Darix Togni - Revision history

Djando: /* Image Gallery */

2024-01-26T07:19:28Z

‎Image Gallery

Djando: /* Image Gallery */

2023-07-05T00:38:04Z

‎Image Gallery

Djando: /* Image Gallery */

2021-08-11T18:19:03Z

‎Image Gallery

Djando: /* External Links */

2018-05-07T20:00:54Z

‎External Links

Djando: /* Circus Owner, Animal Trainer */

2016-01-13T22:35:59Z

‎Circus Owner, Animal Trainer

Djando: /* Image Gallery */

2016-01-13T22:35:32Z

‎Image Gallery

Djando: /* The Final Years */

2015-12-20T00:13:32Z

‎The Final Years

Djando: /* The Final Years */

2015-03-04T20:32:11Z

‎The Final Years

Djando at 20:30, 4 March 2015

2015-03-04T20:30:47Z

Djando at 20:30, 4 March 2015

2015-03-04T20:30:13Z

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 File:Circo_Nazionale_Darix_Togni.png|Circo Nazionale Darix Togni (c.1960)
 Image:Darix_Togni_1963.jpg|Darix Togni's tiger act (1963)
 File:Darix_Togni.jpg|Darix Togni (c.1965)
 File:Orfei_Casartelli_Togni.jpg|Ferdinando Togni, Darix Togni, Leonida Casartelli and Nando Orfei (c.1970)

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 <gallery>
 File:Darix_Togni_-_Edoardo_Raspini.jpg|Darix Togni and Edoardo Raspini (1960)
 Image:Darix_Togni_1963.jpg|Darix Togni's tiger act (1963)
 File:Darix_Togni.jpg|Darix Togni (c.1965)

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 Image:Darix_Togni_1963.jpg|Darix Togni's tiger act (1963)
 File:Darix_Togni.jpg|Darix Togni (c.1965)
 </gallery>

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 [[Category:Circus Owners and Directors|Togni, Darix]]
 [[Category:Artists and Acts|Togni, Darix]]
-[[Category:Animal Trainers|Togni, Darix]]
+[[Category:Animal Trainers|Togni, Darix]][[Category:Cage Acts|Togni, Darix]]

← Older revision		Revision as of 22:35, 13 January 2016
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−	[[Image:Darix_Togni_1963.jpg\|~~200px~~\|thumb\|right\|Darix Togni (1963)]]Darix Togni (1922-1976), the son of circus director and clown [[The Togni Family\|Ercole Togni]] and his wife Caterina, née Barbera, was the most famous performer of the Togni dynasty, and the first true popular circus star in Italy. He entered the ring at age seven, as a young equestrian in a ''voltige à la Richard'' act with his sisters Leda and Doly, and then appeared in a Russian dance act with his cousins Wally and Angly. At age fourteen, he was included in the family’s perch-pole act.	+	[[Image:Darix_Togni_1963.jpg\|400px\|thumb\|right\|Darix Togni (1963)]]Darix Togni (1922-1976), the son of circus director and clown [[The Togni Family\|Ercole Togni]] and his wife Caterina, née Barbera, was the most famous performer of the Togni dynasty, and the first true popular circus star in Italy. He entered the ring at age seven, as a young equestrian in a ''voltige à la Richard'' act with his sisters Leda and Doly, and then appeared in a Russian dance act with his cousins Wally and Angly. At age fourteen, he was included in the family’s perch-pole act.

	By the late 1930s, he contributed with his brother and cousins to the three popular "house acts" of the family’s ''Circo Nazionale Togni'': double flying trapeze, jockey, and pyramids on horseback. In the following years Darix revealed his remarkable versatility, presenting “liberty” horse acts, and acting as a whiteface clown in a clown act with his brother Wioris, and the circus's midget clown, Checco Medori: ''I Sorellini''.		By the late 1930s, he contributed with his brother and cousins to the three popular "house acts" of the family’s ''Circo Nazionale Togni'': double flying trapeze, jockey, and pyramids on horseback. In the following years Darix revealed his remarkable versatility, presenting “liberty” horse acts, and acting as a whiteface clown in a clown act with his brother Wioris, and the circus's midget clown, Checco Medori: ''I Sorellini''.

