Bertram Mills - Revision history

Djando: /* Bertram Mills’ Five Principles */

2020-12-31T18:11:42Z

‎Bertram Mills’ Five Principles

Djando: /* Bertram Mills’ Five Principles */

2020-12-31T18:11:20Z

‎Bertram Mills’ Five Principles

Djando: /* Bertram Mills’ Five Principles */

2020-12-31T18:09:29Z

‎Bertram Mills’ Five Principles

Djando: /* A Man Of Many Interests */

2020-10-22T17:32:34Z

‎A Man Of Many Interests

Djando at 17:28, 22 October 2020

2020-10-22T17:28:02Z

Djando: /* Image Gallery */

2018-02-22T20:12:43Z

‎Image Gallery

Djando: /* Image Gallery */

2018-02-17T18:24:10Z

‎Image Gallery

Djando: /* Bertram Mills’ Legacy */

2018-02-17T18:23:22Z

‎Bertram Mills’ Legacy

Djando: /* Bertram Mills’ Legacy */

2016-02-23T22:36:12Z

‎Bertram Mills’ Legacy

Djando: /* Bertram Mills Circus Hits The Road */

2016-02-23T22:32:35Z

‎Bertram Mills Circus Hits The Road

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 Nearly a century following the conception of Bertram W. Mills’ original circus, it may be hard to readers to comprehend the enormous social and entertainment impact this show brought to Great Britain. In creating this great show from what appears to have been a simple and naïve wager, Bertram Mills brought five major principles, which he applied ruthlessly to his enterprise.
-[[File:Mills_Elephants_(1950).jpeg|left|400px|Bertram Mills Circus at Olympia (1950)]]The first was to strive for quality in whatever he did, to seek out the most polished and perfect acts in every category, and to present only the best aspects of those acts&mdash;this being his second principle. Then, at all costs, he sought to attract, host and convert the most influential people to the cause of the circus, having starting his show at a time with this industry was at a particularly low ebb in Great Britain. Fourthly, he didn’t hesitate to promote individual acts or performers as stars of the show, and fifthly, he used and developed the emerging energy of public relations and targeted advertising.
+[[File:Mills_Elephants_(1950).jpeg|left|thumb|400px|Bertram Mills Circus at Olympia (1950)]]The first was to strive for quality in whatever he did, to seek out the most polished and perfect acts in every category, and to present only the best aspects of those acts&mdash;this being his second principle. Then, at all costs, he sought to attract, host and convert the most influential people to the cause of the circus, having starting his show at a time with this industry was at a particularly low ebb in Great Britain. Fourthly, he didn’t hesitate to promote individual acts or performers as stars of the show, and fifthly, he used and developed the emerging energy of public relations and targeted advertising.
 By creating a demand in "the great and the good" of the nation to see his circus, Bertram Mills raised the social status of the circus in general. Undoubtedly, the most significant development in his success was the patronage of Royalty to Bertram Mills Circus. This began in 1926, when the Prince of Wales (the future Duke of Windsor) quietly attended a performance at Olympia, unannounced.

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 Nearly a century following the conception of Bertram W. Mills’ original circus, it may be hard to readers to comprehend the enormous social and entertainment impact this show brought to Great Britain. In creating this great show from what appears to have been a simple and naïve wager, Bertram Mills brought five major principles, which he applied ruthlessly to his enterprise.
-[[File:Mills_Elephants_(1950).jpeg|Bertram Mills Circus at Olympis (1950)]]The first was to strive for quality in whatever he did, to seek out the most polished and perfect acts in every category, and to present only the best aspects of those acts&mdash;this being his second principle. Then, at all costs, he sought to attract, host and convert the most influential people to the cause of the circus, having starting his show at a time with this industry was at a particularly low ebb in Great Britain. Fourthly, he didn’t hesitate to promote individual acts or performers as stars of the show, and fifthly, he used and developed the emerging energy of public relations and targeted advertising.
+[[File:Mills_Elephants_(1950).jpeg|left|400px|Bertram Mills Circus at Olympia (1950)]]The first was to strive for quality in whatever he did, to seek out the most polished and perfect acts in every category, and to present only the best aspects of those acts&mdash;this being his second principle. Then, at all costs, he sought to attract, host and convert the most influential people to the cause of the circus, having starting his show at a time with this industry was at a particularly low ebb in Great Britain. Fourthly, he didn’t hesitate to promote individual acts or performers as stars of the show, and fifthly, he used and developed the emerging energy of public relations and targeted advertising.
 By creating a demand in "the great and the good" of the nation to see his circus, Bertram Mills raised the social status of the circus in general. Undoubtedly, the most significant development in his success was the patronage of Royalty to Bertram Mills Circus. This began in 1926, when the Prince of Wales (the future Duke of Windsor) quietly attended a performance at Olympia, unannounced.

