (c.1905)<br /> File:Cirque_d%27Hiver_(c.1925).jpeg|The Cirque d'Hiver (c.1925)<br /> File:Fratellini_-_Cirque_d%27Hiver.jpg|Les Fratellini au Cirque d'Hiver (c.1925)<br /> Image:Cirque_d'Hiver_-_Pradier's_Amazone.JPG|James Pradier's equestrian statue of Antoinette Lejars (1852)<br /> Image:Amazone_phrygienne_Pradier_2.jpg|James Pradier's statue of Antoinette Lejars (1852) before the 2008 restoration<br /> Image:Pradier's_Statue_(2008).jpg|James Pradier's equestrian statue (1852) before the 2008 restoration <br /> Image:Cirque_d'Hiver_-_Equestrian_Statue.JPG|Equestrian statue by Duret and Brosio (1852)<br /> File:Cirque_d%27Hiver_1952.jpg|The Cirque d'Hiver in 1952<br /> File:The_Flying_Terrels_(1975).jpg|The ornate cupola (with the Flying Terrels) (1975)<br /> Image:Cirque_d'Hiver_façade_(detail).jpg|Façade, detail, after the 2008 restoration<br /> Image:Cirque_d'hiver-detail.JPG|The 1852 friezes after the 2008 restoration<br /> Image:Cirque_d'Hiver_frieze_(detail).jpg|The 1852 friezes after the 2008 restoration<br /> Image:Cirque_d'Hiver_-_detail_of_the_frieze.jpg|The 1852 friezes after the 2008 restoration<br /> Image:Cirque_d'Hiver_façade_detail.jpg|The 1852 friezes after the 2008 restoration<br /> Image:Adolphe_Franconi.jpg|Adolphe Franconi<br /> Image:Victor_Franconi.jpg|Victor Franconi<br /> Image:Charles_Franconi.jpg|Charles Franconi<br /> Image:Cirque_d'Hiver_Jeton_(1873).jpg|Subscription Token (1873)<br /> Image:Cirque_d'Hiver-Poster_(c.1880).jpg|Poster (c.1880)<br /> File:Cirque_d%27Hiver_Wolves.jpg|Cirque d'Hiver Poster (1885)<br /> File:Cirque_d%27Hiver_Pantomime_1814.jpg|Poster for the pantomime &quot;1814&quot; (1900)<br /> Image:Cirque_d'Hiver_Program_1906.jpg|1906 Program<br /> Image:Gaston_Desprez.jpg|Gaston Desprez (c.1925)<br /> File:Cirque_d'Hiver_-_Fratellini_New_Year.jpg|Promotional Postcard (c.1925)<br /> File:Fratellini_Poster_(1927).jpg|Poster for Les Fratellini (1927)<br /> File:Albert_Fratellini_1927.jpeg|Poster featuring Albert Fratellini (1927)<br /> File:Cirque_d'Hiver_Facade_Cagey.jpg|Cirque d'Hiver Façade (1929)<br /> File:Cirque_d'Hiver_elevation.jpg|Transversal elevation (1929)<br /> File:Fratellini_Florit.jpeg|Poster for Les Fratellini (c.1930)<br /> File:Cirque_d'Hiver_Fratellini.jpg|Program Cover featuring The Fratellinis (1931)<br /> File:Cirque_Fratellini_Poster.jpeg|Poster for the Cirque Fratellini (1933)<br /> File:Cirque_Fratellini_big_top.jpeg|The Cirque Fratellini (c.1933)<br /> File:Cirque_d'Hiver_35.jpg|Program Cover (1935)<br /> Image:Cirque_d'Hiver_poster_(c.1935).jpg|The Bouglione Brothers (c.1935)<br /> Image:Les_Frères_Bouglione.jpg|The Bouglione Brothers (c.1950)<br /> File:Cirque_d%27Hiver_Program_1950.jpg|Program Cover (1950)<br /> File:Cirque_d'Hiver_Conti.jpg|Program Cover (1952)<br /> Image:Cirque_d'Hiver_Program_(1952).jpg|Program Cover (1952)<br /> Image:Cirque_d_Hiver_Program_1957.jpg|Program Cover (1950s)<br /> Image:Cirque_d'Hiver_Ad_(c.1960).jpg|Ad for the Cirque d'Hiver (c.1960)<br /> Image:Cirque_d'Hiver_Program_Cover_1964.jpg|Program Cover (1960s)<br /> File:Pipo_Dario_Mimile_Poster.jpeg|Poster featuring Pipo, Dario &amp; Mimile (c.1960)<br /> File:Jean_Richard_Gala_de_l'union.jpg|The Gala de l'Union des Artistes at the Cirque d'Hiver (1963)<br /> Image:Cirque_d'Hiver_Program_1965.jpg|Program Cover (1965)<br /> File:Cirque_d%27Hiver_1965.jpeg|Program Cover (1965)<br /> Image:Cirque_d'Hiver_program_c.1970.jpg|Program Cover (1970)<br /> Image:Cirque_d'Hiver_Program_1974.jpg|Program Cover (1974)<br /> Image:Cirque_d'Hiver_Program_(c.1978).jpg|Program Cover (c.1978)<br /> Image:Cirque_d'Hiver_Paris_(c.1995).jpg|The Cirque d'Hiver (c.1995)<br /> Image:Salto_Program_1999.jpg|''Salto'' Program Cover (1999)<br /> Image:Cirque_d'Hiver_Program_2000.jpg|''Piste'' Program Cover (2000)<br /> File:Elena_Panova_-_Piste.jpg|Promotional Postcard for ''Piste'' (2000)<br /> Image:Cirque_d'Hiver_Program_(2001).jpg|''Trapeze'' Program Cover (2001)<br /> Image:Cirque_d'Hiver_Program_2002.jpg|Program Cover, 150th Anniversary (2002)<br /> Image:Cirque_d'Hiver_Program_2004.jpg|''Bravo'' Program Cover (2004)<br /> Image:Cirque_d'Hiver_Program_(2006).jpg|''Artistes'' Program Cover (2006)<br /> Image:Cirque_d'Hiver_(02-2008).jpg|The Cirque d'Hiver in 2008<br /> Image:Cirque_d'Hiver_-_façade_detail.jpg|Detail of the façade and the cast iron fence after the 2008 restoration<br /> Image:Cirque_d'Hiver_frieze.jpg|Detail of the friezes and statuary after the 2008 restoration<br /> Image:Cirque_d'Hiver_-_Bar.jpg|The Foyer in 2008<br /> Image:Cirque_d'Hiver_-_Stables.jpg|The old 1923 stable boxes (2008)<br /> File:Cirque_d%27Hiver_Interior.jpg|The House in 2008<br /> Image:Francesco_Bouglione_(c.2008).jpg|Francesco Bouglione (2010)<br /> File:Louis_Sampion_Bouglione.jpg|Louis-Sampion Bouglione in the Cirque d'Hiver Museum (2010)<br /> File:Regina_Bouglione.jpg|Regina Bouglione (2010)<br /> Image:Cirque_d'Hiver_2011.JPG|The Cirque d'Hiver, fully restored, in 2011<br /> File:Cirque_d%27Hiver_Ceiling.jpg|The ornate ceiling (2012)<br /> File:Cirque_d'Hiver_-_Front_View_(2013).jpg|The Cirque d'Hiver by night (2013)<br /> File:Cirque_d%27Hiver_Poster_(2015).jpg|''Rire'' poster (2015)<br /> File:Cirque_d'Hiver_Poster_2017.jpeg|''Exploit'' poster (2017)<br /> File:Cirque_d'hiver_2017.jpeg|The Cirque d'Hiver in 2017<br /> File:Cast_and_Crew_Cirque_d'Hiver_2018.jpeg|The cast and crew of ''Surprise'' (2018)<br /> File:Cirque_d'Hiver_Extra.jpg|''Extra'' Poster (2018)<br /> File:Cirque_d'Hiver_-_Eclat_Poster.jpg|''Défi'' Poster (2019)<br /> File:Joseph_Bouglione_III.jpeg|Joseph Bouglione at the Cirque d'Hiver (2019)<br /> File:Cirque_d'Hiver_House.jpg|Cirque d'Hiver: The House (2020)<br /> File:Cirque_d'Hiver_2023.jpg|''Délire'' advertising (2023)<br /> File:Cirque_d'Hiver_2023_Poster.jpg|''Délire'' Poster (2023)<br /> File:Cirque_d'Hiver_by_day_2023.jpg|Cirque d'Hiver by day (2023)<br /> File:Cirque_d'Hiver_by_night.png|The Cirque d'Hiver by night (2023)<br /> File:Cirque_d'Hiver_2024.jpg|Advertising for ''Spectaculaire'' (2024)<br /> File:Odette_Bouglione.jpg|Odette Bouglione (c.2024)<br /> File:Cirque_d%27Hiver_-_Finale.jpg|Finale of ''Spectaculaire'' (2025)<br /> File:Cirque_d'Hiver_-_Tempo.jpg|Poster for ''Tempo'' (2025)<br /> File:Cirque_d'Hiver_-_Volte.jpg|Poster for ''Volte'' (2026)<br /> &lt;/Gallery&gt;<br /> <br /> ==External Link==<br /> <br /> * [http://www.cirquedhiver.com/ www.cirquedhiver.com]<br /> <br /> [[Category:History|Cirque d'Hiver, The]][[Category:Circuses|Cirque d'Hiver]][[Category:History|Cirque d'Hiver]]</div>

Djando https://www.circopedia.org/index.php?title=File:Cirque_d%27Hiver_-_Finale.jpg&diff=46928 2026-10-29T23:09:30Z

<p>Djando: </p> <hr /> <div>The final of ''Spectaculaire'' at the Cirque d'Hiver-Bouglione in Paris (2025) &amp;mdash; ''Photo © François Dehurtevent''<br /> <br /> ==See Also==<br /> <br /> * Circuses: [[Cirque d'Hiver]]<br /> <br /> [[Category:Photo Archive|Cirque d'Hiver]]</div>

Djando https://www.circopedia.org/index.php?title=File:Cirque_d%27Hiver_-_Finale.jpg&diff=46927 2026-10-29T23:08:00Z

<p>Djando: The final of ''Spectaculaire'' at the Cirque d'Hiver-Bouglione in Paris (2025) &amp;mdash; ''Photo © François Dehurtevent''</p> <hr /> <div>The final of ''Spectaculaire'' at the Cirque d'Hiver-Bouglione in Paris (2025) &amp;mdash; ''Photo © François Dehurtevent''</div>

Djando https://www.circopedia.org/index.php?title=Farrell_Brothers&diff=46926 2026-10-29T23:01:59Z

<p>Djando: /* The Farrell Brothers */</p> <hr /> <div>[[File:The_Farrell_Brothers.jpg|right|400px]]<br /> ==High Wire==<br /> <br /> ''By Mary Hettig''<br /> <br /> The Farrell Brothers were, from 1971 to 1983, a very successful American high wire duo that followed in the footsteps of the 1960s' [[Mendez and Seitz]] (Gene Mendez and Joe Seitz), former members of the legendary [[The Wallendas|Wallenda]] troupe. The Farrell Brothers quickly became circus headliners in the United States and in Europe and enjoyed a brilliant, albeit relatively short, international career. <br /> <br /> ===Farrell and The Wallendas===<br /> <br /> Farrell Hettig didn't come from a circus family. Born in St Petersburg, Florida, on September 25,1955 to Nila and Farrell Hettig Sr., he joined a blended family of three siblings: Beth and Woodie, his older sister and brother from Nila’s previous marriage, and Mary, who was roughly one year older than Farrell. Farrell senior was working in radio advertising and Nila was a homemaker.<br /> <br /> [[File:Karl_Wallenda.jpg|thumb|left|250px|Karl Wallenda (c.1965)]]Nila and Farrell divorced in 1961, when Farrell was six years old. Then, Nila and the children moved to Sarasota, Florida, known as America’s &quot;Circus City:&quot; [[John Ringling]] had made Sarasota his winter home in 1926, and brought his large circus operation to the city in 1927. Over the years, many circus artists and families settled in Sarasota, establishing a circus community that has remained an important part of the city's fabric up to this day (2026).<br /> <br /> Farrell got his introduction to the circus arts when he joined Sarasota’s famous youth circus, [[Sailor Circus]] (today part of the Circus Arts Conservatory), in his teen years. Over the years he performed many acts in Sailor Circus's shows, but high wire soon became his focus: He was coached by no less than [[The Wallendas|Gunther Wallenda]]. (Gunther was the one performer of the Wallenda troupe who remained standing on the wire during their tragic fall of 1969.)<br /> <br /> At the time, Gunther was a teacher in Sarasota County Schools. A gifted circus student, Farrell eventually went on the road with the Wallendas as a rigger during the summer of 1971. He was sixteen years old. Later in the early 1970’s, he began traveling with them as a performing member of the troupe. During that time Farrell and the legendary head of the troupe, [[Karl Wallenda]], formed a strong bond that would bolster Farrell throughout his life.<br /> <br /> In the 1978 television movie ''The Great Wallendas'', Farrell’s skills were prominently featured. Although none of the original Wallendas performed in the movie, they had been impersonated by talented high-wire walkers: Terry Troffer and his wife Delilah Wallenda, Luis Murrillo, David Klukow, Tino and Ricky Wallenda, and a 22-year-old Farrell Hettig. In the re-creation of the dangerous seven-person pyramid, Farrell stood in the crucial position of second tier of the three-tiered pyramid. Less than a year after the completion of the movie, on March 22, 1978, Farrell was present in San Juan, Puerto Rico, when the great Karl Wallenda tragically performed his last walk on the high wire and fell to his death.<br /> <br /> ===Enter Richard Schmitt===<br /> <br /> [[File:Farrell_Bros.jpg|thumb|right|400px|Farrell and Richard in practice (c.1976)]]Meanwhile, Farrell had decided to go his own way and create a new high wire act, a duo in the dynamic and spectacular style originated by Mendez &amp; Seitz. But to do so, Farrell needed a partner. It is at this point that Richard Schmitt entered the scene…<br /> <br /> A native of Boston, Massachusetts, Richard Schmitt spent his childhood in Boston and Rhode Island. Like Farrell, he did not come from a circus family: He left home in his teens and describes himself as a &quot;runaway.&quot; He recalls his first encounter with the circus world this way: &quot;At age eighteen I found, by sheer happenstance, the Ringing Circus train parked in a filthy trainyard in Providence, Rhode Island. I got a job selling cotton candy and as you might expect ended up in Sarasota, Florida. I had never been there before, loved it, and in my heart, I never really left it.”<br /> <br /> In that circus environment, Richard discovered the high wire. He had never walked on a wire before and taught himself by trial and error. Then he found a partner, Julian Albulet. Julian had previously worked on the high wire with Mike Talamantez as the [[Albulet Brothers]], an act that will eventually have a long run in Las Vegas at [[Circus Circus]] Hotel and Casino. For a short while, Richard became the second half of the Albulet Brothers.<br /> <br /> In 1975, Julian and Richard set up their rigging in Sarasota. This caught the local performers' attention, always interested in the work of their circus colleagues. One of those performers was Farrell who, at that point, was determined to develop his own act and was looking for a partner of his caliber. Richard's skills impressed him enough and he and Richard joined forces: Their act was born that same year, and Farrell, not averse to circus hype, named it ''The Fabulous Farrell Brothers''.<br /> <br /> ===The Farrell Brothers===<br /> <br /> [[File:Farrell_Brothers.jpeg|thumb|300px|left|The Farrell Brothers at Circus Knie (1981)]]Their act was outstanding and included all the most spectacular (and dangerous) tricks of the repertoire, such as a two-man height column with Farrell jumping down to the wire from the shoulders of Richard or leapfrogging over him, and fast-speed rope jumping, with all the staged &quot;near-misses&quot; (known as ''chiqués'') that made the act even more nerve-racking. Like his predecessors [[Harold Alzana]], Gene Mendez and [[Carrillo Brothers|Pedro Carrillo]], Farrell worked without a balancing pole and the act was performed without a net. <br /> <br /> Farrell also revived a feature then still uncommon among his contemporaries: Like Harold Alzana (who had retired in the early 1970s), he walked up to and down from the high wire on an incline wire. He even established a new world record in 1981 for walking the steepest incline high wire. The Farrell Brothers were young, energetic and good-looking, and their act had all the elements needed to make them genuine circus stars.<br /> <br /> This quickly caught the attention of [[Irvin Feld]], the owner and producer of [[Ringling Bros. and Barnum &amp; Bailey]] Circus and of its brand new (and short-lived) Florida theme park, [[Circus World]], in Haines City, near Orlando. One of Circus World's attractions was a &quot;Circus Showcase&quot; that needed high-caliber acts; the Fabulous Farrell Brothers were a perfect addition to the show, and they spent the 1977 and 1978 seasons as a featured act at Circus World.<br /> <br /> Following their success there, Irving Feld sent them in December 1979 to the 6th [[International Circus Festival of Monte Carlo]], where they won the prestigious Silver Clown award. Then, Feld took them on tour in 1980 with his all-star circus production, ''Monte Carlo Circus Spectacular'', which visited Australia, Japan and the Far East with a superb selection of Monte Carlo award winners; the Fabulous Farrell Brothers were now established international circus stars!<br /> <br /> Upon their return in 1980, they participated in the [[Circus World Championships]] in London, a BBC television event which, like the Monte Carlo festival, was broadcast all over Europe. Then, for the 1981 season, they were featured in one of the world's most prestigious circuses, the renowned [[Circus Knie]] in Switzerland. The Farrell Brothers returned to the U.S. in 1982 and performed with the [[Royal Hanneford Circus]] in their 1982-1983 season. They gave their last performance with them in Detroit, Michigan.<br /> <br /> ===After the Applause=== <br /> <br /> Farrell and Richard had an amazing career: In a short period of time, they had won one the circus world's most coveted awards, they had toured the world, performed with prestigious shows and, perhaps more importantly, they were still young and had survived a dangerous act without a scar. Farrell and Richard called it quits and parted amicably. They remained in touch throughout their lives.<br /> <br /> Richard went on to be a teacher and became a professor at West Virginia's Wesleyan College in its Low-Residency Master of Fine Arts program. He also penned two books: ''The Aerialist'' a novel published in 2000, and later, ''Life Among Strangers'', a collection of short stories (2019). He retired from teaching in 2020 and now divides his time between his homes in New York and Florida.<br /> <br /> Shortly after leaving the circus, Farrell met Kate German and they happily married in 1988. They had two children, Brooke and Mark. Farrell, who always had a head for numbers, enjoyed financial success as a business owner of several &quot;Fantastic Sam&quot; hair salons in Pinellas County, Florida. Sadly, he had an untimely and ironic death: After astounding the world with his daring performances, he died in his sleep from a heart attack on August 22, 2006, at the too young age of fifty. <br /> <br /> The Hettig circus dynasty, however, didn't die with him: his niece, Rikki Hettig-Rolfe Meaux grew up in Sarasota and, inspired by her uncle Farrell, performed in the Sailor Circus from the first through the twelfth grades. She is now an educator and a second-generation professional circus artist.<br /> <br /> ==See Also==<br /> <br /> * Video: [[Farrell_Brothers_Video_(1979)|The Farrell Brothers, high wire]], at the International Circus Festival of Monte Carlo (1979)<br /> * Video: [[Farrell_Brothers_Video_(1980)|The Farrell Brothers, high wire]], at the Circus World Championships (1980)<br /> <br /> ==Image Gallery==<br /> <br /> &lt;Gallery&gt;<br /> File:Karl_Wallenda.jpg|Karl Wallenda (c.1965)<br /> File:The_Farrell_Brothers.jpg|Farrell Hettig &amp; Richard Schmitt (c.1975)<br /> File:Farrell_Bros.jpg|Rehearsing in Florida (c.1976)<br /> File:Farrell_Brothers_-_Knie.jpg|The Farrell Brothers at Circus Knie (1981)<br /> File:Farrell_Brothers.jpeg|The Farrell Brothers at Circus Knie (1981)<br /> File:Farrell_Bros_Knie_ext.jpg|Publicity stunt at Circus Knie (1981)<br /> &lt;/Gallery&gt;<br /> <br /> [[Category:Artists and Acts|Farrell Brothers]][[Category:Acrobats|Farrell Brothers]][[Category:High Wire|Farrell Brothers]]</div>

Djando https://www.circopedia.org/index.php?title=File:Carillo_Brothers.jpg&diff=46925 2026-10-29T23:00:31Z

<p>Djando: </p> <hr /> <div>Pedro Carrillo jumping over his son, Pedro, Jr., on the high wire (c.1990) &amp;mdash; ''Photo X''<br /> <br /> ==See Also==<br /> <br /> * Biography: [[Carrillo Brothers]]<br /> <br /> [[Category:Photo Archive|Carrillo Brothers]]</div>

Djando https://www.circopedia.org/index.php?title=File:Carillo_Brothers.jpg&diff=46924 2026-10-29T23:00:10Z

<p>Djando: /* See Also */</p> <hr /> <div>Pedro Carillo jumping over his son, Pedro, Jr., on the high wire (c.1990) &amp;mdash; ''Photo X''<br /> <br /> ==See Also==<br /> <br /> * Biography: [[Carrillo Brothers]]<br /> <br /> [[Category:Photo Archive|Carrillo Brothers]]</div>

Djando https://www.circopedia.org/index.php?title=File:Carillo_Brothers_RBBB2.jpg&diff=46923 2026-10-29T22:59:34Z

<p>Djando: </p> <hr /> <div>The Carrillo Brothers performing at Ringling Bros. and Barnum &amp; Bailey (c.1980) &amp;mdash; ''Photo X''<br /> <br /> ==See Also==<br /> <br /> * Biography: [[Carrillo Brothers]]<br /> <br /> [[Category:Photo Archive|Carrillo Brothers]]</div>

Djando https://www.circopedia.org/index.php?title=File:Carillo_Brothers_RBBB2.jpg&diff=46922 2026-10-29T22:59:21Z

<p>Djando: /* See Also */</p> <hr /> <div>The Carillo Brothers performing at Ringling Bros. and Barnum &amp; Bailey (c.1980) &amp;mdash; ''Photo X''<br /> <br /> ==See Also==<br /> <br /> * Biography: [[Carrillo Brothers]]<br /> <br /> [[Category:Photo Archive|Carrillo Brothers]]</div>

Djando https://www.circopedia.org/index.php?title=File:Carillo_RBBB1.jpg&diff=46921 2026-10-29T22:58:58Z

<p>Djando: </p> <hr /> <div>Pedro Carillo on the high wire, jumping over his partner at [[Ringling Bros. and Barnum &amp; Bailey]] Circus (c.1980) &amp;mdash; ''Photo X''<br /> <br /> ==See Also==<br /> <br /> * Biography: [[Carrillo Brothers]]<br /> <br /> [[Category:Photo Archive|Carrillo Brothers]]</div>

Djando https://www.circopedia.org/index.php?title=Carrillo_Brothers&diff=46920 2026-10-29T22:58:39Z

