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.
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Circus Hall of Fame
Unknown Act. Does anyone recognize the pedestals, the fire hoop or the white jump fence?
Sweede Johnson, also appeared during that time at CHOF...I remember this postcard and at the time I was buying and selling thousands of postcards...So, it might be Dave Hoover or Sweede Johnson cats..
Dave, I had forgotten Swede was there at one time. That is surely a possibility. I have a couple of cards I bought from you in the late 70's. An Elvin Bale, a Wolfgang Holtzmeir, and a GGW/Siegrid with your stamp on the back which makes them priceless to me today. I remember you wouldn't cut me a break on what your were asking for them. Even when I offered to swap for my autograph, you insisted on full retail saying, if I recall right, "you aren't somebody famous from the Ringling show, Wade." Well dpowhitetiger, that was then, and this is now, SO BITE ME, PAL. LOL What a time, what a journey. Thanks for being a part of it Dave.
If you remember the more postcards you purchased the more you were discounted...I guess you didn't purchase many cards...A number of the performers on the Blue Unit use to call Charly Baumann over and point out to Charly I wanted more for Gunther's card than his...Charly had a funny side.......back then prior to AR's I could drive right into the venue to set-up my wares...If I remember correctly the Ringling Clowns purchased more cards than you...They got a great discount/.
Dave, I don't remember that at all, because you never offered me the "bundle deal." I just remember you impatiently looking around me to see if there were any Ringling folks coming up. You didn't have time for us Shrine folk. Charly had an incredible sense of humor, that a lot of folks never got to see. Did he have an "edge?" He sure did, that was his job. The gags we used to pull on each other were priceless, and memories I will cherish forever. One day I was doing a tv interview for a local small town evening news network and the girl asked me if I read circus books, and were there any that I would recommend. As "luck" would have it, I happened to have Charly and Gunthers books in the dressing room with me. :) I showed her GGW's book and said "it is the best ever written on the subject of circus and animal training, and I recommend it very, very highly." "On the other hand," I continued "there's this piece of garbage" and I showed her Charly's book. "If somebody gave it to you as a gift, go ahead and read, if you have nothing better to do, but don't spend money on it. If nothing else, if you live in the hill's of West Virgina, and don't have indoor plumbing, you can use this book in the outhouse, instead of wasting a good Sear's catalog." As "luck" would also have it, unbeknownst to me, Charly caught the early new's before coming to the building. That evening, as I was lined up waiting to go in for opening, Charly came up behind me, and with all his brute strength, reached around and slapped me in the stomach with one of his patented slug's that left a welted red hand print on your bare skin for 30 min. I stumbled backwards gasping "son *f a b*t*h!!!" while the rest of the cast stared wide eyed and slack jawed. Before I could catch my breath and ask, "what the hell was that for?" Charly said, "vhy don't you vipe your ass vith that, covboy" and blew the whistle for the start of the show. LOL LOL 3 to 4 times a week, for 4 years "America's Own" had to stand in front of thousands of American's with a huge red hand print planted on his stomach, courtesy of the great Charly Baumann. LOL A number of year's ago a friend made the comment that "you were a lot thinner on Ringling, weren't you?" My son Adam said, "that's because Charly knocked his fat off." :) I miss Charly and I miss the grandour of The Greatest Show On Earth.....
Unknown Act. Does anyone recognize the pedestals, the fire hoop or the white jump fence?
A vote for early Dave Hoover.
ReplyDeleteThis post card is from the old Hall of Fame in Sarasota.
ReplyDeleteBob
Sweede Johnson, also appeared during that time at CHOF...I remember this postcard and at the time I was buying and selling thousands of postcards...So, it might be Dave Hoover or Sweede Johnson cats..
ReplyDeleteDave,
ReplyDeleteI had forgotten Swede was there at one time. That is surely a possibility. I have a couple of cards I bought from you in the late 70's. An Elvin Bale, a Wolfgang Holtzmeir, and a GGW/Siegrid with your stamp on the back which makes them priceless to me today. I remember you wouldn't cut me a break on what your were asking for them. Even when I offered to swap for my autograph, you insisted on full retail saying, if I recall right, "you aren't somebody famous from the Ringling show, Wade." Well dpowhitetiger, that was then, and this is now, SO BITE ME, PAL. LOL What a time, what a journey. Thanks for being a part of it Dave.
Wade
If you remember the more postcards you purchased the more you were discounted...I guess you didn't purchase many cards...A number of the performers on the Blue Unit use to call Charly Baumann over and point out to Charly I wanted more for Gunther's card than his...Charly had a funny side.......back then prior to AR's I could drive right into the venue to set-up my wares...If I remember correctly the Ringling Clowns purchased more cards than you...They got a great discount/.
ReplyDeleteDave,
ReplyDeleteI don't remember that at all, because you never offered me the "bundle deal." I just remember you impatiently looking around me to see if there were any Ringling folks coming up. You didn't have time for us Shrine folk.
Charly had an incredible sense of humor, that a lot of folks never got to see. Did he have an "edge?" He sure did, that was his job. The gags we used to pull on each other were priceless, and memories I will cherish forever.
One day I was doing a tv interview for a local small town evening news network and the girl asked me if I read circus books, and were there any that I would recommend. As "luck" would have it, I happened to have Charly and Gunthers books in the dressing room with me. :) I showed her GGW's book and said "it is the best ever written on the subject of circus and animal training, and I recommend it very, very highly." "On the other hand," I continued "there's this piece of garbage" and I showed her Charly's book. "If somebody gave it to you as a gift, go ahead and read, if you have nothing better to do, but don't spend money on it. If nothing else, if you live in the hill's of West Virgina, and don't have indoor plumbing, you can use this book in the outhouse, instead of wasting a good Sear's catalog."
As "luck" would also have it, unbeknownst to me, Charly caught the early new's before coming to the building. That evening, as I was lined up waiting to go in for opening, Charly came up behind me, and with all his brute strength, reached around and slapped me in the stomach with one of his patented slug's that left a welted red hand print on your bare skin for 30 min. I stumbled backwards gasping "son *f a b*t*h!!!" while the rest of the cast stared wide eyed and slack jawed. Before I could catch my breath and ask, "what the hell was that for?" Charly said, "vhy don't you vipe your ass vith that, covboy" and blew the whistle for the start of the show. LOL LOL 3 to 4 times a week, for 4 years "America's Own" had to stand in front of thousands of American's with a huge red hand print planted on his stomach, courtesy of the great Charly Baumann. LOL A number of year's ago a friend made the comment that "you were a lot thinner on Ringling, weren't you?" My son Adam said, "that's because Charly knocked his fat off." :)
I miss Charly and I miss the grandour of The Greatest Show On Earth.....
Wade