← Older revision		Revision as of 00:13, 20 December 2015
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	Darix had married Fiorenza Colombo (granddaughter of Elena Fratellini), with whom he had five children: Danila, Livio, Corrado, Davio, and Nevia. In 1976, just after having helped his sons inaugurate their gigantic ''Jumbo Super Circus'', Darix died from leukaemia, at the peak of his fame. On the evening of his death, every circus, movie house, and theater in Italy went dark. A street in Milan was named after him. The ''Darix Togni'' title was briefly used by his brother Wioris. It was later revived by Darix's sons and nephews, and a Circo Darix Togni still tours today (as of 2008) Southern Europe, Northern Africa, and the Middle East.		Darix had married Fiorenza Colombo (granddaughter of Elena Fratellini), with whom he had five children: Danila, Livio, Corrado, Davio, and Nevia. In 1976, just after having helped his sons inaugurate their gigantic ''Jumbo Super Circus'', Darix died from leukaemia, at the peak of his fame. On the evening of his death, every circus, movie house, and theater in Italy went dark. A street in Milan was named after him. The ''Darix Togni'' title was briefly used by his brother Wioris. It was later revived by Darix's sons and nephews, and a Circo Darix Togni still tours today (as of 2008) Southern Europe, Northern Africa, and the Middle East.
		+
		+	==Suggested Reading==
		+
		+	* Alessandra Litta Modignani, Sandra Montovani, ''Il circo della memoria'' (Trento, Publistampa Edizioni, 2008) — ISBN 978-88-902506-7-5

	==Image Gallery==		==Image Gallery==

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 During the 1960s, Darix’s circus adopted the title of ''Festival Mondiale del Circo'', and in 1969, he produced ''Circo nell’Acqua'', with the second half of the show devoted to an aquatic pantomime. This production toured Sweden under the management of [[François Bronett]], and starred the equestrian presentations of [[Katja Schumann]].
-Darix had married Fiorenza Colombo (granddaughter of Elena Fratellini), with whom he had five children: Danila, Livio, Corrado, Davio, and Nevia. In 1976, just after having helped his sons inaugurate their gigantic ''Jumbo Super Circus'', Darix died from leukaemia, at the peak of his fame. On the evening of his death, every circus, movie house, and theater in Italy went dark. A street in Milan was named after him. The ''Darix Togni'' title was briefly used by his brother Wioris. It was later revived by Darix's sons and nephews, and a Circo Darix Togni still tours today Southern Europe, Northern Africa, and the Middle East.
+Darix had married Fiorenza Colombo (granddaughter of Elena Fratellini), with whom he had five children: Danila, Livio, Corrado, Davio, and Nevia. In 1976, just after having helped his sons inaugurate their gigantic ''Jumbo Super Circus'', Darix died from leukaemia, at the peak of his fame. On the evening of his death, every circus, movie house, and theater in Italy went dark. A street in Milan was named after him. The ''Darix Togni'' title was briefly used by his brother Wioris. It was later revived by Darix's sons and nephews, and a Circo Darix Togni still tours today (as of 2008) Southern Europe, Northern Africa, and the Middle East.
 ==Image Gallery==

← Older revision		Revision as of 20:30, 4 March 2015
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−	[[Image:Darix_Togni_1963.jpg\|200px\|thumb\|right\|Darix Togni (1963)]]Darix Togni (1922-1976), the son of circus director and clown [[The Togni Family\|Ercole Togni]], and his wife Caterina, née Barbera, was the most famous performer of the Togni dynasty, and the first true popular circus star in Italy. He entered the ring at age seven, as a young equestrian in a ''voltige à la Richard'' act with his sisters Leda and Doly, and then appeared in a Russian dance act with his cousins Wally and Angly. At age fourteen, he was included in the family’s perch-pole act.	+	[[Image:Darix_Togni_1963.jpg\|200px\|thumb\|right\|Darix Togni (1963)]]Darix Togni (1922-1976), the son of circus director and clown [[The Togni Family\|Ercole Togni]] and his wife Caterina, née Barbera, was the most famous performer of the Togni dynasty, and the first true popular circus star in Italy. He entered the ring at age seven, as a young equestrian in a ''voltige à la Richard'' act with his sisters Leda and Doly, and then appeared in a Russian dance act with his cousins Wally and Angly. At age fourteen, he was included in the family’s perch-pole act.

	By the late 1930s, he contributed with his brother and cousins to the three popular "house acts" of the family’s ''Circo Nazionale Togni'': double flying trapeze, jockey, and pyramids on horseback. In the following years Darix revealed his remarkable versatility, presenting “liberty” horse acts, and acting as a whiteface clown in a clown act with his brother Wioris, and the circus's midget clown, Checco Medori: ''I Sorellini''.		By the late 1930s, he contributed with his brother and cousins to the three popular "house acts" of the family’s ''Circo Nazionale Togni'': double flying trapeze, jockey, and pyramids on horseback. In the following years Darix revealed his remarkable versatility, presenting “liberty” horse acts, and acting as a whiteface clown in a clown act with his brother Wioris, and the circus's midget clown, Checco Medori: ''I Sorellini''.