<p>Djando: /* Image Gallery */</p> <hr /> <div>==High Wire==<br /> [[File:Carillo_RBBB1.jpg|right|300px]]<br /> ''By Dominique Jando''<br /> <br /> <br /> The son of a vaquero, Pedro Carrillo was born in 1947 in Colombia. He began his circus career as a roustabout in traveling circuses. In his spare time, he practiced wire-walking and soon become proficient enough to perform on the high wire. Along with Daniel Acosta, another high-wire walker who had followed a similar training path, Pedro joined a newly formed high-wire troupe and toured Colombia, Peru, and Ecuador. In 1967, the troupe came to the United States, where they performed in fairs and traveling circuses. <br /> <br /> Having honed their skills and acquired performance experience, Pedro and Daniel created their own high-wire duet, The Carrillo Brothers. They performed, at great speed, rarely seen tricks, such as a two-man-high column with a dismount on the wire, jumps over each other, and rope-jumping&amp;mdash;all without a net, and most of the time without a balance pole. [[Harold Alzana]], [[The Great Doval]] (Manfred Fritsch), and [[Gene Mendez]] and Joe Seitz had popularized this style of frenetic high-wire daredevilry, but when the Carrillo Brothers began performing their act, it was still a novelty.<br /> <br /> The Carrillo Brothers quickly made their mark. In 1977, they were featured as a solo act in [[Ringling Bros. and Barnum &amp; Bailey]]'s ''Greatest Show On Earth''. That same year, they participated in the [[International Circus Festival of Monte Carlo]], where they became a sensation and won a Silver Clown award. Later in the year, Daniel Acosta seriously injured himself in a fall during a performance with Ringling Bros. Luis Posso, who was born to a family of Colombian high-wire artists, replaced him.<br /> <br /> The Carrillo Brothers remained with ''The Greatest Show On Earth'' until 1984. In 1985, they were featured at the [[Big Apple Circus]] and in a PBS TV special, ''The Pops Join the Circus'', with the Boston Pops Esplanade Orchestra.<br /> <br /> Pedro Carrillo continued a brilliant international career with various partners, the last being his son Pedro, Jr., with whom he worked until 1994. The following year, Pedro Carrillo, Jr. struck out on his own, creating a new high-wire act, [[The Carrillos]].<br /> <br /> Still, his father hadn't hung up his balance pole yet. Pedro Carrillo continued to perform, doing spectacular crossings on the high wire. In 2007, at age 60, he participated in a high-wire competition as part of the Hi Seoul Festival in South Korea. The challenge was to walk as quickly as possible across a kilometer-long (3,280 feet) cable stretched over the Huan River, 22 meters above the water. He finished in eighth place, completing the walk in just over seventeen minutes.<br /> <br /> ==See Also==<br /> <br /> * Video: [[Carrillo Brothers BAC Video (1984)|The Carrillo Brothers (Pedro Carrillo and Luis Posso)]], Big Apple Circus, 1984<br /> <br /> ==Image Gallery==<br /> <br /> &lt;Gallery&gt;<br /> File:Carillo_RBBB1.jpg|Pedro Carrillo (c.1980)<br /> File:Carillo_Brothers_RBBB2.jpg|The Carrillo Brothers (c.1980)<br /> File:Carillo_Brothers.jpg|Pedro Carrillo and Pedro, Jr. (c.1990)<br /> &lt;/Gallery&gt;<br /> <br /> [[Category:Artists and Acts|Carrillo Brothers]]<br /> [[Category:High Wire|Carrillo Brothers]]</div>

Djando https://www.circopedia.org/index.php?title=Carrillo_Brothers&diff=46919 2026-10-29T22:57:26Z

<p>Djando: /* Image Gallery */</p> <hr /> <div>==High Wire==<br /> [[File:Carillo_RBBB1.jpg|right|300px]]<br /> ''By Dominique Jando''<br /> <br /> <br /> The son of a vaquero, Pedro Carrillo was born in 1947 in Colombia. He began his circus career as a roustabout in traveling circuses. In his spare time, he practiced wire-walking and soon become proficient enough to perform on the high wire. Along with Daniel Acosta, another high-wire walker who had followed a similar training path, Pedro joined a newly formed high-wire troupe and toured Colombia, Peru, and Ecuador. In 1967, the troupe came to the United States, where they performed in fairs and traveling circuses. <br /> <br /> Having honed their skills and acquired performance experience, Pedro and Daniel created their own high-wire duet, The Carrillo Brothers. They performed, at great speed, rarely seen tricks, such as a two-man-high column with a dismount on the wire, jumps over each other, and rope-jumping&amp;mdash;all without a net, and most of the time without a balance pole. [[Harold Alzana]], [[The Great Doval]] (Manfred Fritsch), and [[Gene Mendez]] and Joe Seitz had popularized this style of frenetic high-wire daredevilry, but when the Carrillo Brothers began performing their act, it was still a novelty.<br /> <br /> The Carrillo Brothers quickly made their mark. In 1977, they were featured as a solo act in [[Ringling Bros. and Barnum &amp; Bailey]]'s ''Greatest Show On Earth''. That same year, they participated in the [[International Circus Festival of Monte Carlo]], where they became a sensation and won a Silver Clown award. Later in the year, Daniel Acosta seriously injured himself in a fall during a performance with Ringling Bros. Luis Posso, who was born to a family of Colombian high-wire artists, replaced him.<br /> <br /> The Carrillo Brothers remained with ''The Greatest Show On Earth'' until 1984. In 1985, they were featured at the [[Big Apple Circus]] and in a PBS TV special, ''The Pops Join the Circus'', with the Boston Pops Esplanade Orchestra.<br /> <br /> Pedro Carrillo continued a brilliant international career with various partners, the last being his son Pedro, Jr., with whom he worked until 1994. The following year, Pedro Carrillo, Jr. struck out on his own, creating a new high-wire act, [[The Carrillos]].<br /> <br /> Still, his father hadn't hung up his balance pole yet. Pedro Carrillo continued to perform, doing spectacular crossings on the high wire. In 2007, at age 60, he participated in a high-wire competition as part of the Hi Seoul Festival in South Korea. The challenge was to walk as quickly as possible across a kilometer-long (3,280 feet) cable stretched over the Huan River, 22 meters above the water. He finished in eighth place, completing the walk in just over seventeen minutes.<br /> <br /> ==See Also==<br /> <br /> * Video: [[Carrillo Brothers BAC Video (1984)|The Carrillo Brothers (Pedro Carrillo and Luis Posso)]], Big Apple Circus, 1984<br /> <br /> ==Image Gallery==<br /> <br /> &lt;Gallery&gt;<br /> File:Carillo_RBBB1.jpg|Pedro Carillo (c.1980)<br /> File:Carillo_Brothers_RBBB2.jpg|The Carillo Brothers (c.1980)<br /> File:Carillo_Brothers.jpg|Pedro Carillo and Pedro, Jr. (c.1990)<br /> &lt;/Gallery&gt;<br /> <br /> [[Category:Artists and Acts|Carrillo Brothers]]<br /> [[Category:High Wire|Carrillo Brothers]]</div>

Djando https://www.circopedia.org/index.php?title=File:Carillo_Brothers.jpg&diff=46918 2026-10-29T22:56:13Z

<p>Djando: </p> <hr /> <div>Pedro Carillo jumping over his son, Pedro, Jr., on the high wire (c.1990) &amp;mdash; ''Photo X''<br /> <br /> ==See Also==<br /> <br /> * Biography: [[Carillo Brothers]]<br /> <br /> [[Category:Photo Archive|Carillo Brothers]]</div>

Djando https://www.circopedia.org/index.php?title=File:Carillo_Brothers.jpg&diff=46917 2026-10-29T22:54:50Z

<p>Djando: Pedro Carillo jumping over his son, Pedro, Jr., on the high wire (c.1990) &amp;mdash; ''Photo X''</p> <hr /> <div>Pedro Carillo jumping over his son, Pedro, Jr., on the high wire (c.1990) &amp;mdash; ''Photo X''</div>

Djando https://www.circopedia.org/index.php?title=Carrillo_Brothers&diff=46916 2026-10-29T22:51:10Z

<p>Djando: </p> <hr /> <div>==High Wire==<br /> [[File:Carillo_RBBB1.jpg|right|300px]]<br /> ''By Dominique Jando''<br /> <br /> <br /> The son of a vaquero, Pedro Carrillo was born in 1947 in Colombia. He began his circus career as a roustabout in traveling circuses. In his spare time, he practiced wire-walking and soon become proficient enough to perform on the high wire. Along with Daniel Acosta, another high-wire walker who had followed a similar training path, Pedro joined a newly formed high-wire troupe and toured Colombia, Peru, and Ecuador. In 1967, the troupe came to the United States, where they performed in fairs and traveling circuses. <br /> <br /> Having honed their skills and acquired performance experience, Pedro and Daniel created their own high-wire duet, The Carrillo Brothers. They performed, at great speed, rarely seen tricks, such as a two-man-high column with a dismount on the wire, jumps over each other, and rope-jumping&amp;mdash;all without a net, and most of the time without a balance pole. [[Harold Alzana]], [[The Great Doval]] (Manfred Fritsch), and [[Gene Mendez]] and Joe Seitz had popularized this style of frenetic high-wire daredevilry, but when the Carrillo Brothers began performing their act, it was still a novelty.<br /> <br /> The Carrillo Brothers quickly made their mark. In 1977, they were featured as a solo act in [[Ringling Bros. and Barnum &amp; Bailey]]'s ''Greatest Show On Earth''. That same year, they participated in the [[International Circus Festival of Monte Carlo]], where they became a sensation and won a Silver Clown award. Later in the year, Daniel Acosta seriously injured himself in a fall during a performance with Ringling Bros. Luis Posso, who was born to a family of Colombian high-wire artists, replaced him.<br /> <br /> The Carrillo Brothers remained with ''The Greatest Show On Earth'' until 1984. In 1985, they were featured at the [[Big Apple Circus]] and in a PBS TV special, ''The Pops Join the Circus'', with the Boston Pops Esplanade Orchestra.<br /> <br /> Pedro Carrillo continued a brilliant international career with various partners, the last being his son Pedro, Jr., with whom he worked until 1994. The following year, Pedro Carrillo, Jr. struck out on his own, creating a new high-wire act, [[The Carrillos]].<br /> <br /> Still, his father hadn't hung up his balance pole yet. Pedro Carrillo continued to perform, doing spectacular crossings on the high wire. In 2007, at age 60, he participated in a high-wire competition as part of the Hi Seoul Festival in South Korea. The challenge was to walk as quickly as possible across a kilometer-long (3,280 feet) cable stretched over the Huan River, 22 meters above the water. He finished in eighth place, completing the walk in just over seventeen minutes.<br /> <br /> ==See Also==<br /> <br /> * Video: [[Carrillo Brothers BAC Video (1984)|The Carrillo Brothers (Pedro Carrillo and Luis Posso)]], Big Apple Circus, 1984<br /> <br /> ==Image Gallery==<br /> <br /> &lt;Gallery&gt;<br /> File:Carillo_RBBB1.jpg|Pedro Carillo (c.1980)<br /> File:Carillo_Brothers_RBBB2.jpg|The Carillo Brothers (c.1980)<br /> &lt;/Gallery&gt;<br /> <br /> [[Category:Artists and Acts|Carrillo Brothers]]<br /> [[Category:High Wire|Carrillo Brothers]]</div>

Djando https://www.circopedia.org/index.php?title=Carrillo_Brothers&diff=46915 2026-10-29T22:48:14Z

<p>Djando: /* Image Gallery */</p> <hr /> <div>==High Wire==<br /> [[File:Carillo_RBBB1.jpg|right|300px]]<br /> ''By Dominique Jando''<br /> The son of a vaquero, Pedro Carrillo was born in 1947 in Colombia. He began his circus career as a roustabout in traveling circuses. In his spare time, he practiced wire-walking and soon become proficient enough to perform on the high wire. Along with Daniel Acosta, another high-wire walker who had followed a similar training path, Pedro joined a newly formed high-wire troupe and toured Colombia, Peru, and Ecuador. In 1967, the troupe came to the United States, where they performed in fairs and traveling circuses. <br /> <br /> Having honed their skills and acquired performance experience, Pedro and Daniel created their own high-wire duet, The Carrillo Brothers. They performed, at great speed, rarely seen tricks, such as a two-man-high column with a dismount on the wire, jumps over each other, and rope-jumping&amp;mdash;all without a net, and most of the time without a balance pole. [[Harold Alzana]], [[The Great Doval]] (Manfred Fritsch), and [[Gene Mendez]] and Joe Seitz had popularized this style of frenetic high-wire daredevilry, but when the Carrillo Brothers began performing their act, it was still a novelty.<br /> <br /> The Carrillo Brothers quickly made their mark. In 1977, they were featured as a solo act in [[Ringling Bros. and Barnum &amp; Bailey]]'s ''Greatest Show On Earth''. That same year, they participated in the [[International Circus Festival of Monte Carlo]], where they became a sensation and won a Silver Clown award. Later in the year, Daniel Acosta seriously injured himself in a fall during a performance with Ringling Bros. Luis Posso, who was born to a family of Colombian high-wire artists, replaced him.<br /> <br /> The Carrillo Brothers remained with ''The Greatest Show On Earth'' until 1984. In 1985, they were featured at the [[Big Apple Circus]] and in a PBS TV special, ''The Pops Join the Circus'', with the Boston Pops Esplanade Orchestra.<br /> <br /> Pedro Carrillo continued a brilliant international career with various partners, the last being his son Pedro, Jr., with whom he worked until 1994. The following year, Pedro Carrillo, Jr. struck out on his own, creating a new high-wire act, [[The Carrillos]].<br /> <br /> Still, his father hadn't hung up his balance pole yet. Pedro Carrillo continued to perform, doing spectacular crossings on the high wire. In 2007, at age 60, he participated in a high-wire competition as part of the Hi Seoul Festival in South Korea. The challenge was to walk as quickly as possible across a kilometer-long (3,280 feet) cable stretched over the Huan River, 22 meters above the water. He finished in eighth place, completing the walk in just over seventeen minutes.<br /> <br /> ==See Also==<br /> <br /> * Video: [[Carrillo Brothers BAC Video (1984)|The Carrillo Brothers (Pedro Carrillo and Luis Posso)]], Big Apple Circus, 1984<br /> <br /> ==Image Gallery==<br /> <br /> &lt;Gallery&gt;<br /> File:Carillo_RBBB1.jpg|Pedro Carillo (c.1980)<br /> File:Carillo_Brothers_RBBB2.jpg|The Carillo Brothers (c.1980)<br /> &lt;/Gallery&gt;<br /> <br /> [[Category:Artists and Acts|Carrillo Brothers]]<br /> [[Category:High Wire|Carrillo Brothers]]</div>

Djando https://www.circopedia.org/index.php?title=File:Carillo_Brothers_RBBB2.jpg&diff=46914 2026-10-29T22:47:33Z

<p>Djando: </p> <hr /> <div>The Carillo Brothers performing at Ringling Bros. and Barnum &amp; Bailey (c.1980) &amp;mdash; ''Photo X''<br /> <br /> ==See Also==<br /> <br /> * Biography: [[Carillo Brothers]]<br /> <br /> [[Category:Photo Archive|Carillo Brothers]]</div>

Djando https://www.circopedia.org/index.php?title=File:Carillo_Brothers_RBBB2.jpg&diff=46913 2026-10-29T22:46:16Z

<p>Djando: The Carillo Brothers performing at Ringling Bros. and Barnum &amp; Bailey (c.1980) &amp;mdash; ''Photo X''</p> <hr /> <div>The Carillo Brothers performing at Ringling Bros. and Barnum &amp; Bailey (c.1980) &amp;mdash; ''Photo X''</div>

Djando https://www.circopedia.org/index.php?title=Carrillo_Brothers&diff=46912 2026-10-29T22:44:25Z

<p>Djando: </p> <hr /> <div>==High Wire==<br /> [[File:Carillo_RBBB1.jpg|right|300px]]<br /> ''By Dominique Jando''<br /> The son of a vaquero, Pedro Carrillo was born in 1947 in Colombia. He began his circus career as a roustabout in traveling circuses. In his spare time, he practiced wire-walking and soon become proficient enough to perform on the high wire. Along with Daniel Acosta, another high-wire walker who had followed a similar training path, Pedro joined a newly formed high-wire troupe and toured Colombia, Peru, and Ecuador. In 1967, the troupe came to the United States, where they performed in fairs and traveling circuses. <br /> <br /> Having honed their skills and acquired performance experience, Pedro and Daniel created their own high-wire duet, The Carrillo Brothers. They performed, at great speed, rarely seen tricks, such as a two-man-high column with a dismount on the wire, jumps over each other, and rope-jumping&amp;mdash;all without a net, and most of the time without a balance pole. [[Harold Alzana]], [[The Great Doval]] (Manfred Fritsch), and [[Gene Mendez]] and Joe Seitz had popularized this style of frenetic high-wire daredevilry, but when the Carrillo Brothers began performing their act, it was still a novelty.<br /> <br /> The Carrillo Brothers quickly made their mark. In 1977, they were featured as a solo act in [[Ringling Bros. and Barnum &amp; Bailey]]'s ''Greatest Show On Earth''. That same year, they participated in the [[International Circus Festival of Monte Carlo]], where they became a sensation and won a Silver Clown award. Later in the year, Daniel Acosta seriously injured himself in a fall during a performance with Ringling Bros. Luis Posso, who was born to a family of Colombian high-wire artists, replaced him.<br /> <br /> The Carrillo Brothers remained with ''The Greatest Show On Earth'' until 1984. In 1985, they were featured at the [[Big Apple Circus]] and in a PBS TV special, ''The Pops Join the Circus'', with the Boston Pops Esplanade Orchestra.<br /> <br /> Pedro Carrillo continued a brilliant international career with various partners, the last being his son Pedro, Jr., with whom he worked until 1994. The following year, Pedro Carrillo, Jr. struck out on his own, creating a new high-wire act, [[The Carrillos]].<br /> <br /> Still, his father hadn't hung up his balance pole yet. Pedro Carrillo continued to perform, doing spectacular crossings on the high wire. In 2007, at age 60, he participated in a high-wire competition as part of the Hi Seoul Festival in South Korea. The challenge was to walk as quickly as possible across a kilometer-long (3,280 feet) cable stretched over the Huan River, 22 meters above the water. He finished in eighth place, completing the walk in just over seventeen minutes.<br /> <br /> ==See Also==<br /> <br /> * Video: [[Carrillo Brothers BAC Video (1984)|The Carrillo Brothers (Pedro Carrillo and Luis Posso)]], Big Apple Circus, 1984<br /> <br /> ==Image Gallery==<br /> <br /> &lt;Gallery&gt;<br /> File:Carillo_RBBB1.jpg|Pedro Carillo (c.1980)<br /> &lt;/Gallery&gt;<br /> <br /> [[Category:Artists and Acts|Carrillo Brothers]]<br /> [[Category:High Wire|Carrillo Brothers]]</div>

Djando https://www.circopedia.org/index.php?title=Carrillo_Brothers&diff=46911 2026-10-29T22:44:04Z

<p>Djando: </p> <hr /> <div>==High Wire==<br /> <br /> ''By Dominique Jando''<br /> <br /> [[File:Carillo_RBBB1.jpg|righ|300px]]<br /> The son of a vaquero, Pedro Carrillo was born in 1947 in Colombia. He began his circus career as a roustabout in traveling circuses. In his spare time, he practiced wire-walking and soon become proficient enough to perform on the high wire. Along with Daniel Acosta, another high-wire walker who had followed a similar training path, Pedro joined a newly formed high-wire troupe and toured Colombia, Peru, and Ecuador. In 1967, the troupe came to the United States, where they performed in fairs and traveling circuses. <br /> <br /> Having honed their skills and acquired performance experience, Pedro and Daniel created their own high-wire duet, The Carrillo Brothers. They performed, at great speed, rarely seen tricks, such as a two-man-high column with a dismount on the wire, jumps over each other, and rope-jumping&amp;mdash;all without a net, and most of the time without a balance pole. [[Harold Alzana]], [[The Great Doval]] (Manfred Fritsch), and [[Gene Mendez]] and Joe Seitz had popularized this style of frenetic high-wire daredevilry, but when the Carrillo Brothers began performing their act, it was still a novelty.<br /> <br /> The Carrillo Brothers quickly made their mark. In 1977, they were featured as a solo act in [[Ringling Bros. and Barnum &amp; Bailey]]'s ''Greatest Show On Earth''. That same year, they participated in the [[International Circus Festival of Monte Carlo]], where they became a sensation and won a Silver Clown award. Later in the year, Daniel Acosta seriously injured himself in a fall during a performance with Ringling Bros. Luis Posso, who was born to a family of Colombian high-wire artists, replaced him.<br /> <br /> The Carrillo Brothers remained with ''The Greatest Show On Earth'' until 1984. In 1985, they were featured at the [[Big Apple Circus]] and in a PBS TV special, ''The Pops Join the Circus'', with the Boston Pops Esplanade Orchestra.<br /> <br /> Pedro Carrillo continued a brilliant international career with various partners, the last being his son Pedro, Jr., with whom he worked until 1994. The following year, Pedro Carrillo, Jr. struck out on his own, creating a new high-wire act, [[The Carrillos]].<br /> <br /> Still, his father hadn't hung up his balance pole yet. Pedro Carrillo continued to perform, doing spectacular crossings on the high wire. In 2007, at age 60, he participated in a high-wire competition as part of the Hi Seoul Festival in South Korea. The challenge was to walk as quickly as possible across a kilometer-long (3,280 feet) cable stretched over the Huan River, 22 meters above the water. He finished in eighth place, completing the walk in just over seventeen minutes.<br /> <br /> ==See Also==<br /> <br /> * Video: [[Carrillo Brothers BAC Video (1984)|The Carrillo Brothers (Pedro Carrillo and Luis Posso)]], Big Apple Circus, 1984<br /> <br /> ==Image Gallery==<br /> <br /> &lt;Gallery&gt;<br /> File:Carillo_RBBB1.jpg|Pedro Carillo (c.1980)<br /> &lt;/Gallery&gt;<br /> <br /> [[Category:Artists and Acts|Carrillo Brothers]]<br /> [[Category:High Wire|Carrillo Brothers]]</div>

Djando https://www.circopedia.org/index.php?title=Carrillo_Brothers&diff=46910 2026-10-29T22:43:50Z

<p>Djando: </p> <hr /> <div>[[File:Carillo_RBBB1.jpg|righ|300px]]<br /> ==High Wire==<br /> <br /> ''By Dominique Jando''<br /> <br /> <br /> The son of a vaquero, Pedro Carrillo was born in 1947 in Colombia. He began his circus career as a roustabout in traveling circuses. In his spare time, he practiced wire-walking and soon become proficient enough to perform on the high wire. Along with Daniel Acosta, another high-wire walker who had followed a similar training path, Pedro joined a newly formed high-wire troupe and toured Colombia, Peru, and Ecuador. In 1967, the troupe came to the United States, where they performed in fairs and traveling circuses. <br /> <br /> Having honed their skills and acquired performance experience, Pedro and Daniel created their own high-wire duet, The Carrillo Brothers. They performed, at great speed, rarely seen tricks, such as a two-man-high column with a dismount on the wire, jumps over each other, and rope-jumping&amp;mdash;all without a net, and most of the time without a balance pole. [[Harold Alzana]], [[The Great Doval]] (Manfred Fritsch), and [[Gene Mendez]] and Joe Seitz had popularized this style of frenetic high-wire daredevilry, but when the Carrillo Brothers began performing their act, it was still a novelty.<br /> <br /> The Carrillo Brothers quickly made their mark. In 1977, they were featured as a solo act in [[Ringling Bros. and Barnum &amp; Bailey]]'s ''Greatest Show On Earth''. That same year, they participated in the [[International Circus Festival of Monte Carlo]], where they became a sensation and won a Silver Clown award. Later in the year, Daniel Acosta seriously injured himself in a fall during a performance with Ringling Bros. Luis Posso, who was born to a family of Colombian high-wire artists, replaced him.<br /> <br /> The Carrillo Brothers remained with ''The Greatest Show On Earth'' until 1984. In 1985, they were featured at the [[Big Apple Circus]] and in a PBS TV special, ''The Pops Join the Circus'', with the Boston Pops Esplanade Orchestra.<br /> <br /> Pedro Carrillo continued a brilliant international career with various partners, the last being his son Pedro, Jr., with whom he worked until 1994. The following year, Pedro Carrillo, Jr. struck out on his own, creating a new high-wire act, [[The Carrillos]].<br /> <br /> Still, his father hadn't hung up his balance pole yet. Pedro Carrillo continued to perform, doing spectacular crossings on the high wire. In 2007, at age 60, he participated in a high-wire competition as part of the Hi Seoul Festival in South Korea. The challenge was to walk as quickly as possible across a kilometer-long (3,280 feet) cable stretched over the Huan River, 22 meters above the water. He finished in eighth place, completing the walk in just over seventeen minutes.<br /> <br /> ==See Also==<br /> <br /> * Video: [[Carrillo Brothers BAC Video (1984)|The Carrillo Brothers (Pedro Carrillo and Luis Posso)]], Big Apple Circus, 1984<br /> <br /> ==Image Gallery==<br /> <br /> &lt;Gallery&gt;<br /> File:Carillo_RBBB1.jpg|Pedro Carillo (c.1980)<br /> &lt;/Gallery&gt;<br /> <br /> [[Category:Artists and Acts|Carrillo Brothers]]<br /> [[Category:High Wire|Carrillo Brothers]]</div>

