The Codonas - Revision history

Djando: /* Image Gallery */

2026-01-15T05:06:14Z

‎Image Gallery

Djando: /* The Flying Codonas */

2025-06-16T06:08:17Z

‎The Flying Codonas

Djando: /* The Flying Codonas */

2025-06-16T06:06:29Z

‎The Flying Codonas

Djando: /* The Flying Codonas */

2025-06-16T06:04:38Z

‎The Flying Codonas

Djando: /* The Flying Codonas */

2025-06-16T05:53:09Z

‎The Flying Codonas

Djando: /* See Also */

2022-11-19T23:20:55Z

‎See Also

Djando: /* International Stars */

2022-04-05T18:07:50Z

‎International Stars

Djando: /* Epilogue */

2022-04-01T20:17:12Z

‎Epilogue

Djando: /* Eduardo Codona */

2022-04-01T19:17:27Z

‎Eduardo Codona

Djando: /* Tragedies */

2022-03-24T19:56:11Z

‎Tragedies

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 File:Leitzel_%26_Codona_(c.1930).jpeg|Alfredo Codona and Lillian Leitzel (c.1930)
 File:Codonas_Passing_Leap.jpg|The Codonas (c.1930)
 Image:Alfredo_Codona_1931.jpg|Alfredo Codona (1931)
 File:Codonas_-_Braathen.jpeg|The Codonas: Lalo, Vera Bruce, Alfredo (1931)

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 ===The Flying Codonas===
-When Alfredo returned to the family fold, Eduardo began to build a flying trapeze act for him, working as his catcher before training Lalo in that capacity. Alfredo quickly showed a taste and a natural ability for flying. He had also an innate grace: Another flying legend, [[Art Concello]], once remarked that "If Alfredo had been run over by a truck, he’d have done it so gracefully that your first instinct might have been to applaud." The Flying Codonas made their first notable appearance in Australia, performing for three seasons (1913-1915) with the [[Wirth Circus]], in an act that was composed of Alfredo, Lalo, [[Ruth Farris]], and Steve Outch, a young Australian flyer. (Outch was already an experienced flyer, and had worked before with the [[Flying Jordans]], and so was Farris, who had worked in 1909-1910 with the [[Siegrist-Silbon Troupe]] at the [[Barnum & Bailey Circus]] at the time when Codona was on that show.)
+When Alfredo returned to the family fold, Eduardo began to build a flying trapeze act for him, working as his catcher before training Lalo in that capacity. Alfredo quickly showed a taste and a natural ability for flying. He had also an innate grace: Another flying legend, [[Art Concello]], once remarked that "If Alfredo had been run over by a truck, he’d have done it so gracefully that your first instinct might have been to applaud." The Flying Codonas made their first notable appearance in Australia, performing for three seasons (1913-1915) with the [[Wirth Circus]], in an act that was composed of Alfredo and Lalo with [[Ruth Farris]] and Steve Outch, who were Australian. (Outch was already an experienced flyer, and had worked before with the [[Flying Jordans]], and so was Farris, who had worked in 1909-1910 with the [[Siegrist-Silbon Troupe]] at the [[Barnum & Bailey Circus]] at the time when Codona was on that show.)
 [[File:Codonas_(1913).jpg|thumb|right|300px|The Flying Codonas in 1913]]At the end of 1915, the Codonas returned home with Steve Outch in tow. Alfredo and Lalo had gained by then a good flying experience, and the trio secured a contract for the 1916 season with the fourteen-person strong [[Siegrist-Silbon Troupe]]&mdash;whom Alfredo had met in 1910, when he was working on the Barnum & Bailey show. The Siegrist-Silbons, one of the best flying acts in the business at the time, had created a spectacular act that was performed with two flying trapeze frames placed in a cross. It is in the Sigriest-Silbon Troupe that Alfredo met a young brunette who was, like him, a newcomer to the act, Cincinnati-born Clara Groves, née Curtin (1894-1972).

