The Past
The Sequel To "The Future"
by Veteran Showman Lee Kolozsy
It was quite plain to see that
millionaire confirmed bachelor Bruce Wayne
was very fond of young Dick…
Young Dick Grayson
was a flyer in the circus until the tragic deaths of his parents
left him orphaned, and
this destroyed his world, leaving him
lost and traumatized. Vulnerable, he was seduced by power and
wealth
 he
slid the pole into Bruce’s bathole after which he put on an eye
catching little outfit that earned him the
nickname “ Boy Wonder”. He adopted
the street name “Robin”, while his body- building patron selected
a
skin tight Count Dragula complete with
mask, cape and boots and cruised under the name “Batman”. They
drove around together in a really
fancy car searching for criminal freaks who kept company with
rough
looking henchmen, they enjoyed being
tied up together and beaten, with many other depraved activities.…
Honest, this was a comic book intended
for pre-adolescent males, and a TV show. On a respected network.
In prime time! These were some
really queer freaks, man… It could be that it represents the
actuality of
what goes on in human society. The
media played this all off as harmless fun suitable for children.
The
media could also, if it were to suit
the corporate interest, spin it in the above or any other
direction. The truth
can be more misleading than a lie.
Why does this arrangement seem so
sinister with so many overtones of depravity? Story lines
containing
such undertones of homo-erotisism are
truly bizarre and therefore captivate the intellect. Regardless of
whether one is titillated or filled
with revulsion, the result is the same, people are fascinated and
mesmerized
by the weird and the different.
Reputable widely circulated tabloids
dissect depravity and illustrate it with telephotos. The public
eats it up.
The more bizarre, the better. This
accounts for the paparazzi fascination with Royals. Recently a
European
Princess daughter of an American film
star from the glory days of Hollywood
left her husband for an
adventurous affair with a circus owner
and animal trainer. It was trumpeted around the world by the
yellow
journals. Why? If it had been your
neighbor’s daughter, would it have gotten the attention? No. Not
unless
your neighbor’s daughter was a Royal,
or had two heads. A two headed human is a freak of nature. A Royal
is a freak of culture. So is a movie
star. People are fascinated with freaks. The freakier the better.
This is why the sideshow is so
durable. Why it’s still here. Freaks will always be the center of
attention. Get
used to it , that’s how it works.
“ I wasn’t born a freak, I became
one.”
I wasn’t born a freak. I became one.
Not a freak of nature, I was a cultured freak. I was born to an
odd
culture. A family of world traveling
gypsy circus performers. An exhibit. A performance artist. Out on
stage
 at
an early age. My playground was the circus. I distinctly recall my
parents practicing difficult and
dangerous free-flying exchanges on a
cradle-casting act high aloft in the cupola of the circus big-top,
while
an upside down elephant tub served as
my playpen. My home was the circus. A performance was a daily
ritual, and practice and rehearsal a
regular discipline.
The freaks, the strange people, these
were my neighbors and friends. Everyone I knew was either from
Gibsonton, Sarasota, Seagoville, Hugo,
or someplace in Europe.
I lived at amusement parks, fairgrounds,
and theaters. Resort hotels were where
we went to entertain the wealthy ruling class, and snag some of
their money. We also amused the less
fortunate, my dad never refused an unpaid hospital show for the
Shriners, often pushing it to four a
day with three at the arena and one at the children’s burn ward
because
the kids couldn’t come to the circus.
He was known to tip the gypsy boys in our ten man
teeterboard/tumbling act out of his
own pocket to make the special show for the bedridden youngsters.
George A. Hamid, founder of the Hamid-Morton
Circus, and our boss, always arranged for a "comped" dinner
(flag’s up!
)for the kinkers
after the hospital show and made it to the feed himself whenever
he could.
Otherwise nobody made a nickel from it
and I never heard of anyone who didn’t want to do a hospital show
ever being sanctioned in any way. It
was purely voluntary pro bono work. It was a lot of fun, none of
us could
do our regular acts due to the many
limitations and unpredictable conditions encountered in the wards.
We
all had to improvise a lot. I once saw
Gus & Ursula, a terrific German juggling team, perform the
majority of
their complicated passing routine
on their knees due to a low ceiling. The show must go on...
When you
eliminate props, music, lighting,
atmosphere, and are working to people who are suffering and in a
depressing environment, it’s the front
lines of theatre. The most challenging work of my career. We
developed a lot of great material
through the fusion of many diverse talents putting their all
into a group effort.
We all helped each other. We gave
those kids a terrific show every time. We became better showmen.
We
got way more than we gave...
Back To The Good Old Days
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