Djando https://www.circopedia.org/index.php?title=Carrillo_Brothers&diff=46909 2026-10-29T22:43:00Z

<p>Djando: </p> <hr /> <div>==High Wire==<br /> <br /> ''By Dominique Jando''<br /> <br /> <br /> The son of a vaquero, Pedro Carrillo was born in 1947 in Colombia. He began his circus career as a roustabout in traveling circuses. In his spare time, he practiced wire-walking and soon become proficient enough to perform on the high wire. Along with Daniel Acosta, another high-wire walker who had followed a similar training path, Pedro joined a newly formed high-wire troupe and toured Colombia, Peru, and Ecuador. In 1967, the troupe came to the United States, where they performed in fairs and traveling circuses. <br /> <br /> Having honed their skills and acquired performance experience, Pedro and Daniel created their own high-wire duet, The Carrillo Brothers. They performed, at great speed, rarely seen tricks, such as a two-man-high column with a dismount on the wire, jumps over each other, and rope-jumping&amp;mdash;all without a net, and most of the time without a balance pole. [[Harold Alzana]], [[The Great Doval]] (Manfred Fritsch), and [[Gene Mendez]] and Joe Seitz had popularized this style of frenetic high-wire daredevilry, but when the Carrillo Brothers began performing their act, it was still a novelty.<br /> <br /> The Carrillo Brothers quickly made their mark. In 1977, they were featured as a solo act in [[Ringling Bros. and Barnum &amp; Bailey]]'s ''Greatest Show On Earth''. That same year, they participated in the [[International Circus Festival of Monte Carlo]], where they became a sensation and won a Silver Clown award. Later in the year, Daniel Acosta seriously injured himself in a fall during a performance with Ringling Bros. Luis Posso, who was born to a family of Colombian high-wire artists, replaced him.<br /> <br /> The Carrillo Brothers remained with ''The Greatest Show On Earth'' until 1984. In 1985, they were featured at the [[Big Apple Circus]] and in a PBS TV special, ''The Pops Join the Circus'', with the Boston Pops Esplanade Orchestra.<br /> <br /> Pedro Carrillo continued a brilliant international career with various partners, the last being his son Pedro, Jr., with whom he worked until 1994. The following year, Pedro Carrillo, Jr. struck out on his own, creating a new high-wire act, [[The Carrillos]].<br /> <br /> Still, his father hadn't hung up his balance pole yet. Pedro Carrillo continued to perform, doing spectacular crossings on the high wire. In 2007, at age 60, he participated in a high-wire competition as part of the Hi Seoul Festival in South Korea. The challenge was to walk as quickly as possible across a kilometer-long (3,280 feet) cable stretched over the Huan River, 22 meters above the water. He finished in eighth place, completing the walk in just over seventeen minutes.<br /> <br /> ==See Also==<br /> <br /> * Video: [[Carrillo Brothers BAC Video (1984)|The Carrillo Brothers (Pedro Carrillo and Luis Posso)]], Big Apple Circus, 1984<br /> <br /> ==Image Gallery==<br /> <br /> &lt;Gallery&gt;<br /> File:Carillo_RBBB1.jpg|Pedro Carillo (c.1980)<br /> &lt;/Gallery&gt;<br /> <br /> [[Category:Artists and Acts|Carrillo Brothers]]<br /> [[Category:High Wire|Carrillo Brothers]]</div>

Djando https://www.circopedia.org/index.php?title=File:Carillo_RBBB1.jpg&diff=46908 2026-10-29T22:41:20Z

<p>Djando: </p> <hr /> <div>Pedro Carillo on the high wire, jumping over his partner at [[Ringling Bros. and Barnum &amp; Bailey]] Circus (c.1980) &amp;mdash; ''Photo X''<br /> <br /> ==See Also==<br /> <br /> * Biography: [[Carillo Brothers]]<br /> <br /> [[Category:Photo Archive|Carillo Brothers]]</div>

Djando https://www.circopedia.org/index.php?title=File:Carillo_RBBB1.jpg&diff=46907 2026-10-29T22:39:22Z

<p>Djando: The Carillo Brothers at Ringling Bros. and Barnum &amp; Bailey Circus (c.1980) &amp;mdash; ''Photo X''</p> <hr /> <div>The Carillo Brothers at [[Ringling Bros. and Barnum &amp; Bailey]] Circus (c.1980) &amp;mdash; ''Photo X''</div>

Djando https://www.circopedia.org/index.php?title=Nathalie_Enterline&diff=46904 2026-10-29T20:12:42Z

<p>Djando: </p> <hr /> <div>[[File:Nathalie_Enterline.png|right|300px]]<br /> ==Juggler, Dancer==<br /> <br /> ''By Dominique Jando''<br /> <br /> <br /> Born in Milton, Pennsylvania (United States), Nathalie Enterline began her dance training at age three at the Enterline Performing Arts Center in Milton and with the Williamsport Civic Ballet, which were both owned and operated by her parents. She also became a baton twirler, and competed nationally and internationally in the 1970s, winning the World Championships in 1978.<br /> <br /> She then moved to New York City to further her dance training at the New York School of Ballet. At the same time, she was performing a baton-twirling act, and in 1980, while appearing in Montreal, Canada, she met the legendary juggler [[Francis Brunn]] (1922-2004). This was the beginning of a life-long romance and collaboration that lasted until Brunn’s death, in 2004.<br /> <br /> She became Brunn’s all-important partner, feeding him props at lightning speed during his amazing fast-tempo act. Meanwhile, Brunn helped Nathalie develop a remarkable hat-and-cane juggling act in which she could use her unique talents as both a dancer and a baton-twirler.<br /> <br /> She premiered her act professionally at the [[Big Apple Circus]] in New York in November 1983, where she shared the bill with Francis Brunn. It was an immediate sensation, and [[Paul Binder]], the circus’s founder and artistic director, decided to send her in January 1984 to the [[Festival Mondial du Cirque de Demain]] in Paris, to represent the Big Apple Circus. To Brunn’s surprise and delight (and Nathalie’s), she won a Gold Medal.<br /> <br /> Nathalie’s long career, which has often paralleled that of Francis Brunn, took her to some of the world’s most prestigious nightclubs, varieté theaters and circuses, including the Lido of Paris; TigerPalast in Frankfurt; the prestigious ''Bal de la Rose'' in Monte-Carlo, where she performed for Prince Rainier III of Monaco; [[Circus Scott]] in Sweden; [[Circo Tihany]] in Mexico; [[Salto Natale]] in Switzerland; ''Incognito Flamenco'', a show conceived by Francis Brunn, in Frankfurt, Germany; and more recently, Paris’s [[Cirque d’Hiver]]-[[The Bouglione Family|Bouglione]].<br /> <br /> ==See Also==<br /> <br /> * Video: [[Nathalie_Enterline_Video_(1984)|Nathalie Enterline, Hat and Cane Juggling]] at the Festival Mondial du Cirque de Demain in Paris (1984)<br /> * Video: [[Nathalie_Enterline_Video_(1997)|Nathalie Enterline, Hat and Cane Juggling]] in the Big Apple Circus production of ''Twenty Years!'' (1997)<br /> <br /> ==Image Gallery==<br /> <br /> &lt;Gallery&gt;<br /> File:Nathalie_Enterline.png|Natalie Enterline (c.1995)<br /> &lt;/Gallery&gt;<br /> <br /> [[Category:Artists and Acts|Enterline, Nathalie]][[Category:Jugglers|Enterline, Nathalie]][[Category:Baton Twirlers|Enterline, Nathalie]]</div>

Djando https://www.circopedia.org/index.php?title=Main_Page&diff=46903 2026-10-29T19:33:41Z

<p>Djando: </p> <hr /> <div>__NOTOC__ __NOEDITSECTION__<br /> &lt;!-- <br /> <br /> ------------------------------Banner across top of page------------------------------&gt;<br /> {| id=&quot;mp-topbanner&quot; style=&quot;width:100%; background:#fcfcfc; margin-top:1.2em; border:1px solid #ccc;&quot;<br /> |style=&quot;width:56%; color:#0000&quot;| &lt;!-- <br /> <br /> -----------&quot;Welcome to Circopedia&quot; and article count----------&gt;<br /> {| style=&quot;width:100%; border:solid 0px; background:none;&quot;<br /> |style=&quot;width:500px; text-align:center; white-space:nowrap; color:#000;&quot;|<br /> &lt;br&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font-size:175%; border:none; margin:0; padding:.1em; color:#996666;&quot;&gt;Welcome! ✫ Bienvenue! ✫ Willkommen! ✫ Добро Пожаловать!&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font-size:175%; border:none; margin:0; padding:.1em; color:#996666;&quot;&gt;Bienvenida! ✫ Benvenuto! ✫ 歡迎 ! ✫ Vítejte! ✫ Καλώς ήρθατ<br /> ε!&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font-size:175%; border:none; margin:0; padding:.1em; color:#996666;&quot;&gt;Üdvözöljük! ✫ Добре Дошли! ✫ Welkom! ✫ Ласкаво Просимо!&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font-size:165%; border:none; margin:0; padding:.1em; color:#996666;&quot;&gt;Velkommen! ✫ Tervetuloa! ✫ Дабро Запрашаем! ✫ Välkommen!&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br/&gt;<br /> &lt;div style=&quot;top:+0.2em; font-size:98%;&quot;&gt; ''Circopedia is an independent educational website, initially created as a project of the original, non-profit [[Big Apple Circus]]''.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br/&gt;<br /> |}<br /> |}<br /> ==In The Spotlight==<br /> <br /> ===CIRCUS MEDRANO-SWOBODA===<br /> [[File:Medrano-Swoboda-1936.jpeg|right|400px]]<br /> Between the two World Wars, Circus Medrano aus Wien was one of Austria’s most important circuses. Its fame owed much to the Medrano Sisters&amp;mdash;Therese, Wanda, and Anita Swoboda&amp;mdash;whose celebrated equestrian act appeared in leading circuses and variety theaters throughout Europe. Despite sharing its name with the legendary Parisian circus, the Austrian Circus Medrano had no connection to it. It was “the other Medrano”&amp;mdash;and remains so today, as the title has survived and, as of 2011, belongs to the Italian Casartelli family.<br /> <br /> Its founder, Ludwig Swoboda (1881-1952), was born on December 9, 1881 in Dürnbach, Burgenland, in what was then the Hungarian part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire (Dürnbach became part of Austria in 1918). His parents were of Czechoslovakian descent and although they didn’t come from a circus family, they owned a small circus that traveled in the Austro-Hungarian Empire. They always called Ludwig, who was born in the family’s horse-drawn living wagon, Lajos&amp;mdash;the Hungarian equivalent of his German name. <br /> <br /> Ludwig received a traditional circus education within his family and was trained in all facets of circus arts, from tumbling to equestrianism. He grew into an ambitious young man and, at twenty-three, he decided to run his own circus. ''Zirkus Lajos'', as he called it, opened in Vienna on June 3, 1904. It was not yet an important enterprise when Ludwig Swoboda married Therese Karfiol (1893-1971) on January 16, 1912 in Vienna. Therese was fifth-generation of an old family of comedians and entertainers, allied to the Czech Berouzek (Berosini) circus family; she was an equestrienne and she knew the circus business in and out. Therese would be instrumental in the management and development of her husband’s circus.<br /> <br /> In 1914, at the outset of the First World War, Ludwig was drafted into the Imperial Army and the circus went into a long hibernation. The war over, Zirkus Lajos finally reopened; the year was 1919, and it started its tour in its home city of Vienna, where it played during the Easter season. After the deadly conflict that had devastated Europe, popular entertainment was much in demand, and circuses were flourishing; under the management of Ludwig and Therese Swoboda, Zirkus Lajos was no exception, and by 1920, it performed under a large, two-pole big top and was one of Austria’s largest circuses..... ([[Circus Medrano-Swoboda|more...]])<br /> <br /> ==New Essays and Biographies==<br /> <br /> * [[Farrell_Brothers|The Farrell Brothers]], high wire<br /> * [[The Blumenfeld Family]], circus owners, artists<br /> * [[Émilien Bouglione/fr|Émilien Bouglione]], equestrian, circus owner (French version)<br /> * [[Kremo Family]], icarists<br /> * [[The Ziratron]], Israel's first Circus<br /> <br /> ==New Videos==<br /> <br /> * [[Kidanu_and_Tehabe_Video_(2026)|Kidanu &amp; Tehabe]], Risley act (2026)<br /> * [[Yasmine_Smart_-_Liberty_Video_(1992)|Yasmine Smart]], liberty act (1992)<br /> * [[Rustam_Gazzaev_-_Bisons_Video_(2024)|Rustam Gazzaev]], trained bisons (2024)<br /> * [[Katunin_and_Petrova_Video_(2026)|Viktor Katunin &amp; Diana Petrova]], strap act (2026)<br /> * [[Yusupov Video (2026)| Feruz Yusupov]], strongman act (2026)<br /> <br /> ==New Oral Histories==<br /> <br /> * [[Evelyn_and_André_Interview_(2025)|Evelyn &amp; André]] Interview by the Fővárosi Nagycirkusz (2025)<br /> * [[Bouglione_Video_(2013)|The Bouglione Family]] France 3 TV documentary (2013)<br /> * [[Gneushev_Video_(c.1990)|Valentin Gneushev interview]] on Russian Television (c.1990)<br /> * [[Dominique_Jando_Video_(2025)|Dominique Jando interview]] by the Circus Historical Society (2025)<br /> * [[Evelyn_and_Andre_Video_(2015)|Evelyn &amp; André Interview]] on Blikk TV (2015)<br /> <br /> ==Circopedia Books==<br /> <br /> * [[Circopedia Books|Philip Astley &amp; The Horsemen who invented the Circus]], by Dominique Jando (2018)<br /> <br /> ==A Message from the Founder==<br /> <br /> ''CIRCOPEDIA is a constantly evolving and expanding archive of the international circus, maintained by reliable circus historians and specialists. New videos, biographies, essays, and documents are added to the site on a weekly&amp;mdash;and sometimes daily&amp;mdash;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 [[Circopedia:Contact|contact us]]: we will definitely consider your remarks and suggestions.'' <br /> <br /> :'''Dominique Jando'''<br /> :Founder and Curator</div>

Djando https://www.circopedia.org/index.php?title=Kidanu_and_Tehabe&diff=46902 2026-10-29T19:32:34Z

<p>Djando: </p> <hr /> <div>==Risley Act==<br /> <br /> Ashefani Tuemay Kidanu &amp; Milyon Abadi Tehabe<br /> <br /> * Video: [[Kidanu_and_Tehabe_Video_(2026)|Ashefani Tuemay Kidanu &amp; Milyon Abadi Tehabe, Risley act]], at Circus Nikulin (2026)<br /> <br /> [[Category:Artists and Acts|Kidanu and Tehabe]][[Category:Acrobats|Kidanu and Tehabe]][[Category:Risley Acts (Icarists)|Kidanu and Tehabe]]</div>

Djando https://www.circopedia.org/index.php?title=Kidanu_and_Tehabe&diff=46901 2026-10-29T19:31:23Z

<p>Djando: </p> <hr /> <div>==Risley Act==<br /> <br /> Ashefani Tuemay Kidanu &amp; Milyon Abadi Tehabe<br /> <br /> * Video: [[Kidany and Tehabe Video (2026)|Ashefani Tuemay Kidanu &amp; Milyon Abadi Tehabe, Risley act]], at Circus Nikulin (2026)<br /> <br /> [[Category:Artists and Acts|Kidanu and Tehabe]][[Category:Acrobats|Kidanu and Tehabe]][[Category:Risley Acts (Icarists)|Kidanu and Tehabe]]</div>

Djando https://www.circopedia.org/index.php?title=Kidanu_and_Tehabe&diff=46900 2026-10-29T19:30:20Z

<p>Djando: Created page with &quot;==Risley Act== Ashefani Tuemay Kidanu &amp; Milyon Abadi Tehabe * Video: Ashefani Tuemay Kidanu &amp; Milyon Abadi Tehabe, Risley act, at Circus N...&quot;</p> <hr /> <div>==Risley Act==<br /> <br /> Ashefani Tuemay Kidanu &amp; Milyon Abadi Tehabe<br /> <br /> * Video: [[Kidany and Tehabe Video (2026)|Ashefani Tuemay Kidanu &amp; Milyon Abadi Tehabe, Risley act]], at Circus Nikulin (2026)<br /> <br /> [[Category:Artists and Acts|Kidanu and Tehabe]][[Category:Acrobats|Kidanu and Tehabe]][[Category:Risley Acts|Kidanu and Tehabe]]</div>

Djando https://www.circopedia.org/index.php?title=Kidanu_and_Tehabe_Video_(2026)&diff=46899 2026-10-29T19:26:36Z

<p>Djando: Created page with &quot;Ashenafi Tummy Kidanu &amp; Milyon Abadi Tehabe, Risley act at the 4th ''Artist'' Festival at Moscow's Circus Nikulin (2026) {{#ev:vimeo|1240620178|740}} ==See Also== *...&quot;</p> <hr /> <div>Ashenafi Tummy Kidanu &amp; Milyon Abadi Tehabe, Risley act at the 4th [[''Artist'' Festival]] at Moscow's [[Circus Nikulin]] (2026)<br /> <br /> {{#ev:vimeo|1240620178|740}}<br /> <br /> ==See Also==<br /> <br /> * Biography: [[Kidanu and Tehabe]]<br /> <br /> [[Category:Video Archive|Kidanu &amp; Tehabe]]</div>

Djando https://www.circopedia.org/index.php?title=Farrell_Brothers&diff=46898 2026-10-29T18:24:45Z

<p>Djando: /* After the Applause */</p> <hr /> <div>[[File:The_Farrell_Brothers.jpg|right|400px]]<br /> ==High Wire==<br /> <br /> ''By Mary Hettig''<br /> <br /> The Farrell Brothers were, from 1971 to 1983, a very successful American high wire duo that followed in the footsteps of the 1960s' [[Mendez and Seitz]] (Gene Mendez and Joe Seitz), former members of the legendary [[The Wallendas|Wallenda]] troupe. The Farrell Brothers quickly became circus headliners in the United States and in Europe and enjoyed a brilliant, albeit relatively short, international career. <br /> <br /> ===Farrell and The Wallendas===<br /> <br /> Farrell Hettig didn't come from a circus family. Born in St Petersburg, Florida, on September 25,1955 to Nila and Farrell Hettig Sr., he joined a blended family of three siblings: Beth and Woodie, his older sister and brother from Nila’s previous marriage, and Mary, who was roughly one year older than Farrell. Farrell senior was working in radio advertising and Nila was a homemaker.<br /> <br /> [[File:Karl_Wallenda.jpg|thumb|left|250px|Karl Wallenda (c.1965)]]Nila and Farrell divorced in 1961, when Farrell was six years old. Then, Nila and the children moved to Sarasota, Florida, known as America’s &quot;Circus City:&quot; [[John Ringling]] had made Sarasota his winter home in 1926, and brought his large circus operation to the city in 1927. Over the years, many circus artists and families settled in Sarasota, establishing a circus community that has remained an important part of the city's fabric up to this day (2026).<br /> <br /> Farrell got his introduction to the circus arts when he joined Sarasota’s famous youth circus, [[Sailor Circus]] (today part of the Circus Arts Conservatory), in his teen years. Over the years he performed many acts in Sailor Circus's shows, but high wire soon became his focus: He was coached by no less than [[The Wallendas|Gunther Wallenda]]. (Gunther was the one performer of the Wallenda troupe who remained standing on the wire during their tragic fall of 1969.)<br /> <br /> At the time, Gunther was a teacher in Sarasota County Schools. A gifted circus student, Farrell eventually went on the road with the Wallendas as a rigger during the summer of 1971. He was sixteen years old. Later in the early 1970’s, he began traveling with them as a performing member of the troupe. During that time Farrell and the legendary head of the troupe, [[Karl Wallenda]], formed a strong bond that would bolster Farrell throughout his life.<br /> <br /> In the 1978 television movie ''The Great Wallendas'', Farrell’s skills were prominently featured. Although none of the original Wallendas performed in the movie, they had been impersonated by talented high-wire walkers: Terry Troffer and his wife Delilah Wallenda, Luis Murrillo, David Klukow, Tino and Ricky Wallenda, and a 22-year-old Farrell Hettig. In the re-creation of the dangerous seven-person pyramid, Farrell stood in the crucial position of second tier of the three-tiered pyramid. Less than a year after the completion of the movie, on March 22, 1978, Farrell was present in San Juan, Puerto Rico, when the great Karl Wallenda tragically performed his last walk on the high wire and fell to his death.<br /> <br /> ===Enter Richard Schmitt===<br /> <br /> [[File:Farrell_Bros.jpg|thumb|right|400px|Farrell and Richard in practice (c.1976)]]Meanwhile, Farrell had decided to go his own way and create a new high wire act, a duo in the dynamic and spectacular style originated by Mendez &amp; Seitz. But to do so, Farrell needed a partner. It is at this point that Richard Schmitt entered the scene…<br /> <br /> A native of Boston, Massachusetts, Richard Schmitt spent his childhood in Boston and Rhode Island. Like Farrell, he did not come from a circus family: He left home in his teens and describes himself as a &quot;runaway.&quot; He recalls his first encounter with the circus world this way: &quot;At age eighteen I found, by sheer happenstance, the Ringing Circus train parked in a filthy trainyard in Providence, Rhode Island. I got a job selling cotton candy and as you might expect ended up in Sarasota, Florida. I had never been there before, loved it, and in my heart, I never really left it.”<br /> <br /> In that circus environment, Richard discovered the high wire. He had never walked on a wire before and taught himself by trial and error. Then he found a partner, Julian Albulet. Julian had previously worked on the high wire with Mike Talamantez as the [[Albulet Brothers]], an act that will eventually have a long run in Las Vegas at [[Circus Circus]] Hotel and Casino. For a short while, Richard became the second half of the Albulet Brothers.<br /> <br /> In 1975, Julian and Richard set up their rigging in Sarasota. This caught the local performers' attention, always interested in the work of their circus colleagues. One of those performers was Farrell who, at that point, was determined to develop his own act and was looking for a partner of his caliber. Richard's skills impressed him enough and he and Richard joined forces: Their act was born that same year, and Farrell, not averse to circus hype, named it ''The Fabulous Farrell Brothers''.<br /> <br /> ===The Farrell Brothers===<br /> <br /> [[File:Farrell_Brothers.jpeg|thumb|300px|left|The Farrell Brothers at Circus Knie (1981)]]Their act was outstanding and included all the most spectacular (and dangerous) tricks of the repertoire, such as a two-man height column with Farrell jumping down to the wire from the shoulders of Richard or leapfrogging over him, and fast-speed rope jumping, with all the staged &quot;near-misses&quot; (known as ''chiqués'') that made the act even more nerve-racking. Like his predecessors [[Harold Alzana]], Gene Mendez and [[Carillo Brothers|Pedro Carillo]], Farrell worked without a balancing pole and the act was performed without a net. <br /> <br /> Farrell also revived a feature then still uncommon among his contemporaries: Like Harold Alzana (who had retired in the early 1970s), he walked up to and down from the high wire on an incline wire. He even established a new world record in 1981 for walking the steepest incline high wire. The Farrell Brothers were young, energetic and good-looking, and their act had all the elements needed to make them genuine circus stars.<br /> <br /> This quickly caught the attention of [[Irvin Feld]], the owner and producer of [[Ringling Bros. and Barnum &amp; Bailey]] Circus and of its brand new (and short-lived) Florida theme park, [[Circus World]], in Haines City, near Orlando. One of Circus World's attractions was a &quot;Circus Showcase&quot; that needed high-caliber acts; the Fabulous Farrell Brothers were a perfect addition to the show, and they spent the 1977 and 1978 seasons as a featured act at Circus World.<br /> <br /> Following their success there, Irving Feld sent them in December 1979 to the 6th [[International Circus Festival of Monte Carlo]], where they won the prestigious Silver Clown award. Then, Feld took them on tour in 1980 with his all-star circus production, ''Monte Carlo Circus Spectacular'', which visited Australia, Japan and the Far East with a superb selection of Monte Carlo award winners; the Fabulous Farrell Brothers were now established international circus stars!<br /> <br /> Upon their return in 1980, they participated in the [[Circus World Championships]] in London, a BBC television event which, like the Monte Carlo festival, was broadcast all over Europe. Then, for the 1981 season, they were featured in one of the world's most prestigious circuses, the renowned [[Circus Knie]] in Switzerland. The Farrell Brothers returned to the U.S. in 1982 and performed with the [[Royal Hanneford Circus]] in their 1982-1983 season. They gave their last performance with them in Detroit, Michigan.<br /> <br /> ===After the Applause=== <br /> <br /> Farrell and Richard had an amazing career: In a short period of time, they had won one the circus world's most coveted awards, they had toured the world, performed with prestigious shows and, perhaps more importantly, they were still young and had survived a dangerous act without a scar. Farrell and Richard called it quits and parted amicably. They remained in touch throughout their lives.<br /> <br /> Richard went on to be a teacher and became a professor at West Virginia's Wesleyan College in its Low-Residency Master of Fine Arts program. He also penned two books: ''The Aerialist'' a novel published in 2000, and later, ''Life Among Strangers'', a collection of short stories (2019). He retired from teaching in 2020 and now divides his time between his homes in New York and Florida.<br /> <br /> Shortly after leaving the circus, Farrell met Kate German and they happily married in 1988. They had two children, Brooke and Mark. Farrell, who always had a head for numbers, enjoyed financial success as a business owner of several &quot;Fantastic Sam&quot; hair salons in Pinellas County, Florida. Sadly, he had an untimely and ironic death: After astounding the world with his daring performances, he died in his sleep from a heart attack on August 22, 2006, at the too young age of fifty. <br /> <br /> The Hettig circus dynasty, however, didn't die with him: his niece, Rikki Hettig-Rolfe Meaux grew up in Sarasota and, inspired by her uncle Farrell, performed in the Sailor Circus from the first through the twelfth grades. She is now an educator and a second-generation professional circus artist.<br /> <br /> ==See Also==<br /> <br /> * Video: [[Farrell_Brothers_Video_(1979)|The Farrell Brothers, high wire]], at the International Circus Festival of Monte Carlo (1979)<br /> * Video: [[Farrell_Brothers_Video_(1980)|The Farrell Brothers, high wire]], at the Circus World Championships (1980)<br /> <br /> ==Image Gallery==<br /> <br /> &lt;Gallery&gt;<br /> File:Karl_Wallenda.jpg|Karl Wallenda (c.1965)<br /> File:The_Farrell_Brothers.jpg|Farrell Hettig &amp; Richard Schmitt (c.1975)<br /> File:Farrell_Bros.jpg|Rehearsing in Florida (c.1976)<br /> File:Farrell_Brothers_-_Knie.jpg|The Farrell Brothers at Circus Knie (1981)<br /> File:Farrell_Brothers.jpeg|The Farrell Brothers at Circus Knie (1981)<br /> File:Farrell_Bros_Knie_ext.jpg|Publicity stunt at Circus Knie (1981)<br /> &lt;/Gallery&gt;<br /> <br /> [[Category:Artists and Acts|Farrell Brothers]][[Category:Acrobats|Farrell Brothers]][[Category:High Wire|Farrell Brothers]]</div>