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 ===The Flying Codonas===
-When Alfredo returned to the family fold, Eduardo began to build a flying trapeze act for him, working as his catcher before training Lalo in that capacity. Alfredo quickly showed a taste and a natural ability for flying. He had also an innate grace: Another flying legend, [[Art Concello]], once remarked that "If Alfredo had been run over by a truck, he’d have done it so gracefully that your first instinct might have been to applaud." The Flying Codonas made their first notable appearance in Australia, performing for three seasons (1913-1915) with the [[Wirth Circus]], in an act that was composed of Alfredo and Lalo, and Ruth Farris and Steve Outch, two young Australian flyers. (Outch was already an experienced flyer, and had worked before with the [[Flying Jordans]], and so was Farris, who had worked in 1909-1910 with the [[Siegrist-Silbon Troupe]] at the [[Barnum & Bailey Circus]] at the time when Codona was on the same show.)
+When Alfredo returned to the family fold, Eduardo began to build a flying trapeze act for him, working as his catcher before training Lalo in that capacity. Alfredo quickly showed a taste and a natural ability for flying. He had also an innate grace: Another flying legend, [[Art Concello]], once remarked that "If Alfredo had been run over by a truck, he’d have done it so gracefully that your first instinct might have been to applaud." The Flying Codonas made their first notable appearance in Australia, performing for three seasons (1913-1915) with the [[Wirth Circus]], in an act that was composed of Alfredo, Lalo, [[Ruth Farris]], and Steve Outch, a young Australian flyer. (Outch was already an experienced flyer, and had worked before with the [[Flying Jordans]], and so was Farris, who had worked in 1909-1910 with the [[Siegrist-Silbon Troupe]] at the [[Barnum & Bailey Circus]] at the time when Codona was on that show.)
 [[File:Codonas_(1913).jpg|thumb|right|300px|The Flying Codonas in 1913]]At the end of 1915, the Codonas returned home with Steve Outch in tow. Alfredo and Lalo had gained by then a good flying experience, and the trio secured a contract for the 1916 season with the fourteen-person strong [[Siegrist-Silbon Troupe]]&mdash;whom Alfredo had met in 1910, when he was working on the Barnum & Bailey show. The Siegrist-Silbons, one of the best flying acts in the business at the time, had created a spectacular act that was performed with two flying trapeze frames placed in a cross. It is in the Sigriest-Silbon Troupe that Alfredo met a young brunette who was, like him, a newcomer to the act, Cincinnati-born Clara Groves, née Curtin (1894-1972).

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 ===The Flying Codonas===
-When Alfredo returned to the family fold, Eduardo began to build a flying trapeze act for him, working as his catcher before training Lalo in that capacity. Alfredo quickly showed a taste and a natural ability for flying. He had also an innate grace: Another flying legend, [[Art Concello]], once remarked that "If Alfredo had been run over by a truck, he’d have done it so gracefully that your first instinct might have been to applaud." The Flying Codonas made their first notable appearance in Australia, performing for three seasons (1913-1915) with the [[Wirth Circus]], in an act that was composed of Alfredo and Lalo, and Ruth Farris and Steve Outch, two young Australian flyers. (Outch was already an experienced flyer, and had worked before with the [[Flying Jordans]], and Farris had worked in 1909-1910 with Codona when he was with the Silbons.)
+When Alfredo returned to the family fold, Eduardo began to build a flying trapeze act for him, working as his catcher before training Lalo in that capacity. Alfredo quickly showed a taste and a natural ability for flying. He had also an innate grace: Another flying legend, [[Art Concello]], once remarked that "If Alfredo had been run over by a truck, he’d have done it so gracefully that your first instinct might have been to applaud." The Flying Codonas made their first notable appearance in Australia, performing for three seasons (1913-1915) with the [[Wirth Circus]], in an act that was composed of Alfredo and Lalo, and Ruth Farris and Steve Outch, two young Australian flyers. (Outch was already an experienced flyer, and had worked before with the [[Flying Jordans]], and so was Farris, who had worked in 1909-1910 with the [[Siegrist-Silbon Troupe]] at the [[Barnum & Bailey Circus]] at the time when Codona was on the same show.)
 [[File:Codonas_(1913).jpg|thumb|right|300px|The Flying Codonas in 1913]]At the end of 1915, the Codonas returned home with Steve Outch in tow. Alfredo and Lalo had gained by then a good flying experience, and the trio secured a contract for the 1916 season with the fourteen-person strong [[Siegrist-Silbon Troupe]]&mdash;whom Alfredo had met in 1910, when he was working on the Barnum & Bailey show. The Siegrist-Silbons, one of the best flying acts in the business at the time, had created a spectacular act that was performed with two flying trapeze frames placed in a cross. It is in the Sigriest-Silbon Troupe that Alfredo met a young brunette who was, like him, a newcomer to the act, Cincinnati-born Clara Groves, née Curtin (1894-1972).

