Marty Graham — Part 2 — The Circus Acts

Memories of Pleasure Island- the summers of 1961 and ‘62:

Welcome aboard, mates!

I believe it was the second summer that the management felt it needed some additional draws- They assembled some itinerant circus acts that put on at least 4 shows daily- a strain for the animals as well as the Pirate crew who were adjacent to the show area and subjected to this incessant menagerie.

There was a clown called 'Mr. Sweep' (pronounced 'Thweep'- rhymes with 'creep'). He really liked kids. One can only speculate how he got his name. Maybe he was detained in a sweep. I do not recall any part of his act- I guess the medium was the message.

Then there was a chimpanzee act that consisted of a tall blonde and a rather mature chimp. This act was hired for the summer and they lived in the park in a mobile trailer about eight feet by twelve. On several occasions I recall walking past the trailer hearing these blood curdling Tarzanic, Rama-of- the-Jungle, cockatoo-in-heat cries emanating from the window. She gave every appearance of beating the living tar out of this poor thing. It could have been a case of spousal abuse, child abuse or maybe he was holding out for a new contract. But as the marriage counselors are prone to say, "There are a lot of issues here.." (I am writing this on the assumption that chimps don't have lawyers!)

Another act was an old flea bitten elephant that was a walking advertisement for Metamucil. She (I think) would plod out of her stall at the end of a prod and do her thing. About halfway into the act she would let everyone know what she thought of the crowd, her handler and the Pleasure Island fodder. Her emanations were thunderous and the crowd reacted in one of three ways. They either covered the eyes of their children, whipped out their 8mm cameras, or had a good chuckle. In any event, it was a tough act to follow! (Now I remember why they called him 'Mr. Sweep'- he came on after the elephant!)

Seeing and hearing this random collection "up close and personal" led to a cynical view of what Pleasure Island management characterized as "family fun and entertainment"!

Martin C. Graham
340 Weaver Street
Larchmont, NY 10538
914 834-7671
e-mail: mcgraham@mail.med.cornell.edu