Djando https://www.circopedia.org/index.php?title=Farrell_Brothers&diff=46897 2026-10-29T18:23:12Z

<p>Djando: /* The Farrell Brothers */</p> <hr /> <div>[[File:The_Farrell_Brothers.jpg|right|400px]]<br /> ==High Wire==<br /> <br /> ''By Mary Hettig''<br /> <br /> The Farrell Brothers were, from 1971 to 1983, a very successful American high wire duo that followed in the footsteps of the 1960s' [[Mendez and Seitz]] (Gene Mendez and Joe Seitz), former members of the legendary [[The Wallendas|Wallenda]] troupe. The Farrell Brothers quickly became circus headliners in the United States and in Europe and enjoyed a brilliant, albeit relatively short, international career. <br /> <br /> ===Farrell and The Wallendas===<br /> <br /> Farrell Hettig didn't come from a circus family. Born in St Petersburg, Florida, on September 25,1955 to Nila and Farrell Hettig Sr., he joined a blended family of three siblings: Beth and Woodie, his older sister and brother from Nila’s previous marriage, and Mary, who was roughly one year older than Farrell. Farrell senior was working in radio advertising and Nila was a homemaker.<br /> <br /> [[File:Karl_Wallenda.jpg|thumb|left|250px|Karl Wallenda (c.1965)]]Nila and Farrell divorced in 1961, when Farrell was six years old. Then, Nila and the children moved to Sarasota, Florida, known as America’s &quot;Circus City:&quot; [[John Ringling]] had made Sarasota his winter home in 1926, and brought his large circus operation to the city in 1927. Over the years, many circus artists and families settled in Sarasota, establishing a circus community that has remained an important part of the city's fabric up to this day (2026).<br /> <br /> Farrell got his introduction to the circus arts when he joined Sarasota’s famous youth circus, [[Sailor Circus]] (today part of the Circus Arts Conservatory), in his teen years. Over the years he performed many acts in Sailor Circus's shows, but high wire soon became his focus: He was coached by no less than [[The Wallendas|Gunther Wallenda]]. (Gunther was the one performer of the Wallenda troupe who remained standing on the wire during their tragic fall of 1969.)<br /> <br /> At the time, Gunther was a teacher in Sarasota County Schools. A gifted circus student, Farrell eventually went on the road with the Wallendas as a rigger during the summer of 1971. He was sixteen years old. Later in the early 1970’s, he began traveling with them as a performing member of the troupe. During that time Farrell and the legendary head of the troupe, [[Karl Wallenda]], formed a strong bond that would bolster Farrell throughout his life.<br /> <br /> In the 1978 television movie ''The Great Wallendas'', Farrell’s skills were prominently featured. Although none of the original Wallendas performed in the movie, they had been impersonated by talented high-wire walkers: Terry Troffer and his wife Delilah Wallenda, Luis Murrillo, David Klukow, Tino and Ricky Wallenda, and a 22-year-old Farrell Hettig. In the re-creation of the dangerous seven-person pyramid, Farrell stood in the crucial position of second tier of the three-tiered pyramid. Less than a year after the completion of the movie, on March 22, 1978, Farrell was present in San Juan, Puerto Rico, when the great Karl Wallenda tragically performed his last walk on the high wire and fell to his death.<br /> <br /> ===Enter Richard Schmitt===<br /> <br /> [[File:Farrell_Bros.jpg|thumb|right|400px|Farrell and Richard in practice (c.1976)]]Meanwhile, Farrell had decided to go his own way and create a new high wire act, a duo in the dynamic and spectacular style originated by Mendez &amp; Seitz. But to do so, Farrell needed a partner. It is at this point that Richard Schmitt entered the scene…<br /> <br /> A native of Boston, Massachusetts, Richard Schmitt spent his childhood in Boston and Rhode Island. Like Farrell, he did not come from a circus family: He left home in his teens and describes himself as a &quot;runaway.&quot; He recalls his first encounter with the circus world this way: &quot;At age eighteen I found, by sheer happenstance, the Ringing Circus train parked in a filthy trainyard in Providence, Rhode Island. I got a job selling cotton candy and as you might expect ended up in Sarasota, Florida. I had never been there before, loved it, and in my heart, I never really left it.”<br /> <br /> In that circus environment, Richard discovered the high wire. He had never walked on a wire before and taught himself by trial and error. Then he found a partner, Julian Albulet. Julian had previously worked on the high wire with Mike Talamantez as the [[Albulet Brothers]], an act that will eventually have a long run in Las Vegas at [[Circus Circus]] Hotel and Casino. For a short while, Richard became the second half of the Albulet Brothers.<br /> <br /> In 1975, Julian and Richard set up their rigging in Sarasota. This caught the local performers' attention, always interested in the work of their circus colleagues. One of those performers was Farrell who, at that point, was determined to develop his own act and was looking for a partner of his caliber. Richard's skills impressed him enough and he and Richard joined forces: Their act was born that same year, and Farrell, not averse to circus hype, named it ''The Fabulous Farrell Brothers''.<br /> <br /> ===The Farrell Brothers===<br /> <br /> [[File:Farrell_Brothers.jpeg|thumb|300px|left|The Farrell Brothers at Circus Knie (1981)]]Their act was outstanding and included all the most spectacular (and dangerous) tricks of the repertoire, such as a two-man height column with Farrell jumping down to the wire from the shoulders of Richard or leapfrogging over him, and fast-speed rope jumping, with all the staged &quot;near-misses&quot; (known as ''chiqués'') that made the act even more nerve-racking. Like his predecessors [[Harold Alzana]], Gene Mendez and [[Carillo Brothers|Pedro Carillo]], Farrell worked without a balancing pole and the act was performed without a net. <br /> <br /> Farrell also revived a feature then still uncommon among his contemporaries: Like Harold Alzana (who had retired in the early 1970s), he walked up to and down from the high wire on an incline wire. He even established a new world record in 1981 for walking the steepest incline high wire. The Farrell Brothers were young, energetic and good-looking, and their act had all the elements needed to make them genuine circus stars.<br /> <br /> This quickly caught the attention of [[Irvin Feld]], the owner and producer of [[Ringling Bros. and Barnum &amp; Bailey]] Circus and of its brand new (and short-lived) Florida theme park, [[Circus World]], in Haines City, near Orlando. One of Circus World's attractions was a &quot;Circus Showcase&quot; that needed high-caliber acts; the Fabulous Farrell Brothers were a perfect addition to the show, and they spent the 1977 and 1978 seasons as a featured act at Circus World.<br /> <br /> Following their success there, Irving Feld sent them in December 1979 to the 6th [[International Circus Festival of Monte Carlo]], where they won the prestigious Silver Clown award. Then, Feld took them on tour in 1980 with his all-star circus production, ''Monte Carlo Circus Spectacular'', which visited Australia, Japan and the Far East with a superb selection of Monte Carlo award winners; the Fabulous Farrell Brothers were now established international circus stars!<br /> <br /> Upon their return in 1980, they participated in the [[Circus World Championships]] in London, a BBC television event which, like the Monte Carlo festival, was broadcast all over Europe. Then, for the 1981 season, they were featured in one of the world's most prestigious circuses, the renowned [[Circus Knie]] in Switzerland. The Farrell Brothers returned to the U.S. in 1982 and performed with the [[Royal Hanneford Circus]] in their 1982-1983 season. They gave their last performance with them in Detroit, Michigan.<br /> <br /> ===After the Applause=== <br /> <br /> Farrell and Richard had an amazing career: In a short period of time, they had won one the circus world's most coveted awards, they had toured the world, performed with prestigious shows and, perhaps more importantly, they were still young and had survived a dangerous act without a scar. Farrell and Richard called it quits and parted amicably. They remained in touch throughout their lives.<br /> <br /> Richard went on to be a teacher and became a professor at West Virginia's Wesleyan College in its Low-Residency Master of Fine Arts program. He also penned two books: ''The Aerialist'' a novel published in 2000, and later, ''Life Among Strangers'' a collection of short stories (2019). He retired from teaching in 2020 and now divides his time between his homes in New York and Florida.<br /> <br /> Shortly after leaving the circus, Farrell met Kate German and they happily married in 1988. They had two children, Brooke and Mark. Farrell, who always had a head for numbers, enjoyed financial success as a business owner of several &quot;Fantastic Sam&quot; hair salons in Pinellas County, Florida. Sadly, he had an untimely and ironic death: After astounding the world with his daring performances, he died in his sleep from a heart attack on August 22, 2006, at the too young age of fifty. <br /> <br /> The Hettig circus dynasty, however, didn't die with him: his niece, Rikki Hettig-Rolfe Meaux grew up in Sarasota and, inspired by her uncle Farrell, performed in the Sailor Circus from the first through the twelfth grades. She is now an educator and a second-generation professional circus artist.<br /> <br /> ==See Also==<br /> <br /> * Video: [[Farrell_Brothers_Video_(1979)|The Farrell Brothers, high wire]], at the International Circus Festival of Monte Carlo (1979)<br /> * Video: [[Farrell_Brothers_Video_(1980)|The Farrell Brothers, high wire]], at the Circus World Championships (1980)<br /> <br /> ==Image Gallery==<br /> <br /> &lt;Gallery&gt;<br /> File:Karl_Wallenda.jpg|Karl Wallenda (c.1965)<br /> File:The_Farrell_Brothers.jpg|Farrell Hettig &amp; Richard Schmitt (c.1975)<br /> File:Farrell_Bros.jpg|Rehearsing in Florida (c.1976)<br /> File:Farrell_Brothers_-_Knie.jpg|The Farrell Brothers at Circus Knie (1981)<br /> File:Farrell_Brothers.jpeg|The Farrell Brothers at Circus Knie (1981)<br /> File:Farrell_Bros_Knie_ext.jpg|Publicity stunt at Circus Knie (1981)<br /> &lt;/Gallery&gt;<br /> <br /> [[Category:Artists and Acts|Farrell Brothers]][[Category:Acrobats|Farrell Brothers]][[Category:High Wire|Farrell Brothers]]</div>

Djando https://www.circopedia.org/index.php?title=Farrell_Brothers&diff=46896 2026-10-29T18:22:07Z

<p>Djando: /* The Farrell Brothers */</p> <hr /> <div>[[File:The_Farrell_Brothers.jpg|right|400px]]<br /> ==High Wire==<br /> <br /> ''By Mary Hettig''<br /> <br /> The Farrell Brothers were, from 1971 to 1983, a very successful American high wire duo that followed in the footsteps of the 1960s' [[Mendez and Seitz]] (Gene Mendez and Joe Seitz), former members of the legendary [[The Wallendas|Wallenda]] troupe. The Farrell Brothers quickly became circus headliners in the United States and in Europe and enjoyed a brilliant, albeit relatively short, international career. <br /> <br /> ===Farrell and The Wallendas===<br /> <br /> Farrell Hettig didn't come from a circus family. Born in St Petersburg, Florida, on September 25,1955 to Nila and Farrell Hettig Sr., he joined a blended family of three siblings: Beth and Woodie, his older sister and brother from Nila’s previous marriage, and Mary, who was roughly one year older than Farrell. Farrell senior was working in radio advertising and Nila was a homemaker.<br /> <br /> [[File:Karl_Wallenda.jpg|thumb|left|250px|Karl Wallenda (c.1965)]]Nila and Farrell divorced in 1961, when Farrell was six years old. Then, Nila and the children moved to Sarasota, Florida, known as America’s &quot;Circus City:&quot; [[John Ringling]] had made Sarasota his winter home in 1926, and brought his large circus operation to the city in 1927. Over the years, many circus artists and families settled in Sarasota, establishing a circus community that has remained an important part of the city's fabric up to this day (2026).<br /> <br /> Farrell got his introduction to the circus arts when he joined Sarasota’s famous youth circus, [[Sailor Circus]] (today part of the Circus Arts Conservatory), in his teen years. Over the years he performed many acts in Sailor Circus's shows, but high wire soon became his focus: He was coached by no less than [[The Wallendas|Gunther Wallenda]]. (Gunther was the one performer of the Wallenda troupe who remained standing on the wire during their tragic fall of 1969.)<br /> <br /> At the time, Gunther was a teacher in Sarasota County Schools. A gifted circus student, Farrell eventually went on the road with the Wallendas as a rigger during the summer of 1971. He was sixteen years old. Later in the early 1970’s, he began traveling with them as a performing member of the troupe. During that time Farrell and the legendary head of the troupe, [[Karl Wallenda]], formed a strong bond that would bolster Farrell throughout his life.<br /> <br /> In the 1978 television movie ''The Great Wallendas'', Farrell’s skills were prominently featured. Although none of the original Wallendas performed in the movie, they had been impersonated by talented high-wire walkers: Terry Troffer and his wife Delilah Wallenda, Luis Murrillo, David Klukow, Tino and Ricky Wallenda, and a 22-year-old Farrell Hettig. In the re-creation of the dangerous seven-person pyramid, Farrell stood in the crucial position of second tier of the three-tiered pyramid. Less than a year after the completion of the movie, on March 22, 1978, Farrell was present in San Juan, Puerto Rico, when the great Karl Wallenda tragically performed his last walk on the high wire and fell to his death.<br /> <br /> ===Enter Richard Schmitt===<br /> <br /> [[File:Farrell_Bros.jpg|thumb|right|400px|Farrell and Richard in practice (c.1976)]]Meanwhile, Farrell had decided to go his own way and create a new high wire act, a duo in the dynamic and spectacular style originated by Mendez &amp; Seitz. But to do so, Farrell needed a partner. It is at this point that Richard Schmitt entered the scene…<br /> <br /> A native of Boston, Massachusetts, Richard Schmitt spent his childhood in Boston and Rhode Island. Like Farrell, he did not come from a circus family: He left home in his teens and describes himself as a &quot;runaway.&quot; He recalls his first encounter with the circus world this way: &quot;At age eighteen I found, by sheer happenstance, the Ringing Circus train parked in a filthy trainyard in Providence, Rhode Island. I got a job selling cotton candy and as you might expect ended up in Sarasota, Florida. I had never been there before, loved it, and in my heart, I never really left it.”<br /> <br /> In that circus environment, Richard discovered the high wire. He had never walked on a wire before and taught himself by trial and error. Then he found a partner, Julian Albulet. Julian had previously worked on the high wire with Mike Talamantez as the [[Albulet Brothers]], an act that will eventually have a long run in Las Vegas at [[Circus Circus]] Hotel and Casino. For a short while, Richard became the second half of the Albulet Brothers.<br /> <br /> In 1975, Julian and Richard set up their rigging in Sarasota. This caught the local performers' attention, always interested in the work of their circus colleagues. One of those performers was Farrell who, at that point, was determined to develop his own act and was looking for a partner of his caliber. Richard's skills impressed him enough and he and Richard joined forces: Their act was born that same year, and Farrell, not averse to circus hype, named it ''The Fabulous Farrell Brothers''.<br /> <br /> ===The Farrell Brothers===<br /> <br /> [[File:Farrell_Brothers.jpeg|thumb|300px|left|The Farrell Brothers at Circus Knie (1981)]]Their act was outstanding and included all the most spectacular (and dangerous) tricks of the repertoire, such as a two-man height column with Farrell jumping down to the wire from the shoulders of Richard or leapfrogging over him, and fast-speed rope jumping, with all the staged &quot;near-misses&quot; (known as ''chiqués'') that made the act even more nerve-racking. Like his predecessors [[Harold Alzana]], Gene Mendez and [[Carillo Brothers|Pedro Carillo]], Farrell worked without a balancing pole and the act was performed without a net. <br /> <br /> Farrell also revived a feature then still uncommon among his contemporaries: Like Harold Alzana (who had retired in the early 1970s), he walked up to and down from the high wire on an incline wire. He even established a new world record in 1981 for walking the steepest incline high wire. The Farrell Brothers were young, energetic and good-looking, and their act had all the elements needed to make them genuine circus stars.<br /> <br /> This quickly caught the attention of [[Irvin Feld]], the owner and producer of [[Ringling Bros. and Barnum &amp; Bailey]] Circus and of its brand new (and short-lived) Florida theme park, [[Circus World]], in Haines City, near Orlando. One of Circus World's attractions was a &quot;Circus Showcase&quot; that needed high-caliber acts; the Fabulous Farrell Brothers were a perfect addition to the show, and they spent the 1977 and 1978 seasons as a featured act at Circus World.<br /> <br /> Following their success there, Irving Feld sent them in December 1979 to the 6th [[International Circus Festival of Monte Carlo]], where they won the prestigious Silver Clown award. Then, Feld sent them on tour in 1980 with his all-star circus production, ''Monte Carlo Circus Spectacular'', which visited Australia, Japan and the Far East with a superb selection of Monte Carlo award winners; the Fabulous Farrell Brothers were now established international circus stars!<br /> <br /> Upon their return in 1980, they participated in the [[Circus World Championships]] in London, a BBC television event which, like the Monte Carlo festival, was broadcast all over Europe. Then, for the 1981 season, they were featured in one of the world's most prestigious circuses, the renowned [[Circus Knie]] in Switzerland. The Farrell Brothers returned to the U.S. in 1982 and performed with the [[Royal Hanneford Circus]] in their 1982-1983 season. They gave their last performance with them in Detroit, Michigan.<br /> <br /> ===After the Applause=== <br /> <br /> Farrell and Richard had an amazing career: In a short period of time, they had won one the circus world's most coveted awards, they had toured the world, performed with prestigious shows and, perhaps more importantly, they were still young and had survived a dangerous act without a scar. Farrell and Richard called it quits and parted amicably. They remained in touch throughout their lives.<br /> <br /> Richard went on to be a teacher and became a professor at West Virginia's Wesleyan College in its Low-Residency Master of Fine Arts program. He also penned two books: ''The Aerialist'' a novel published in 2000, and later, ''Life Among Strangers'' a collection of short stories (2019). He retired from teaching in 2020 and now divides his time between his homes in New York and Florida.<br /> <br /> Shortly after leaving the circus, Farrell met Kate German and they happily married in 1988. They had two children, Brooke and Mark. Farrell, who always had a head for numbers, enjoyed financial success as a business owner of several &quot;Fantastic Sam&quot; hair salons in Pinellas County, Florida. Sadly, he had an untimely and ironic death: After astounding the world with his daring performances, he died in his sleep from a heart attack on August 22, 2006, at the too young age of fifty. <br /> <br /> The Hettig circus dynasty, however, didn't die with him: his niece, Rikki Hettig-Rolfe Meaux grew up in Sarasota and, inspired by her uncle Farrell, performed in the Sailor Circus from the first through the twelfth grades. She is now an educator and a second-generation professional circus artist.<br /> <br /> ==See Also==<br /> <br /> * Video: [[Farrell_Brothers_Video_(1979)|The Farrell Brothers, high wire]], at the International Circus Festival of Monte Carlo (1979)<br /> * Video: [[Farrell_Brothers_Video_(1980)|The Farrell Brothers, high wire]], at the Circus World Championships (1980)<br /> <br /> ==Image Gallery==<br /> <br /> &lt;Gallery&gt;<br /> File:Karl_Wallenda.jpg|Karl Wallenda (c.1965)<br /> File:The_Farrell_Brothers.jpg|Farrell Hettig &amp; Richard Schmitt (c.1975)<br /> File:Farrell_Bros.jpg|Rehearsing in Florida (c.1976)<br /> File:Farrell_Brothers_-_Knie.jpg|The Farrell Brothers at Circus Knie (1981)<br /> File:Farrell_Brothers.jpeg|The Farrell Brothers at Circus Knie (1981)<br /> File:Farrell_Bros_Knie_ext.jpg|Publicity stunt at Circus Knie (1981)<br /> &lt;/Gallery&gt;<br /> <br /> [[Category:Artists and Acts|Farrell Brothers]][[Category:Acrobats|Farrell Brothers]][[Category:High Wire|Farrell Brothers]]</div>

