Lennon Bros Circus

Last updated

Lennon's Circus (established circa 1893) is a circus that tours in Australia. Its touring schedule covers Australia from the remotest towns to the largest cities. Touring for 11 months, before completing their season in late November.

Contents

History

Lennon's Circus was started by Mary Lennon in 1893. [1] The Lennon family are the only circus family in Australia who make their own circus big tops and marquees. They also made SuperTents for rock concerts such as Homebake and The Big Day Out.

It is one of only three circuses left in Australia with big cats in their programme. The three lions at Lennon's are 4 years of age, 2 females and 1 male from different litters.

Performance

The Lennon Bros Circus showcases a wide variety of circus arts such as tumblers, flying trapeze, hula hoops, acrobats, double wheel of death, aerialists and clowns. Animals previously included Liberty horses, liberty donkeys, monkeys, camels, llamas, goats, geese, lions and dogs. The circus employs a staff of 35 people, ranging in age from 3 years to 65 years. The circus is moved on 14 trucks, 2 semi trailers and 14 caravans.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Circus</span> Group of entertainers performing circus skills

A circus is a company of performers who put on diverse entertainment shows that may include clowns, acrobats, trained animals, trapeze acts, musicians, dancers, hoopers, tightrope walkers, jugglers, magicians, ventriloquists, and unicyclists as well as other object manipulation and stunt-oriented artists. The term circus also describes the field of performance, training and community which has followed various formats through its 250-year modern history. Although not the inventor of the medium, Newcastle-under-Lyme born Philip Astley is credited as the father of the modern circus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus</span> Traveling circus company

The Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, also known as the Ringling Bros. Circus, Ringling Bros., the Barnum & Bailey Circus, Barnum & Bailey, or simply Ringling, is an American traveling circus company billed as The Greatest Show on Earth. It and its predecessor have run shows from 1871, with a hiatus from 2017 to 2023. They operate as Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey. The circus started in 1919 when the Barnum & Bailey's Greatest Show on Earth, a circus created by P. T. Barnum and James Anthony Bailey, was merged with the Ringling Bros. World's Greatest Shows. The Ringling brothers purchased Barnum & Bailey Ltd. in 1907 following Bailey's death in 1906, but ran the circuses separately until they were merged in 1919.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ringling Brothers Circus</span> Traveling circus company (1884–1919)

Ringling Bros. World's Greatest Shows is a circus founded in Baraboo, Wisconsin, United States in 1884 by five of the seven Ringling brothers: Albert, August, Otto, Alfred T., Charles, John, and Henry. The Ringling brothers were sons of a German immigrant, August Frederick Rüngeling, who changed his name to Ringling once he settled in America. Four brothers were born in McGregor, Iowa: Alf T., Charles, John and Henry. The Ringling family lived in McGregor, Iowa, for twelve years, from 1860 until 1872. The family then lived in Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin, and moved to Baraboo, Wisconsin, in 1875.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mabel Stark</span> American tiger trainer

Mabel Stark, whose real name was Mary Ann Haynie, was a renowned tiger trainer of the 1920s. She was referred to as one of the world's first women tiger trainers/tamers. In its belated obituary, The New York Times lauded Stark as "one of the most celebrated animal trainers in a field dominated by men."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lion taming</span> Training big cats for performance

Lion taming is the taming and training of lions, either for protection or for use in entertainment, such as the circus. The term often applies to the taming and display of lions and other big cats such as tigers, leopards, jaguars, black panthers, cheetahs, and cougars. People often use lion taming as a metaphor for any dangerous activity. Lion taming occurs in zoos around the world to enable the keepers to carry out medical procedures and feedings.

Alfredo Hernández is an American drummer best known as a former member of desert rock bands Kyuss, Queens of the Stone Age, Brant Bjork and the Bros and Yawning Man, and as a current member of the band, Avon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clyde Beatty</span> American animal trainer and actor (1903–1965)

Clyde Raymond Beatty was a famed animal trainer, zoo owner, and circus mogul. He joined Howe's Great London Circus in 1921 as a cage boy and spent the next four decades rising to fame as one of the most famous circus performers and animal trainers in the world. Through his career, the circus impresario owned several circuses, including his own Clyde Beatty Circus from 1945 to 1956.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chipperfield's Circus</span> British family entertainment show

Chipperfield's Circus is a British family touring show, continuing a 300-year-old family business.

