The Story Of The Greatest Circus & How It Came To Be

[Music] [Music] [Music] there was a time when the day the circus came to town was the biggest day of the year [Music] farmers in the Midwest factory workers in New England children in crowded cities everyone counted on the traveling circus to amuse and entertain them [Music] and the circus came to town businesses and schools which shut down so that people could follow the free parade down Main Street in this parade came the most exotic and extravagant attractions any American could ever hope to see in his own hometown bizarre beasts from distant continents charcoal burning steam-powered Calliope 40 horses hitched in a single team pulling a $20,000 bandwagon and perhaps most exotic of all the men and women who worked and performed with the circus and who lived the circus life [Music] they walked on wire I danced on horseback they flew through the air they acted like they enjoyed risking their lives there were nine feet tall they had two heads or hair all over their bodies they always near the latest jokes and the latest songs they spoke their own language and lived by their own rules in their own world the audience's of America couldn't get enough of the circus by the end of the 19th century the circus would become a major industry but in the early days all it took was a caravan of wagons to bring a self-contained reality into town a small mysterious world for just 50 cents Americans had mixed feelings about traveling show people they admired them they were jealous of them they were afraid of them they fell in love with him the greatest fans were probably the children they were most likely to believe the brightly colored posters or to have crushes on the scantily clad acrobats kids scared their parents by trying to imitate dangerous stunts and by threatening to join the circus when it left town [Music] parents too would admire the skill of a famous bareback rider but they could also question the moral character of these all too worldly performed [Music] the men and women of the circus celebrated their bodies and pushed them to new limits performers put themselves on display in the circus in ways that weren't allowed anywhere else [Music] in the process they helped redefine Victorian ideas of masculine and feminine behavior and by performing for audiences across the country they brought their cosmopolitan attitudes to the hinterlands of America the reputation of the circus for corruption was not entirely a matter of old-fashioned morality insiders said that a large percentage of circus profits in the smaller traveling shows before 1900 came from various forms of grift cheating the customers it started weeks before the circus ever got to town when the advancement plastered every available surface with lithographs hyping the coming show although everyone knew that no circus could ever quite match its advertising the anticipation and excitement were formidable by the time the circus in town [Music] the circus troupe would descend quickly with an air of disdain for the local natives who often seemed so out of touch with the outside world [Music] the men who sold tickets to the anxious crowds often received no salary in some circuses the ticket takers even paid for the privilege their compensation was the money they shortchanged from the thrones [Music] shills were hired to get in line and push just to increase the excitement and dips or pickpockets were permitted to operate on the Midway in return for a percentage of what could be stolen [Music] [Applause] a crowd who passed the sideshow and move through the menagerie tents on their way to the big top it was around the sideshow tent that the con artists hung out well they offered such attractions as alcohol and gambling too gullible local men circus people used the word rule to describe local natives or easily swindled fights between the show people and the rubes were an almost daily occurrence circus men knew to expect violence in some towns like Scranton Pennsylvania where the coal miners had a reputation for short tempers when they felt ripped off they'd attack with rocks and lumps of coal for New Haven Connecticut for the young men of Yale always tried some college prank when they tried to steal a trained monkey the circus troupe used an elephant to fight back brawls between circuses and rubes could last for hours and on several notorious occasions left over 20 dead [Music] but rarely did circus troopers let such dangerous slow them down most of them were born into the circus with sawdust in their veins they said trained and the skills of their parents they knew no other life they took pride in always making it to the next town and always putting on a show that would keep the rubes coming back year after year then there were those with a different vision of what the American circus could be something more than a shady little show that gets in fights with the locals of [Music] these ambitious showman Phineas Taylor Barnum was the most visionary and the most successful crucial to a success with the circus was 30 years experience running the world's most popular private Museum everyone who went to Manhattan in the mid-1800s went to Barnum's American Museum the most brilliant scientists and the simplest country bumpkins European royalty and recent immigrants