Feller Boys

The Feller Boys (also known as The Feller Boys & DoDo) had a remarkable 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) act that combined 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), hand-to-handAn acrobatic act in which one or more acrobats do hand-balancing in the hands of an under-stander. balancing and teeterboardA seesaw made of wood, or fiberglass poles tied together, which is used to propel acrobats in the air.. It lasted about twenty years, and was active in the 1960s and 1970s. The act owes its name to the head of a German acrobatic troupe named Feller, who developed the act for a young member of his troupe, Gerhard Gudopp. Gudopp had joined the Feller Troupe as a child, and therefore Feller became his mentor.

Originally, the act was composed of Gerhard Gudopp and his wife, Doris (DoDo), and a top mounterIn an acrobatic or balancing act, the performer who holds the top position (on a human column, for instance). named Heinz. Unfortunately, Heinz was an alcoholic and died prematurely; he was replaced by Hans Buckson, who stayed with the Gudopps until their retirement in the early 1970s. Afterward, Buckson carried on the act for a while with his brother in law, Gianni Huesca.

See Also

• Video: The Feller Boys & DoDo, Tight Wire Act, at the London Hippodrome (c.1965)