@@ Line 21: / Line 21: @@
 ===The Flying Codonas===
-When Alfredo returned to the family fold, Eduardo began to build a flying trapeze act for him, working as his catcher before training Lalo in that capacity. Alfredo quickly showed a taste and a natural ability for flying. He had also an innate grace: Another flying legend, [[Art Concello]], once remarked that "If Alfredo had been run over by a truck, he’d have done it so gracefully that your first instinct might have been to applaud." The Flying Codonas made their first notable appearance in Australia, performing for three seasons (1913-1915) with the [[Wirth Circus]], in an act that was composed of Alfredo and Lalo, and Ruth Farris and Steve Outch, two young Australian flyers. (Outch was already an experienced flyer, and had worked before with the [[Flying Jordans]], but Farris was probably there to provide the required "feminine element" to the act.)
+When Alfredo returned to the family fold, Eduardo began to build a flying trapeze act for him, working as his catcher before training Lalo in that capacity. Alfredo quickly showed a taste and a natural ability for flying. He had also an innate grace: Another flying legend, [[Art Concello]], once remarked that "If Alfredo had been run over by a truck, he’d have done it so gracefully that your first instinct might have been to applaud." The Flying Codonas made their first notable appearance in Australia, performing for three seasons (1913-1915) with the [[Wirth Circus]], in an act that was composed of Alfredo and Lalo, and Ruth Farris and Steve Outch, two young Australian flyers. (Outch was already an experienced flyer, and had worked before with the [[Flying Jordans]], and Farris had worked in 1909-1910 with Codona when he was with the Silbons.)
 [[File:Codonas_(1913).jpg|thumb|right|300px|The Flying Codonas in 1913]]At the end of 1915, the Codonas returned home with Steve Outch in tow. Alfredo and Lalo had gained by then a good flying experience, and the trio secured a contract for the 1916 season with the fourteen-person strong [[Siegrist-Silbon Troupe]]&mdash;whom Alfredo had met in 1910, when he was working on the Barnum & Bailey show. The Siegrist-Silbons, one of the best flying acts in the business at the time, had created a spectacular act that was performed with two flying trapeze frames placed in a cross. It is in the Sigriest-Silbon Troupe that Alfredo met a young brunette who was, like him, a newcomer to the act, Cincinnati-born Clara Groves, née Curtin (1894-1972).

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 * Video: [[The_Codonas_Video_1925|The Codonas at the Wintergarten]], Berlin, 1925.
-* Video: [[The_Codonas_Video_1932|The Codonas in ''Swing High'']] (1932)
+* Video: [[Swing_High_Video_(1932)|''Swing High'', featuring The Codonas]], MGM documentary (1932)
 ==Image Gallery==

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 [[File:Los_Codona_poster.jpg|thumb|left|300px|The Codonas in Europe (c.1925)]]Their first winter contract abroad was in 1922, at the [[Coliseu dos Recreios (Lisbon)|Coliseu dos Recreios]] in Lisbon, Portugal&mdash;then one of Europe’s most prestigious resident circuses. The following winter (1923), they were in Barcelona, Spain, with the French circus [[Cirque Palisse|Palisse]]&mdash;a luxurious traveling construction that belonged to the clown Palisse, and which made prolonged stands in the cities it visited. (A little more than a decade later, Palisse’s construction became the traveling unit of Paris’s [[Cirque Medrano (Paris)|Cirque Medrano]].)
-They spent the year 1925 in Europe, first appearing at [[Circus Hagenbeck (Stellingen)|Circus Hagenbeck]] in Stellingen (near Hamburg).  At Berlin’s famous [[Wintergarten (Berlin)|Wintergarten]], their act was filmed to be integrated in Ewald André Dupont’s movie, ''Varieté'' (1925), starring Emil Jannings (doubled in the air by Lalo), Lya de Putti (doubled by Clara), and Warwick Ward (doubled by Alfredo). The film, which was released in Great Britain as ''Variety'', in France as ''Varietés'', and in the United States as ''Vaudeville'', was a huge international success. It told a tragic love story involving a trio of flying trapeze stars, but although the Codonas had given the characters their credibility in the air, they were not given any on-screen credit.
+They spent the year 1925 in Europe, first appearing at [[Circus Hagenbeck (Stellingen)|Circus Hagenbeck]] in Stellingen (near Hamburg).  At Berlin’s famous [[Wintergarten (Berlin)|Wintergarten]], their act was filmed to be integrated in Ewald André Dupont’s silent movie, ''Varieté'' (1925), starring Emil Jannings (doubled in the air by Lalo), Lya de Putti (doubled by Clara), and Warwick Ward (doubled by Alfredo). The film, which was released in Great Britain as ''Variety'', in France as ''Varietés'', and in the United States as ''Vaudeville'', was a huge international success. It told a tragic love story involving a trio of flying trapeze stars, but although the Codonas had given the characters their credibility in the air, they were not given any on-screen credit.
 Then the Codonas spent the summer at [[Cirkusbygningen (Copenhagen)|Circus Schumann]] in Copenhagen, Denmark. They ended the year starring in the Holiday Season (1925-1926) production of Europe’s most prestigious winter circus, [[Bertram Mills Circus]], at the Olympia of Kensington in London&mdash;where they shared the bill with another Ringling star act, the incomparable equestrienne [[May Wirth]] (whom Alfredo and Lalo had known in Australia), as well as with the great clown [[Charlie Rivel]], and [[Alfred Schneider]] who presided over his 70 lions: Quite a program! At the end of the Mills engagement in January 1926, the Codonas set sail for Paris.