who could barely afford the 25 cent admission [Music] they came to see stuffed animals technological marvels and supposedly ancient relics as well as living curiosities lions white whales camel leopards leopard Wars albino families and Siamese twins [Music] Barnum himself was something of a living curiosity he had cultivated a name for himself as the Prince of humbugs a humbug is a hoax and Barnum was the master who mingled the scandalous the ludicrous and the sensational with enough education and morality to make the whole thing seem acceptable to Hall Barnum's humbugs were perfectly suited to their audience america's rapidly growing cities were starved for diversion and at Barnum's museum people found a uniquely democratic entertainment no one trusted the experts each individual decided for himself whether or not he was being bamboozled his exhibition of the Fiji mermaid was typical Barnum first drummed up interest by writing letters about the mermaid under false names and sending the letters to New York newspapers then he created advertisements based on what people might hope the mermaid would look like but the public actually saw after they paid their 25 cents was the stuffed torso of a monkey skillfully sewn to the tail of a fish even if people suspected there would be no real mermaid they came in droves just to see what Phineas Taylor Barnum was up to [Music] Barnum had the ability to repeat his success almost endlessly on several occasions fires reduced his Museum with all of its attractions and all of his animals to nothing but after each catastrophe barn and rose again on the strength of his wits and his reputation during one of these comebacks he decided not to rebuild his museum already 60 years old Barnum began a new career in the circus the circus had been around for a long time before Barnum decided to take it over and like pretty Brown Gilbert Spaulding James Raymond and Nathan house had already begun the process of turning European circus traditions into a profitable American business Barnum went into business with a circus man named William Cameron coupe together they combine Barnum's Museum and menagerie with a traditional circus and took them on the road was built as a great traveling exposition and World's Fair consisting of caravan gallery of statuary and fine arts polytechnic institute zoological garden and 100,000 curiosities the actual word circus was played down to avoid any impression of vulgarity of his new show Barnum said for many years it has been my pleasure to provide a class of instructive and amusing entertainments to which a refined Christian mother can take her children with satisfaction Barnum advertised something for everyone Music Theatre science fine art clowns trained animals the world's greatest acrobats Barnum combined it all into one show the word dwarf and destroy his competition [Music] in the world of the circus old means of transportation were holding competitors back horse-drawn wagons on country roads could only travel 15 to 20 miles at a time forcing even the biggest circuses to stop and play many small unprofitable towns some say it was coop and others say it was Barnum who decided to bring the circus up to date to move the entire operation by rail [Music] it had never been tried on such as you escape the logistics were incredible three separate trains 61 cars three acres of canvas almost a thousand people and hundreds of animals all needed to be loaded moved to the next town and unloaded every 24 hours with time left over for a parade and three performances it fell on coop as manager of the show to make it work many of the techniques developed by coop remained in use for as long as circuses travel by rail a system of ramps and bridges between the railroad flatcars made it possible to load and unload the train from the ends rather than having to hoist wagons over the side 130 men loaded the circus trains they were called Razorbacks and they had a highly specialized tasks driving the horses guiding the poles chocking the front or the rear wheels snubbing the brake rope they had to work carefully and did the rhythm of the train masters whistle moving the circus by rail was even more dangerous than performing under the tent [Music] [Music] despite the obstacles and the dangers Barnum and koop grossed over a million dollars in six months but then a few years coops railroad techniques were being adopted by other shows the word railroad in circus advertising came to mean big clean and modern some of those a thought of circuses as dirty bohemian operations began revising their opinions [Music] yesterday by the power of his presence and the magic of his golden advertising wand Barnum transformed the hard time dullness of our streets into the gayest of holiday airs people the waste places with a multitude of expectant faces he delighted and instructed thousands and finally sent everybody to bed established in the conviction that he was the biggest hearted and best showman in the world and a representative American Akron daily Argos 1875 [Music] Barnum's railroad circus found itself turning back to customers from overcrowded tents at the time all circuses were one-ring circuses all acts were trained at a standard sized ring only 42 feet in diameter to squeeze more people into the tent without enlarging the ring and