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 Nearly a century following the conception of Bertram W. Mills’ original circus, it may be hard to readers to comprehend the enormous social and entertainment impact this show brought to Great Britain. In creating this great show from what appears to have been a simple and naïve wager, Bertram Mills brought five major principles, which he applied ruthlessly to his enterprise.
-The first was to strive for quality in whatever he did, to seek out the most polished and perfect acts in every category, and to present only the best aspects of those acts&mdash;this being his second principle. Then, at all costs, he sought to attract, host and convert the most influential people to the cause of the circus, having starting his show at a time with this industry was at a particularly low ebb in Great Britain. Fourthly, he didn’t hesitate to promote individual acts or performers as stars of the show, and fifthly, he used and developed the emerging energy of public relations and targeted advertising.
+[[File:Mills_Elephants_(1950).jpeg|Bertram Mills Circus at Olympis (1950)]]The first was to strive for quality in whatever he did, to seek out the most polished and perfect acts in every category, and to present only the best aspects of those acts&mdash;this being his second principle. Then, at all costs, he sought to attract, host and convert the most influential people to the cause of the circus, having starting his show at a time with this industry was at a particularly low ebb in Great Britain. Fourthly, he didn’t hesitate to promote individual acts or performers as stars of the show, and fifthly, he used and developed the emerging energy of public relations and targeted advertising.
 By creating a demand in "the great and the good" of the nation to see his circus, Bertram Mills raised the social status of the circus in general. Undoubtedly, the most significant development in his success was the patronage of Royalty to Bertram Mills Circus. This began in 1926, when the Prince of Wales (the future Duke of Windsor) quietly attended a performance at Olympia, unannounced.

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 He was a Freeman of the City of London, and a Liveryman of the Loriners’ and Farriers’ Company, and, in the year of his death, he had been adopted as a prospective Conservative candidate to represent the Isle of Ely at the Parliament. Furthermore, he ran coach services between London and Brighton and London and Oxford, bred horses, and judged at top international horse shows. Although Mills, by virtue of his interests in horses, already had a knowledge of the circus world, his entry into the circus industry happened virtually by accident.
-He had many influential friends and, on one occasion, he was invited to attend a performance of Fred A. Wilkin’s ''Great Victory Circus and Allied Fair'' at the [[Olympia of Kensington|Olympia]] exhibition hall in London. It was the first post-war entertainment staged there, from December 1919 to January 1920. One must assume it was by no means a poor show since it included the famous [[Circus Carré|Carré]] liberty horses; [[Enrico Pissiutti|The Pissiuttis]]’ riding act; the clowns [[Gobert Belling]], the [[Benedetti Brothers]], and [[Theodore]] and Partners; [[Mona Connors]]’ equestrian act; the [[Edmond Rainat|Flying Rainats]] from France; and [[Captain Woodward]]’s sea lion act. In fact, Mills would later employ some of these acts.
+He had many influential friends and, on one occasion, he was invited to attend a performance of Fred A. Wilkin’s ''Great Victory Circus and Allied Fair'' at the [[Olympia of Kensington|Olympia]] exhibition hall in London. It was the first post-war entertainment staged there, from December 1919 to January 1920. One must assume it was by no means a poor show since it included the famous [[Circus Carré|Carré]] liberty horses; [[Enrico Pissiuti|The Pissiutis]]’ riding act; the clowns [[Gobert Belling]], the [[Benedetti Brothers]], and [[Theodore]] and Partners; [[Mona Connors]]’ equestrian act; the [[Edmond Rainat|Flying Rainats]] from France; and [[Captain Woodward]]’s sea lion act. In fact, Mills would later employ some of these acts.
 However, whatever the quality of the show put on by Wilkins at Olympia actually was can only be a matter of speculation. But it is true that the performance "bored [Mills] almost to tears." When pressed for his opinion about the show, he is said to have replied, "I dare not trust myself to tell you. But if I could not give the people a better circus than that for their money, I’d eat my hat."

← Older revision		Revision as of 17:28, 22 October 2020
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	==Circus Owner and Director==		==Circus Owner and Director==

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 File:Carmo_tenting_circus_%2B_queue.jpg|The Carmo Big Top (1929)
 Image:Bertram_Mills_carriage_1931.jpg|Bertram Mills driving a four-in-hand (1931)
 Image:Bertram_Mills_in_(c.1935).jpg|Bertram W. Mills (c.1935)
 Image:Bertram_Mills_Cigarette_Card.jpg|Bertram Mills (1936)

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 Image:Bertram_Mills_at_Olympia_1937.jpg|Bertram Mills at Olympia (1937)
 File:Mills_Elephants_(1950).jpeg|Bertram Mills Circus at Olympia (1950)
-File:Bertram_Mills_Circus_62.jpg|Olympia Program Cover (1962)
+File:Bertram_Mills_25-26_.jpg|Olympia Program Cover (1925-26)
 Image:Bertram_Mills_Grave.jpg|Bertram's Mills's grave, Chalfont St. Giles
 </Gallery>
 [[Category:Circus_Owners_and_Directors|Mills, Bertram]]

