Monday, October 23, 2017

#4 Cat Acts!

Great Tiger Trainer but insisted on being involved in the Shows Production! A real Prussian Guardsman!
I remember it well....."You're Wife refuses to listen to my Direction!"
I would say, "Never awaken a Sleeping Tigress!.....You should Know That!
.....as opposed to Araceli who was such a nice Lady.!

11 comments:

Chic Silber said...


That is 1 of the old sheet metal

pan track lights before I built

the new style units with separate

reflectors & colored roundels

Chic Silber said...


I recall a showgirl (nameless)

that used to say "The beatings

will continue until the morale

shows improvement" in regards

to the Performance Director

On another level we got along

well but I wasn't a performer

Roger Smith said...

There were too many stories to ignore that Charly landed in real heat with the Front End for slapping the showgirls around. Technically, he was a capable tiger trainer. Personally, his arrogance was forever out of control, and at last reportedly got him canned when he beat up a PETA rep.

Wade G. Burck said...

"Technically, he(Charly Baumann) was a 'capable' tiger trainer!" Yeah right, and technically Secretariat was an all right race horse.........

Wade Burck

Chic Silber said...


Yes Roger many "stories" that

fall under "Rumor Control"

You've reached too far on a

subject you don't really know

Charly was loud & demanding

in a very difficult position

He never slapped a showgirl

He was among the world's very

best animal trainers & presenters

Certainly not just "capable"

Thanks Wade

Roger Smith said...

Like hell I don't know about it, Wade. I had first-hand experience with Charly. I can see this is what you don't know about.

Wade G. Burck said...

Due respect Roger, but I have to assume my "first hand experience" trumped your's. Indeed Chic, Charly's abilities as a tiger trainer were far beyond "capable."

Wade Burck

Roger Smith said...

Performers can be admirable in the ring, and avoidable in the back yard. I'm talking primarily about Charly, on a one-on-one basis, and as a Feld staffer. If you had more or longer experience with the guy, what you thought of him is left to your own conclusions. His tiger act aside, my conclusions of him at the time stood him next to Red Hartman.

Wade G. Burck said...

"Avoidable in the back yard?" I really don't know where or why you come up with these statements, Roger. Once a year Charly sponsored a huge party at the train yard to celebrate his, GGW's and my birthday's which occurred a few day's apart. A couple times a month there were "cultural cook out's" where all brought food from their prospective countries and I don't recall Charly missing any of them. Your statement about show girls was also ridiculous as he had a policy of giving the first two to arrive at his train car as he was leaving for the building a ride with he and Areceli in his Cadillac instead of the bus. There may have been a few hey rubes between the show girls in a effort to get there first, but that is it with the exception of weekly weigh in's which stressed out a few of them.

I never had a single problem with Charly and if anybody had to deal with any shit it should have been me given the situation. He had numerous beef's with Mischu who was usually in the grapes, but they were more a show laughing matter then anything serious. He had a few issues with other performers, having nothing more to do with anything other then he was the endorser of the Feld mandate, like the above mentioned weigh in's. One mistake he made was in being 100% loyal to Irving Feld and Ringling often to the exclusion of Kenneth. When Irvin died and Kenneth started 86ing all the "loyalist old timers" the incident with the protester was the gift Kenneth needed to let him go. The one's who followed were much more disruptive to the unity of the show and caused much animosity as there were considered new outsiders and did not have the longevity and knowledge of a circus/Ringling background.

"Red Hartmann!!!!!" Where in the world did you get that from? If I struggle to find a comparison to Charly's era the best I can come up with is Louis Knie. Ringling had a number of "staff" position's which for the most part were tolerated or ignored altogether. What position did you hold with the organization?

Wade Burck

Wade G. Burck said...

It's Irvin Feld, not "Irving." Wow, I can't believe I did that, as I normally scoff at someone who righteously claim they knew "Irving" Feld very well. I will just use everyone else's alibi and claim it is old age. :)

Wade Burck

Chic Silber said...


Thank you very much Wade

Mostly my sentiments as well

A confusion from years ago

was Irving Felt that had

controlled the Garden for

a few years & for whom the

"Felt Forum" was named for

His tenure overlapped with

IRVIN FELD hence confusion

Yes indeed Roger what was

your position & title for

whatever years you claim

My tenure started loosely

in 65 & became titled staff

in 71 until I backed away

due to a friend's death

in the 81 - 82 season

I also knew Red Hartmann

quite well & no comparison