Djando https://www.circopedia.org/index.php?title=Farrell_Brothers&diff=46895 2026-10-29T18:21:18Z

<p>Djando: /* The Farrell Brothers */</p> <hr /> <div>[[File:The_Farrell_Brothers.jpg|right|400px]]<br /> ==High Wire==<br /> <br /> ''By Mary Hettig''<br /> <br /> The Farrell Brothers were, from 1971 to 1983, a very successful American high wire duo that followed in the footsteps of the 1960s' [[Mendez and Seitz]] (Gene Mendez and Joe Seitz), former members of the legendary [[The Wallendas|Wallenda]] troupe. The Farrell Brothers quickly became circus headliners in the United States and in Europe and enjoyed a brilliant, albeit relatively short, international career. <br /> <br /> ===Farrell and The Wallendas===<br /> <br /> Farrell Hettig didn't come from a circus family. Born in St Petersburg, Florida, on September 25,1955 to Nila and Farrell Hettig Sr., he joined a blended family of three siblings: Beth and Woodie, his older sister and brother from Nila’s previous marriage, and Mary, who was roughly one year older than Farrell. Farrell senior was working in radio advertising and Nila was a homemaker.<br /> <br /> [[File:Karl_Wallenda.jpg|thumb|left|250px|Karl Wallenda (c.1965)]]Nila and Farrell divorced in 1961, when Farrell was six years old. Then, Nila and the children moved to Sarasota, Florida, known as America’s &quot;Circus City:&quot; [[John Ringling]] had made Sarasota his winter home in 1926, and brought his large circus operation to the city in 1927. Over the years, many circus artists and families settled in Sarasota, establishing a circus community that has remained an important part of the city's fabric up to this day (2026).<br /> <br /> Farrell got his introduction to the circus arts when he joined Sarasota’s famous youth circus, [[Sailor Circus]] (today part of the Circus Arts Conservatory), in his teen years. Over the years he performed many acts in Sailor Circus's shows, but high wire soon became his focus: He was coached by no less than [[The Wallendas|Gunther Wallenda]]. (Gunther was the one performer of the Wallenda troupe who remained standing on the wire during their tragic fall of 1969.)<br /> <br /> At the time, Gunther was a teacher in Sarasota County Schools. A gifted circus student, Farrell eventually went on the road with the Wallendas as a rigger during the summer of 1971. He was sixteen years old. Later in the early 1970’s, he began traveling with them as a performing member of the troupe. During that time Farrell and the legendary head of the troupe, [[Karl Wallenda]], formed a strong bond that would bolster Farrell throughout his life.<br /> <br /> In the 1978 television movie ''The Great Wallendas'', Farrell’s skills were prominently featured. Although none of the original Wallendas performed in the movie, they had been impersonated by talented high-wire walkers: Terry Troffer and his wife Delilah Wallenda, Luis Murrillo, David Klukow, Tino and Ricky Wallenda, and a 22-year-old Farrell Hettig. In the re-creation of the dangerous seven-person pyramid, Farrell stood in the crucial position of second tier of the three-tiered pyramid. Less than a year after the completion of the movie, on March 22, 1978, Farrell was present in San Juan, Puerto Rico, when the great Karl Wallenda tragically performed his last walk on the high wire and fell to his death.<br /> <br /> ===Enter Richard Schmitt===<br /> <br /> [[File:Farrell_Bros.jpg|thumb|right|400px|Farrell and Richard in practice (c.1976)]]Meanwhile, Farrell had decided to go his own way and create a new high wire act, a duo in the dynamic and spectacular style originated by Mendez &amp; Seitz. But to do so, Farrell needed a partner. It is at this point that Richard Schmitt entered the scene…<br /> <br /> A native of Boston, Massachusetts, Richard Schmitt spent his childhood in Boston and Rhode Island. Like Farrell, he did not come from a circus family: He left home in his teens and describes himself as a &quot;runaway.&quot; He recalls his first encounter with the circus world this way: &quot;At age eighteen I found, by sheer happenstance, the Ringing Circus train parked in a filthy trainyard in Providence, Rhode Island. I got a job selling cotton candy and as you might expect ended up in Sarasota, Florida. I had never been there before, loved it, and in my heart, I never really left it.”<br /> <br /> In that circus environment, Richard discovered the high wire. He had never walked on a wire before and taught himself by trial and error. Then he found a partner, Julian Albulet. Julian had previously worked on the high wire with Mike Talamantez as the [[Albulet Brothers]], an act that will eventually have a long run in Las Vegas at [[Circus Circus]] Hotel and Casino. For a short while, Richard became the second half of the Albulet Brothers.<br /> <br /> In 1975, Julian and Richard set up their rigging in Sarasota. This caught the local performers' attention, always interested in the work of their circus colleagues. One of those performers was Farrell who, at that point, was determined to develop his own act and was looking for a partner of his caliber. Richard's skills impressed him enough and he and Richard joined forces: Their act was born that same year, and Farrell, not averse to circus hype, named it ''The Fabulous Farrell Brothers''.<br /> <br /> ===The Farrell Brothers===<br /> <br /> [[File:Farrell_Brothers.jpeg|thumb|300px|left|The Farrell Brothers at Circus Knie (1981)]]Their act was outstanding and included all the most spectacular (and dangerous) tricks of the repertoire, such as a two-man height column with Farrell jumping down to the wire from the shoulders of Richard or leapfrogging over him, and fast-speed rope jumping, with all the staged &quot;near-misses&quot; (known as ''chiqués'') that made the act even more nerve-racking. Like his predecessors [[Harold Alzana]], Gene Mendez and [[Carillo Brothers|Pedro Carillo]], Farrell worked without a balancing pole and the act was performed without a net. <br /> <br /> Farrell also revived a feature then still uncommon among his contemporaries: Like Harold Alzana (who had retired in the early 1970s), he walked up to and down from the high wire on an incline wire. He even established a new world record in 1981 for walking the steepest incline high wire. The Farrell Brothers were young, energetic and good-looking, and their act had all the elements needed to make them genuine circus stars.<br /> <br /> This quickly caught the attention of [[Irvin Feld]], the owner and producer of [[Ringling Bros. and Barnum &amp; Bailey]] Circus and of its brand new (and short-lived) Florida theme park, [[Circus World]], in Haines City, near Orlando. One of its attractions was a &quot;Circus Showcase&quot; that needed high-caliber acts; the Fabulous Farrell Brothers were a perfect addition to the show, and they spent the 1977 and 1978 seasons as a featured act at Circus World.<br /> <br /> Following their success there, Irving Feld sent them in December 1979 to the 6th [[International Circus Festival of Monte Carlo]], where they won the prestigious Silver Clown award. Then, Feld sent them on tour in 1980 with his all-star circus production, ''Monte Carlo Circus Spectacular'', which visited Australia, Japan and the Far East with a superb selection of Monte Carlo award winners; the Fabulous Farrell Brothers were now established international circus stars!<br /> <br /> Upon their return in 1980, they participated in the [[Circus World Championships]] in London, a BBC television event which, like the Monte Carlo festival, was broadcast all over Europe. Then, for the 1981 season, they were featured in one of the world's most prestigious circuses, the renowned [[Circus Knie]] in Switzerland. The Farrell Brothers returned to the U.S. in 1982 and performed with the [[Royal Hanneford Circus]] in their 1982-1983 season. They gave their last performance with them in Detroit, Michigan.<br /> <br /> ===After the Applause=== <br /> <br /> Farrell and Richard had an amazing career: In a short period of time, they had won one the circus world's most coveted awards, they had toured the world, performed with prestigious shows and, perhaps more importantly, they were still young and had survived a dangerous act without a scar. Farrell and Richard called it quits and parted amicably. They remained in touch throughout their lives.<br /> <br /> Richard went on to be a teacher and became a professor at West Virginia's Wesleyan College in its Low-Residency Master of Fine Arts program. He also penned two books: ''The Aerialist'' a novel published in 2000, and later, ''Life Among Strangers'' a collection of short stories (2019). He retired from teaching in 2020 and now divides his time between his homes in New York and Florida.<br /> <br /> Shortly after leaving the circus, Farrell met Kate German and they happily married in 1988. They had two children, Brooke and Mark. Farrell, who always had a head for numbers, enjoyed financial success as a business owner of several &quot;Fantastic Sam&quot; hair salons in Pinellas County, Florida. Sadly, he had an untimely and ironic death: After astounding the world with his daring performances, he died in his sleep from a heart attack on August 22, 2006, at the too young age of fifty. <br /> <br /> The Hettig circus dynasty, however, didn't die with him: his niece, Rikki Hettig-Rolfe Meaux grew up in Sarasota and, inspired by her uncle Farrell, performed in the Sailor Circus from the first through the twelfth grades. She is now an educator and a second-generation professional circus artist.<br /> <br /> ==See Also==<br /> <br /> * Video: [[Farrell_Brothers_Video_(1979)|The Farrell Brothers, high wire]], at the International Circus Festival of Monte Carlo (1979)<br /> * Video: [[Farrell_Brothers_Video_(1980)|The Farrell Brothers, high wire]], at the Circus World Championships (1980)<br /> <br /> ==Image Gallery==<br /> <br /> &lt;Gallery&gt;<br /> File:Karl_Wallenda.jpg|Karl Wallenda (c.1965)<br /> File:The_Farrell_Brothers.jpg|Farrell Hettig &amp; Richard Schmitt (c.1975)<br /> File:Farrell_Bros.jpg|Rehearsing in Florida (c.1976)<br /> File:Farrell_Brothers_-_Knie.jpg|The Farrell Brothers at Circus Knie (1981)<br /> File:Farrell_Brothers.jpeg|The Farrell Brothers at Circus Knie (1981)<br /> File:Farrell_Bros_Knie_ext.jpg|Publicity stunt at Circus Knie (1981)<br /> &lt;/Gallery&gt;<br /> <br /> [[Category:Artists and Acts|Farrell Brothers]][[Category:Acrobats|Farrell Brothers]][[Category:High Wire|Farrell Brothers]]</div>

Djando https://www.circopedia.org/index.php?title=Farrell_Brothers&diff=46894 2026-10-29T18:08:47Z

<p>Djando: /* The Farrell Brothers */</p> <hr /> <div>[[File:The_Farrell_Brothers.jpg|right|400px]]<br /> ==High Wire==<br /> <br /> ''By Mary Hettig''<br /> <br /> The Farrell Brothers were, from 1971 to 1983, a very successful American high wire duo that followed in the footsteps of the 1960s' [[Mendez and Seitz]] (Gene Mendez and Joe Seitz), former members of the legendary [[The Wallendas|Wallenda]] troupe. The Farrell Brothers quickly became circus headliners in the United States and in Europe and enjoyed a brilliant, albeit relatively short, international career. <br /> <br /> ===Farrell and The Wallendas===<br /> <br /> Farrell Hettig didn't come from a circus family. Born in St Petersburg, Florida, on September 25,1955 to Nila and Farrell Hettig Sr., he joined a blended family of three siblings: Beth and Woodie, his older sister and brother from Nila’s previous marriage, and Mary, who was roughly one year older than Farrell. Farrell senior was working in radio advertising and Nila was a homemaker.<br /> <br /> [[File:Karl_Wallenda.jpg|thumb|left|250px|Karl Wallenda (c.1965)]]Nila and Farrell divorced in 1961, when Farrell was six years old. Then, Nila and the children moved to Sarasota, Florida, known as America’s &quot;Circus City:&quot; [[John Ringling]] had made Sarasota his winter home in 1926, and brought his large circus operation to the city in 1927. Over the years, many circus artists and families settled in Sarasota, establishing a circus community that has remained an important part of the city's fabric up to this day (2026).<br /> <br /> Farrell got his introduction to the circus arts when he joined Sarasota’s famous youth circus, [[Sailor Circus]] (today part of the Circus Arts Conservatory), in his teen years. Over the years he performed many acts in Sailor Circus's shows, but high wire soon became his focus: He was coached by no less than [[The Wallendas|Gunther Wallenda]]. (Gunther was the one performer of the Wallenda troupe who remained standing on the wire during their tragic fall of 1969.)<br /> <br /> At the time, Gunther was a teacher in Sarasota County Schools. A gifted circus student, Farrell eventually went on the road with the Wallendas as a rigger during the summer of 1971. He was sixteen years old. Later in the early 1970’s, he began traveling with them as a performing member of the troupe. During that time Farrell and the legendary head of the troupe, [[Karl Wallenda]], formed a strong bond that would bolster Farrell throughout his life.<br /> <br /> In the 1978 television movie ''The Great Wallendas'', Farrell’s skills were prominently featured. Although none of the original Wallendas performed in the movie, they had been impersonated by talented high-wire walkers: Terry Troffer and his wife Delilah Wallenda, Luis Murrillo, David Klukow, Tino and Ricky Wallenda, and a 22-year-old Farrell Hettig. In the re-creation of the dangerous seven-person pyramid, Farrell stood in the crucial position of second tier of the three-tiered pyramid. Less than a year after the completion of the movie, on March 22, 1978, Farrell was present in San Juan, Puerto Rico, when the great Karl Wallenda tragically performed his last walk on the high wire and fell to his death.<br /> <br /> ===Enter Richard Schmitt===<br /> <br /> [[File:Farrell_Bros.jpg|thumb|right|400px|Farrell and Richard in practice (c.1976)]]Meanwhile, Farrell had decided to go his own way and create a new high wire act, a duo in the dynamic and spectacular style originated by Mendez &amp; Seitz. But to do so, Farrell needed a partner. It is at this point that Richard Schmitt entered the scene…<br /> <br /> A native of Boston, Massachusetts, Richard Schmitt spent his childhood in Boston and Rhode Island. Like Farrell, he did not come from a circus family: He left home in his teens and describes himself as a &quot;runaway.&quot; He recalls his first encounter with the circus world this way: &quot;At age eighteen I found, by sheer happenstance, the Ringing Circus train parked in a filthy trainyard in Providence, Rhode Island. I got a job selling cotton candy and as you might expect ended up in Sarasota, Florida. I had never been there before, loved it, and in my heart, I never really left it.”<br /> <br /> In that circus environment, Richard discovered the high wire. He had never walked on a wire before and taught himself by trial and error. Then he found a partner, Julian Albulet. Julian had previously worked on the high wire with Mike Talamantez as the [[Albulet Brothers]], an act that will eventually have a long run in Las Vegas at [[Circus Circus]] Hotel and Casino. For a short while, Richard became the second half of the Albulet Brothers.<br /> <br /> In 1975, Julian and Richard set up their rigging in Sarasota. This caught the local performers' attention, always interested in the work of their circus colleagues. One of those performers was Farrell who, at that point, was determined to develop his own act and was looking for a partner of his caliber. Richard's skills impressed him enough and he and Richard joined forces: Their act was born that same year, and Farrell, not averse to circus hype, named it ''The Fabulous Farrell Brothers''.<br /> <br /> ===The Farrell Brothers===<br /> <br /> [[File:Farrell_Brothers.jpeg|thumb|300px|left|The Farrell Brothers at Circus Knie (1981)]]Their act was outstanding and included all the most spectacular (and dangerous) tricks of the repertoire, such as a two-man height column with Farrell jumping down to the wire from the shoulders of Richard or leapfrogging over him, and fast-speed rope jumping, with all the staged &quot;near-misses&quot; (known as ''chiqués'') that made the act even more nerve-racking. Like his predecessors [[Harold Alzana]], Gene Mendez and [[Carillo Brothers|Pedro Carillo]], Farrell worked without a balancing pole and the act was performed without a net. <br /> <br /> Farrell also revived a feature then still uncommon among his contemporaries: Like Harold Alzana (who had retired in the early 1970s), he walked up to and down from the high wire on an incline wire. He even established a new world record in 1981 for walking the steepest incline high wire. The Farrell Brothers were young, energetic and good-looking, and their act had all the elements needed to make them genuine circus stars.<br /> <br /> This quickly caught the attention of [[Irvin Feld]] the owner and producer of [[Ringling Bros. and Barnum &amp; Bailey]] Circus and of its brand new (and short-lived) Florida theme park, [[Circus World]], in Haines City, near Orlando. One of its attractions was a &quot;Circus Showcase&quot; that needed high-caliber acts; the Fabulous Farrell Brothers were a perfect addition to the show, and they spent the 1977 and 1978 seasons as a featured act at Circus World.<br /> <br /> Following their success there, Irving Feld sent them in December 1979 to the 6th [[International Circus Festival of Monte Carlo]], where they won the prestigious Silver Clown award. Then, Feld sent them on tour in 1980 with his all-star circus production, ''Monte Carlo Circus Spectacular'', which visited Australia, Japan and the Far East with a superb selection of Monte Carlo award winners; the Fabulous Farrell Brothers were now established international circus stars!<br /> <br /> Upon their return in 1980, they participated in the [[Circus World Championships]] in London, a BBC television event which, like the Monte Carlo festival, was broadcast all over Europe. Then, for the 1981 season, they were featured in one of the world's most prestigious circuses, the renowned [[Circus Knie]] in Switzerland. The Farrell Brothers returned to the U.S. in 1982 and performed with the [[Royal Hanneford Circus]] in their 1982-1983 season. They gave their last performance with them in Detroit, Michigan.<br /> <br /> ===After the Applause=== <br /> <br /> Farrell and Richard had an amazing career: In a short period of time, they had won one the circus world's most coveted awards, they had toured the world, performed with prestigious shows and, perhaps more importantly, they were still young and had survived a dangerous act without a scar. Farrell and Richard called it quits and parted amicably. They remained in touch throughout their lives.<br /> <br /> Richard went on to be a teacher and became a professor at West Virginia's Wesleyan College in its Low-Residency Master of Fine Arts program. He also penned two books: ''The Aerialist'' a novel published in 2000, and later, ''Life Among Strangers'' a collection of short stories (2019). He retired from teaching in 2020 and now divides his time between his homes in New York and Florida.<br /> <br /> Shortly after leaving the circus, Farrell met Kate German and they happily married in 1988. They had two children, Brooke and Mark. Farrell, who always had a head for numbers, enjoyed financial success as a business owner of several &quot;Fantastic Sam&quot; hair salons in Pinellas County, Florida. Sadly, he had an untimely and ironic death: After astounding the world with his daring performances, he died in his sleep from a heart attack on August 22, 2006, at the too young age of fifty. <br /> <br /> The Hettig circus dynasty, however, didn't die with him: his niece, Rikki Hettig-Rolfe Meaux grew up in Sarasota and, inspired by her uncle Farrell, performed in the Sailor Circus from the first through the twelfth grades. She is now an educator and a second-generation professional circus artist.<br /> <br /> ==See Also==<br /> <br /> * Video: [[Farrell_Brothers_Video_(1979)|The Farrell Brothers, high wire]], at the International Circus Festival of Monte Carlo (1979)<br /> * Video: [[Farrell_Brothers_Video_(1980)|The Farrell Brothers, high wire]], at the Circus World Championships (1980)<br /> <br /> ==Image Gallery==<br /> <br /> &lt;Gallery&gt;<br /> File:Karl_Wallenda.jpg|Karl Wallenda (c.1965)<br /> File:The_Farrell_Brothers.jpg|Farrell Hettig &amp; Richard Schmitt (c.1975)<br /> File:Farrell_Bros.jpg|Rehearsing in Florida (c.1976)<br /> File:Farrell_Brothers_-_Knie.jpg|The Farrell Brothers at Circus Knie (1981)<br /> File:Farrell_Brothers.jpeg|The Farrell Brothers at Circus Knie (1981)<br /> File:Farrell_Bros_Knie_ext.jpg|Publicity stunt at Circus Knie (1981)<br /> &lt;/Gallery&gt;<br /> <br /> [[Category:Artists and Acts|Farrell Brothers]][[Category:Acrobats|Farrell Brothers]][[Category:High Wire|Farrell Brothers]]</div>

Djando https://www.circopedia.org/index.php?title=Farrell_Brothers&diff=46893 2026-10-29T18:08:18Z

