Eddie Allen

1934: Later Eddie Allen was appointed boss elephant man thereby gaining much publicity

1943-1944: and even more a few years later on the Ringling Show when he put together the best remembered elephant number ever done with that show, "The Changing of the Guard".

Mr. Allen was the most self promoting elephant man I ever heard of.
After leaving the Ringling Show in mid-season of 1944 he went on to become Business Manager for Gene Autry.

EDDIE ALLEN
1924 John Robinson Circus (elephant hand)
1933 101 Ranch
1934 Ranch Elephants (Leased to Barnett Bros.)
1935-38 Cole Bros. Circus
1943-44 Ringling-Barnum Circus

His book was ghosted by the great Press Agent F. Beverly Kelley when both were with Cole Bros. Circus but wasn't published until 1941. I first read it when I was in Grade School and was impressed. Lots of good pictures. Mr. Allen was a remarkable man in as much as he
jumped from working elephants to becoming Gene Autry's Business Manager and later an Executive in Hollywood.

John Herriott remembers him as a Union Representative at the Chicago Stadium in the 1950's and when we first met Parley Baer in 1965, who handled the Publicity for the Polack Show, he and Ernestine invited us to their home in Tarzana. Imagine my surprise when one of the other guests turned out to be Eddie Allen, the only time I ever met him.

I thought I might get some info on the Cole Show elephants but his memory overall was quite vague. He did however mention that "Safari" was never a minutes trouble but as the season progressed became slower and slower on the march to and from the train, to a point that sometimes he had to drop behind drive him ahead with his horse. Eddie said he was in the elephant men's bunk room when they heard "Safari" drop dead in the barn, he said an autopsy revealed his Lungs were half gone from TB.

Actually I was more fascinated with Parley and Eddie's movie stories, evidently Mr. Allen had shut down several productions over the years while representing the Unions but during this I happened to notice his lacquered finger nails and tried but failed to imagine a time he had any elephant shit under them.

As my father used to say, "To some guys elephants are a job, to others a Religion.


William "Buckles" Woodcock Buckles Blog