HOWDY, MY NAME IS BILL STRONG, I'LL BE YOUR "24 HOUR MAN", ROUTING YOU INTO THE PAST TO SEE WHAT THE CIRCUS WAS IN DAYS GONE BY. IF YOU'RE LIKE ME, AND MISS WHAT IT USED TO BE, THEN COME ON ALONG AS WE GO DOWN THE ROAD FOLLOWING THE ARROWS BACKWARDS, TO "YESTERDAY'S TOWNS"! IF YOU HAVE CIRCUS RELATED PICTURES YOU WOULD LIKE POSTED, SEND THEM TO,,,,yesterday1@verizon.net,,,,AND WE WILL TRY TO FIT THEM IN. "24 HOUR MAN" WILL HAVE THE FINAL DECISION ON POSTING.
Three years at CWM made me a real traditionalist, and I keep remembering Bob Parkinson saying, "I want the people to see what the circus used to be, not what it is today. That's what this site is about!
Here are three Hand Balancing Acts that spanned nearly 5 decades, yet had one important thing in common. What was it????
In Ring #1, LOTHAR; in Ring #3, SIR HARRY JAMES; and in the Center Ring, UNUS
posted by 24-HOUR-MAN | 6:48 PM
14 Comments:
They all wore tails, Thay were all assisted by their daughters and they all did one finger stands.
Hi rebecca, you were right on two out of three but not the answer I'm looking for. Lothar & Unus are being assisted by their wives, & Harry,(Hadji)Dubski's mother Netta, will love your compliment.
Is it that they are all using the same table? And I believe Adrienne Poema is the last one to own that table.
This was a class act. The presenter had Charm and Style. This along with the "Feat" created Amazement and a sense of Mystique all at the same time. I loved the way the tails were sewn to the pant legs to keep them from flipping up which again created the Charm and Style of the act.
Was it they actually weren't really doing a finger stand?
Rather than drag this out. Tavana was pretty close, when Unus retired, the props were purchased by Lothar, who had formerly been a member of The Frielanis Bicycle Troupe.(Greta Frisk, who did a great Single Trapeze Act was also a member of that act, being the wife of the boss of the troupe). When Lothar retired the props were purchased by Harry (Hadji) Dubski Jr. There have been many very good One Finger Stands, I chose these three because of the connection, and let's face it, to put Unus anywhere other than the Center Ring would be sacrilege!!!!
One time someone asked me if I have ever been wrong. I told them yes, once I thought I made a mistake, but I was wrong. Well now is the second time, and like Will Rogers if I'm wrong,,,, I'll,, be the first one to admit it,,,, so I'm admitting,,,, I was wrong. Harry Dubski did get the props from Lothar, but Lothar got them from Joe Galasso(sp?)not Unus. A sad side note in this story is that Joe was buried today, another act joining that Big Show.
O.K. Mr. Answer Man where are UNUS props? There was only one UNUS...He really didn't have to do the act....Just make his grand entrance pull his gloves off one finger at a time and tap the gloves against the hat rim and take a bow.....
Probably the shortest and most effective announcement done on RBBB was "Something out of the supernatural. The man who stands on his forefinger. The increditable Unus".
Off the top of my head I recall, The great Barton, Jose Cole, Manuel Romas, Joe Galasso and a lady, Elly Van De Velde, who did it barehanded without a glove and when she finished she was assisted stepping down from the table by two men members of the act who held out both hands and she probably passed the small gimmick at that moment. I worked with them one year in the Chicago Stadium.
Last but not least and the latest would be Adrian Poema assisted by his wife Nellie Hanneford who did a fine job until he had a sore shoulder. A great all around performer and acrobat.
I believe it was 1958, in Syracuse NY, for Don Francisco, there was a young hand balancer whose name I have forgotten. He had a stroke in the middle of the one finger stand, and Jack Murphy, who was there catching in Helen Siegrist's Flying Act, & was also Prop Boss ran into the ring to help him down from the high table. He told Jack, "Take the glove", which Jack did, several people asked to see it but Jack refused to show them.
dpowhitetiger,
refer to comments by tavana, & john h. regarding Adrian Poema & the Unus props.
There was a Magic about Unus, & so many performers of his magnitude in those days, I remember so many acts that if you looked around you would see all of the other performers watching them every show.
I forgot Jollye Jr. Came to Mills Bros. His father had done the act in Europe as Jollye. Remember the crazy piano.
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