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-[[Image:Darix_Togni_1963.jpg|200px|thumb|right|Darix Togni (1963)]]Darix Togni (1922-1976), the son of circus director and clown, Ercole Togni, and his wife, Caterina Barbera, was the most famous performer of the Togni dynasty, and the first true popular circus star in Italy. He entered the ring at age seven, as a young equestrian in a ''voltige à la Richard'' act with his sisters Leda and Doly, and then appeared in a Russian dance act with his cousins Wally and Angly. At age fourteen, he was included in the family’s perch-pole act.
+[[Image:Darix_Togni_1963.jpg|200px|thumb|right|Darix Togni (1963)]]Darix Togni (1922-1976), the son of circus director and clown [[The Togni Family|Ercole Togni]], and his wife Caterina, née Barbera, was the most famous performer of the Togni dynasty, and the first true popular circus star in Italy. He entered the ring at age seven, as a young equestrian in a ''voltige à la Richard'' act with his sisters Leda and Doly, and then appeared in a Russian dance act with his cousins Wally and Angly. At age fourteen, he was included in the family’s perch-pole act.
 By the late 1930s, he contributed with his brother and cousins to the three popular "house acts" of the family’s ''Circo Nazionale Togni'': double flying trapeze, jockey, and pyramids on horseback. In the following years Darix revealed his remarkable versatility, presenting “liberty” horse acts, and acting as a whiteface clown in a clown act with his brother Wioris, and the circus's midget clown, Checco Medori: ''I Sorellini''.
-In 1946, an unforeseen event changed Darix’s life, and propelled him to circus stardom. The Circo Nazionale’s lion trainer having left the circus, Darix took his place and entered the cage after only five days of rehearsals, donning an old gladiator costume he had used in one of his equestrian acts. Italy was in a patriotic mood at the time, and Darix’s charismatic presence in the cage reminded Italians of the Roman Empire glory: The new gladiator surrounded by his lions became a true popular star in no time. By 1950, Darix created a second cage act with a group of nine tigers.
+In 1946, an unforeseen event changed Darix’s life, and propelled him to circus stardom. The Circo Nazionale’s lion trainer having left the circus, Darix took his place and entered the cage after only five days of rehearsals, donning an old gladiator costume he had used in one of his equestrian acts. Italy was in a patriotic mood at the time, and Darix’s charismatic presence in the cage reminded Italians of the Roman Empire's glory: The new gladiator surrounded by his lions became a true popular star in no time. By 1950, Darix created a second cage act with a group of nine tigers.
 ===Circo Darix Togni===
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 Darix’s tiger presentation became the circus’s signature act, with its elaborated props inspired by the Roman era, and the first use ever of a metallic-mesh collapsible cage (conceived by Wioris). Darix developed excellent relationships with the media and political worlds, as well as with his circus colleagues. In 1964, he was the very first circus director to be received in audience by the Pope; King Farouk of Egypt presented him with a group of horses; and circus luminaries such as [[John Ringling North]], [[Arturo Castilla]], [[Joseph Bouglione]], and [[Cyril Mills]] were regular visitors at his annual four-month winter stand in Milan.
-Darix introduced to Italy many international circus stars, and among his “reprise” clowns were the still unknown Romano and Carlo [[Colombaioni]]. He also developed important relationships with the movie industry: he was featured in several "peplum" films requiring lions or tigers, such as Richard Fleischer’s ''Barabba'' (1961), starring Anthony Quinn. In 1959, in a spectacular publicity stunt, Darix replicated Hannibal’s march through the Alps with three of his elephants. In 1958, in the midst of the Cold War, the Russian embassy in Italy asked Darix to organize the first Italian tour of the [[Moscow Circus]].
+Darix introduced to Italy many international circus stars, and among his “reprise” clowns were the still unknown Romano and Carlo [[I Colombaioni|Colombaioni]]. He also developed important relationships with the movie industry:He was featured in several "peplum" films requiring lions or tigers, such as Richard Fleischer’s ''Barabba'' (1961), starring Anthony Quinn. In 1959, in a spectacular publicity stunt, Darix replicated Hannibal’s march through the Alps with three of his elephants. In 1958, in the midst of the Cold War, the Russian embassy in Italy asked Darix to organize the first Italian tour of the [[Moscow Circus]].
 In the early 1960s, after his big top had been destroyed in Milan in a catastrophic fire, thousands of Italian children sent Darix money to rebuild it. In 1963 he inaugurated a futuristic ten-pole big top, the first quarterpole-free circus tent ever built. Taking advantage of his popularity and political connections, Darix also spent a lot of energy trying to improve relationships within the Italian circus community, and with the Italian government. This was a key factor in the establishment in 1968 of the first law designed to protect the circus industry in Italy, the first of its kind outside the Soviet Union.
 During the 1960s, Darix’s circus adopted the title of ''Festival Mondiale del Circo'', and in 1969, he produced ''Circo nell’Acqua'', with the second half of the show devoted to an aquatic pantomime. This production toured Sweden under the management of [[François Bronett]], and starred the equestrian presentations of [[Katja Schumann]].