The Flying Fruit Fly Circus School is the only primary and secondary-level circus school in Australia. It was founded in 1987 as the educational arm of The Flying Fruit Fly Circus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ringling brothers</span> Founders of the Ringling Brothers Circus

The Ringling brothers were five American siblings who transformed their small touring company of performers into one of the largest circuses in the United States during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Four brothers were born in McGregor, Iowa: Alfred T., Charles, John and Henry William, and the family lived in McGregor for twelve years, from 1860 until 1872. The Ringling family then moved to Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin, and finally settled in Baraboo, Wisconsin, in 1875. They were of German and French descent, the children of harness maker Heinrich Friedrich August Ringling (1826–1898) of Hanover, and Marie Salome Juliar (1833–1907) of Ostheim, in Alsace. While there were seven Ringling brothers, Alfred, Charles, John, Al and Otto Ringling were the main brothers in charge of the circus shows. All of the brothers were Freemasons. In 1919, they merged their Ringling Brothers Circus with America's other leading circus troupe, Barnum and Bailey, ultimately creating the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, which has operated continuously since except for a hiatus from 2017 to 2022.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Feld Entertainment</span> American live show production company

Feld Entertainment Inc. is an American live show production company which owns a number of traveling shows. The company began with the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus before expanding into additional live events, including Disney on Ice, Monster Jam, Monster Energy AMA Supercross and Sesame Street Live. The company is family-owned.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Al G. Barnes Circus</span> Early 20th century traveling show

Al G. Barnes Circus was an American circus run by Alpheus George Barnes Stonehouse that operated from 1898 to 1938.

Tweety's Circus is a 1955 Warner Bros. Merrie Melodies cartoon short directed by Friz Freleng. The short was released on June 4, 1955, and stars Tweety and Sylvester.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael Polakovs</span> American clown (1923–2009)

Michael Polakovs was a Latvian-born American circus clown and actor, who performed in the US under the name of Coco the Clown, a moniker that his father, Nicolai Poliakoff, had made famous in Europe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stardust Circus</span>

Stardust Circus is a circus that tours in Australia. Its annual performance season lasts from January to late November, touring Australia from the remotest towns to the largest cities.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Olate Dogs</span>

Olate Dogs is an American dog trick act featuring father-and-son trainers Richard and Nicholas Olate. The group won the seventh season (2012) of America's Got Talent, claiming the US$1,000,000 first prize.

Animal Liberation is a nonprofit animal rights organisation based in Sydney, founded by Christine Townend and led by current CEO Lynda Stoner. It was formed in 1976, one year after the release of Animal Liberation by Australian philosopher Peter Singer. Animal Liberation's primary campaigns are to advocate against the use of animals for food, clothing, research, sport and entertainment, by promoting a vegan lifestyle.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mighty Haag Circus</span>

Mighty Haag Circus was started by American entrepreneur Ernest Haag in Shreveport, Louisiana. His circus toured continuously for over 40 years, from 1891 to 1938. During these years, the circus used a variety of types of transport: boat, carts, trains, horse-pulled wagons, and trucks. It was one of the largest traveling circuses in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Macarte Sisters</span>

The Macarte Sisters were a trapeze and high wire act of the late 19th and early 20th-centuries noted for their feats of strength during their performance.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wirth's Circus</span> Traveling circus company (1882–1963)

Wirth's Circus, also known as Wirth Brothers' Circus, was Australia's largest and most prestigious circus company for eight decades. Billed as Australia's own 'Greatest show on Earth', the travelling circus held an international reputation.

References

  1. Lennon, Dollie (20 May 2016). "On her 100th birthday, Lennon Bros circus matriarch Dollie Lennon looks back on a life in the ring". dailytelegraph.com.au. Retrieved 12 November 2024.