Paul Binder | |
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 Paul Binder (left) with Bill Murray in 1989 | |
| Born | Paul Lewis Binder October 19, 1942 Brooklyn, New York, U.S. |
| Nationality | American |
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| Known for | Founder of Big Apple Circus |
| Spouses | |
Paul Binder (born October 19, 1942) is the founder, founding artistic director, and former ringmaster of the Big Apple Circus. [2]
Binder was born on October 19, 1942, in Brooklyn, New York to a Jewish family. [3] He graduated with a bachelor's degree in medieval history [4] from Dartmouth College in 1963 and MBA from Columbia University in 1967. At Dartmouth, he had his first show business experience as an improv comedian with the Dartmouth Players. One of Dartmouth's educational philosophies was a belief in community service, which Binder later embraced with the Big Apple Circus' community programs. [5] [6] [7] In 1971, Binder joined the San Francisco Mime Troupe, where he learned to juggle. [8]
Binder was a street performer in Europe when he and Michael Christensen, whom he met while both were with the San Francisco Mime Troupe, [9] decided to make circus performing their profession. At the time, they were in Kent, England, where they polished their act in barn over 10 days. [8] They made their living as street performers, traveling through cities from London to Istanbul over the course of 18 months. [10]
In 1976, they finalized an accord with Annie Fratellini and Pierre Étaix to tour France with their new traveling show, the Nouveau Cirque de Paris. [11] [8] Binder would later eulogize Fratellini, saying, "She harkened back to the golden age of clowning in France. If there had been no Annie Fratellini, there would be no Big Apple Circus. She brought us to her circus and showed us the beauty of the intimate theatrical circus, and that was the inspiration for our circus." [12] Along with Christensen, Binder also participated in the famed Casino de Paris, as well as on French television shows.
In 1977, inspired by his time with the Nouveau Cirque de Paris, Binder founded the Big Apple Circus in New York City, with Christensen later being named co-founder. Glen Collins, reporting for The New York Times , described Binder as, "big of voice, broad of shoulder and barrel of chest, the impresario is a fast-talking six-footer with a carny barker's lung power and a smoldering cigarette perpetually threatening to burn his index finger." [13]
In October 2008, The New York Times reported that Binder would be retiring from his role as ringmaster and artistic director for the Big Apple Circus in 2009, although he continued to work behind the scenes as "founder and founding artistic director." [5] During that time, ABC News named Binder "Person of the Week". [14]
In April 2013, Binder published his memoir Never Quote the Weather to a Sea Lion and Other Uncommon Tales from the Founder of the Big Apple Circus. It has a foreword by Glenn Close. [15] [16]
In 2017, Binder and Christensen performed at the 50th annual Smithsonian Folklife Festival to "hand over the keys" to the circus' new leadership after it emerged from filing for bankruptcy the year before, which in the Big Apple Circus' case was a rubber chicken and a top hat. [17]
After college, Binder moved to Boston, where he was hired by WGBH-TV as a Floor Manager for Julia Child's The French Chef , and he later worked in New York City and Los Angeles as Talent Coordinator with The Merv Griffin Show and Associate Producer of the original Jeopardy!.