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 ===Epilogue===
-Needless to say, Lalo Codona was quite shaken by the events, and he considered retiring from performing altogether. But he had still some European contracts to fulfill, notably with Paris’s famed [[Cirque Medrano (Paris)|Cirque Medrano]], where The Codonas were scheduled to appear in November for Medrano’s ''Jubilee'' program. During a practice session, Lalo hurt his shoulder and on opening night, November 12, his injury resulted in his missing his catch of Behee’s double somersault, and in more damage to his shoulder. When Lalo unlocked his legs to sit back on his trapeze, he lost his grip and fell into the net. He had dislocated his shoulder; [[Georges Loyal]], Medrano’s ringmaster, had to use a ladder to go up to the net and help Lalo down.
+Needless to say, Lalo Codona was quite shaken by the events, and he considered retiring from performing altogether. But he had still some European contracts to fulfill, notably with Paris’s famed [[Cirque Medrano (Paris)|Cirque Medrano]], where The Codonas were scheduled to appear in November for Medrano’s Jubilee program. During a practice session, Lalo hurt his shoulder and on opening night, November 12, his injury resulted in his missing his catch of Behee’s double somersault, and in more damage to his shoulder. When Lalo unlocked his legs to sit back on his trapeze, he lost his grip and fell into the net. He had dislocated his shoulder; [[Georges Loyal]], Medrano’s ringmaster, had to use a ladder to go up to the net and help Lalo down.
 Lalo’s injuries actually ended his career, and with it, the legendary Flying Codonas act disappeared forever. Clayton Behee married Rose Sullivan, and went on with his own act, The Flying Behees. Lalo retired to California, where he went to work as a mechanic in his brother-in-law’s garage in Long Beach, and continued to do sporadic stunt work in Hollywood. He passed away on October 12, 1951, and was buried near Alfredo at Inglewood Park Cemetery.

