The June 19th session of Circus History Live! featured a fascinating conversation with three legendary Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus ringmasters! The recording of this program will be posted on the Circus Historical Society YouTube channel soon! Check Circus History Live! Videos for details.
Join us to hear Johnathan Lee Iverson, Dinny McGuire and Kevin Venardos talk about their fascinating careers as ringmasters of the Greatest Show on Earth! This program is being co-sponsored by The Ringling Museum.
A proud graduate of LaGuardia High School of Music and Art & Performing Arts in New York City and The Hartt School of the University of Hartford, Johnathan Lee Iverson became the youngest and the first African American Ringmaster of Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus when he was only 22 years old. He was ringmaster from 1998 until the very last performance of the Greatest Show on Earth in May 2017.
Dinny McGuire spent a total of 11 years with the Ringling Bros. as a ringmaster. His audition was in Venice Florida in 1981 when he was 32 years old. When McGuire toured with Ringling Bros. in Japan in 1988, he had to learn the show in Japanese, including singing one of his least favorite songs, “It’s a Small World,” which he disliked after riding the gondola ride at Disneyland!
A graduate of Ithaca College with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Musical Theatre, Kevin Venardos was ringmaster of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus for 5 years from 2000 until 2005. In 2014, Venardos created the highly innovative Venardos Circus . . . The Little Circus That Could!
Chris Berry, who is a CHS Trustee and circus historian, will host the discussion and take your questions.
Registration is required. To Register, click YES on this announcement. To participate in the program on Saturday June 19th, click https://fsu.zoom.us/j/96001986475 at 7:00 PM Eastern and follow the online instructions.
All Circus History Live! sessions are free and open to both CHS members and the public. However, donations in support of the work of the non-profit Circus Historical Society will be accepted at Donate, and non-members are encouraged to Join. Membership includes access to our online Bookstore, where you can purchase used circus books, programs, and other items, and to our members-only online Q & A forum, the Jackpot Junction!
For technical support, please contact chstreasurer@gmail.com.
