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==In The Spotlight==
 
==In The Spotlight==
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[[File:John_Bill_Ricketts_(1798).jpg|300px|right]]
 
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===JOHN BILL RICKETTS===
 
  
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On April 3, 1793, a crowd of theatergoers, horsemanship enthusiasts, and prying citizens gathered at the corner of Market and Twelfth Streets in Philadelphia to witness the debut performance of Mr. John Bill Ricketts's company at the Circus. The Circus was a roofless arena that could accommodate some eight-hundred spectators (divided between pit and boxes) surrounding a circular riding space filled in with a mixture of soil and sawdust, forty-two feet in diameter—the ring.
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===THE ARAGON FAMILY===
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[[File:Pompoff_Thedy_Emilio_Zampabollos.jpeg|right|400px]]
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The Aragón family is one of Europe’s most prolific clown dynasties. A Spanish family with French circus ancestry, it has produced five generations of funnymen, some of whom have become major circus stars in Spain as well as abroad: Pompoff y Thedy, arguably the greatest Spanish clown duet of their generation, which morphed into The Pompoff Thedy Family with the third and fourth generations and have enjoyed an outstanding international career; and Gaby, Fofó y Miliki, from the fourth generation, and their children of the fifth generation, who became major stars on Spanish television.
  
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The wooden construction had been erected in a matter of weeks by Ricketts, a British equestrian who had arrived from Scotland the previous year and had quickly established a riding school in Philadelphia, then the capital of the newly formed United States of America. Ricketts (1769-1802) had followed the example of Philip Astley, who had established just such a riding school in London in 1768, at the foot of Westminster Bridge, before creating there the first modern circus two years later.
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The founder of the dynasty, Gabriel Aragón Gomez, was a former seminarian who had “run away and joined the circus,” and eventually became a clown under the name of Pepino. Gabriel married the equestrienne Virginie Foureaux (?-1930), daughter of the equestrian Jean-Philippe Foureaux, who came from one of France’s oldest circus dynasties: the Grand Cirque Foureaux had been established by Jacques Foureaux in 1805, and her family had been playing the fairgrounds long before the modern circus was created by Philip Astley in 1770. Gabriel and Virginie had fifteen children—and four sons among them. Little has been recorded of Arturo, the elder, who was probably significantly older than his more famous brothers: Emilio (later known as Emig—?-1946), Teodoro (later known as Thedy—1885-1974), and José-María (later known as Pompoff—1886-1970).
  
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Before long, a small group of performers from Ricketts's former British company joined him in Philadelphia. Among them were his brother Francis (1777-?), an equestrian and tumbler; Mr. Spinacuta, the rope-dancer, along with his wife, an attractive equestrienne who rode two horses at full gallop; Mr. McDonald, another tumbler who performed comic acrobatic intermezzos as the Clown; and Ricketts's pupil, young Master Strobach. The performance included a great many "feats of horsemanship," most of them presented by Ricketts himself, rope-dancing, some tumbling, and McDonald's acrobatic parodies. This was the first circus show ever put on in America.
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At the end of the nineteenth century, Gabriel Aragón created a successful clown duet with his elder son Arturo. As Pepino y Tonino (Arturo’s stage name), they acquired a strong reputation in Spain and all over Europe. Gabriel’s other sons participated in their father’s act as they grew up (the act was sometimes billed as the Aragón Family), but in 1909, José-María and Teodoro decided to take their independence and create a clown act of their own. They flopped: At twenty-four and twenty-two respectively, they probably still lacked the maturity necessary to carry a comedy act by themselves—especially in a country that appreciated good clowning, and where great clowns were aplenty!... ([[The Aragón Family|more...]])
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Young and good-looking, talented and enterprising, Ricketts had become an instant sensation. But if his contemporaries have described his acts extensively, little is known of his early life outside of circus. Fortunately, Gilbert Stuart left a superb, if unfinished, portrait which is now in the collection of the National Gallery of Art in Washington, and John Durang, one of the first American actors—who worked for Ricketts as a dancer, equestrian, acrobat, clown, scenic painter, and deputy manager from 1795-1800—has provided some hints of the man's character in his Memoir, composed circa 1820.
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John Bill Ricketts was born in October 1769 in Bilston, a small town near the city of Wolverhampton in the West Midlands, to Thomas Ricketts and his wife, Kinborrow, née Perry. His baptism was recorded on October 28, which suggests he was born a few days before. The Ricketts family, which was of Norman extraction and whose original patronymic was Ricard, had long belonged to the landed gentry of Staffordshire. At the turn of the eighteenth century, the elder branch settled in Jamaica, although several members of this very large branch of the family returned to England, either to study or to resettle; others established themselves in the colony of New Jersey in America. Thus Ricketts was not in alien territory when he landed in the newly formed United States. Neither would he be heading to unknown territories when, at the end of his American adventures, he sailed to the West Indies.... ([[John Bill Ricketts|more...]])
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==New Essays and Biographies==
 
