On October 28, 1958, the circus pitched its tents at Slough, the place of Billy Smart's humble beginnings as a merry-go-round operator, where the popular director celebrated his fifty years as a showman for a BBC television special. For the winter season, Billy Smart also produced sedentary shows, in theaters first, then in halls such as Bingley Hall in Birmingham, and Queen's Hall in Leeds, and he rented out his animal acts to other winter shows. In just a few years, it had become one of the largest circuses in Europe in 1960, its menagerie carried more than 40 horses, 15 elephants, and a large variety of exotic and wild animals. The hippodrome track allowed the staging of parades, Wild West presentations and spectacles, which became a Billy Smart's Circus trademark. (French, Russian: Chapiteau), with a hippodrome track around the ring, in the manner of the old pre-war German giant, Circus Sarrasani, and a vast entrance tent. America: The main tent of a traveling circus, where the show is performed, as opposed to the other tops. Three years later, the two-poler was replaced by a giant 6,000-seat, four-pole, round big top The circus tent. By 1952, the funfair, which had been increasingly overshadowed by the circus, disappeared to leave room for a bona-fide menagerie. It gave its first performance on Apat Southall Park, Middlesex. In 1946, he purchased a second-hand circus tent, all the necessary equipment to go with it, and the Billy Smart's New World Circus became the latest addition to Billy Smart's funfair. He saw the perfect opportunity in the spectacular boon the British entertainment industry experienced immediately after WWII. During the second World War, Billy Smart did his best to keep the home front's morale high he also continued the charity work he had started when his had become a household name.īilly Smart's New Word Circus (c.1960)A horse lover since childhood, Billy Smart had long caressed the dream of having his own circus. The secret of his financial success was also his huge family: his numerous children-he had ten, Peggy, Ena, Ronnie, Hazel, Penny, Phyllis, Dolly, David, Billy, Jr., and Rosie-covered in due time all positions within the organization where money had to be handled. His name was displayed prominently everywhere, and it soon became a guarantee of quality family amusement. Billy Smart was a true showman: his enterprise was by no means a vulgar carnival, but a well managed operation, with attendants in resplendent uniforms, colorful rides, and brightly painted trucks. Hard work paid off however, and by the late 1930s, Billy Smart owned one of Great Britain's most important traveling funfairs, with about ten rides and several other attractions, some of which participated in the spectacular indoor funfair that ran at London's Olympia during the Christmas season in conjunction with Bertram Mill's Circus. Success didn't come immediately: at times, he had to moonlight to make ends meet, and on one occasion, his fellow funfair entrepreneur (and future leisure industry magnate), Billy Butlin, helped him out, which resulted in a lifelong friendship. Billy Smart married his wife, Nelly Rigby, later known as "Doll" or "Dolly," in 1925, and then embarked in his own funfair venture (what Americans call a "carnival"). This was apparently his debut as a showman, although he may have been traveling with his father since early childhood. had a longing for adventure, for at age 15, young Billy was operating his father's hand-cranked merry-go-round on a fairground at Slough. His father had owned a small furniture moving company in West Ealing, England, but business must have been bad (not to mention the hardship caused by trying to provide for his huge family), or perhaps Mr. A larger-than-life character, Billy Smart (1894-1966) was born William George Smart on April 25, 1894, in a family of 23 children.
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