Buckles Blog February 26, 2008 One of our first meetings with Dominique Jando whom nobody had heard of given his fame as a world wide Circus expert. I took offense at his inferences to the United States, and Johnny Herriott took offense at his inference to the old school. But at least we both took offense to this self proclaimed, self promoted expert.
I have seen Charly Baumann, and I have seen Gilbert Houcke many times, too. Charly Baumann was indeed a great cat trainer, but as an artist, he was not in Houcke's league. This is what made the difference. Houcke had an amazing charisma, the sort Gunther had, but with more elegance. He was very quiet, always smiling, very sure in each of his moves. Nothing brisk, ever. His act was choreographed like a ballet. In its final version, Houvke didn't have other props than large stools in the cage -- like low profile elephant stools -- on which the tigers could move and lie. In some way, the act looked like a first-rate liberty act, but with tigers. It was gorgeous, and nonetheless spectacular. It just showcased the sheer beauty of the animals.
But there was something else with Gilbert Houcke, too: I always noticed that when he entered the cage, before his tigers, the audience was mesmerized; you couldn't ignore his presence, his extraordinary charm. I remember him, too, when he was in his Tarzan costume. I was perhaps 10 years old when I saw him for the first time; my mother whispered, when Houcke entered the cage, "What a built, this man!" (in French...) I guess that for every woman in the house it was, "Tigers? Which tigers?"...
I am a big cat fan, and I have seen all the great cat acts I could get a glimpse of, here, in Europe, in Russia, and even in Asia. Baumann was Houcke's replacement with the group of tigers he originally brought here. He surfed on Houcke's wave for a time, but never reached his predecessor's fame or impact on the audiences. Keep in mind that in Europe, audiences actually watched the acts (in a one-ring circus, it's difficult to do otherwise) and were pretty savvy. In Paris, where you had until 1963, two permanent circuses that changed their program every month, the audience saw a great quantity of acts, and was able to judge the difference between one and the other. Houcke was a star, who actually could draw an audience. There was a reason to this. Other cat trainers may have done the same tricks as Houcke. Few did it with such remarkable artistry.
Dominique Jando
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I am flabbergasted at your remarks. Putting Charly, and comparing him in a loin cloth, is like Clark Gable and Johnny Weismuller. By the way Gable did make a great jungle picture "Mogambo" and was never scene in a loin cloth. Charly was featured with the GSOE for some 13 years, even during the Gunther saga and believe me his act was always the best of the best, and as to charisma with the ladies, in the Sixties he was one of the most handsome, smooth movements of all our showbiz personalities, and when he back up to a tiger on its seat and the tiger4 proceeded to lick and kiss him, believe me all the females in the audience would love to relate nto Charly, and nno doubt a few males as well. Charly Baumann was never second rate to any of his contempories or those before him.
As to selling tickets the greatest circus person and greatest presenter of wild animals for center ring stardom for 42 consecutive years and had circus titles in his name for some 50 years and Ringling Delayed the opening of their great Hagenbeck-Wallace for some two weeks as he was so sensational in Madison Square Garden, and as Wade remarked it seated over ten thousand people, a few more than the one ring circus tents, and to further make you aware of your obvious misconciption of Americas three and even five ring circuses, Mr. Beatty worked all alone. I think you need to do some homework.
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Mr. Jando,
Don't think I don't have a few thought's. It may be a bit, though because I am on a lap top at the moment. I need to get to a printer, and print your heading, as that nonsense need's to be addressed carfully. There is that much chaffe. I don't want to keep going back to see if that is what you really said. I will address that shot across the bow at America, before I go though. To start, we watch our cage act's here, working alone too. Just one more thing, "you all" are not so good at. Then just like a queen's coronation(you guy's like that stuff), we kick into grand lavish, three ring display's. Our thought's of grand and beautiful don't usually run along the lines of 10 act's and 8 to 13 family member's and turn away crowd's because 2000 seat's are full. That's not a straw house in this league, Pal.
Don't go away,
Wade Burck