Thursday, September 23, 2010
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
skip to main |
skip to sidebar
A Blog designed for discussion of topics related to, but not limited to, Circus, Zoos, Animal Training, and Animal Welfare/Husbandry. Sometimes opening up the dialog is the best starting point of all. And if for nothing else when people who agree and don't agree, get together and start discussing it, it will open up a lot of peoples minds. Debate and discussion even amongst themselves opens a window where there wasn't one before.
The Circus "NO SPIN ZONE"
Relevent Stops On The Information Highway
- Custom Motorcycle Accessories by Ian
- Bob Cline's Sawdust and Spangles
- Buckles Blog
- Christophe Roullin Circus News
- Gary Robinsons Circus Blog
- Jamie Clubbs Blog
- Marco Kristens Circus Williams
- Ryan Easley's ShowMe Elephants
- Showbiz Daves Blog
- The Bartlett Society
- Thomas Bohners Cage Act History
- World of Dancing Horses
Manure Pile/Post Archive
Consultants
Wade G Burck
Adam R Burck
Eric G Burck
Adam R Burck
Eric G Burck
Posts
14 comments:
About this trainer, I really know nothing !
Pat Anthony was the class of cat acts from the 60's thru the 80's and had the best assistant any one good ever have Bill Johnson.I remember it was the heavest arena since Clyde Beatty's. and we used to pride our self's as a prop crew to tear it down in less than 5 minutes.
Jewell New and I visited his compound one day and he was a very enlighting person!
Here's a link to an article/web post about Pat Anthony. I saw him with Circus Vargas in the mid 1970's I have virtually no recollection of the show or the tricks he performed, which is surprisng for me because I can recall almost every animal act I've seen except this one, I still have the program and remember Circus Vargus still had a side show at the time with about 6 people who were "human oddities". which I had never seen before.
http://circusanonymous.blogspot.com/2008/07/pat-anthony.html
Vincent/San Diego
I love how he says" European acts consist of animals that have been raised as pets".....hmmmm
I have spoken often of Pat in the past. He was one of the most encouraging trainers to me when I first was starting out. He and his act were the closest that has ever come to replicating Clyde Beatty. Pat even looked like Beatty. His bouncing lions, Momma, the female in particular, were the best and most exciting in the business, and his seat arrangement with the lions up high, and the tigers down low was a classic, and looked great. He was the kindest hearted person you would ever want to meet. I first met him in I think, 1974 when Vargas, which was still Miller Johnson at the time, brought me and my 7 tigers to Calif.(the show was as Vincent describes) for two months to cover for Pat until he could get there with his act. I later worked with him in Mexico City on Circo Atayde where I had 3 baby elephants. As a gift to me for helping him, he had 3 pairs of boots, a blue pair, a black pair, and a white pair made by his boot maker in Mexico for me. As Casey noted, he had one of the best of the best assisting him, and taking care of his cat's for many, many years, Bill Johnson.
I don't know how Vincent can not remember Pat's act because it was one of the loudest, fastest act's of the fighting act style ever seen. Pat was an incredible showman, who even wore double gun's in a custom carved holster and belt, with mother of pearl grips on the gun's with a lion head carved on them.
Vincent, the "alibi" of the Europeans using hand raised animals, was very common "back in the day" used by American trainers, particularly the "fighting act" trainers. Like the nonsense you used to hear about American trainers using only "jungle bred" adult animals, it is only that, nonsense. Charly and GGW caused such a sensation with their act's at the time, and all the behaviors they did, that it was used to denigrate them. European trainers did the same thing in reverse, and it is hardly prevalent today, thankfully, except by some of the "old timers." Pat had more behaviors in his act then any other fighting act, which makes it a "TOP TEN" on my list of All Time Great American Cage Acts. He had ball rolls by the tigers, roll overs, etc. plus the fighting/bouncing which was the best ever done. In the lay down with the lions he used to cue one lion from the far right to bounce him, and simultaneously cue Momma from the far left, so that there were lions charging him from different directions. I had never seen that before or sense, and it used to scare this young trainer to death, until I got "educated" on what it was, and how he was doing it.
A wonderful man and one of a kind act, which needs to be remembered in the annuals of Wild Animal Acts.
Wade
Pat Anthony was the first big cat act I remember seeing back in the late 1950's. He'd go on Polack on year and Hamid-Morton the next -- back in the days when Polack had 37 weeks and paid your fuel bill.
Absolutely right Wade about all the tricks he had in his act. Lion and tiger on the barrel together, 6 tigers jumping through the firey hoop then one jumped over the hoop, the unforgettable lioness Rita who did the almost flying roll-over (she's in the movie "Jumbo"). Lots of tricks plus all the "fighting" showmanship. As Casey said, he was the big cat act from the 60's into the early 80's.
I can't think of Pat without a touch of melancholy. In the later years of his career he played the big Shrine show at Busch Stadium in St. Louis. It was a BIG show. One year Pat opened the first half and Tarzan Zerbini the second. Another year, Pat worked on first base and George Barreda on third. Pat was older and had a few less cats in the act, but still some great tricks -- and he still fired the guns and snapped the whip. Compared to the others, it didn't go over like the old days. It was like watching a living museum. You'd wanted to yell watch the great training here damn'it -- don't worry about the noise.