Between 1977 and 1984, Binder and Christensen appeared as jugglers on Sesame Street . [18] [19] [20]
In 2016, Binder performed in his cabaret THE TALL AND SHORT OF IT with co-star Dana Mierlak. [21]
In 2017, Binder performed in another cabaret P-P-P-Paul and K-K-K-Katie with co-star Katie Galuska. [22]
Binder's dedication to circus life and the success of the Big Apple Circus have helped him garner a variety of awards and honors, many of which he shares with Christensen. Both men were elected to honorary memberships in the New York arts and literary organization The Lotos Club. [23] [24]
Binder has received an honorary Doctorate of Fine Arts from Dartmouth College, his alma mater. [25] He was also honored by Long Island University (Doctor of Humane Letters), Pratt Institute, and Rhode Island College. [26]
In 2001, Binder was declared a "New York City Living Landmark" by the New York Landmarks Conservancy society. [27]
In 2014, Binder was inducted into the Circus Ring of Fame in Sarasota, FL, a city with the nickname "Circus City". [28] [29]
In 1964, Binder married his first wife, Vivian Bachrach. [30]
In 1984, Binder married his second wife, Katja Schumann. [31]
As of 2013, Binder is the father of four adult children (two of whom performed with the Big Apple Circus) [32] [33] and also has five grandchildren. [34]
The Greatest Show on Earth is a 1952 American drama film produced and directed by Cecil B. DeMille, shot in Technicolor and released by Paramount Pictures. Set in the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, the film stars Betty Hutton and Cornel Wilde as trapeze artists competing for the center ring and Charlton Heston as the circus manager. James Stewart also stars as a mysterious clown who never removes his makeup, and Dorothy Lamour and Gloria Grahame also play supporting roles.
Emmett Leo Kelly was an American circus performer, who created the clown character "Weary Willie", based on the hobos of the Great Depression in the 1930s.
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.
Circus clowns are a sub-genre of clowns. They typically perform at circuses and are meant to amuse, entertain and make guests laugh.
The Pickle Family Circus was a small circus founded in 1974 in San Francisco, California, United States. The circus formed an important part of the renewal of the American circus. They also influenced the creation of Cirque du Soleil in Montreal. Neither circus features animals or use the three-ring layout like the traditional circus.
The Big Apple Circus is a circus based in New York City. Opened in 1977, later becoming a nonprofit organization, it became a tourist attraction. The circus has been known for its community outreach programs, including Clown Care, as well as its humane treatment of animals. Big Apple Circus filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in November 2016 and exited bankruptcy in February 2017 after its assets were bought by Compass Partners. The Circus was renewed in October 2017 for its 40th anniversary season and returned to start a new season in October 2018 at Lincoln Center, receiving generally positive reviews.
Irvin Feld was a business entrepreneur who built a chain of record stores, promoted rock groups, produced concerts involving some of the biggest names in popular music. He was also the head of Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus and founder of Feld Entertainment. He was a music promoter who is credited with discovering Paul Anka.
Michael Moschen is an American juggler.
The Russian Tea Room is an Art Deco Russo-Continental restaurant, located at 150 West 57th Street, between Carnegie Hall Tower and Metropolitan Tower, in the New York City borough of Manhattan.
Greg and Karen DeSanto are professional circus clowns who performed as a husband-and-wife duo for three decades. Greg DeSanto is the Executive Director of the International Clown Hall of Fame and Research Center in Baraboo, Wisconsin.
Barry Lubin is an American circus performer best known for his Grandma character. His Grandma character was a headline act at the Big Apple Circus in New York City for 25 seasons from 1982 until his 2012 retirement and relocation to Sweden. Lubin's return to the Big Apple Circus in late 2017 was cut short in January 2018 when he admitted to having pressured an underaged, sixteen-year-old circus performer to pose for pornographic pictures in 2004.
The Roundabout Theatre Company is a non-profit theatre company based in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, affiliated with the League of Resident Theatres.
Dolly Jacobs is an American circus aerialist. She is the daughter of famed circus clown Lou Jacobs and former New York fashion model turned circus performer Jean Rockwell Jacobs. She began her circus career in 1975. She was a featured performer with Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus. She left Ringling in 1984 for the Big Apple Circus where she worked until 1985 and again during 1987 and 1988.
Bello Nock, often known simply as Bello, is an American daredevil and circus performer. Nock has been listed in the Guinness Book of World Records for his highwire walk over a cruise ship. He has performed several stunts in New York City, including rappelling off of Madison Square Garden and hanging from a helicopter over the Statue of Liberty. He has been included in a Time magazine list of "America's Best Artists and Entertainers".
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Amy Gordon is an American actress and singer based in Brooklyn.
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