Camilla Mayer - Revision history

Djando: /* High Wire, Swaypole */

2025-01-28T20:07:16Z

‎High Wire, Swaypole

Djando: /* The Camilla Mayer Troupe */

2025-01-28T20:06:49Z

‎The Camilla Mayer Troupe

Djando: /* The Camilla Mayer Troupe */

2025-01-28T20:06:08Z

‎The Camilla Mayer Troupe

Djando at 20:02, 28 January 2025

2025-01-28T20:02:47Z

Djando at 20:00, 28 January 2025

2025-01-28T20:00:10Z

Djando: /* See Also */

2018-10-14T00:19:41Z

‎See Also

Djando: /* See Also */

2018-10-14T00:19:14Z

‎See Also

Djando: /* Image Gallery */

2014-08-15T17:43:44Z

‎Image Gallery

Djando: /* See Also */

2012-10-26T22:31:40Z

‎See Also

Djando: /* The Camilla Mayer Troupe */

2012-10-26T22:31:11Z

‎The Camilla Mayer Troupe

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 ==High Wire, Swaypole==
-[[File:Camilio_Mayer_Troupe_(1940).jpg|thumb|left|400px|Lotte Witte (seated, second from Left) and the Camilio Mayer Troupe (1940)]]Although the name of Camilla Mayer is part of circus lore and legend, there have been actually several high wire artists by that name. ''Camilla Mayer'' was the generic name adopted by the star female performers of the famous high wire troupe of [[Camilio Mayer]]. There has been an original ''Camilla Mayer'', however (and for many, the only one): Her real name was Lotte Witte (1918-1940). She was born in 1918 in Stettin, Germany (today Szczecin, in Poland), the daughter of a plumber. An artistcally-minded and very attractive young girl, she was sixteen when she joined Camilio's troupe in 1934. Fearless and talented, she soon became the troupe's star attraction, and Camilio gave her as a "nom-de-scène" not only his family name, but also his first name: Lotte became known as Camilla Mayer.
+[[File:Camilio_Mayer_Troupe_(1940).jpg|thumb|left|350px|Lotte Witte (seated, second from Left) and the Camilio Mayer Troupe (1940)]]Although the name of Camilla Mayer is part of circus lore and legend, there have been actually several high wire artists by that name. ''Camilla Mayer'' was the generic name adopted by the star female performers of the famous high wire troupe of [[Camilio Mayer]]. There has been an original ''Camilla Mayer'', however (and for many, the only one): Her real name was Lotte Witte (1918-1940). She was born in 1918 in Stettin, Germany (today Szczecin, in Poland), the daughter of a plumber. An artistcally-minded and very attractive young girl, she was sixteen when she joined Camilio's troupe in 1934. Fearless and talented, she soon became the troupe's star attraction, and Camilio gave her as a "nom-de-scène" not only his family name, but also his first name: Lotte became known as Camilla Mayer.
 In 1936, when the troupe performed outdoors in the popular seaside resort of Atlantic City, in the United States, Lotte made the headlines performing on a fifty-three-meter-high (175 feet) swaypole, a daring feat that was heralded as a world record. Sadly, it was with a lesser feat that Lotte-Camilla lost her life on January 20, 1940, when her much shorter twenty-meter swaypole broke during a performance of the ''Menschen-Tiere-Sensationen'' show at the [[Deutschlande Halle]] in Berlin. Already famous by then, the name of Camilla Mayer entered the circus pantheon through Lotte&mdash;a honor often bestowed upon celebrated artists who have left the field much too early.