==New Essays and Biographies==
  
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* [[Astley's Amphitheatre]], circus
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* [[Alexis Gruss, Jr/fr|Alexis Gruss, Jr]] (version française)
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* [[Virginie Kenebel]], equestrienne
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* [[Cirque_d'Hiver/fr|Le Cirque d'Hiver]] (Version française)
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* [[Chongqing_Acrobatic_Troupe|Chongqing Acrobatic Troupe]], History
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* [[Virginie Kenebel/fr|Virginie Kenebel]] (Version française)
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* [[Cirkus_Verdensteater_(Oslo)|Cirkus Verdensteater]], Oslo Circus Building
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* [[Cirque Bureau]], circus (English/Français)
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* [[Eddie Murillo]], Circus Agent and Producer
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* [[Richiardi Jr.]], magician
  
 
==New Videos==
 
==New Videos==
  
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* [[Azizov_and_Makhmudov_Video_(2025)|Miraziz Azizov & Sharofiddin Makhmudov]], hand-to-hand balancing (2025)
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* [[Dorning_Cow_Video_(1978)|Günter Dorning]], trained cows (1978)
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* [[Amedeo_Folco_Video_(2007)|Amedeo Folco]], horse and elephant act (2007)
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* [[Kims_Video_(1963)|The Kims]], comedy acrobatics (1963)
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* [[Sun_Family_Video_(1973)|The Sun Family]], Chinese acrobatics (1973)
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* [[Kolfe_Video_(2026)|Kolfe Troupe]], Risley/teeterboard act (2026)
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* [[Ballan_Video_(1974)|Les Ballan]], bicycle act (1974)
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* [[Koziaks_Spanish_Video_(1987)|The Koziaks]], Russian barre (1987)
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* [[Zhang_Hao_-_Li_Tianmeng_Video_(2025)|Zhang Hao & Li Tianmeng]], high and slack wire (2025)
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* [[Segura_Video_(1980)|The Segura Family]], trampoline & Risley combination (1980)
  
 
==New Oral Histories==
 
==New Oral Histories==

Latest revision as of 06:29, 2 March 2026


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Circopedia is an independent educational website, initially created as a project of the original, non-profit Big Apple Circus.

In The Spotlight

THE ARAGON FAMILY

Pompoff Thedy Emilio Zampabollos.jpeg

The Aragón family is one of Europe’s most prolific clown dynasties. A Spanish family with French circus ancestry, it has produced five generations of funnymen, some of whom have become major circus stars in Spain as well as abroad: Pompoff y Thedy, arguably the greatest Spanish clown duet of their generation, which morphed into The Pompoff Thedy Family with the third and fourth generations and have enjoyed an outstanding international career; and Gaby, Fofó y Miliki, from the fourth generation, and their children of the fifth generation, who became major stars on Spanish television.

The founder of the dynasty, Gabriel Aragón Gomez, was a former seminarian who had “run away and joined the circus,” and eventually became a clown under the name of Pepino. Gabriel married the equestrienneA female equestrian, or horse trainer, horse presenter, or acrobat on horseback. Virginie Foureaux (?-1930), daughter of the equestrian Jean-Philippe Foureaux, who came from one of France’s oldest circus dynasties: the Grand Cirque Foureaux had been established by Jacques Foureaux in 1805, and her family had been playing the fairgrounds long before the modern circus was created by Philip Astley in 1770. Gabriel and Virginie had fifteen children—and four sons among them. Little has been recorded of Arturo, the elder, who was probably significantly older than his more famous brothers: Emilio (later known as Emig—?-1946), Teodoro (later known as Thedy—1885-1974), and José-María (later known as Pompoff—1886-1970).

At the end of the nineteenth century, Gabriel Aragón created a successful clown duet with his elder son Arturo. As Pepino y Tonino (Arturo’s stage name), they acquired a strong reputation in Spain and all over Europe. Gabriel’s other sons participated in their father’s act as they grew up (the act was sometimes billed as the Aragón Family), but in 1909, José-María and Teodoro decided to take their independence and create a clown act of their own. They flopped: At twenty-four and twenty-two respectively, they probably still lacked the maturity necessary to carry a comedy act by themselves—especially in a country that appreciated good clowning, and where great clowns were aplenty!... (more...)

New Essays and Biographies

New Videos

  • Günter Dorning, trained cows (1978)
  • The Kims, comedy acrobatics (1963)
  • Kolfe Troupe, Risley/teeterboardA seesaw made of wood, or fiberglass poles tied together, which is used to propel acrobats in the air. act (2026)
  • The Koziaks, Russian barreFlexible pole, held horizontally by two catchers, or under-standers, with which they propelled a flyer in acrobatic figures from and to the pole. (1987)
  • The Segura Family, trampoline & Risley combination (1980)

New Oral Histories

Circopedia Books

A Message from the Founder

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—and sometimes daily—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 contact us: we will definitely consider your remarks and suggestions.

Dominique Jando
Founder and Curator
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