THE SATURDAY MATINEE: DOUBLE FEATURE THE KIMRIS DUO #1 THE CNE

The reason for going with two clips of the Kimris Duo is because I wanted to explain this monumental rigging job done here. Trudy & I had another engagement with the cradle act, with a fast jump into Toronto for Dobritch International Circus' appearance at the Canadian National Exhibition. We sent the Kimris rigging ahead to be set up by our rigger Willie "Alabama" Bennett, & Dobritch's Prop boss, Leo "Coke" Coffey. First they erected one of our 93' steel poles behind the stage, then added sections from our second pole making a total of 110', next they tied two, 1/2" diameter cables 100' apart to the top of the 120' high grandstand roof, & hooked them to our "crane bar". From the other end of it they ran a single 1/2" cable through a "snatch block" at the top of the pole, down through another one at the "dead man" stakes & pulled it tight with a 2 ton truck, pulling the crane bar to a height of about 90'. The total spread between the pole, & the grandstand was 200+", there was absolutely no sway, & very little bounce, but believe me, the first few trips up the ladders were a little scary.

Personal Observation: Too many people remember "Coke" for his later battle with alcohol, and forget that he was once a member of a now extinct breed
of "Professional Circus Riggers" who you could trust with your life in such a way. He beat his addiction & was later the assistant of the famous dog trainer Victor Jilian, and cared for him until his death.