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 ===The Camilla Mayer Troupe===
-[[http://www.circopedia.org/File:Camilla_Mayer-Margarethe_Zimmerman.jpg|thumb|right|400px|Margarethe Zimmerman (1946)]]As various members of the Camilio Mayer Troupe came and went over the years (a frequent occurrence with large performing troupes), Ruth Hempel/Camilla left the troupe in 1943 to create her own ''Camilla Mayer Troupe'' with another Camilio Mayer's alumnus, [[Hans Zimmer]]. Unfortunately, the new troupe was banned from performing: Ruth Hempel was Jewish, which finally caught the Nazis' attention, especially with her new prominence as head of a troupe. (It is possible that Hans Zimmer was Jewish too.) The troupe resumed its activities only at the end of WWII. In 1947, Ruth and her troupe participated in Kurt Krigar's documentary short on the original Camilla Mayer (Lotte Witte), ''Artisten unter den Wolken''. As it happened, Hans Zimmer was sued  In 1948 by the only "true" Camilla Mayer, Camilio Mayer's own daughter, for wrongfully using her name&mdash;although she had never been herself a performer.
+[[File:Camilla_Mayer-Margarethe_Zimmerman.jpg|thumb|right|400px|Margarethe Zimmerman (1946)]]As various members of the Camilio Mayer Troupe came and went over the years (a frequent occurrence with large performing troupes), Ruth Hempel/Camilla left the troupe in 1943 to create her own ''Camilla Mayer Troupe'' with another Camilio Mayer's alumnus, [[Hans Zimmer]]. Unfortunately, the new troupe was banned from performing: Ruth Hempel was Jewish, which finally caught the Nazis' attention, especially with her new prominence as head of a troupe. (It is possible that Hans Zimmer was Jewish too.) The troupe resumed its activities only at the end of WWII. In 1947, Ruth and her troupe participated in Kurt Krigar's documentary short on the original Camilla Mayer (Lotte Witte), ''Artisten unter den Wolken''. As it happened, Hans Zimmer was sued  In 1948 by the only "true" Camilla Mayer, Camilio Mayer's own daughter, for wrongfully using her name&mdash;although she had never been herself a performer.
 Then, another ''Camilla Mayer Troupe'' appeared in 1948, when a French promoter rescued Hans Zimmer's bankrupt troupe, and relaunched it under the management of a high wire artist by the name of Werner. The ''Camilla Mayer'' of this new troupe was Margarethe Zimmerman. In 1949, she and her namesake troupe performed with the newly-born [[Radio Circus]], where Margarethe appeared either  as ''Camilla Mayer'',  ''Mam'zelle Lotus'', or ''Margarethe Lotus'', according the mood of the moment. Afterward, the troupe went on to work for a few years with other French circuses, before disappearing at the beginning of the 1960s.

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 ===The Camilla Mayer Troupe===
-As various members of the Camilio Mayer Troupe came and went over the years (a frequent occurrence with large performing troupes), Ruth Hempel/Camilla left the troupe in 1943 to create her own ''Camilla Mayer Troupe'' with another Camilio Mayer's alumnus, [[Hans Zimmer]]. Unfortunately, the new troupe was banned from performing: Ruth Hempel was Jewish, which finally caught the Nazis' attention, especially with her new prominence as head of a troupe. (It is possible that Hans Zimmer was Jewish too.) The troupe resumed its activities only at the end of WWII. In 1947, Ruth and her troupe participated in Kurt Krigar's documentary short on the original Camilla Mayer (Lotte Witte), ''Artisten unter den Wolken''. As it happened, Hans Zimmer was sued  In 1948 by the only "true" Camilla Mayer, Camilio Mayer's own daughter, for wrongfully using her name&mdash;although she had never been herself a performer.
+[[http://www.circopedia.org/File:Camilla_Mayer-Margarethe_Zimmerman.jpg|thumb|right|400px|Margarethe Zimmerman (1946)]]As various members of the Camilio Mayer Troupe came and went over the years (a frequent occurrence with large performing troupes), Ruth Hempel/Camilla left the troupe in 1943 to create her own ''Camilla Mayer Troupe'' with another Camilio Mayer's alumnus, [[Hans Zimmer]]. Unfortunately, the new troupe was banned from performing: Ruth Hempel was Jewish, which finally caught the Nazis' attention, especially with her new prominence as head of a troupe. (It is possible that Hans Zimmer was Jewish too.) The troupe resumed its activities only at the end of WWII. In 1947, Ruth and her troupe participated in Kurt Krigar's documentary short on the original Camilla Mayer (Lotte Witte), ''Artisten unter den Wolken''. As it happened, Hans Zimmer was sued  In 1948 by the only "true" Camilla Mayer, Camilio Mayer's own daughter, for wrongfully using her name&mdash;although she had never been herself a performer.
 Then, another ''Camilla Mayer Troupe'' appeared in 1948, when a French promoter rescued Hans Zimmer's bankrupt troupe, and relaunched it under the management of a high wire artist by the name of Werner. The ''Camilla Mayer'' of this new troupe was Margarethe Zimmerman. In 1949, she and her namesake troupe performed with the newly-born [[Radio Circus]], where Margarethe appeared either  as ''Camilla Mayer'',  ''Mam'zelle Lotus'', or ''Margarethe Lotus'', according the mood of the moment. Afterward, the troupe went on to work for a few years with other French circuses, before disappearing at the beginning of the 1960s.

