Difference between revisions of "Harold Alzana"

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High Wire

By Dominique Jando

Harold Alzana was, from the late forties to the mid-sixties, a star fixture of Ringling Bros. and Barnum and Bailey Circus. His daredevil manner—working on the high wireA tight, heavy metallic cable placed high above the ground, on which wire walkers do crossings and various acrobatic exercises. Not to be confused with a tight wire. without a balancing pole and at high speed, which contrasted with the traditionally slow, seemingly careful, approach of the great high wireA tight, heavy metallic cable placed high above the ground, on which wire walkers do crossings and various acrobatic exercises. Not to be confused with a tight wire. acrobats, such as The Wallendas, that had preceded him—inspired many of the high wireA tight, heavy metallic cable placed high above the ground, on which wire walkers do crossings and various acrobatic exercises. Not to be confused with a tight wire. acts that are seen today.

He was born Harold Davis on September 19, 1917 in Maltby, a small mining town east of Sheffield in South Yorkshire, England. His father, Charles, worked there as a coal miner, but he was also an amateur acrobat, and he began training his children (Harold, his brother Edgar, and their sisters Hilda and Elsie) in his backyard, where he had installed a tight wireA tight, light metallic cable, placed between two platforms not very far from the ground, on which a wire dancer perform dance steps, and acrobatic exercises such as somersaults. (Also: Low Wire) two feet off the ground.

Charles’s training got good results: At age six, young Harold made his performing debut in local fairs and festivals. But this was just fun; when he reached fourteen, Harold Davis, like most young men in Maltby, followed in his father’s footsteps and began working as a coal miner. In 1941, he married his sweetheart, Minnie. World War II was raging, but Harold and his siblings never stopped practicing and improving their high wireA tight, heavy metallic cable placed high above the ground, on which wire walkers do crossings and various acrobatic exercises. Not to be confused with a tight wire. act.

From The Coalmine To The Big Top

Harold Alzana (c.1950)

If it was certainly, from the audience point of view, a spectacular finale, it was not in actuality much of a trickAny specific exercise in a circus act. since the trapeze provided Harold’s bicycle with a counterweight: The more at risk were actually Hilda and Elsie. But Harold’s solos on the wire were another matter altogether, and this didn’t fail to impress one of John Ringling North’s European talent scouts. Johnny North immediately saw star potential in Harold Alzana, and the act was booked for the 1947 season of Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, The Greatest Show On Earth.

Thus, the Alzanas moved to the United States, minus Edgar, who decided to stay in England. (Edgar would eventually create his own high wireA tight, heavy metallic cable placed high above the ground, on which wire walkers do crossings and various acrobatic exercises. Not to be confused with a tight wire. act, The Derricos.) Their first appearance at the Madison Square Garden in New York, where The Greatest Show On Earth traditionally began its season, was an unmitigated success. Harold started his act climbing a wire at a 45º angle up to his platform, without the help of a balance pole. His various crossings with his sisters were interspersed with his fast-paced solos, notably a high-speed tempo rope skipping with carefully staged near misses. Like his ascent to the platform, Harold's solos were performed without balancing pole.

Solo Performer

Staging the impression of danger is common circus practice, but it doesn’t preclude the reality of danger, whether it is or not apparent to the audience. Harold Alzana had his share of accidents, including one in his very first season with The Greatest Show On Earth—a forty-feet fall with his sister Hilda, in which both performers were injured. Eventually, Hilda and Elsie decided to retire from the act, and Harold continued to work as a solo performer, with increasing success.

Harold Alzana remained with Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey until 1964. During that time he returned to Europe only twice: The first time for the Christmas season of 1949-50, at the Harringay Arena in London; the second time in 1963, with The Greatest Show On Earth, in a tour that was a disappointment and would be short-lived—although Alzana’s success was as big in Europe as it had been in the United States. He made a last appearance in Europe in 1966, in the hit British television show, Live From The Hippodrome.

Harold Alzana continued to perform sporadically until the early 1970s, and then retired to his home of Sarasota, Florida, America’s "Circus Capital." But he kept a wire rigged in his backyard, and continued to practice regularly, well into his eighties. In 1991, he was induced into the International Circus Hall of Fame. Harold Alzana passed away on February 23, 2001, leaving the souvenir of one of the greatest high wireA tight, heavy metallic cable placed high above the ground, on which wire walkers do crossings and various acrobatic exercises. Not to be confused with a tight wire. performers of all times.

See Also

• Video: Harold Alzana, High Wire in Live from the Hippodrome (1966)

Photo Gallery

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  The Alzanas at Madison Square Garden (c.1950)

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  The Alzanas (1951)

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  Harold Alzana practicing (1951)