<p>Djando: /* The Farrell Brothers */</p> <hr /> <div>[[File:The_Farrell_Brothers.jpg|right|400px]]<br /> ==High Wire==<br /> <br /> ''By Mary Hettig''<br /> <br /> The Farrell Brothers were, from 1971 to 1983, a very successful American high wire duo that followed in the footsteps of the 1960s' [[Mendez and Seitz]] (Gene Mendez and Joe Seitz), former members of the legendary [[The Wallendas|Wallenda]] troupe. The Farrell Brothers quickly became circus headliners in the United States and in Europe and enjoyed a brilliant, albeit relatively short, international career. <br /> <br /> ===Farrell and The Wallendas===<br /> <br /> Farrell Hettig didn't come from a circus family. Born in St Petersburg, Florida, on September 25,1955 to Nila and Farrell Hettig Sr., he joined a blended family of three siblings: Beth and Woodie, his older sister and brother from Nila’s previous marriage, and Mary, who was roughly one year older than Farrell. Farrell senior was working in radio advertising and Nila was a homemaker.<br /> <br /> [[File:Karl_Wallenda.jpg|thumb|left|250px|Karl Wallenda (c.1965)]]Nila and Farrell divorced in 1961, when Farrell was six years old. Then, Nila and the children moved to Sarasota, Florida, known as America’s &quot;Circus City:&quot; [[John Ringling]] had made Sarasota his winter home in 1926, and brought his large circus operation to the city in 1927. Over the years, many circus artists and families settled in Sarasota, establishing a circus community that has remained an important part of the city's fabric up to this day (2026).<br /> <br /> Farrell got his introduction to the circus arts when he joined Sarasota’s famous youth circus, [[Sailor Circus]] (today part of the Circus Arts Conservatory), in his teen years. Over the years he performed many acts in Sailor Circus's shows, but high wire soon became his focus: He was coached by no less than [[The Wallendas|Gunther Wallenda]]. (Gunther was the one performer of the Wallenda troupe who remained standing on the wire during their tragic fall of 1969.)<br /> <br /> At the time, Gunther was a teacher in Sarasota County Schools. A gifted circus student, Farrell eventually went on the road with the Wallendas as a rigger during the summer of 1971. He was sixteen years old. Later in the early 1970’s, he began traveling with them as a performing member of the troupe. During that time Farrell and the legendary head of the troupe, [[Karl Wallenda]], formed a strong bond that would bolster Farrell throughout his life.<br /> <br /> In the 1978 television movie ''The Great Wallendas'', Farrell’s skills were prominently featured. Although none of the original Wallendas performed in the movie, they had been impersonated by talented high-wire walkers: Terry Troffer and his wife Delilah Wallenda, Luis Murrillo, David Klukow, Tino and Ricky Wallenda, and a 22-year-old Farrell Hettig. In the re-creation of the dangerous seven-person pyramid, Farrell stood in the crucial position of second tier of the three-tiered pyramid. Less than a year after the completion of the movie, on March 22, 1978, Farrell was present in San Juan, Puerto Rico, when the great Karl Wallenda tragically performed his last walk on the high wire and fell to his death.<br /> <br /> ===Enter Richard Schmitt===<br /> <br /> [[File:Farrell_Bros.jpg|thumb|right|400px|Farrell and Richard in practice (c.1976)]]Meanwhile, Farrell had decided to go his own way and create a new high wire act, a duo in the dynamic and spectacular style originated by Mendez &amp; Seitz. But to do so, Farrell needed a partner. It is at this point that Richard Schmitt entered the scene…<br /> <br /> A native of Boston, Massachusetts, Richard Schmitt spent his childhood in Boston and Rhode Island. Like Farrell, he did not come from a circus family: He left home in his teens and describes himself as a &quot;runaway.&quot; He recalls his first encounter with the circus world this way: &quot;At age eighteen I found, by sheer happenstance, the Ringing Circus train parked in a filthy trainyard in Providence, Rhode Island. I got a job selling cotton candy and as you might expect ended up in Sarasota, Florida. I had never been there before, loved it, and in my heart, I never really left it.”<br /> <br /> In that circus environment, Richard discovered the high wire. He had never walked on a wire before and taught himself by trial and error. Then he found a partner, Julian Albulet. Julian had previously worked on the high wire with Mike Talamantez as the [[Albulet Brothers]], an act that will eventually have a long run in Las Vegas at [[Circus Circus]] Hotel and Casino. For a short while, Richard became the second half of the Albulet Brothers.<br /> <br /> In 1975, Julian and Richard set up their rigging in Sarasota. This caught the local performers' attention, always interested in the work of their circus colleagues. One of those performers was Farrell who, at that point, was determined to develop his own act and was looking for a partner of his caliber. Richard's skills impressed him enough and he and Richard joined forces: Their act was born that same year, and Farrell, not averse to circus hype, named it ''The Fabulous Farrell Brothers''.<br /> <br /> ===The Farrell Brothers===<br /> <br /> [[File:Farrell_Brothers.jpeg|thumb|300px|left|The Farrell Brothers at Circus Knie (1981)]]Their act was outstanding and included all the most spectacular (and dangerous) tricks of the repertoire, such as a two-man height column with Farrell jumping down to the wire from the shoulders of Richard or leapfrogging over him, and fast-speed rope jumping, with all the staged &quot;near-misses&quot; (known as ''chiqués'') that made the act even more nerve-racking. Like his predecessors [[Harold Alzana]], Gene Mendez and [[The Carillo Brothers|Pedro Carillo]], Farrell worked without a balancing pole and the act was performed without a net. <br /> <br /> Farrell also revived a feature then still uncommon among his contemporaries: Like Harold Alzana (who had retired in the early 1970s), he walked up to and down from the high wire on an incline wire. He even established a new world record in 1981 for walking the steepest incline high wire. The Farrell Brothers were young, energetic and good-looking, and their act had all the elements needed to make them genuine circus stars.<br /> <br /> This quickly caught the attention of [[Irvin Feld]] the owner and producer of [[Ringling Bros. and Barnum &amp; Bailey]] Circus and of its brand new (and short-lived) Florida theme park, [[Circus World]], in Haines City, near Orlando. One of its attractions was a &quot;Circus Showcase&quot; that needed high-caliber acts; the Fabulous Farrell Brothers were a perfect addition to the show, and they spent the 1977 and 1978 seasons as a featured act at Circus World.<br /> <br /> Following their success there, Irving Feld sent them in December 1979 to the 6th [[International Circus Festival of Monte Carlo]], where they won the prestigious Silver Clown award. Then, Feld sent them on tour in 1980 with his all-star circus production, ''Monte Carlo Circus Spectacular'', which visited Australia, Japan and the Far East with a superb selection of Monte Carlo award winners; the Fabulous Farrell Brothers were now established international circus stars!<br /> <br /> Upon their return in 1980, they participated in the [[Circus World Championships]] in London, a BBC television event which, like the Monte Carlo festival, was broadcast all over Europe. Then, for the 1981 season, they were featured in one of the world's most prestigious circuses, the renowned [[Circus Knie]] in Switzerland. The Farrell Brothers returned to the U.S. in 1982 and performed with the [[Royal Hanneford Circus]] in their 1982-1983 season. They gave their last performance with them in Detroit, Michigan.<br /> <br /> ===After the Applause=== <br /> <br /> Farrell and Richard had an amazing career: In a short period of time, they had won one the circus world's most coveted awards, they had toured the world, performed with prestigious shows and, perhaps more importantly, they were still young and had survived a dangerous act without a scar. Farrell and Richard called it quits and parted amicably. They remained in touch throughout their lives.<br /> <br /> Richard went on to be a teacher and became a professor at West Virginia's Wesleyan College in its Low-Residency Master of Fine Arts program. He also penned two books: ''The Aerialist'' a novel published in 2000, and later, ''Life Among Strangers'' a collection of short stories (2019). He retired from teaching in 2020 and now divides his time between his homes in New York and Florida.<br /> <br /> Shortly after leaving the circus, Farrell met Kate German and they happily married in 1988. They had two children, Brooke and Mark. Farrell, who always had a head for numbers, enjoyed financial success as a business owner of several &quot;Fantastic Sam&quot; hair salons in Pinellas County, Florida. Sadly, he had an untimely and ironic death: After astounding the world with his daring performances, he died in his sleep from a heart attack on August 22, 2006, at the too young age of fifty. <br /> <br /> The Hettig circus dynasty, however, didn't die with him: his niece, Rikki Hettig-Rolfe Meaux grew up in Sarasota and, inspired by her uncle Farrell, performed in the Sailor Circus from the first through the twelfth grades. She is now an educator and a second-generation professional circus artist.<br /> <br /> ==See Also==<br /> <br /> * Video: [[Farrell_Brothers_Video_(1979)|The Farrell Brothers, high wire]], at the International Circus Festival of Monte Carlo (1979)<br /> * Video: [[Farrell_Brothers_Video_(1980)|The Farrell Brothers, high wire]], at the Circus World Championships (1980)<br /> <br /> ==Image Gallery==<br /> <br /> &lt;Gallery&gt;<br /> File:Karl_Wallenda.jpg|Karl Wallenda (c.1965)<br /> File:The_Farrell_Brothers.jpg|Farrell Hettig &amp; Richard Schmitt (c.1975)<br /> File:Farrell_Bros.jpg|Rehearsing in Florida (c.1976)<br /> File:Farrell_Brothers_-_Knie.jpg|The Farrell Brothers at Circus Knie (1981)<br /> File:Farrell_Brothers.jpeg|The Farrell Brothers at Circus Knie (1981)<br /> File:Farrell_Bros_Knie_ext.jpg|Publicity stunt at Circus Knie (1981)<br /> &lt;/Gallery&gt;<br /> <br /> [[Category:Artists and Acts|Farrell Brothers]][[Category:Acrobats|Farrell Brothers]][[Category:High Wire|Farrell Brothers]]</div>

Djando https://www.circopedia.org/index.php?title=Farrell_Brothers&diff=46892 2026-10-29T18:07:22Z

<p>Djando: /* The Farrell Brothers */</p> <hr /> <div>[[File:The_Farrell_Brothers.jpg|right|400px]]<br /> ==High Wire==<br /> <br /> ''By Mary Hettig''<br /> <br /> The Farrell Brothers were, from 1971 to 1983, a very successful American high wire duo that followed in the footsteps of the 1960s' [[Mendez and Seitz]] (Gene Mendez and Joe Seitz), former members of the legendary [[The Wallendas|Wallenda]] troupe. The Farrell Brothers quickly became circus headliners in the United States and in Europe and enjoyed a brilliant, albeit relatively short, international career. <br /> <br /> ===Farrell and The Wallendas===<br /> <br /> Farrell Hettig didn't come from a circus family. Born in St Petersburg, Florida, on September 25,1955 to Nila and Farrell Hettig Sr., he joined a blended family of three siblings: Beth and Woodie, his older sister and brother from Nila’s previous marriage, and Mary, who was roughly one year older than Farrell. Farrell senior was working in radio advertising and Nila was a homemaker.<br /> <br /> [[File:Karl_Wallenda.jpg|thumb|left|250px|Karl Wallenda (c.1965)]]Nila and Farrell divorced in 1961, when Farrell was six years old. Then, Nila and the children moved to Sarasota, Florida, known as America’s &quot;Circus City:&quot; [[John Ringling]] had made Sarasota his winter home in 1926, and brought his large circus operation to the city in 1927. Over the years, many circus artists and families settled in Sarasota, establishing a circus community that has remained an important part of the city's fabric up to this day (2026).<br /> <br /> Farrell got his introduction to the circus arts when he joined Sarasota’s famous youth circus, [[Sailor Circus]] (today part of the Circus Arts Conservatory), in his teen years. Over the years he performed many acts in Sailor Circus's shows, but high wire soon became his focus: He was coached by no less than [[The Wallendas|Gunther Wallenda]]. (Gunther was the one performer of the Wallenda troupe who remained standing on the wire during their tragic fall of 1969.)<br /> <br /> At the time, Gunther was a teacher in Sarasota County Schools. A gifted circus student, Farrell eventually went on the road with the Wallendas as a rigger during the summer of 1971. He was sixteen years old. Later in the early 1970’s, he began traveling with them as a performing member of the troupe. During that time Farrell and the legendary head of the troupe, [[Karl Wallenda]], formed a strong bond that would bolster Farrell throughout his life.<br /> <br /> In the 1978 television movie ''The Great Wallendas'', Farrell’s skills were prominently featured. Although none of the original Wallendas performed in the movie, they had been impersonated by talented high-wire walkers: Terry Troffer and his wife Delilah Wallenda, Luis Murrillo, David Klukow, Tino and Ricky Wallenda, and a 22-year-old Farrell Hettig. In the re-creation of the dangerous seven-person pyramid, Farrell stood in the crucial position of second tier of the three-tiered pyramid. Less than a year after the completion of the movie, on March 22, 1978, Farrell was present in San Juan, Puerto Rico, when the great Karl Wallenda tragically performed his last walk on the high wire and fell to his death.<br /> <br /> ===Enter Richard Schmitt===<br /> <br /> [[File:Farrell_Bros.jpg|thumb|right|400px|Farrell and Richard in practice (c.1976)]]Meanwhile, Farrell had decided to go his own way and create a new high wire act, a duo in the dynamic and spectacular style originated by Mendez &amp; Seitz. But to do so, Farrell needed a partner. It is at this point that Richard Schmitt entered the scene…<br /> <br /> A native of Boston, Massachusetts, Richard Schmitt spent his childhood in Boston and Rhode Island. Like Farrell, he did not come from a circus family: He left home in his teens and describes himself as a &quot;runaway.&quot; He recalls his first encounter with the circus world this way: &quot;At age eighteen I found, by sheer happenstance, the Ringing Circus train parked in a filthy trainyard in Providence, Rhode Island. I got a job selling cotton candy and as you might expect ended up in Sarasota, Florida. I had never been there before, loved it, and in my heart, I never really left it.”<br /> <br /> In that circus environment, Richard discovered the high wire. He had never walked on a wire before and taught himself by trial and error. Then he found a partner, Julian Albulet. Julian had previously worked on the high wire with Mike Talamantez as the [[Albulet Brothers]], an act that will eventually have a long run in Las Vegas at [[Circus Circus]] Hotel and Casino. For a short while, Richard became the second half of the Albulet Brothers.<br /> <br /> In 1975, Julian and Richard set up their rigging in Sarasota. This caught the local performers' attention, always interested in the work of their circus colleagues. One of those performers was Farrell who, at that point, was determined to develop his own act and was looking for a partner of his caliber. Richard's skills impressed him enough and he and Richard joined forces: Their act was born that same year, and Farrell, not averse to circus hype, named it ''The Fabulous Farrell Brothers''.<br /> <br /> ===The Farrell Brothers===<br /> <br /> [[File:Farrell_Brothers.jpeg|thumb|300px|left|The Farrell Brothers at Circus Knie (1981)]]Their act was outstanding and included all the most spectacular (and dangerous) tricks of the repertoire, such as a two-man height column with Farrell jumping down to the wire from the shoulders of Richard or leapfrogging over him, and fast-speed rope jumping, with all the staged &quot;near-misses&quot; (known as ''chiqués'') that made the act even more nerve-racking. Like his predecessors [[Harold Alzana]], Gene Mendez and [[Pedro Carillo]], Farrell worked without a balancing pole and the act was performed without a net. <br /> <br /> Farrell also revived a feature then still uncommon among his contemporaries: Like Harold Alzana (who had retired in the early 1970s), he walked up to and down from the high wire on an incline wire. He even established a new world record in 1981 for walking the steepest incline high wire. The Farrell Brothers were young, energetic and good-looking, and their act had all the elements needed to make them genuine circus stars.<br /> <br /> This quickly caught the attention of [[Irvin Feld]] the owner and producer of [[Ringling Bros. and Barnum &amp; Bailey]] Circus and of its brand new (and short-lived) Florida theme park, [[Circus World]], in Haines City, near Orlando. One of its attractions was a &quot;Circus Showcase&quot; that needed high-caliber acts; the Fabulous Farrell Brothers were a perfect addition to the show, and they spent the 1977 and 1978 seasons as a featured act at Circus World.<br /> <br /> Following their success there, Irving Feld sent them in December 1979 to the 6th [[International Circus Festival of Monte Carlo]], where they won the prestigious Silver Clown award. Then, Feld sent them on tour in 1980 with his all-star circus production, ''Monte Carlo Circus Spectacular'', which visited Australia, Japan and the Far East with a superb selection of Monte Carlo award winners; the Fabulous Farrell Brothers were now established international circus stars!<br /> <br /> Upon their return in 1980, they participated in the [[Circus World Championships]] in London, a BBC television event which, like the Monte Carlo festival, was broadcast all over Europe. Then, for the 1981 season, they were featured in one of the world's most prestigious circuses, the renowned [[Circus Knie]] in Switzerland. The Farrell Brothers returned to the U.S. in 1982 and performed with the [[Royal Hanneford Circus]] in their 1982-1983 season. They gave their last performance with them in Detroit, Michigan.<br /> <br /> ===After the Applause=== <br /> <br /> Farrell and Richard had an amazing career: In a short period of time, they had won one the circus world's most coveted awards, they had toured the world, performed with prestigious shows and, perhaps more importantly, they were still young and had survived a dangerous act without a scar. Farrell and Richard called it quits and parted amicably. They remained in touch throughout their lives.<br /> <br /> Richard went on to be a teacher and became a professor at West Virginia's Wesleyan College in its Low-Residency Master of Fine Arts program. He also penned two books: ''The Aerialist'' a novel published in 2000, and later, ''Life Among Strangers'' a collection of short stories (2019). He retired from teaching in 2020 and now divides his time between his homes in New York and Florida.<br /> <br /> Shortly after leaving the circus, Farrell met Kate German and they happily married in 1988. They had two children, Brooke and Mark. Farrell, who always had a head for numbers, enjoyed financial success as a business owner of several &quot;Fantastic Sam&quot; hair salons in Pinellas County, Florida. Sadly, he had an untimely and ironic death: After astounding the world with his daring performances, he died in his sleep from a heart attack on August 22, 2006, at the too young age of fifty. <br /> <br /> The Hettig circus dynasty, however, didn't die with him: his niece, Rikki Hettig-Rolfe Meaux grew up in Sarasota and, inspired by her uncle Farrell, performed in the Sailor Circus from the first through the twelfth grades. She is now an educator and a second-generation professional circus artist.<br /> <br /> ==See Also==<br /> <br /> * Video: [[Farrell_Brothers_Video_(1979)|The Farrell Brothers, high wire]], at the International Circus Festival of Monte Carlo (1979)<br /> * Video: [[Farrell_Brothers_Video_(1980)|The Farrell Brothers, high wire]], at the Circus World Championships (1980)<br /> <br /> ==Image Gallery==<br /> <br /> &lt;Gallery&gt;<br /> File:Karl_Wallenda.jpg|Karl Wallenda (c.1965)<br /> File:The_Farrell_Brothers.jpg|Farrell Hettig &amp; Richard Schmitt (c.1975)<br /> File:Farrell_Bros.jpg|Rehearsing in Florida (c.1976)<br /> File:Farrell_Brothers_-_Knie.jpg|The Farrell Brothers at Circus Knie (1981)<br /> File:Farrell_Brothers.jpeg|The Farrell Brothers at Circus Knie (1981)<br /> File:Farrell_Bros_Knie_ext.jpg|Publicity stunt at Circus Knie (1981)<br /> &lt;/Gallery&gt;<br /> <br /> [[Category:Artists and Acts|Farrell Brothers]][[Category:Acrobats|Farrell Brothers]][[Category:High Wire|Farrell Brothers]]</div>

Djando https://www.circopedia.org/index.php?title=Farrell_Brothers&diff=46891 2026-10-29T18:04:43Z

<p>Djando: /* Enter Richard Schmitt */</p> <hr /> <div>[[File:The_Farrell_Brothers.jpg|right|400px]]<br /> ==High Wire==<br /> <br /> ''By Mary Hettig''<br /> <br /> The Farrell Brothers were, from 1971 to 1983, a very successful American high wire duo that followed in the footsteps of the 1960s' [[Mendez and Seitz]] (Gene Mendez and Joe Seitz), former members of the legendary [[The Wallendas|Wallenda]] troupe. The Farrell Brothers quickly became circus headliners in the United States and in Europe and enjoyed a brilliant, albeit relatively short, international career. <br /> <br /> ===Farrell and The Wallendas===<br /> <br /> Farrell Hettig didn't come from a circus family. Born in St Petersburg, Florida, on September 25,1955 to Nila and Farrell Hettig Sr., he joined a blended family of three siblings: Beth and Woodie, his older sister and brother from Nila’s previous marriage, and Mary, who was roughly one year older than Farrell. Farrell senior was working in radio advertising and Nila was a homemaker.<br /> <br /> [[File:Karl_Wallenda.jpg|thumb|left|250px|Karl Wallenda (c.1965)]]Nila and Farrell divorced in 1961, when Farrell was six years old. Then, Nila and the children moved to Sarasota, Florida, known as America’s &quot;Circus City:&quot; [[John Ringling]] had made Sarasota his winter home in 1926, and brought his large circus operation to the city in 1927. Over the years, many circus artists and families settled in Sarasota, establishing a circus community that has remained an important part of the city's fabric up to this day (2026).<br /> <br /> Farrell got his introduction to the circus arts when he joined Sarasota’s famous youth circus, [[Sailor Circus]] (today part of the Circus Arts Conservatory), in his teen years. Over the years he performed many acts in Sailor Circus's shows, but high wire soon became his focus: He was coached by no less than [[The Wallendas|Gunther Wallenda]]. (Gunther was the one performer of the Wallenda troupe who remained standing on the wire during their tragic fall of 1969.)<br /> <br /> At the time, Gunther was a teacher in Sarasota County Schools. A gifted circus student, Farrell eventually went on the road with the Wallendas as a rigger during the summer of 1971. He was sixteen years old. Later in the early 1970’s, he began traveling with them as a performing member of the troupe. During that time Farrell and the legendary head of the troupe, [[Karl Wallenda]], formed a strong bond that would bolster Farrell throughout his life.<br /> <br /> In the 1978 television movie ''The Great Wallendas'', Farrell’s skills were prominently featured. Although none of the original Wallendas performed in the movie, they had been impersonated by talented high-wire walkers: Terry Troffer and his wife Delilah Wallenda, Luis Murrillo, David Klukow, Tino and Ricky Wallenda, and a 22-year-old Farrell Hettig. In the re-creation of the dangerous seven-person pyramid, Farrell stood in the crucial position of second tier of the three-tiered pyramid. Less than a year after the completion of the movie, on March 22, 1978, Farrell was present in San Juan, Puerto Rico, when the great Karl Wallenda tragically performed his last walk on the high wire and fell to his death.<br /> <br /> ===Enter Richard Schmitt===<br /> <br /> [[File:Farrell_Bros.jpg|thumb|right|400px|Farrell and Richard in practice (c.1976)]]Meanwhile, Farrell had decided to go his own way and create a new high wire act, a duo in the dynamic and spectacular style originated by Mendez &amp; Seitz. But to do so, Farrell needed a partner. It is at this point that Richard Schmitt entered the scene…<br /> <br /> A native of Boston, Massachusetts, Richard Schmitt spent his childhood in Boston and Rhode Island. Like Farrell, he did not come from a circus family: He left home in his teens and describes himself as a &quot;runaway.&quot; He recalls his first encounter with the circus world this way: &quot;At age eighteen I found, by sheer happenstance, the Ringing Circus train parked in a filthy trainyard in Providence, Rhode Island. I got a job selling cotton candy and as you might expect ended up in Sarasota, Florida. I had never been there before, loved it, and in my heart, I never really left it.”<br /> <br /> In that circus environment, Richard discovered the high wire. He had never walked on a wire before and taught himself by trial and error. Then he found a partner, Julian Albulet. Julian had previously worked on the high wire with Mike Talamantez as the [[Albulet Brothers]], an act that will eventually have a long run in Las Vegas at [[Circus Circus]] Hotel and Casino. For a short while, Richard became the second half of the Albulet Brothers.<br /> <br /> In 1975, Julian and Richard set up their rigging in Sarasota. This caught the local performers' attention, always interested in the work of their circus colleagues. One of those performers was Farrell who, at that point, was determined to develop his own act and was looking for a partner of his caliber. Richard's skills impressed him enough and he and Richard joined forces: Their act was born that same year, and Farrell, not averse to circus hype, named it ''The Fabulous Farrell Brothers''.<br /> <br /> ===The Farrell Brothers===<br /> <br /> [[File:Farrell_Brothers.jpeg|thumb|300px|left|The Farrell Brothers at Circus Knie (1981)]]Their act was outstanding and included all the most spectacular (and dangerous) tricks of the repertoire, such as a two-man height column with Farrell jumping down to the wire from the shoulders of Richard or leapfrogging over him, and fast-speed rope jumping, with all the staged &quot;near-misses&quot; (known as ''chiqués'') that made the act even more nerve-racking. Like his predecessors [[Harold Alzana]], Gene Mendez and Pedro Carillo, Farrell worked without a balancing pole and the act was performed without a net. <br /> <br /> Farrell also revived a feature then still uncommon among his contemporaries: Like Harold Alzana (who had retired in the early 1970s), he walked up to and down from the high wire on an incline wire. He even established a new world record in 1981 for walking the steepest incline high wire. The Farrell Brothers were young, energetic and good-looking, and their act had all the elements needed to make them genuine circus stars.<br /> <br /> This quickly caught the attention of [[Irvin Feld]] the owner and producer of [[Ringling Bros. and Barnum &amp; Bailey]] Circus and of its brand new (and short-lived) Florida theme park, [[Circus World]], in Haines City, near Orlando. One of its attractions was a &quot;Circus Showcase&quot; that needed high-caliber acts; the Fabulous Farrell Brothers were a perfect addition to the show, and they spent the 1977 and 1978 seasons as a featured act at Circus World.<br /> <br /> Following their success there, Irving Feld sent them in December 1979 to the 6th [[International Circus Festival of Monte Carlo]], where they won the prestigious Silver Clown award. Then, Feld sent them on tour in 1980 with his all-star circus production, ''Monte Carlo Circus Spectacular'', which visited Australia, Japan and the Far East with a superb selection of Monte Carlo award winners; the Fabulous Farrell Brothers were now established international circus stars!<br /> <br /> Upon their return in 1980, they participated in the [[Circus World Championships]] in London, a BBC television event which, like the Monte Carlo festival, was broadcast all over Europe. Then, for the 1981 season, they were featured in one of the world's most prestigious circuses, the renowned [[Circus Knie]] in Switzerland. The Farrell Brothers returned to the U.S. in 1982 and performed with the [[Royal Hanneford Circus]] in their 1982-1983 season. They gave their last performance with them in Detroit, Michigan.<br /> <br /> ===After the Applause=== <br /> <br /> Farrell and Richard had an amazing career: In a short period of time, they had won one the circus world's most coveted awards, they had toured the world, performed with prestigious shows and, perhaps more importantly, they were still young and had survived a dangerous act without a scar. Farrell and Richard called it quits and parted amicably. They remained in touch throughout their lives.<br /> <br /> Richard went on to be a teacher and became a professor at West Virginia's Wesleyan College in its Low-Residency Master of Fine Arts program. He also penned two books: ''The Aerialist'' a novel published in 2000, and later, ''Life Among Strangers'' a collection of short stories (2019). He retired from teaching in 2020 and now divides his time between his homes in New York and Florida.<br /> <br /> Shortly after leaving the circus, Farrell met Kate German and they happily married in 1988. They had two children, Brooke and Mark. Farrell, who always had a head for numbers, enjoyed financial success as a business owner of several &quot;Fantastic Sam&quot; hair salons in Pinellas County, Florida. Sadly, he had an untimely and ironic death: After astounding the world with his daring performances, he died in his sleep from a heart attack on August 22, 2006, at the too young age of fifty. <br /> <br /> The Hettig circus dynasty, however, didn't die with him: his niece, Rikki Hettig-Rolfe Meaux grew up in Sarasota and, inspired by her uncle Farrell, performed in the Sailor Circus from the first through the twelfth grades. She is now an educator and a second-generation professional circus artist.<br /> <br /> ==See Also==<br /> <br /> * Video: [[Farrell_Brothers_Video_(1979)|The Farrell Brothers, high wire]], at the International Circus Festival of Monte Carlo (1979)<br /> * Video: [[Farrell_Brothers_Video_(1980)|The Farrell Brothers, high wire]], at the Circus World Championships (1980)<br /> <br /> ==Image Gallery==<br /> <br /> &lt;Gallery&gt;<br /> File:Karl_Wallenda.jpg|Karl Wallenda (c.1965)<br /> File:The_Farrell_Brothers.jpg|Farrell Hettig &amp; Richard Schmitt (c.1975)<br /> File:Farrell_Bros.jpg|Rehearsing in Florida (c.1976)<br /> File:Farrell_Brothers_-_Knie.jpg|The Farrell Brothers at Circus Knie (1981)<br /> File:Farrell_Brothers.jpeg|The Farrell Brothers at Circus Knie (1981)<br /> File:Farrell_Bros_Knie_ext.jpg|Publicity stunt at Circus Knie (1981)<br /> &lt;/Gallery&gt;<br /> <br /> [[Category:Artists and Acts|Farrell Brothers]][[Category:Acrobats|Farrell Brothers]][[Category:High Wire|Farrell Brothers]]</div>

