Actor, Trapeze Artist. At a young age he left his home in Round Rock, Texas, to become an acrobat. Later he formed a partnership with a woman trapeze artist assuming the role of her twin sister, who had died. As a solo-trapeze and wire-walker artist, he continued to dress as a woman, and in the mid-1920s he went to perform in Europe. He achieved great success in Paris, France, and was a friend of Jean Cocteau. In the early 1930s he posed for a series of photographs by artist Man Ray, who put into a book called, "Le Sang Dun Poete" and in 1932 appeared in the film, "The Blood Of A Poet." Later he returned to the United States and in 1938 he suffered injuries in a fall on a high-wire and was forced to retire. In retirement, he became a mentor to other performers, coaching and choreographing for several circuses. He was the aerial director for Ringling Brothers, Barnum and Bailey Circus. He staged the Japanese Circus finale in Orson Welles' movie, "Around the World" in 1946, and he was consultant to MGM Studios during the filming of "Jumbo." He returned to Austin, Texas in 1963 to live with his sister, Mary Loving Cahill, and continued developing acts and designing costumes. After a bad fall while repairing a window shade, his health began to fade, and he died in 1973 at the age of 74. In contrast to his glamorous life, he requested that he be cremated and his ashes interred at the foot of his mother's grave in Round Rock, Texas with a simple marker.
Actor, Trapeze Artist. At a young age he left his home in Round Rock, Texas, to become an acrobat. Later he formed a partnership with a woman trapeze artist assuming the role of her twin sister, who had died. As a solo-trapeze and wire-walker artist, he continued to dress as a woman, and in the mid-1920s he went to perform in Europe. He achieved great success in Paris, France, and was a friend of Jean Cocteau. In the early 1930s he posed for a series of photographs by artist Man Ray, who put into a book called, "Le Sang Dun Poete" and in 1932 appeared in the film, "The Blood Of A Poet." Later he returned to the United States and in 1938 he suffered injuries in a fall on a high-wire and was forced to retire. In retirement, he became a mentor to other performers, coaching and choreographing for several circuses. He was the aerial director for Ringling Brothers, Barnum and Bailey Circus. He staged the Japanese Circus finale in Orson Welles' movie, "Around the World" in 1946, and he was consultant to MGM Studios during the filming of "Jumbo." He returned to Austin, Texas in 1963 to live with his sister, Mary Loving Cahill, and continued developing acts and designing costumes. After a bad fall while repairing a window shade, his health began to fade, and he died in 1973 at the age of 74. In contrast to his glamorous life, he requested that he be cremated and his ashes interred at the foot of his mother's grave in Round Rock, Texas with a simple marker.
Bio by: The Silent Forgotten
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