retraining all the animals coupe and Barnum added a second ring two parallel circuses zoos L the human cannonball was one of the first of the many Daredevils who became popular with Barnum show her basic technique of launching herself with an india-rubber spring and using smoke and a loud bang to complete the illusion has been copied ever since the big railroad circuses tried always to be modern new inventions and fashionable crazes returned quickly into startling sensations [Music] Daredevils died in these modern contraptions professor Donaldson took off in his balloon one day and was never seen again [Music] diabolo died trying to execute his famous loop-the-loop on a bicycle once too often but sometimes the acts weren't as dangerous as they looked on Barnum advertised salamander the fire horse jumping through blazing hoops the ASPCA threatened to close the circus down Barnum exploited the controversy as only he could a 70 year old impresario made a rare appearance at the circus and in front of an audience packed with police and reporters stepped through the fire himself the chemical flames were frightening but harmless and the ASPCA backed down there was an educational component to these exhibits after looking at pictures of animals drawn by artists who had never seen them children get to see the real animals in circus menagerie tents precursors to the modern zoo [Music] [Music] [Music] displayed alongside the animals of distant lands for humans the US was establishing itself as a world power and the idea that foreigners could be imported as entertainment was always appealing [Music] if actual foreigners were too difficult to hire or turned out to be not quite exotic enough for the circus it was relatively easy to find Americans who could pass wano and platino the wild man of Borneo were advertised as brutal savages with superhuman strength actually they were Barney and Hiram Davis mentally and physically underdeveloped brothers from Ohio William Henry Johnson born in Liberty corners New Jersey was presented as a curious missing link from West Africa Johnson was born with microcephaly which caused the condition known in the 1800's as a pinhead [Music] he was almost certainly but under the stage name of zip the what is it Johnson maintained the 66 year career for a while anything foreign was a big draw at the circus PT Barnum started each performance with a grand pageant called the Congress of Nations it consisted of actors impersonating the Monarchs of the world and all of their entourages with exotic animals gilded carriages and uniformed musicians Barnum began adding dramatic plots to his spectacles of international pageantry some of these theatrical productions could last half an hour with casts of nearly a thousand people [Music] soon Barnum's biggest competitors were also putting on spectacles and specs as they were known to people in the business [Music] practically everyone on the lot got into the act men from the rail and tent crews would join animal trainers actors and dancers parading around the tent then they'd rush out of costume after the spectacle was over to start prepping for the move to the next city only the biggest circuses could put together a great spec perhaps the biggest of all was atom forepaws senior whose shows were actually larger than Barnum's at times this philadelphia butcher turned Shulman gave Barnum a run for his money with spectacles like the American Revolution and Lala Rukh featuring a woman billed has the most beautiful in the world even Sitting Bull who had just defeated Custer at the Battle of the Little Bighorn traditional circus acts and demonstrations of military drills from around the world also became part of the Wild West formula the Wild West Show is traveled by train just like circuses and competed with them head-to-head you have heard of circus fights have you not rode Buffalo Bill - his brother well they are lively Affairs the fighting is done with ink and paper and billboards and brainy men - right [Music] Barnum called his circus the greatest show on earth but there are dozen others also big enough to advertise themselves as the greatest the finest the biggest or the best each of the big shows kept several carlo's of bill posters called advertising brigades running in advance of the performance and a single season one of the big circuses could paste well over a million sheets of paper to buildings and store windows across the country if to circuses book performances in towns and dates that were too close together special opposition brigades were dispatched to outdo or even cover-up the enemy posters there were circuses that would even stoop to putting their own names with another circuses pictures the art of negative advertising achieved its apex and the Golden Age of the circus competitors use small posters known as rat sheets to call one another names in the strongest possible language they accused each other of trying to cheat the public [Music] PT Barnum and Adam for Paul were both masters in the art of controversy as an advertising tool they competed in everything [Music] forepaugh won some battles like the battle for been loves be the world's fastest ticket seller for paul hired him away from Barnum show and build him as a marvelous attraction customers crowded around Mosby's ticket wagon just to hand