Jim, there are definitely 8 male lions in the photo above, and I am assuming Harry Kovar, but not much else unless we consider the photo is cropped, which would seem an odd thing to do, and cut out the Great Danes,who appear to have harness's on in the photo below. I wonder if they were led into the arena and led out? The tall pedestals in the photo above don't appear to have the wood around the bottom frame, which I originally thought were "boxes", and arn't as "ornate" as the ones in the photo below. I find it interesting that he is using his whip in his left hand above, and his right hand below. How much of Court's stuff was really great training, and how much was just "rehashing" different animals around. Funny, but I suggest if today somebody changed an act so often with different animals doing the same thing, folks would suggest that they couldn't handle what they had, and had to keep changing animals. I'm just thinking out loud, not casting any aspersions towards Court and his stable of trainers, and wondering how many legends are made in a profession that has never had an official record kept. The tall bridge seen in this picture, and the previous very tall ones in Court's acts, haunted me years later in 1977, when it had to be lifted up and down by hand, by yourself, with out the aid of anybody else in the cage.
This the Kovar act and I am absolutely sure it is Harry Kovar presenting it. Joe Walsh also worked it. The Schulz act didn't have any Great Danes. This act originally contained eight male lions, one tiger, two polar bears, two Himalayan bears, two leopards and two Great Danes. He took the leopards out and put them in the mixed panther act before they got to the USA. He replaced the leopards with a jaguar that remained in the act for definitely the first season, but I am not sure after that. I haven't done enough research on his time in the USA. That's actually harder to research than the European stuff for some reason. When this act got to Florida they added an American black bear and there was no tiger. The tiger never appeared in this act in the USA at all. In fact, this mixed group never contained tigers after it left Europe. This was mixed group number five.
Thursday, December 9, 2010
For Jim Clubb--Harry Kovar
Posted by
Wade G. Burck
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The above picture is of Joe Walsh not Harry Kovar. Walsh was often billed as a Zappel. Where they got this name from I don't know. The Schulz and the Kovar act often contained eight lions and then back to six. This was because of the horrendous problems mixing male lions, as I well know myself. Schulz told me they added two males to his act before the 1940 season. He said it was harder doing that than adding mroe bears, tigers of leopards. I totally agree with him. The Kovar act normally contained eight lions. The dogs wore a harness throughout the whole act. This was because they were harnessed up to a little buggy that the two Himalayan bears sat in and were pulled around the ring, led by the trainer. One of these bears, Violetta was killed and he replaced it with an American black bear. The pictures of Franz Trupka with the male lions are interesting. I haven't seen them before and I would love to have them. The props are the old Togare tiger props. The horse looks familiar, but I cannot say it is the Court one. Don't forge to send me the pictures in high res.
Jim,
Thank you for the great information once again. It is amazing how all these acts, seem to be surrounded in a mystery, and seem geared to confuse, even with billing someone with a different name. There don't seem to be many pictures of Court before coming to Ringling available, and almost non existent after returning to Europe. Is it just that I can't seem to find them or were there none? Yet the Ringling years are pretty well documented.
You can't use high line terms with out confusing me, Jim. What is "high resolution?"
Wade
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