After a leisurely afternoon of admiring ligers, petting goats and snuggling with emus at Sarasota’s Big Cat Habitat and Gulf Coast Sanctuary, my sisters and I were treated to a demonstration by the Rosaire Family and a few of their feline friends. This ninth-generation circus family has been training and rescuing exotic animals for several [...]
Ben Vereen is an American actor, dancer and singer whose accomplishments include numerous Emmy’s, Golden Globes and Broadway theatre shows, to name a few. Despite his successful career, Vereen was the subject of much controversy in 1981 when he performed in blackface at the inauguration of President Ronald Reagan. The following article highlights some of [...]
Hurry, Hurry, Step right up and check out this original 1940s footage from the Coney Island Freak Show. You’ll see the talker make his pitch, the banner line, actual pinheads and more:
The fairground in Dillon Montana has a tombstone for a show elephant that was struck down by lightning in 1943. The pachyderm, Pitt, was reportedly 102 years old. By all accounts I could find online, elephants live between 60-80 years in captivity. Pitt had been traveling with the Cole Bros. Circus at the time of [...]
London’s James Harvey British Art gallery is hosting an exhibition November 29th – December 16th titled The Circus to promote a new book by Robert Fountain, who chose artists for the exhibition. Fountain’s new book, The Art of the Traditional Circus, includes 160 illustrations and paintings by 52 different artists. With permission, today HeyRube readers get a sneak peak [...]
Vintage circus posters receive great acclaim today and many museums around the country have organized exhibitions to honor this slice of Americana advertising. Circuses, however, were not the only entertainment platform to get involved in early print advertising. Published in 1922, below is an advertisement for Coy Herndon, a performer in the vaudeville and minstrel circuit [...]
My good friend Wendy Whiplash recently stumbled across an article from the Rocky Mountain News, published in 1897. (Don’t ask how…) Entitled ”Banquet for a Circus Manager,” the article outlines the antics of the circus folk at a party given at the behest of the troupe manager. I’ve included an image of the scanned paper and, [...]
For lovers of the bygone area of vintage, traveling carnivals, the pop music and gaudy facades of most modern midways and county fairs just don’t cut it. Lucky for us, Buffalo Brothers Amusements are here to fill that void in the contemporary carnival scene. According to their site, Buffalo Brothers Amusements was formed in 2007 with [...]
I’m not sure which is more amusing: the fact that this woman is in heels or that the video is titled “Old Two Trux.” I’m still not convinced this was filmed without a little rigging assistance. If anyone more familiar with this type of stunt has any insights, I’d love to hear your two cents.
Sad but true; this is your third and final installment of the Doctor Sick’s burlesque series: What does it take to do a good job talking a Burlesque show? Well, it helps to have a quality show, with performers who are prepared and professional, with their music already set, the routines fully costumed and rehearsed, [...]