GERHARD BLOCK WITH THE "SEVEN" 1946
SKY WALK
LES BLOCKS HIGH WIRE
Gerhard Block & Co.
GERHARD BLOCK & THE "7".
Bill' Here is a picture of the seven pyramid 'done in 1946
in Germany, bottom left to right, Gerhard Block, Renote, Margarete, & Siegward; second row, Artur, & Lother; on top Gerhard's sister Helga.( 2 thru 6 are not members of the Block Family). This is The Camillo Meyer Troupe.
This is to show that Wallenda was 'Not' the first one doing the
Seven people pyramid.
Hope you like that one. Ninette.
P.s. Gerard block was married to Rita Zerbini.
posted by 24-HOUR-MAN | 12:27 PM
27 Comments:
I recall the Cole shows answer to the Great Wallendas. The Otto Gretona family, with Willie and Clara Lambrti who were part of that troop and also did the seven man pyramid.
A great bunch of acts in all.
JAMES...C,...HALL...
DO...YOU...RECAL...WATH...YEAR...
WAS...IT...
THANK...YOU....
The period on the Cole show would have been around 1936 if my memory serves me right. My mother came over from Europe that year and was on the Cole show for three or four years.
I recall the Gretonas as a kid in Rochester ind.in the 50's and did my best to drive Willie Lamberti nuts,while his wife Clara would cheer me on. He was a grumpy old German but a lot of fun.
LOL.... does it really matter who was on first???
Moulay saw the Blocks in the early 50s in Casablanca, Morocco.
at that time I seem to remember only two or three people in the act.
nice people!
As Mr.Cuneo said shows are suffering from the oneszee twoszee ,meaning not many trope acts,And getting to see
Tino Z. Wallenda trope doing the dead in this day is neat as one forgets what a high wire pyramid with out nets or string attached really is a thrill act."A thumbs up for a bit of tradition"
Just some info' on the Camilla Mayer high wire act, at the time in germany 'the hight' was of 70ft' and it was always out-doors and for that hight' they had to had a net under. The actual year' that Gerhard & Helga Block work in that act was from 1945 to 1946. then they left and Yes' Moulay is right for the time in 1950' Gerhard Block was doing a 'solo' on the walk of deaht' (wire walking from building to building) his sister Helga did a trapeze act.
MR...C...HALL...
THANK...YOU...AGAIN....FOR...THE...INFO...VERY...INTERESTING....1936..
AND...
TO...LEAT...THE...WEBB....SITE.....NET...
PERSONNEL...BE....A....WERE...OF...IT...
ALL...THE....
GREAT....HIGH..WIRE'S...PERFORMERS.
....AND...YES...WHO....ON...FIRST....DO...MAKE...A....BIG...DIFERRENT....IN....MY...OPINIONS....
AND...FOR...THE....RECORD'S....
THANK...YOU...
Just for the record I am in no way an aerialist. I have rigged a bit in my younger days and always admired high acts who worked with out the aid of nets or strings,AKA thrill high acts.
To "Ninette"
I am sorry to hear that the high wire act you mentioned was not permitted to work at 70 feet during that era without the aid of a net. It would have been something I would loved to have seen.
This is just my opinion. Seeing a high act at 40 feet + with out aids of nets or strings is "A-OK" in my book. However 70 feet with nets or strings and my thoughts then go to,
"gee that sure is a nice rigging"
P.S. Sorry I do not have the time to mention all the fine wire acts, slack and all, that I considered Class (A). I have had the pleasure of seeing some real great talent.
In the "Who's on first" routine does any one remember the name of the manager?
I feel that most of the aerial acts nowadays don't take the chances we did, & it does take something out of it. Plus we did a lot of things the hard way, cradle bars had no padding, many people, including me in the Kimris Act, had no safety on the hand-foot loop. I use to take special notice when Struppi did foot loop there was no safety on it.
Then again maybe we were the stupid ones. But we're all still here.
As I like to say,"its all been done before",but the girl always standing up in the chair on top was certainly the frosting on the cake for any 7man or whatever. And it was alwaysw part of the original Wallenda 7.
I think your misinformed Who's was actually on second?
P.S.Dido Mr.Strong
24-HOUR-MAN CHERIE.
Like you said.
we were the stuppi ones.
but we are still here.
and we use no gimick.working with
The Bruno Breackaway sway pole.in 1965.
little perch.he would hold by his neck.also smal trapeze. same way.
and hand to hand routine.then neck to neck spinig.
then he would go on top of the pole and do his routine.finishing with the breack away..
and that was abut close to 70 feet high....
sorry, forgot
the full high of the pole was 98 feet up.
pluse standing on top.and sway.
I had a friend show up at a fair recently and saw Tina Beans AKA Galaxy Girl's Pole and he was over whelmed at the height as he has seen the height acts of today. I then informed him that was just a rule of thumb of days gone by,
P.S.Got to work with Jackie Zerbini several years ago in Tokyo. That gal was really up in the air.
I think it was Indianapolis, they measured her trap bar at 110'.
Here I go rating "airplane acts" again, I already gave Celeste the nod for special effects, for tricks & beauty of the performance it is Jacqueline, by a mile!
The Ben Mouton pole, later worked by Col. Seabright was 148' actual measurement,(at full height), on the Fleckles show, most of the time he used the short pole, it was only 108'.
james: "Who" is on first, "What" is on second, "I Don't Know" is on third, "Tomorrow" is pitching, "Today" is catching, & the Manager's name is, "I Don't Give A Damn"
My point exactly!
To Anonymous
Subject 'I don't Give A Dam"
I must quoit "Sir Walter Patterson" again,"Don't you just love it you gotta love it".
On one special occasion for the 4th of july there where 4 high acts. I do think that Col Seabright was there, and 2 others of also of great acts hights well above 120ft. The 4th one was Lester Parker with his only 86ft high break-away swaypole, well afther the act Lester said to me' "surounded by those others high acts I feel like I am in hole" and ad' it is sure is nice to work with those atcs for they are all great atcs and some great peoples. there was never any sumption of any resentment on any of one of those 4 acts.
As an aerialist ( or former one) I would have to say that we "stupid ones" were all taught that the trick or act wasn't finished until you could work without a safety on. Because everyone from my parents era and before did tricks you had to really practice before you did them up high, if you would have tried to book your act doing what a lot some of the so called aerial acts do today- you would not have had any work and would have been laughed at by other show people. I remember seeing Jaqueline doing her rocket ship act in Memphis at the top of that high building doing twisting heel catches as that rigging bounced around and NO GIMMICKS. She was unbelievable!
Received this in an email this AM:
The (Matis) Triska family and his uncles, the Omankovsky (better known as the White Devils) also did a version of the 7 sometime in the 40's. If the photo of the 8 person pyramid in the club has any veracity the Wallendas were rehearsing the 7 (8) in the late 30's.
Just for the record the names of the Gretona family are Otto,Gretle and children Gloria,Enrico and Shirley,
I had to ask my brother the name of the oldest girl Gloria as I could not recall it.
Martin Lamberti told me his father said they were very good friends with Wallendas on the ground, but when working in the display, if they had had guns they would have shot each other.
2 years ago,
my original plan.
was to have,
for the showfolks circus.
the wallenda 7 people piramid.
not one but 2. 7 people piramid. at the same time.total 14 people's.
you can chek it with Jenny.
tino.and delilah.
it would have been, fantastic.never
done...and very up todate.for
the wallenda family.
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