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 ===Eduardo Codona===
-Alfredo (1893-1937) and Abelardo ("Lalo," 1895-1951) Codona were born into a circus family. Their grandfather, Henry, came from a long line of Scottish showmen of Swiss-Italian descent. Francesco (Frank) Codoni (1765-1849), the dynasty's founder, settled in Scotland in the nineteenth century; he was a fairground showman, and illiterate&mdash;which led the family's name to be registered under a great variety of spellings over the years: Cardoni, Cardownie, Cardone, Codone, Candone, and Codona, which eventually stuck in the 1870s. Henry Codona married a French woman, Victorine Régnier (1841-1924), with whom he had two children, Enrique and Eduardo, whio was born in Mexico on September 21, 1859. (Enrique and Eduardo also had a half-brother, William). When and for which purpose Henry and Victorine immigrated to Mexico is not known.
+Alfredo (1893-1937) and Abelardo ("Lalo," 1895-1951) Codona were born into a circus family. Their grandfather, Henry, came from a long line of Scottish showmen of Swiss-Italian descent. Francesco (Frank) Codoni (1765-1849), the dynasty's founder, settled in Scotland in the nineteenth century; he was a fairground showman, and illiterate&mdash;which led the family's name to be registered under a great variety of spellings over the years: Cardoni, Cardownie, Cardone, Codone, Candone, and Codona, which eventually stuck in the 1870s. Henry Codona married a French woman, Victorine Régnier (1841-1924), with whom he had two children, Enrique and Eduardo, who was born in Mexico on September 21, 1859. (Enrique and Eduardo also had a half-brother, William). When and for which purpose Henry and Victorine immigrated to Mexico is not known.
-In any event, Eduardo Codona (1859-1934) became a Mexican circus performer and entrepreneur. In 1883, he married the fourteen-year-old Hortense (Hortensia) Buislay (1869-1931), a trapezist who hailed from an old French circus family of "acrobats, pantomimists, and gymnasts" (i.e. aerialists). The enterprising [[The Buislay Family|Buislays]] had come to Mexico where, in 1869 (the year of Hortense’s birth), they created with [[Ricardo Bell]] the ''Circo Océano'', and rented [[Giuseppe Chiarini]]’s circus building in Mexico City before touring the country for some time. Like Chiarini, with whose company they had previously traveled around the world, the Buislay family had settled in San Francisco, in the United States.
+In any event, Eduardo Codona (1859-1934) became a Mexican circus performer and entrepreneur. In 1883, he married the fourteen-year-old Hortense (Hortensia) Buislay (1869-1931), a trapezist who hailed from an old French circus family of "acrobats, pantomimists, and gymnasts" (i.e., aerialists). The enterprising [[The Buislay Family|Buislays]] had come to Mexico where, in 1869 (the year of Hortense’s birth), they created with [[Ricardo Bell]] the ''Circo Océano'', and rented [[Giuseppe Chiarini]]’s circus building in Mexico City before touring the country for some time. Like Chiarini, in whose circus company they had previously traveled around the world, the Buislay family had settled in San Francisco, in the United States.
 [[File:ALFREDO_CODONA_(1920).jpg|thumb|left|250px|Alfredo Codona (c.1920)]][[File:LALO_CODONA.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Lalo Codona (c.1920)]]By 1888, Eduardo Codona had formed his own traveling company. He had with him a Comanche Indian who wrestled a bear named Samson, and Hortense partnered with a girl billed as Matilde in a trapeze act. Eduardo worked as a tumbler and in a flying trapeze act "à la [[Jules Léotard|Léotard]]"&mdash;the creator of the genre, who had been the toast of Europe and had even performed in New York in 1868. In essence this means that, like Léotard, Eduardo worked alone, leaping from trapeze to trapeze. Flying trapeze, in whatever form, proved to be a specialty to which Eduardo was particularly attracted.

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 Alfredo Codona didn’t return to the circus for the 1937 season; instead, he went to work in a garage owned by his sister Hortense’s husband, Charles Ferrante, in Long Beach, California, where the Codonas had settled. On June 28, Vera filed for divorce, on the grounds of cruelty. Codona pleaded no contest; the divorce was granted on July 1. On July 30, 1937, Alfredo Codona met Vera Bruce in the office of her attorney, James E. Pawson, in Long Beach to finalize details of the settlement. It was an amicable meeting. At some point, Alfredo told the lawyer that he wanted to be alone with his ex-wife. After Pawson had left the room, Codona draw a gun and shot Vera five times before turning the gun onto himself. Alfredo Codona died instantly; Vera died at Seaside Hospital in Long Beach the following day.
-The tragedy, which was widely reported by the press with the inevitable dose of horrid flourish, didn’t make the front pages however: Alfredo Codona had been demoted by then to the rank of "former trapeze star." ''Sic gloria transit!'' According to his wishes, he was buried at Inglewood Park Cemetery on August 3, next to his second wife and greatest love, Lillian Leitzel. The funeral attracted a large crowd of circus colleagues and fans: In the circus world, Alfredo Codona was still royalty, the undisputed King of The Air. Vera Bruce-Codona was laid to rest at the Calvary Cemetery in East Los Angeles; the epitaph on her gravestone reads: "Peace at Last".
+The tragedy, which was widely reported by the press with the inevitable dose of horrid flourish, didn’t make the front pages however: Alfredo Codona had been demoted by then to the rank of "former trapeze star." ''Sic gloria transit''! According to his wishes, he was buried at Inglewood Park Cemetery on August 3, next to his second wife and greatest love, Lillian Leitzel. The funeral attracted a large crowd of circus colleagues and fans: In the circus world, Alfredo Codona was still royalty, the undisputed King of The Air. Vera Bruce-Codona was laid to rest at the Calvary Cemetery in East Los Angeles; the epitaph on her gravestone reads: "Peace at Last".
 ===Epilogue===