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 ==High Wire, Swaypole==
-Although the name of Camilla Mayer is part of circus lore and legend, there have been actually several high wire artists by that name. ''Camilla Mayer'' was the generic name adopted by the star female performers of the famous high wire troupe of [[Camilio Mayer]]. There has been an original ''Camilla Mayer'', however (and for many, the only one): Her real name was Lotte Witte (1918-1940). She was born in 1918 in Stettin, Germany (today Szczecin, in Poland), the daughter of a plumber. An artistcally-minded and very attractive young girl, she was sixteen when she joined Camilio's troupe in 1934. Fearless and talented, she soon became the troupe's star attraction, and Camilio gave her as a "nom-de-scène" not only his family name, but also his first name: Lotte became known as Camilla Mayer.
+[[File:Camilio_Mayer_Troupe_(1940).jpg|thumb|left|400px|Lotte Witte (seated, second from Left) and the Camilio Mayer Troupe (1940)]]Although the name of Camilla Mayer is part of circus lore and legend, there have been actually several high wire artists by that name. ''Camilla Mayer'' was the generic name adopted by the star female performers of the famous high wire troupe of [[Camilio Mayer]]. There has been an original ''Camilla Mayer'', however (and for many, the only one): Her real name was Lotte Witte (1918-1940). She was born in 1918 in Stettin, Germany (today Szczecin, in Poland), the daughter of a plumber. An artistcally-minded and very attractive young girl, she was sixteen when she joined Camilio's troupe in 1934. Fearless and talented, she soon became the troupe's star attraction, and Camilio gave her as a "nom-de-scène" not only his family name, but also his first name: Lotte became known as Camilla Mayer.
 In 1936, when the troupe performed outdoors in the popular seaside resort of Atlantic City, in the United States, Lotte made the headlines performing on a fifty-three-meter-high (175 feet) swaypole, a daring feat that was heralded as a world record. Sadly, it was with a lesser feat that Lotte-Camilla lost her life on January 20, 1940, when her much shorter twenty-meter swaypole broke during a performance of the ''Menschen-Tiere-Sensationen'' show at the [[Deutschlande Halle]] in Berlin. Already famous by then, the name of Camilla Mayer entered the circus pantheon through Lotte&mdash;a honor often bestowed upon celebrated artists who have left the field much too early.

@@ Line 28: / Line 28: @@
 <Gallery>
 File:Camilio_Mayer_Troupe_(1940).jpg|Camilio Mayer Troupe with Lotte Witte (2nd from left) (1940)
-File:Camilla_Mayer_II.jpg|Ruth Hempel (c.1945)
+File:Camilla_Mayer_II.jpg|Camilla Mayer II (c.1945)
 File:Camilla_Mayer-Zimmerman.jpg|Ruth Hempel (c.1948)
 </Gallery>
 [[Category:Artists and Acts|Mayer, Camilla]][[Category:High Wire|Mayer, Camilla]]

