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!
I recieved an email asking this question from a reader who had seen the entrance photo in a post about feathers on Buckles Blog. According to photo #4 she was on Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus from 1950 through 1955.
PRESENTING THE LOVELY, AND TALENTED, MISS MARA
posted by 24-HOUR-MAN | 9:53 PM
7 Comments:
I have no earthly idea who this might be as she is way before my time, and yours as well Bill, but from thephotos, as far as I can enlarge them and see something, this may be the forerunner of Gerard Soules, Elvin Bale, and MarkDavid - the heel catch trapeze performers who managed to electrify audiences with their spectacular acts even though using gimicks (unlike Jackie Zerbini and others). I'mnot putting down Gerard, Elvin,orMark,they were spectacularperformers and had beautifulacts that electrified audiences. I just distinguish between a real heal hang (which I know each of the performers referenced could perform) and a barefoot act.
Ahe was the sister of Spainish wire walker Tonito, both starred with Ringling under canvas
nOBODY EVER DID THE FOREWORD DIVE TO A HEEL CATCH WITHOUT THE "GIMMICKS" AND THE FEAT WAS ACCOMPLISHED BY MALE AND FEMALE LONG BEFORE THE AFOREMENTIONED, BUT IT REMAINS, GIMMICKS OR WHATEVER AS THE MOST DARING OF ALL SINGLE TRAPEZE ARTISTRY IN MY ESTIMATION.
johnny:
I fully agree, to do the forward dive barefooted would be suicide & I take my hat off to everyone who did that trick, "gimmicks" or not. The idea of course is to drag the bar down the calf of the leg to the heels, many times i've seen the performers legs completely lose contact with the bar before catching by the heels. It is absolutely the scariest trick I ever saw.
I am impressed with her one arm pullup!
La Mara's last booking was in Britain at The Brighton Centre Circus in, I think, 1979. The show had a LOT of great acts, butit didn't gel, and it was not a financial success.
The video shown is from Spanischer Nationalcircus, a cooperation of Carola Williams, Castilla und Feijo where Miss Mara worked from 1962-66.
More information about Miss Mara can be found under http://www.circopedia.org/index.php/Miss_Mara .
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