~OLD FRIENDS RE~CONNECTED~

HEY, "THIS BLOG THING IS AAAALLLL RIGHT"

We all know what the blogs,(Thank You Buckles),have done, to bring the folks in our business, both active, & retired, closer together.
Last night I recieved a welcome phone call from Loren G. "Larry" Ruhl, of the fabulous Hanging Perch Act, "Michele & Michael", he had run across "Yesterday's Towns", & saw the message "Larry where are you?"
After retiring his Hanging Perch Act in the early 1980's, he returned to Ice Skating, & spent many years in Europe, so he has been pretty much out of touch and we did some catching up.
I first met Larry on the Orrin Davenport show in the mid 1950's when he was working with Kitten Wendt in the "Aero-Stylites" Hanging Perch Act, filling in for her husband, Gabby Wendt, who had been injured in a fall. We became good friends, in fact when Trudy & I started practicing the cradle act, Larry taught to do the Helicopter spin by mail.
One memory that comes to mind is sitting in a restaurant in Minneapolis with Larry & Francis Brunn, Francis had a penny on edge on a coffee cup saucer rolling it round & round the rim, I tried it for years, never could do it.
Here are some photos from Larry.

MICHELE & MICHAELNotice the wide open neck loop.

LARRY SOLOWhen we played cities with a high altitude, Michele’s eyes would hemorrhage from the very fast spins, and then I would have to go back to my single act under the helicopter. This photo made newspapers all over the world.


LARRY WITH BRENDA JONES


MIURASAN & MICHAELThis is a photo of my last partner...a very beautiful Japanese girl named Hideko...she is also a skating star and we worked for several years in Europe, South America, as well as all of the Far East.

MOULIN ROUGE, PARISThis was the "TABLEAU VIVANT",(living picture), that was the opening of our number at the Moulin Rouge in Paris.

Here is another from Larry, taken on Ringling at the Ohio Stae Fair.
FRANCIS BRUNN, PHILLIPE PETITE, & LARRY RUHL