Axel Gautier

It is one thing to stand at a distance and watch a building implode and fall, and an entirely different thing to be standing smack in the middle of the building when it implodes and falls. I experienced my greatest thrill in life in 1984 when I arrived at the Venice winter quarter's of the Greatest Show on Earth and also may greatest disappointment a few month's later with the death of Don Foote followed a short time later by the death of Irvin Feld. Like the imploding building collapsing on your head you immediately sensed it was gone forever, and would never be again what it once was. The picture of Axel above is from 1986, the first year of post Don Foote/pre Arthur Bottchi costuming. Folks may not believe this but that "pink" shirt Axel was made to wear for the elephant act was actually a "off the shelf" Oshkosh-B-Gosh white janitors shirt which was dyed pink by the Bottchi staff. Combined with the black satin pant's with the pink trim, not a single rhinestone or sequins to be found, folk's can only imagine at the embarrassment Axel felt, after wearing Don Foote creations for over a quarter century.


Axel and Kevin Gautier in 1992 the year before Axel was tragically killed at the breeding farm, and incident witnessed by three people, two of whom are dead and one who is not talking.