A brilliant, eclectic showman, circus
king John Ringling North achieved international fame as a talent
scout, booking the likes of Gargantua the Great and Unus, the man
who stood on his forefinger. He once engaged George Balanchine to
choreograph a ballet for elephants, with Igor Stravinsky composing
the music.
Big Top Boss explores the
remarkable career of North, who ran Ringling Bros. and Barnum &
Bailey Circus for thirty years. Using as a backdrop North's
flamboyant lifestyle and the lavish spectacles he brought to the big
top, David Lewis Hammarstrom details in lively and dramatic fashion
how North guided the circus through adversities ranging from
depressions and wars to crippling labour strikes and rapidly
changing trends in American entertainment. This first balanced
picture of North's controversial life reveals how his popular image
as an impresario was shattered in the wake of his bitterly opposed
1956 decision to strike the tents for good and move the circus
indoors. It also shows that North's circus was not artistically run
down and losing money when he sold it in 1967 but in fact had been
re-established as a profitable enterprise that earned first-rate
critical notices and was attracting larger crowds each year.
Hammarstrom has interviewed a host
of key circus figures including North himself; his brother, Henry;
his famous general manager, Arthur M. Concello; and many performers,
directors, and department heads who were involved with the circus
when North owned and operated it. Big Top Boss also sheds new light
on North's personal life, giving proper significance to his
long-term relationship with Countess Ida von Zedlitz-Trutzschler,
the onetime ballerina with whom he lived for nearly thirty years.
Condition: Mint with mint dustwrapper. |