@@ Line 17: / Line 17: @@
 ==See Also==
-* [[Camilla_Mayer_Video_1948|Camilla Mayer (Ruth Hempel), High Wire]], at the Cirque d'Hiver (Paris, 1948)
+* Video: [[Camilla_Mayer_Video_1948|Camilla Mayer (Ruth Hempel), High Wire]], at the Cirque d'Hiver (Paris, 1948)
 * Biography: [[Camillio Mayer]]

← Older revision		Revision as of 00:19, 14 October 2018
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	* [[Camilla_Mayer_Video_1948\|Camilla Mayer (Ruth Hempel), High Wire]], at the Cirque d'Hiver (Paris, 1948)		* [[Camilla_Mayer_Video_1948\|Camilla Mayer (Ruth Hempel), High Wire]], at the Cirque d'Hiver (Paris, 1948)
		+	* Biography: [[Camillio Mayer]]

	==Suggested Reading==		==Suggested Reading==

@@ Line 11: / Line 11: @@
 As various members of the Camilio Mayer Troupe came and went over the years (a frequent occurrence with large performing troupes), Ruth Hempel/Camilla left the troupe in 1943 to create her own ''Camilla Mayer Troupe'' with another Camilio Mayer's alumnus, [[Hans Zimmer]]. Unfortunately, the new troupe was banned from performing: Ruth Hempel was Jewish, which finally caught the Nazis' attention, especially with her new prominence as head of a troupe. (It is possible that Hans Zimmer was Jewish too.) The troupe resumed its activities only at the end of WWII. In 1947, Ruth and her troupe participated in Kurt Krigar's documentary short on the original Camilla Mayer (Lotte Witte), ''Artisten unter den Wolken''. As it happened, Hans Zimmer was sued  In 1948 by the only "true" Camilla Mayer, Camilio Mayer's own daughter, for wrongfully using her name&mdash;although she had never been herself a performer.
-Then, another ''Camilla Mayer Troupe'' appeared in 1948, when a French promoter rescued Hans Zimmer's bankrupt troupe, and relaunched it under the management of a high wire artist by the name of Werner. The ''Camilla Mayer'' of this new troupe was Margarethe Zimmerman. A talented performer, Margarethe was featured (as Camilla Mayer) at the [[Cirque d'Hiver]]-[[The Bouglione Family|Bouglione]] in Paris in 1948, and the following year, she and her namesake troupe performed with the newly-born [[Radio Circus]], where Margarethe appeared either  as ''Camilla Mayer'',  ''Mam'zelle Lotus'', or ''Margarethe Lotus'', according the mood of the moment. Afterward, her troupe went on to work for a few years with other French circuses, before disappearing at the beginning of the 1960s.
+Then, another ''Camilla Mayer Troupe'' appeared in 1948, when a French promoter rescued Hans Zimmer's bankrupt troupe, and relaunched it under the management of a high wire artist by the name of Werner. The ''Camilla Mayer'' of this new troupe was Margarethe Zimmerman. In 1949, she and her namesake troupe performed with the newly-born [[Radio Circus]], where Margarethe appeared either  as ''Camilla Mayer'',  ''Mam'zelle Lotus'', or ''Margarethe Lotus'', according the mood of the moment. Afterward, the troupe went on to work for a few years with other French circuses, before disappearing at the beginning of the 1960s.
-As a footnote, Margarethe Zimmerman was the biological mother of the multi-talented [[Gipsy Gruss|Gipsy Bouglione-Gruss]], who was adopted when she was only one-day-old by Firmin and Violette [[The Bouglione Family|Bouglione]]. (The fact, which has never been publicized, is little known, yet the resemblance between Gipsy and her biological mother is striking.)
+As for Ruth Hempel, she was featured (as Camilla Mayer) at the [[Cirque d'Hiver]]-[[The Bouglione Family|Bouglione]] in Paris in 1948. As a footnote, she was the biological mother of the multi-talented [[Gipsy Gruss|Gipsy Bouglione-Gruss]], who was adopted when she was only one-day-old by Firmin and Violette [[The Bouglione Family|Bouglione]]. (The fact, which has never been publicized, is little known, yet the resemblance between Gipsy and her biological mother is striking.)
 ==See Also==