Under the Marquee
Under the Marquee is your best source for the latest developments in circus history! Circus history is the focus of our blog and our e-newsletter, the Advance Car. Content is curated and vetted by knowledgeable circus historians.
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“Las Verdus” Rolling Globe Act
This photo was taken by Robert Chase at the Clyde Beatty-Cole Bros Circus shows "Las Verdus" rolling globe act in Ann Arbor, Michigan on August 26, 1975 -Chris Berry
Lucille Ball – GSOE Television Show
The Greatest Show on Earth (ABC Television Program) Lucille Ball appeared as an equestrienne in the "Lady in Limbo" episode of the Desilu/John Ringling North television series "The Greatest Show on Earth." This episode originally aired Dec. 10, 1963 on the ABC...
1902 Hippodrome Poster – Barnum & Bailey Circus
Barnum & Bailey Hippodrome Race (1902) Courmont Freres (Henri Gray) Two Sheet During the Barnum & Bailey European tour of 1898-1902, the people of Great Britain and the continent were exposed to a massive advertising campaign unlike anything ever seen....
Emmett Kelly – “Keep Off the Grass”
If you look closely at this program for the 1940 stage show "Keep Off the Grass" you will see a couple of new-comers in the show...along with JImmy Durante and Ray Bolger... Chris Berry
1928 Famous Equestriennes Poster – Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey
Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey World Famous Equestriennes (c.1928) Strobridge Litho Co. One Sheet When this lithograph was used by Ringling Bros and Barnum & Bailey in the late 1920s the circus audience had much more of a personal understanding of the...
Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus – 1949
Skee Otari and friend during a performance of RIngling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey at Madison Square Garden on April 9, 1949. - Chris Berry