Djando https://www.circopedia.org/index.php?title=Farrell_Brothers&diff=46890 2026-10-29T18:02:06Z

<p>Djando: /* Enter Richard Schmitt */</p> <hr /> <div>[[File:The_Farrell_Brothers.jpg|right|400px]]<br /> ==High Wire==<br /> <br /> ''By Mary Hettig''<br /> <br /> The Farrell Brothers were, from 1971 to 1983, a very successful American high wire duo that followed in the footsteps of the 1960s' [[Mendez and Seitz]] (Gene Mendez and Joe Seitz), former members of the legendary [[The Wallendas|Wallenda]] troupe. The Farrell Brothers quickly became circus headliners in the United States and in Europe and enjoyed a brilliant, albeit relatively short, international career. <br /> <br /> ===Farrell and The Wallendas===<br /> <br /> Farrell Hettig didn't come from a circus family. Born in St Petersburg, Florida, on September 25,1955 to Nila and Farrell Hettig Sr., he joined a blended family of three siblings: Beth and Woodie, his older sister and brother from Nila’s previous marriage, and Mary, who was roughly one year older than Farrell. Farrell senior was working in radio advertising and Nila was a homemaker.<br /> <br /> [[File:Karl_Wallenda.jpg|thumb|left|250px|Karl Wallenda (c.1965)]]Nila and Farrell divorced in 1961, when Farrell was six years old. Then, Nila and the children moved to Sarasota, Florida, known as America’s &quot;Circus City:&quot; [[John Ringling]] had made Sarasota his winter home in 1926, and brought his large circus operation to the city in 1927. Over the years, many circus artists and families settled in Sarasota, establishing a circus community that has remained an important part of the city's fabric up to this day (2026).<br /> <br /> Farrell got his introduction to the circus arts when he joined Sarasota’s famous youth circus, [[Sailor Circus]] (today part of the Circus Arts Conservatory), in his teen years. Over the years he performed many acts in Sailor Circus's shows, but high wire soon became his focus: He was coached by no less than [[The Wallendas|Gunther Wallenda]]. (Gunther was the one performer of the Wallenda troupe who remained standing on the wire during their tragic fall of 1969.)<br /> <br /> At the time, Gunther was a teacher in Sarasota County Schools. A gifted circus student, Farrell eventually went on the road with the Wallendas as a rigger during the summer of 1971. He was sixteen years old. Later in the early 1970’s, he began traveling with them as a performing member of the troupe. During that time Farrell and the legendary head of the troupe, [[Karl Wallenda]], formed a strong bond that would bolster Farrell throughout his life.<br /> <br /> In the 1978 television movie ''The Great Wallendas'', Farrell’s skills were prominently featured. Although none of the original Wallendas performed in the movie, they had been impersonated by talented high-wire walkers: Terry Troffer and his wife Delilah Wallenda, Luis Murrillo, David Klukow, Tino and Ricky Wallenda, and a 22-year-old Farrell Hettig. In the re-creation of the dangerous seven-person pyramid, Farrell stood in the crucial position of second tier of the three-tiered pyramid. Less than a year after the completion of the movie, on March 22, 1978, Farrell was present in San Juan, Puerto Rico, when the great Karl Wallenda tragically performed his last walk on the high wire and fell to his death.<br /> <br /> ===Enter Richard Schmitt===<br /> <br /> [[File:Farrell_Bros.jpg|thumb|right|400px|Farrell and Richard in practice (c.1976)]]Meanwhile, Farrell had decided to go his own way and create a new high wire act, a duo in the dynamic and spectacular style originated by Mendez &amp; Seitz. But to do so, Farrell needed a partner. It is at this point that Richard Schmitt entered the scene…<br /> <br /> A native of Boston, Massachusetts, Richard Schmitt spent his childhood in Boston and Rhode Island. Like Farrell, he did not come from a circus family: He left home in his teens and describes himself as a &quot;runaway.&quot; He recalls his first encounter with the circus world this way: &quot;At age eighteen I found, by sheer happenstance, the Ringing Circus train parked in a filthy trainyard in Providence, Rhode Island. I got a job selling cotton candy and as you might expect ended up in Sarasota, Florida. I had never been there before, loved it, and in my heart, I never really left it.”<br /> <br /> In that circus environment, Richard discovered the high wire. He had never walked on a wire before and taught himself by trial and error. Then he found a partner, Julian Albulet. Julian had previously worked on the high wire with Mike Talamantez as the [[Albulet Brothers]], an act that will eventually have a long run in Las Vegas at [[Circus Circus]] Hotel and Casino. For a short while, Richard became the second half of the Albulet Brothers.<br /> <br /> In 1975, Julian and Richard set up their rigging in Sarasota. This caught the local performers' attention, always interested in the work of their circus colleagues. One of those performers was Farrell who, at that point, was determined to develop his own act and was looking for a partner of his caliber. Richard's skills impressed him enough and he and Richard joined forces: Their act was born that same year, and Farrell, not averse to circus hype, named it &quot;The Fabulous Farrell Brothers.&quot;<br /> <br /> ===The Farrell Brothers===<br /> <br /> [[File:Farrell_Brothers.jpeg|thumb|300px|left|The Farrell Brothers at Circus Knie (1981)]]Their act was outstanding and included all the most spectacular (and dangerous) tricks of the repertoire, such as a two-man height column with Farrell jumping down to the wire from the shoulders of Richard or leapfrogging over him, and fast-speed rope jumping, with all the staged &quot;near-misses&quot; (known as ''chiqués'') that made the act even more nerve-racking. Like his predecessors [[Harold Alzana]], Gene Mendez and Pedro Carillo, Farrell worked without a balancing pole and the act was performed without a net. <br /> <br /> Farrell also revived a feature then still uncommon among his contemporaries: Like Harold Alzana (who had retired in the early 1970s), he walked up to and down from the high wire on an incline wire. He even established a new world record in 1981 for walking the steepest incline high wire. The Farrell Brothers were young, energetic and good-looking, and their act had all the elements needed to make them genuine circus stars.<br /> <br /> This quickly caught the attention of [[Irvin Feld]] the owner and producer of [[Ringling Bros. and Barnum &amp; Bailey]] Circus and of its brand new (and short-lived) Florida theme park, [[Circus World]], in Haines City, near Orlando. One of its attractions was a &quot;Circus Showcase&quot; that needed high-caliber acts; the Fabulous Farrell Brothers were a perfect addition to the show, and they spent the 1977 and 1978 seasons as a featured act at Circus World.<br /> <br /> Following their success there, Irving Feld sent them in December 1979 to the 6th [[International Circus Festival of Monte Carlo]], where they won the prestigious Silver Clown award. Then, Feld sent them on tour in 1980 with his all-star circus production, ''Monte Carlo Circus Spectacular'', which visited Australia, Japan and the Far East with a superb selection of Monte Carlo award winners; the Fabulous Farrell Brothers were now established international circus stars!<br /> <br /> Upon their return in 1980, they participated in the [[Circus World Championships]] in London, a BBC television event which, like the Monte Carlo festival, was broadcast all over Europe. Then, for the 1981 season, they were featured in one of the world's most prestigious circuses, the renowned [[Circus Knie]] in Switzerland. The Farrell Brothers returned to the U.S. in 1982 and performed with the [[Royal Hanneford Circus]] in their 1982-1983 season. They gave their last performance with them in Detroit, Michigan.<br /> <br /> ===After the Applause=== <br /> <br /> Farrell and Richard had an amazing career: In a short period of time, they had won one the circus world's most coveted awards, they had toured the world, performed with prestigious shows and, perhaps more importantly, they were still young and had survived a dangerous act without a scar. Farrell and Richard called it quits and parted amicably. They remained in touch throughout their lives.<br /> <br /> Richard went on to be a teacher and became a professor at West Virginia's Wesleyan College in its Low-Residency Master of Fine Arts program. He also penned two books: ''The Aerialist'' a novel published in 2000, and later, ''Life Among Strangers'' a collection of short stories (2019). He retired from teaching in 2020 and now divides his time between his homes in New York and Florida.<br /> <br /> Shortly after leaving the circus, Farrell met Kate German and they happily married in 1988. They had two children, Brooke and Mark. Farrell, who always had a head for numbers, enjoyed financial success as a business owner of several &quot;Fantastic Sam&quot; hair salons in Pinellas County, Florida. Sadly, he had an untimely and ironic death: After astounding the world with his daring performances, he died in his sleep from a heart attack on August 22, 2006, at the too young age of fifty. <br /> <br /> The Hettig circus dynasty, however, didn't die with him: his niece, Rikki Hettig-Rolfe Meaux grew up in Sarasota and, inspired by her uncle Farrell, performed in the Sailor Circus from the first through the twelfth grades. She is now an educator and a second-generation professional circus artist.<br /> <br /> ==See Also==<br /> <br /> * Video: [[Farrell_Brothers_Video_(1979)|The Farrell Brothers, high wire]], at the International Circus Festival of Monte Carlo (1979)<br /> * Video: [[Farrell_Brothers_Video_(1980)|The Farrell Brothers, high wire]], at the Circus World Championships (1980)<br /> <br /> ==Image Gallery==<br /> <br /> &lt;Gallery&gt;<br /> File:Karl_Wallenda.jpg|Karl Wallenda (c.1965)<br /> File:The_Farrell_Brothers.jpg|Farrell Hettig &amp; Richard Schmitt (c.1975)<br /> File:Farrell_Bros.jpg|Rehearsing in Florida (c.1976)<br /> File:Farrell_Brothers_-_Knie.jpg|The Farrell Brothers at Circus Knie (1981)<br /> File:Farrell_Brothers.jpeg|The Farrell Brothers at Circus Knie (1981)<br /> File:Farrell_Bros_Knie_ext.jpg|Publicity stunt at Circus Knie (1981)<br /> &lt;/Gallery&gt;<br /> <br /> [[Category:Artists and Acts|Farrell Brothers]][[Category:Acrobats|Farrell Brothers]][[Category:High Wire|Farrell Brothers]]</div>

Djando https://www.circopedia.org/index.php?title=Farrell_Brothers&diff=46889 2026-10-29T18:01:39Z

<p>Djando: /* Farrell and The Wallendas */</p> <hr /> <div>[[File:The_Farrell_Brothers.jpg|right|400px]]<br /> ==High Wire==<br /> <br /> ''By Mary Hettig''<br /> <br /> The Farrell Brothers were, from 1971 to 1983, a very successful American high wire duo that followed in the footsteps of the 1960s' [[Mendez and Seitz]] (Gene Mendez and Joe Seitz), former members of the legendary [[The Wallendas|Wallenda]] troupe. The Farrell Brothers quickly became circus headliners in the United States and in Europe and enjoyed a brilliant, albeit relatively short, international career. <br /> <br /> ===Farrell and The Wallendas===<br /> <br /> Farrell Hettig didn't come from a circus family. Born in St Petersburg, Florida, on September 25,1955 to Nila and Farrell Hettig Sr., he joined a blended family of three siblings: Beth and Woodie, his older sister and brother from Nila’s previous marriage, and Mary, who was roughly one year older than Farrell. Farrell senior was working in radio advertising and Nila was a homemaker.<br /> <br /> [[File:Karl_Wallenda.jpg|thumb|left|250px|Karl Wallenda (c.1965)]]Nila and Farrell divorced in 1961, when Farrell was six years old. Then, Nila and the children moved to Sarasota, Florida, known as America’s &quot;Circus City:&quot; [[John Ringling]] had made Sarasota his winter home in 1926, and brought his large circus operation to the city in 1927. Over the years, many circus artists and families settled in Sarasota, establishing a circus community that has remained an important part of the city's fabric up to this day (2026).<br /> <br /> Farrell got his introduction to the circus arts when he joined Sarasota’s famous youth circus, [[Sailor Circus]] (today part of the Circus Arts Conservatory), in his teen years. Over the years he performed many acts in Sailor Circus's shows, but high wire soon became his focus: He was coached by no less than [[The Wallendas|Gunther Wallenda]]. (Gunther was the one performer of the Wallenda troupe who remained standing on the wire during their tragic fall of 1969.)<br /> <br /> At the time, Gunther was a teacher in Sarasota County Schools. A gifted circus student, Farrell eventually went on the road with the Wallendas as a rigger during the summer of 1971. He was sixteen years old. Later in the early 1970’s, he began traveling with them as a performing member of the troupe. During that time Farrell and the legendary head of the troupe, [[Karl Wallenda]], formed a strong bond that would bolster Farrell throughout his life.<br /> <br /> In the 1978 television movie ''The Great Wallendas'', Farrell’s skills were prominently featured. Although none of the original Wallendas performed in the movie, they had been impersonated by talented high-wire walkers: Terry Troffer and his wife Delilah Wallenda, Luis Murrillo, David Klukow, Tino and Ricky Wallenda, and a 22-year-old Farrell Hettig. In the re-creation of the dangerous seven-person pyramid, Farrell stood in the crucial position of second tier of the three-tiered pyramid. Less than a year after the completion of the movie, on March 22, 1978, Farrell was present in San Juan, Puerto Rico, when the great Karl Wallenda tragically performed his last walk on the high wire and fell to his death.<br /> <br /> ===Enter Richard Schmitt===<br /> <br /> [[File:Farrell_Bros.jpg|thumb|right|400px|Farrell and Richard in practice (c.1976)]]Meanwhile, Farrell had decided to go his own way and create a new high-wire act, a duo in the dynamic and spectacular style originated by Mendez &amp; Seitz. But to do so, Farrell needed a partner. It is at this point that Richard Schmitt entered the scene…<br /> <br /> A native of Boston, Massachusetts, Richard Schmitt spent his childhood in Boston and Rhode Island. Like Farrell, he did not come from a circus family: He left home in his teens and describes himself as a &quot;runaway.&quot; He recalls his first encounter with the circus world this way: &quot;At age eighteen I found, by sheer happenstance, the Ringing Circus train parked in a filthy trainyard in Providence, Rhode Island. I got a job selling cotton candy and as you might expect ended up in Sarasota, Florida. I had never been there before, loved it, and in my heart, I never really left it.”<br /> <br /> In that circus environment, Richard discovered the high wire. He had never walked on a wire before and taught himself by trial and error. Then he found a partner, Julian Albulet. Julian had previously worked on the high wire with Mike Talamantez as the [[Albulet Brothers]], an act that will eventually have a long run in Las Vegas at [[Circus Circus]] Hotel and Casino. For a short while, Richard became the second half of the Albulet Brothers.<br /> <br /> In 1975, Julian and Richard set up their rigging in Sarasota. This caught the local performers' attention, always interested in the work of their circus colleagues. One of those performers was Farrell who, at that point, was determined to develop his own act and was looking for a partner of his caliber. Richard's skills impressed him enough and he and Richard joined forces: Their act was born that same year, and Farrell, not averse to circus hype, named it &quot;The Fabulous Farrell Brothers.&quot;<br /> <br /> ===The Farrell Brothers===<br /> <br /> [[File:Farrell_Brothers.jpeg|thumb|300px|left|The Farrell Brothers at Circus Knie (1981)]]Their act was outstanding and included all the most spectacular (and dangerous) tricks of the repertoire, such as a two-man height column with Farrell jumping down to the wire from the shoulders of Richard or leapfrogging over him, and fast-speed rope jumping, with all the staged &quot;near-misses&quot; (known as ''chiqués'') that made the act even more nerve-racking. Like his predecessors [[Harold Alzana]], Gene Mendez and Pedro Carillo, Farrell worked without a balancing pole and the act was performed without a net. <br /> <br /> Farrell also revived a feature then still uncommon among his contemporaries: Like Harold Alzana (who had retired in the early 1970s), he walked up to and down from the high wire on an incline wire. He even established a new world record in 1981 for walking the steepest incline high wire. The Farrell Brothers were young, energetic and good-looking, and their act had all the elements needed to make them genuine circus stars.<br /> <br /> This quickly caught the attention of [[Irvin Feld]] the owner and producer of [[Ringling Bros. and Barnum &amp; Bailey]] Circus and of its brand new (and short-lived) Florida theme park, [[Circus World]], in Haines City, near Orlando. One of its attractions was a &quot;Circus Showcase&quot; that needed high-caliber acts; the Fabulous Farrell Brothers were a perfect addition to the show, and they spent the 1977 and 1978 seasons as a featured act at Circus World.<br /> <br /> Following their success there, Irving Feld sent them in December 1979 to the 6th [[International Circus Festival of Monte Carlo]], where they won the prestigious Silver Clown award. Then, Feld sent them on tour in 1980 with his all-star circus production, ''Monte Carlo Circus Spectacular'', which visited Australia, Japan and the Far East with a superb selection of Monte Carlo award winners; the Fabulous Farrell Brothers were now established international circus stars!<br /> <br /> Upon their return in 1980, they participated in the [[Circus World Championships]] in London, a BBC television event which, like the Monte Carlo festival, was broadcast all over Europe. Then, for the 1981 season, they were featured in one of the world's most prestigious circuses, the renowned [[Circus Knie]] in Switzerland. The Farrell Brothers returned to the U.S. in 1982 and performed with the [[Royal Hanneford Circus]] in their 1982-1983 season. They gave their last performance with them in Detroit, Michigan.<br /> <br /> ===After the Applause=== <br /> <br /> Farrell and Richard had an amazing career: In a short period of time, they had won one the circus world's most coveted awards, they had toured the world, performed with prestigious shows and, perhaps more importantly, they were still young and had survived a dangerous act without a scar. Farrell and Richard called it quits and parted amicably. They remained in touch throughout their lives.<br /> <br /> Richard went on to be a teacher and became a professor at West Virginia's Wesleyan College in its Low-Residency Master of Fine Arts program. He also penned two books: ''The Aerialist'' a novel published in 2000, and later, ''Life Among Strangers'' a collection of short stories (2019). He retired from teaching in 2020 and now divides his time between his homes in New York and Florida.<br /> <br /> Shortly after leaving the circus, Farrell met Kate German and they happily married in 1988. They had two children, Brooke and Mark. Farrell, who always had a head for numbers, enjoyed financial success as a business owner of several &quot;Fantastic Sam&quot; hair salons in Pinellas County, Florida. Sadly, he had an untimely and ironic death: After astounding the world with his daring performances, he died in his sleep from a heart attack on August 22, 2006, at the too young age of fifty. <br /> <br /> The Hettig circus dynasty, however, didn't die with him: his niece, Rikki Hettig-Rolfe Meaux grew up in Sarasota and, inspired by her uncle Farrell, performed in the Sailor Circus from the first through the twelfth grades. She is now an educator and a second-generation professional circus artist.<br /> <br /> ==See Also==<br /> <br /> * Video: [[Farrell_Brothers_Video_(1979)|The Farrell Brothers, high wire]], at the International Circus Festival of Monte Carlo (1979)<br /> * Video: [[Farrell_Brothers_Video_(1980)|The Farrell Brothers, high wire]], at the Circus World Championships (1980)<br /> <br /> ==Image Gallery==<br /> <br /> &lt;Gallery&gt;<br /> File:Karl_Wallenda.jpg|Karl Wallenda (c.1965)<br /> File:The_Farrell_Brothers.jpg|Farrell Hettig &amp; Richard Schmitt (c.1975)<br /> File:Farrell_Bros.jpg|Rehearsing in Florida (c.1976)<br /> File:Farrell_Brothers_-_Knie.jpg|The Farrell Brothers at Circus Knie (1981)<br /> File:Farrell_Brothers.jpeg|The Farrell Brothers at Circus Knie (1981)<br /> File:Farrell_Bros_Knie_ext.jpg|Publicity stunt at Circus Knie (1981)<br /> &lt;/Gallery&gt;<br /> <br /> [[Category:Artists and Acts|Farrell Brothers]][[Category:Acrobats|Farrell Brothers]][[Category:High Wire|Farrell Brothers]]</div>

Djando https://www.circopedia.org/index.php?title=Farrell_Brothers&diff=46888 2026-10-29T17:57:22Z