I'm honored to be a friend of the late Pat Anthony. He was "the" wild animal trainer for this indoor circus kid. I felt I made the big time the first Pat called over, "hey Jimmy".
As for my friend Bill Johnston, another rememberance for another day.
Jim and Casey,
I am sure if the great Pat Anthony were alive today, he would readily admit that he was the big American gun, from the 60's up into about 1975 when I burst on the scene. As the wonderful man is no longer with us, you will just have to take my word that that is what he would say. LOL
Larry Allen Dean has Pat's "only one like it" barrel with the cast lion heads on the side that that the lion and tiger rolled. What a priceless piece of memorabilia!!!! I have the pyramid bridge that Gunther used when he first came to America, with his initial's GGW down the front. I wouldn't swap it for the Mona Lisa, and you would have to kill LAD to get that barrel away from him.
Wade
I'd be delighted with one of the lion heads Pat had on all the doors of his truck. I know they're around. Bill told me every year a few more came off.
As to Pat's modesty: I remember watching Tarzan with Pat. His comment, "if the one big castrated lion died he'd be back running a popcorn stand".
Wade,
About the only thing I remember about Pat Anthony's act was the size of the cage. I was 9 years old at the time, so the cage looked enormous to me, other than that my memory of the actual act is a blank, it was 35 years ago and i actually remember more about the circus itself that the cat act.
I know those side show folks saw me coming, because they got the few dollars i had in my pockets outta me.
I remember one of the side show exhibits was they put a gal in a wooden box, then pushed sords thru the box, you paid your money and you got to go around the back of the box, which was opened and you could see how the girl was contorted so none of the sords stabbed her. I think i also paid to see the world largest man eating rat, which turned out to be a capybara ( those large south american jungle rodents, that jaguars eat).
I also remember Clifford Vargas had Abraham Lincoln like mutton chops.....Do you have any stories about Mr Vargas you can share, I know he passed away years ago.
You said Mr. Anthony's act is among your "Top Ten American Cage Acts", when time permits could you post a list of then best acts in your opinion.
Thanks for all your work on the blog.
Vincent/San Diego
P.S. can you give a more precise definition of "downed and browned" I know it has to do with being bitten or attacked.
Vincent,
Most all the stories I have about Cliff Vargas, I couldn't post here given some of the young readers and women off the blog.
"Downed and browned" is as you suggest. It doesn't mean you were tagged or touched with a small corona being the end result. It mean you got taken off your feet with a people's elbow, and rolled around in the mud, and the spit, and beer, and if you are lucky, you are able to rise again covered in shit or brown. When folks ask, what is it called if there is no shit, I reassure them that they can count on there being shit. LOL Trust me, it is about as scared as a person ever want's to be.
Wade
AH Clifford Vargas.....
God I'd love to hear those stories, but i understand the need to keep the blog rated "G"
"Downed and Browned" i get the message.....I would think being a trainer, you guys have plenty of moments where you don't get downed but certainly get browned or close to it fairly often.
A few month ago you had a link to a video of the current RBBB tiger trainer....you titled it " when the proverbial S**t hits the fan"
One cat started giving him trouble, so another came down to start trouble and then things got really HOT pretty quick......alot of growling, snarling and the like but the trainer was very cool finished the behavior then got everyone back to thier seats.....he then turned to the audience and said " OH MY GOD!!!"
I'm at home sitting on a couch and my heart was racing, I can never imagine what it feels like to stay in the cage remain calm and handle a situtation when every cell in your body is screaming at you to turn and RUN!!!
But then again....run to where??
January - 2010 PAGES Winterquarters. I was lucky enough to watch both VICENTA & Colleen rehearse both cats at the same time..I was told VINCENTA was using the old Pat Anthony arena..
Dave,
The two "vintage" training cages that were used at Hawthorn winterquaters also had some history. The one set up in the main barn, which was a fold together or "bible cage" was Terrell Jacobs. Very tall cage which still had the pins at the top for attaching a net. Every other bar was hollow tubing to make it lighter for handling back in the day, and every other bar was solid. Maybe a good idea at first, but after many years of loading and unloading, every other bar became bent and crooked. The cage used in the "new barn" built in the early 90's was Roman Prosky's. As he played mostly in theaters and stages, it is about a foot shorter then the Jacobs cage. It had two short "man doors" in back, one on the left and one on the right, instead of the standard, one in the front. As he never knew if he would enter the arena from "stage left" or "stage right" in a theater, it gave him more options. A third "man door" was built and hauled in case that option was needed when he did circus dates. I still get ill thinking of the arena that was set up behind the ring barn in Venice, being used as a pelican donniker. Check out my comment on the "history channel" today in regards to a picture of GGW and the pedestals in the picture. That's where I got the diamond patterned bridge with the chrome letters GGW on it. Ask Struppy what happened to the pedestals,(I think she used a couple of them for her leash leopard) as you might come across a hell of a collectible. Don't worry about how they look, all rusted and worn. That's called patina. LOL
Wade
Jim A.....I have his holster and two lion heads, sorry won't part with them!!
Post a Comment