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 Mills’ sons, Cyril and Bernard, were stunned by the death of their father on April 16, 1938, but as he would have wished, the circus had its premiere that day in Luton. Many circus folks attended Bertram Mills’ funeral on April 19, while 200 members of the Mills Circus staff attended a memorial service the same afternoon, held under the big top at Luton, with the circus band accompanying the hymns. No performances were given on the day of the funeral, but they were resumed the following day.
-[[File:Bertram_Mills_Circus_62.jpg|right|thumb|350px|Olympia Program Cover (1962)]]Thereupon, Cyril and Bernard Mills took over their father’s enterprise and, in July 1938, set up a new company, ''Cyril and Bernard Mills Ltd.'' (of which their mother was also a director), to run the tenting show and the annual winter circus at Olympia. Bertram W. Mills bequeathed all his property to his widow. He left £146,528 (£100,528 net), a considerable sum for that time, with death duties of £20,957.  His sons continued to operate the touring circus and the circus at Olympia until the advent of the Second World War. They closed for the duration, reopening in 1946.
+[[File:Bertram_Mills_25-26_.jpg|right|thumb|350px|Olympia Program Cover (1925-26)]]Thereupon, Cyril and Bernard Mills took over their father’s enterprise and, in July 1938, set up a new company, ''Cyril and Bernard Mills Ltd.'' (of which their mother was also a director), to run the tenting show and the annual winter circus at Olympia. Bertram W. Mills bequeathed all his property to his widow. He left £146,528 (£100,528 net), a considerable sum for that time, with death duties of £20,957.  His sons continued to operate the touring circus and the circus at Olympia until the advent of the Second World War. They closed for the duration, reopening in 1946.
 During the nearly twenty years in which he operated at Olympia in London, Bertram Mills brought circus fans many of the era’s greatest attractions. Among many others, one might select such circus luminaries as the [[Siegrist-Silbon Troupe]] of aerialists; juggling legend [[Enrico Rastelli]]; the [[Alfredo Codona|Flying Codonas]]; the illustrious aerial transvestite [[Barbette]]; [[Con Colleano]], "The Wizard of the Wire;" the [[Flying Concellos]]; [[Katie Sandwina]], "The World’s Strongest Woman;" [[Schaeffer’s Midgets|Schaeffer]]’s thirty Midgets; and the contortionist on trapeze [[Albert Powell]].

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 On the animal side, there were the high school riders [[Baptista Schreiber]],  [[Roberto de Vasconcellos]], [[Jean Houcke|Jean]] and Marcelle Houcke, and [[The Knie Dynasty|Fredy Knie]]; the equestrians [[May Wirth]] and the Wirth family; [[Mabel Stark]] with her "parachute horse," ''Jupiter''; [[The Hanneford Family]]; [[The Rancy Dynasty|Alphonse Rancy]]’s horses; the [[Cirkus Orlando]]’s horses; and the huge stud of horses and ponies of [[Cirkus Schumann]]. There were also Captain [[Alfred Schneider]]’s seventy lions, [[Koringa]] and her crocodiles, and ''Tuffy'' the wire-walking lion.
-The clowns were also very well represented with, notably, [[Pimpo]], the star clown of [[Sanger’s Circus]]; [[Charlie Rivel]]; the [[The Bronett Family|Bronetts]], Swedish clowns who were the Northern European rivals of the [[Les Fratellini|Fratellinis]]; and clowns who became associated with Bertram Mills Circus, like [[Doodles]], [[Whimsical Walker]], and [[Coco]] (Michael Polakovs). These are just a handful of the top-class attractions he brought to England.
+The clowns were also very well represented with, notably, [[Pimpo]], the star clown of [[Sanger’s Circus]]; [[Charlie Rivel]]; the [[The Bronett Family|Bronetts]], Swedish clowns who were the Northern European rivals of the [[Les Fratellini|Fratellinis]]; and clowns who became associated with Bertram Mills Circus, like [[Doodles]], [[Whimsical Walker]], and [[Coco]] (Nikolai Polakovs). These are just a handful of the top-class attractions he brought to England.
 At Olympia, the circus was also organised around a huge funfair, or carnival, with attractions that have included the Plate-Lipped Women from the Congo and the Giraffe-Necked Women from Upper Burma&mdash;who were also exhibited with enormous success by Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus in the United States&mdash;and Ringling’s famous gorilla, ''Gargantua''. Ringling’s sideshow manager, Clyde Ingalls, ran the funfair for several winters. In the first London seasons, too, Ringling’s legendary musical director, [[Merle Evans]], directed the Mills’ band.

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 ===Bertram Mills Circus Hits The Road===
-Bertram W. Mills was fortunate to have two well-educated sons, Cyril and Bernard Mills, who were able and willing to join him in his circus enterprise, and who carried it on in his style after his death&mdash;until rising costs signalled the end in 1967.
+Bertram W. Mills was fortunate to have two well-educated sons, [[Cyril Mills|Cyril and Bernard Mills]], who were able and willing to join him in his circus enterprise, and who carried it on in his style after his death&mdash;until rising costs signalled the end in 1967.
 There was not enough to do in promoting the short Christmas season in London to occupy three full-time directors, so in 1930, Bertram Mills launched a tenting circus, which was run on a day-to-day basis by his sons. It was also run along the rules laid down by the father&mdash;namely that the show on the road would be  of a standard and quality equal to that of the Olympia show, and run in a strictly business-like fashion.