over their money and see him count change with lightning speed his record was six thousand one hundred and fifty three tickets in an hour at Barnum won most of the bigger competitions like the one for the world's biggest elephant Barnum made jumbo one of the greatest attractions in the history of the circus jumbo was more than just a financial success it was a cultural phenomenon his image was used to advertise everything from thread to laxatives his name added a new word to the English language forepaugh retaliated with Bulevar whom he called the world's heaviest elephant but the public never responded even after Jumbo's death in a rail yard accident he still outdrew Bulevar Barnum fictionalized Jimbo's accidental death as that of a hero who died trying to save the life of a tiny clown elephant [Music] for years Barnum displayed jumbo stuffed hide next two Jumbo's mounted skeleton in the museum tent all of Barnum's elephants were trained to hold a giant black handkerchief in their trunks and mournfully wiped their eyes another great rivalry broke out between PT Barnum and James a Bailey this rivalry would lead to the biggest circus yet Bailey was the 35 year old manager of the great London circus a baby elephant had just been born at his winter quarters the first elephant ever born in captivity [Music] but the baby elephant is a major attraction Bailey scheduled his show in the same towns on exactly the same days as born a cutthroat practice who was financially threatening to both circuses since Barnum couldn't beat the baby elephant he offered to buy it Baili rejected Barnum's price not only that he printed Barnum's offering and had to saying here's how much Barnum likes our baby elephant Barnum was beaten in his own game but he liked Bailey's style since Barnum and coop had parted company Barnum and Bailey and Bailey's partner Hutchinson joined forces in 1881 creating what would become known as Barnum & Bailey's greatest show on earth many circuses may have claimed to be the greatest but this grand consolidation probably deserved the title it was James Bailey who turned the modern circus into an organizational marvel [Music] one journalist wrote that no army knows such severe discipline every 24 hours they solve a military problem that would have staggered Napoleon himself the quartermaster of the Imperial German army followed Bailey for weeks trying to learn how he kept the whole operation running so smoothly [Music] although PT Barnum rarely went to his own circus James Bailey was an orphan who had lived with the performers and workmen since he was a child Bailey's circus was like a company town population a little under 1,000 like any company town the basics of life at least were provided for by the employer this traveling town had its own class system partly imposed by the company partly the result of long-standing tradition bareback riders and acrobats who had earned a spot in the center ring for the aristocrats of the circus they got Pullman berths on the trains two buckets of water a trunk and the best seats at dinner managers were also highly valued clowns a little less so [Music] freak show performers kept to themselves [Music] they were paid according to their ability to draw a crowd except the fat lady home Bailey paid by the pound at the bottom of the hierarchy or the workmen they slept two or three to a bunk and we're not allowed to fraternize with performers [Music] Barnum & Bailey established a code of conduct for all their employees no sleeping together no drinking no shortchanging the customers and no pickpockets how their circus has called it a sunday-school show Barnum & Bailey had turned family values into a legitimate industry [Music] no rude could leave this show feeling cheated it was to clean cut too much fun and simply too big [Music] just before he died at age 81 Barnum used the latest invention Thomas Edison's phonograph to record his voice for posterity [Applause] [Music] although Barnum died in 1891 his greatest show on earth still carries on James Bailey ran it unto his own death in 1906 and the five Ringling Brothers from Baraboo Wisconsin took it over at that time the circus was still the most popular amusement in America in addition to Ringling and Barnum there are almost 100 circuses traveling the country the most ever Barnum had combined all known forms of 19th century mass entertainment into a remarkably durable new form but with the invention of Edison's phonograph in the motion picture the big circus stopped being the most modern of all entertainments and with the invention of the automobile traditional horse-drawn wagons and even railroads became outdated and were left behind to Americans who could drive themselves to the public zoo or fly to another country or see action and spectacle in the movies the circus seemed less exotic not dangerous or controversial anymore if anything an old-fashioned pastime for children the 19th century rube had begun to disappear with him when the Golden Age of the circus [Music] [Music] [Music]

Channel: David Hoffman

Views: 33,164

Rating: 4.8122449 out of 5

Keywords: Circus, PT Barnum, Barnum and Bailey, Barnum & Bailey, Circus history, Famous circus, David Hoffman filmmaker, The American experience

Id: DE-h-PmjWkc

Length: 47min 57sec (2877 seconds)

Published: Sun Mar 10 2019