<p>Djando: </p> <hr /> <div>[[File:The_Farrell_Brothers.jpg|right|400px]]<br /> ==High Wire==<br /> <br /> ''By Mary Hettig''<br /> <br /> The Farrell Brothers were, from 1971 to 1983, a very successful American high wire duo that followed in the footsteps of the 1960s' [[Mendez and Seitz]] (Gene Mendez and Joe Seitz), former members of the legendary [[The Wallendas|Wallenda]] troupe. The Farrell Brothers quickly became circus headliners in the United States and in Europe and enjoyed a brilliant, albeit relatively short, international career. <br /> <br /> ===Farrell and The Wallendas===<br /> <br /> Farrell Hettig didn't come from a circus family. Born in St Petersburg, Florida, on September 25,1955 to Nila and Farrell Hettig Sr., he joined a blended family of three siblings: Beth and Woodie, his older sister and brother from Nila’s previous marriage, and Mary, who was roughly one year older than Farrell. Farrell senior was working in radio advertising and Nila was a homemaker.<br /> <br /> [[File:Karl_Wallenda.jpg|thumb|left|250px|Karl Wallenda (c.1965)]]Nila and Farrell divorced in 1961, when Farrell was six years old. Then, Nila and the children moved to Sarasota, Florida, known as America’s &quot;Circus City:&quot; [[John Ringling]] had made Sarasota his winter home in 1926, followed by his large circus operation in 1927. Over the years, many circus artists and families settled in Sarasota, establishing a circus community that has remained an important part of the city's fabric up to this day (2026).<br /> <br /> Farrell got his introduction to the circus arts when he joined Sarasota’s famous youth circus, [[Sailor Circus]] (today part of the Circus Arts Conservatory), in his teen years. Over the years he performed many acts in Sailor Circus's shows, but high wire soon became his focus: He was coached by no less than [[The Wallendas|Gunther Wallenda]]. (Gunther was the one performer of the Wallenda troupe who remained standing on the wire during their tragic fall of 1969.)<br /> <br /> At the time, Gunther was a teacher in Sarasota County Schools. A gifted circus student, Farrell eventually went on the road with the Wallendas as a rigger during the summer of 1971. He was sixteen years old. Later in the early 1970’s, he began traveling with them as a performing member of the troupe. During that time Farrell and the legendary head of the troupe, [[Karl Wallenda]], formed a strong bond that would bolster Farrell throughout his life.<br /> <br /> In the 1978 television movie ''The Great Wallendas'', Farrell’s skills were prominently featured. Although none of the original Wallendas performed in the movie, they had been impersonated by talented high-wire walkers: Terry Troffer and his wife Delilah Wallenda, Luis Murrillo, David Klukow, Tino and Ricky Wallenda, and a 22-year-old Farrell Hettig. In the re-creation of the dangerous seven-person pyramid, Farrell stood in the crucial position of second tier of the three-tiered pyramid. Less than a year after the completion of the movie, on March 22, 1978, Farrell was present in San Juan, Puerto Rico, when the great Karl Wallenda tragically performed his last walk on the high wire and fell to his death.<br /> <br /> ===Enter Richard Schmitt===<br /> <br /> [[File:Farrell_Bros.jpg|thumb|right|400px|Farrell and Richard in practice (c.1976)]]Meanwhile, Farrell had decided to go his own way and create a new high-wire act, a duo in the dynamic and spectacular style originated by Mendez &amp; Seitz. But to do so, Farrell needed a partner. It is at this point that Richard Schmitt entered the scene…<br /> <br /> A native of Boston, Massachusetts, Richard Schmitt spent his childhood in Boston and Rhode Island. Like Farrell, he did not come from a circus family: He left home in his teens and describes himself as a &quot;runaway.&quot; He recalls his first encounter with the circus world this way: &quot;At age eighteen I found, by sheer happenstance, the Ringing Circus train parked in a filthy trainyard in Providence, Rhode Island. I got a job selling cotton candy and as you might expect ended up in Sarasota, Florida. I had never been there before, loved it, and in my heart, I never really left it.”<br /> <br /> In that circus environment, Richard discovered the high wire. He had never walked on a wire before and taught himself by trial and error. Then he found a partner, Julian Albulet. Julian had previously worked on the high wire with Mike Talamantez as the [[Albulet Brothers]], an act that will eventually have a long run in Las Vegas at [[Circus Circus]] Hotel and Casino. For a short while, Richard became the second half of the Albulet Brothers.<br /> <br /> In 1975, Julian and Richard set up their rigging in Sarasota. This caught the local performers' attention, always interested in the work of their circus colleagues. One of those performers was Farrell who, at that point, was determined to develop his own act and was looking for a partner of his caliber. Richard's skills impressed him enough and he and Richard joined forces: Their act was born that same year, and Farrell, not averse to circus hype, named it &quot;The Fabulous Farrell Brothers.&quot;<br /> <br /> ===The Farrell Brothers===<br /> <br /> [[File:Farrell_Brothers.jpeg|thumb|300px|left|The Farrell Brothers at Circus Knie (1981)]]Their act was outstanding and included all the most spectacular (and dangerous) tricks of the repertoire, such as a two-man height column with Farrell jumping down to the wire from the shoulders of Richard or leapfrogging over him, and fast-speed rope jumping, with all the staged &quot;near-misses&quot; (known as ''chiqués'') that made the act even more nerve-racking. Like his predecessors [[Harold Alzana]], Gene Mendez and Pedro Carillo, Farrell worked without a balancing pole and the act was performed without a net. <br /> <br /> Farrell also revived a feature then still uncommon among his contemporaries: Like Harold Alzana (who had retired in the early 1970s), he walked up to and down from the high wire on an incline wire. He even established a new world record in 1981 for walking the steepest incline high wire. The Farrell Brothers were young, energetic and good-looking, and their act had all the elements needed to make them genuine circus stars.<br /> <br /> This quickly caught the attention of [[Irvin Feld]] the owner and producer of [[Ringling Bros. and Barnum &amp; Bailey]] Circus and of its brand new (and short-lived) Florida theme park, [[Circus World]], in Haines City, near Orlando. One of its attractions was a &quot;Circus Showcase&quot; that needed high-caliber acts; the Fabulous Farrell Brothers were a perfect addition to the show, and they spent the 1977 and 1978 seasons as a featured act at Circus World.<br /> <br /> Following their success there, Irving Feld sent them in December 1979 to the 6th [[International Circus Festival of Monte Carlo]], where they won the prestigious Silver Clown award. Then, Feld sent them on tour in 1980 with his all-star circus production, ''Monte Carlo Circus Spectacular'', which visited Australia, Japan and the Far East with a superb selection of Monte Carlo award winners; the Fabulous Farrell Brothers were now established international circus stars!<br /> <br /> Upon their return in 1980, they participated in the [[Circus World Championships]] in London, a BBC television event which, like the Monte Carlo festival, was broadcast all over Europe. Then, for the 1981 season, they were featured in one of the world's most prestigious circuses, the renowned [[Circus Knie]] in Switzerland. The Farrell Brothers returned to the U.S. in 1982 and performed with the [[Royal Hanneford Circus]] in their 1982-1983 season. They gave their last performance with them in Detroit, Michigan.<br /> <br /> ===After the Applause=== <br /> <br /> Farrell and Richard had an amazing career: In a short period of time, they had won one the circus world's most coveted awards, they had toured the world, performed with prestigious shows and, perhaps more importantly, they were still young and had survived a dangerous act without a scar. Farrell and Richard called it quits and parted amicably. They remained in touch throughout their lives.<br /> <br /> Richard went on to be a teacher and became a professor at West Virginia's Wesleyan College in its Low-Residency Master of Fine Arts program. He also penned two books: ''The Aerialist'' a novel published in 2000, and later, ''Life Among Strangers'' a collection of short stories (2019). He retired from teaching in 2020 and now divides his time between his homes in New York and Florida.<br /> <br /> Shortly after leaving the circus, Farrell met Kate German and they happily married in 1988. They had two children, Brooke and Mark. Farrell, who always had a head for numbers, enjoyed financial success as a business owner of several &quot;Fantastic Sam&quot; hair salons in Pinellas County, Florida. Sadly, he had an untimely and ironic death: After astounding the world with his daring performances, he died in his sleep from a heart attack on August 22, 2006, at the too young age of fifty. <br /> <br /> The Hettig circus dynasty, however, didn't die with him: his niece, Rikki Hettig-Rolfe Meaux grew up in Sarasota and, inspired by her uncle Farrell, performed in the Sailor Circus from the first through the twelfth grades. She is now an educator and a second-generation professional circus artist.<br /> <br /> ==See Also==<br /> <br /> * Video: [[Farrell_Brothers_Video_(1979)|The Farrell Brothers, high wire]], at the International Circus Festival of Monte Carlo (1979)<br /> * Video: [[Farrell_Brothers_Video_(1980)|The Farrell Brothers, high wire]], at the Circus World Championships (1980)<br /> <br /> ==Image Gallery==<br /> <br /> &lt;Gallery&gt;<br /> File:Karl_Wallenda.jpg|Karl Wallenda (c.1965)<br /> File:The_Farrell_Brothers.jpg|Farrell Hettig &amp; Richard Schmitt (c.1975)<br /> File:Farrell_Bros.jpg|Rehearsing in Florida (c.1976)<br /> File:Farrell_Brothers_-_Knie.jpg|The Farrell Brothers at Circus Knie (1981)<br /> File:Farrell_Brothers.jpeg|The Farrell Brothers at Circus Knie (1981)<br /> File:Farrell_Bros_Knie_ext.jpg|Publicity stunt at Circus Knie (1981)<br /> &lt;/Gallery&gt;<br /> <br /> [[Category:Artists and Acts|Farrell Brothers]][[Category:Acrobats|Farrell Brothers]][[Category:High Wire|Farrell Brothers]]</div>

Djando https://www.circopedia.org/index.php?title=The_Ziratron&diff=46887 2026-10-28T22:03:42Z

<p>Djando: /* The Ziratron */</p> <hr /> <div>[[File:Ziratron_Pin.png|right|300px]]<br /> ==Israel's First Circus==<br /> <br /> ''By Stav Meishar''<br /> <br /> <br /> Although there is a long tradition of Jewish circus families and Jewish-owned circuses, especially in Northern and Eastern Europe, Israel, which has welcomed many Jewish circus performers among its population, doesn't have a circus of its own&amp;mdash;although circus schools are beginning to appear, and it organized an international circus festival in 2015. However, there has been one genuine Israeli circus in existence for a little more than a decade after the State of Israel's creation in 1948.<br /> <br /> ===The Ziratron===<br /> <br /> [[File:Ziratron_Program_50-51.jpg|thumb|left|300pix|Ziratron Program cover (1950)]]Israel's very first circus, founded in 1950, was named ''Ziratron'', which is a hybrid of two Hebrew words: &quot;Zira&quot; (an arena or manège) and &quot;Te'atron&quot; (theater). It was the brainchild of thirty-six discharged and disabled soldiers, who founded a cooperative and invested the hefty sum of 35,000 liras in the founding of the circus&amp;mdash;most of it raised via loans from the Office for Rehabilitation of Veterans. In the beginning, the Administrative Director was Aron Berman, and the Artistic Director was Shlomo (Sam) Kalinhof.<br /> <br /> &quot;We are professionals, and some of us have spent years working in some of Europe's most important circuses&quot;, explained the secretary of the cooperative, Lipi Hirsch, when interviewed for the newspaper ''Davar''. According to Hirsch, he and his friends made sure the circus is &quot;100 percent&quot; legit: &quot;We have invited the very best&amp;mdash;flying acrobats, clowns, bicycle acrobats, animal trainers, as well as a big orchestra to accompany the performances.&quot; The circus had its opening night on Tuesday, May 16th, 1950.<br /> <br /> Soon after they opened, the Ziratron's fame rose and circus became a popular medium of entertainment in Israel. In those days the young country was inhabited by hundreds of thousands of new immigrants who had yet to master the Hebrew language and could not access Israeli theater or cinema. Thus, the circus provided them with a source of light entertainment that the entire family could enjoy.<br /> <br /> They opened their circus on five dunams of land (approximately 4,500 square meters) in Ramat Gan, east of Tel Aviv, with the support of the municipality. They built what is known as a &quot;construction,&quot; a round structure of wood covered with a canvas roof. There was a traditional circus ring, and the house could accommodate up to 2,500 spectators. People nicknamed it &quot;The Canvas Colosseum&quot;. Beyond their Ramat Gan home, the Ziratron also had a permanent location for their shows in the city of Haifa.<br /> <br /> The Ziratron staged mostly circus performances, showcasing &quot;acrobatics, magic tricks, clowns, bicycle riders, dogs, horses, elephants, trained monkeys and many other elements of courage and speed accompanied by much humor&quot;. Later, trained wild animals were also incorporated. Their shows attracted thousands of spectators from all over the country and won raving reviews.<br /> <br /> ===Israeli Performers===<br /> <br /> [[File:Muky and Alex.jpg|thumb|right|300px|Muky &amp; Alex with friend (1951)]]Like all circuses, the Ziratron showcased an international cast of performers, but it had also a core of Israeli artists. Two of these artists were Zila and Charlie Klein. Born in Warsaw, Poland in 1927, Zila met Charlie when she was 18 years old; one year later, she married him and joined the circus with him. Charlie Klein was born in Hungary in 1907. He survived World War II by way of street performing, hiding his Jewish identity and traveling throughout Europe for a few years, until he managed to escape Europe for Israel. Charlie was a clown, stilt-walker and an acrobatic base. Zila was an acrobat, dancer and a skater, both on regular skates as well as ice skates. She performed at the circus until her daughter was born when she was thirty-one, at which point she retired.<br /> <br /> Another colorful character in the Ziratron was Zippora Zabbari (born 1908), a middle eastern dancer, trick roping artist and horse rider. Born in Israel she left for Prague when she was 21. Known there as &quot;Miss Palestine,&quot; she dipped her toes in sawdust for the first time, picking up horse-riding and trick roping. Zippora later moved to Berlin where she further developed her circus skills. She performed these as a duo with her husband, a circus artist. Zippora escaped Germany for Israel on the eve of World War II.<br /> <br /> The Ziratron's beloved clowns were [[Muky and Alex]]&amp;mdash;whose full stage names were Muky Mukyon &amp; Alex Alizon (roughly translating to Muky Clown &amp; Alex Cheerful). Alex (1919-1991) was born Akiva Rokenstein in Chernivtsi, Romania (today Ukraine) to a family of carpenters. From a young age he was funny and excelled at balancing tricks and was spotted by a professional clown from the Chernivtsi Circus who was so impressed by Alex that he invited him to become his assistant. <br /> <br /> Alex was only fifteen years old at the time, and he left his home to join the circus. Later he became a soldier in the Red Army and was captured during WWII and sent to a concentration camp in Transnistria. He survived the camp and, in 1945, came to Israel. There he met Muky (1889-1981), born Ya'akov Goldstein in Sofia, Bulgaria. He had been a professional clown all his life. In 1950 the Ziratron's director, Sam Kalinhof, introduced him to Alex. Muky was thirty years older than Alex, and much more experienced, and Alex became his student and stage partner.<br /> <br /> [[File:Ziratron_Program_(1954).jpg|thumb|left|400px|Program for the 1954 Season]]When the Ziratron was created, Muky &amp; Alex became its household clowns and performed in all its shows. They each had a well-defined character: Muky was a wise and funny clown, whereas Alex was a naive and serious clown, and it was &quot;he who got slapped&quot;. Eventually they added a third clown to their team and worked as a trio with Charlie Klein on his stilts. <br /> <br /> Avi Koren, an Israeli lyricist and translator, was just five years old when the Ziratron first opened. He and his friends used to sneak into the circus frequently, blending in with paying audience members. He left a description of his experience: &quot;Inside the tent, which was boiling in the summer and leaking in the winter, we witnessed the whole wide world: Acrobats walking on tightrope, flaming torches in their hands, above them only a roof of canvas and beneath them only a net; dogs leaping through flaming hoops; monkeys sucking on baby bottles; dancing horses, bowing down to the instructions of the fairest of circus ladies... And once they had ridden out to the sound of the orchestra, bowing their heads towards the audience, in came Muky &amp; Alex, 'The World's Funniest Clowns'… Muky &amp; Alex&amp;mdash;one hoarse and the other mute&amp;mdash;would fall, tumble, flip, pour water on each other, and get tangled up in the net.&quot;<br /> <br /> While the Ziratron was founded and managed by Israelis, most of its cast was international. Among many famous circus artists who performed during the 1951-1952 season were the beautiful and talented equestrienne [[Benji de La Cour]] (Benji and her husband [[Yves de La Cour]] were regulars of Paris's famous [[Cirque Medrano (Paris)|Cirque Medrano]]). There were also [[The Marconis]] (Pierre and Lucien Guillon) who had a spectacular aerial act, and the [[Trio Royal]], a Dutch jockey act composed of siblings Rita, Isabella and Bent Brunn, who performed under the watchful eye (and ''chambrière'') of their father, Joseph Brunn.<br /> <br /> ===Change of Times===<br /> <br /> [[File:Josephine_Baker_at_Ziratron.jpg|thumb|right|300px|Josephine Baker at The Ziratron (1954)]]A big organizational change seems to have occurred in 1954: The company previously registered as &quot;Ziratron Workers Cooperative, Ltd&quot; has either been dissolved or rebranded, and had become &quot;Ziratron Public Entertainments Company, Ltd&quot;. While the Ziratron continued to do business under the same name, the change was evident in the kind of entertainment they now produced: Starting in 1954 the Ziratron also hosted plays, boxing matches, musical concerts and more, as its popularity rose further.<br /> <br /> A notable performance was that of the world-renowned black entertainer, French Resistance agent, and civil rights activist Josephine Baker in 1954. The American industry entertainment magazine ''Variety'' reported Ms. Baker's performance thus: &quot;[The Ziratron's] attraction for the two weeks in December was Josephine Baker, who gave two performances daily to sellout audiences. Prices were 50c (for children) to $3. The government gets 40% of the intake. &quot;<br /> <br /> There had been also a significant change of management: The Ziratron was now run by Rainer L. Grosskopf on a yearly rental arrangement that had started in September 1954. Grosskopf’s father, a composer, conductor and theatre operator in Berlin, had written some of Ms. Baker’s early repertoire; he was killed by Hitler's guards after refusing to conduct in Hitler’s presence. <br /> <br /> Though the Ziratron was popular, things were far from rosy. According to the Ziratron's directors, Mr. Grosskopf refused their advice and made bad business decisions that resulted in heavy debts. Many exchanges between the Ziratron and various state authorities (as early as 1952) show that the Ziratron required constant financial support to be able to bring artists to Israel, but they also complained that Grosskopf's management had put the company out of favor with the authorities. The Ziratron was eventually forced to close; then its property suffered severe flood damage, and it remained shut for eight months.<br /> <br /> Additionally, Israel's political position as a young country surrounded by enemy nations also created challenges. In 1956 the Ziratron hosted (not for the first time) Redley's Circus on Ice. It was the time of the Suez Crisis, known to Israelis as the Sinai War. Because of the conflict, shows were poorly attended, and the owner had to slash his performers' pay, telling them they'd have to pay their own fare home if they wanted to leave. As a result, the skaters who remained had to sleep in the menagerie tents.<br /> <br /> ===A New Circus in Tel Aviv?===<br /> <br /> [[File:Polish_State_Circus_in_Israel.jpg|thumb|left|300px|Poster for the Polish State Circus (1960]]In November 1958 the members of the Ziratron cooperative decided to build a permanent home for their circus in the neighboring (and much larger) city of Tel-Aviv. The land chosen for this purpose was then far away from the main areas of nightlife and entertainment; the building, envisioned to be a bona fide circus building, was designed by the award-winning architect Aharon Doron (1917-2012). <br /> <br /> Construction was supposed to last three or four months, and in June 1959 the Ziratron began dismantling its Ramat Gan's ''construction'' with the intention of moving into the permanent Tel-Aviv building as soon as the work was completed. Alas, some disagreements, financial troubles and budget deficits soon halted the work on the circus building, and its skeleton was left deserted and unfinished.<br /> <br /> At that time the Ziratron was still supporting and rehabilitating wounded soldiers: A letter to the Israeli government dated March 10th, 1959 lists seven such men who were among the Ziratron's founders. Other records show that, during various times throughout the 1950s, the Ziratron supported thirty to seventy families of veteran, wounded, and discharged soldiers.<br /> <br /> As the skeleton of their building remained to haunt the city, the Ziratron seems to have gone through yet another organizational change. There are no more reports of performances, circus or otherwise, at the Ziratron's &quot;Canvas Colosseum&quot; in Ramat Gan. After a decade of spectacular shows and much love from Israeli audiences, the Ziratron appears to have fizzled out of existence as quickly as it had appeared. <br /> <br /> But the company registered as &quot;Ziratron Public Entertainments Company, Ltd.&quot; continued to produce shows. In February 1960 they brought the Polish State Circus to Israel, which performed for a six-month contract at Kikar Ha'Medina (&quot;The State Square&quot;), but still under the &quot;Ziratron&quot; brand. Bringing it to Israel was quite a logistical feat: It required visas for 80 people and importation permits for 70-80 animals. This necessitated not only financial and diplomatic support from the State of Israel, but also the collaboration of three theatrical agents: Jakob Ori, an independent theatrical agent based in Haifa, and Aron Berman and Sam Kalinhof, directors of the Ziratron.<br /> <br /> Since its inception in 1950, the Ziratron board rotated its members as directors, many serving for more than one term. As the Ziratron ceased its physical operation in Ramat Gan and began producing shows at Kikar Ha'Medina, its first duo of directors, Aron Berman and Sam Kalinhof. also became its last.<br /> <br /> ===The End of Israel's First Circus===<br /> <br /> [[File:Program_Bulgarian_State_Circus_1966.jpg|thumb|right|300px|Bulgarian State Circus program (1966)]]Over the following years, throughout the 1960s, Kikar Ha'Medina replaced the Ziratron tent as the main venue for visiting circuses, including [[Circus Medrano-Swoboda]] (later, [[Medrano-Casartelli]]) that came almost every year (brought to Israel by impresario Jakob Ori). In fact, there were so many circuses performing at Kikar Ha'Medina that it led to a popular saying: &quot;The State of Israel is like the State Square: half the time circus, half the time mud&quot;.<br /> <br /> In 1964, five years after the construction of the Ziratron's Tel Aviv building had halted, its remaining skeleton was purchased by Israeli businessman Joseph Epstein and used for the construction of the &quot;Cinerama&quot; hall, where many films, concerts and other events were hosted for decades (the building was eventually demolished in 2016). In the beginning, there was some hope that the building could be used for Ziratron circus shows. But that hope never seemed to have come true.<br /> <br /> To the unsuspecting viewer, it seemed that the Ziratron had died when its ''construction'' was dismantled in 1959 and was replaced by the foreign circuses visiting Kikar Ha'Medina throughout the 1960s. But that was just an appearance: It was in fact it was still &quot;Ziratron Public Entertainments Company, Ltd.&quot; that imported these foreign circuses to perform at Kikar Ha'Medina, even though their venue in Ramat Gan was no more. Strangely, however, the company was no longer doing business as the Ziratron; that name had completely disappeared from both marketing and programs and had been replaced by the name of the man who presided over the company and was its first and last director: &quot;Impresario A. Berman&quot; (Aron Berman).<br /> <br /> In 1967, Joseph Epstein (owner of the Ziratron-Cinerama building) went bankrupt, and the Israeli courthouse ordered his companies to be dismantled and sold&amp;mdash;among which the Ziratron-Cinerama building. The following year, in July 1968, &quot;Ziratron Public Entertainments Company, Ltd.&quot; went up for auction. It remains unclear whether at the time of the auction the company was owned by Mr. Epstein or by the veteran's cooperative; state records show that Mr. Berman started his own company in June 1969.<br /> <br /> After many incarnations, thus came the end of the Ziratron. The cooperative founded by veterans in November 1949 that captivated so many audiences throughout the 1950s and 1960s ceased to exist. It paid its very last debt to the legal receiver in July 1973.<br /> <br /> ==A Note on The Source==<br /> <br /> '''''This article has been adapted from the original on ''The Escape Act'' website''''' ([http://www.theescapeactshow.com/blog/extra-israels-first-circus theescapeactshow.com])<br /> <br /> ==Image Gallery==<br /> <br /> &lt;Gallery&gt;<br /> File:Ziratron_Program_50-51.jpg|Ziratron Progam - 1950-51 Season (1950)<br /> File:Zippora_Zabbari.jpg|Zippora Zabbari (c.1950)<br /> File:Muky_and_Alex.jpg|Muky &amp; Alex with friend (1951)<br /> File:Josephine_Baker_at_Ziratron.jpg|Josephine Baker at The Ziratron (1954)<br /> File:Ziratron_Program_(1954).jpg|Ziratron program (1954)<br /> File:Ziratron_Pin.png|Ziratron souvenir pin (c.1955)<br /> File:The_Ziratron-Aerial_view.jpg|The Ziratron (1955)<br /> File:Ziratron_crowd.jpg|The Ziratron (1955)<br /> File:Polish_State_Circus_in_Israel.jpg|Polish State Circus Poster (1960)<br /> File:Program_Bulgarian_State_Circus_1966.jpg|Bulgarian State Circus Program (1966)<br /> File:Hungarian_State_Circus_poster_(1967).jpg|The Hungarian State Circus in Tel Aviv (1967)<br /> &lt;/Gallery&gt;<br /> <br /> [[Category:Circuses|Ziratron, The]][[Category:History|Ziratron, The]]</div>

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