Bird Millman O’Day (born Jennadean Engleman; October 20, 1890 – August 5, 1940“Bird Millman O'Day... Succumbs Here Monday Night after Long Illness”, ''

Cañon City Daily Record ''Cañon City Daily Record'' is a daily newspaper published in Cañon City, Colorado. It carries local, regional, national and world news. It is owned by Prairie Mountain Publishing, a subsidiary of MediaNews Group, who purchased the paper in 2011 ...

'', August 6, 1940) was one of the most celebrated high-wire performers of all time.Robie, Frank D. “The Real Bird Millman,” ''Bandwagon'', November/December, 1998, 44-46. During the “Golden Age of the American Circus,” she was a premiere attraction with the

Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus The Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus (also known as the Ringling Bros. Circus, Ringling Bros., the Barnum & Bailey Circus, Barnum & Bailey, or simply Ringling) is an American traveling circus company billed as The Greatest Show on Ear ...

Mud shows and vaudeville

Born Jennadean Engleman in Cañon City, Colorado, young Bird traveled in mud shows (small circuses) with her parents, Dyke F. Engleman and Genevieve Patton Engleman. In 1904, the Millman Trio entered big-time

vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment born in France at the end of the 19th century. A vaudeville was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a dramatic composition ...

, playing such destinations as Keith's Union Square and Hammerstein’s Paradise Roof Garden. At one point Bird was dubbed, perhaps ironically, "the

Eva Tanguay Eva Tanguay (August 1, 1878 – January 11, 1947) was a Canadian singer and entertainer who billed herself as "the girl who made vaudeville famous". She was known as "The Queen of Vaudeville" during the height of her popularity from the early 1 ...

of the Wire." At Berlin's Wintergarten Theatre, Bird gave a command performance before the court of

Kaiser Wilhelm II , house = Hohenzollern , father = Frederick III, German Emperor , mother = Victoria, Princess Royal , religion = Lutheranism (Prussian United) , signature = Wilhelm II, German Emperor Signature-.svg Wilhelm II (Friedrich Wilhelm Viktor ...

. Upon her return to the United States, her act became Bird Millman & Co., adding the New York Hippodrome and the

Palace Theatre (Broadway) The Palace Theatre is a Broadway theater at 1564 Broadway, facing Times Square, in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. Designed by Milwaukee architects Kirchoff & Rose, the theater was funded by Martin Beck and opened in 1913 ...

to her list of credits. One of the troop’s new members,

Fern Andra Fern Andra, Dowager Baroness von Weichs (born Vernal Edna Andrews, November 24, 1893 – February 8, 1974) was an American actress, film director, script writer, and producer. Next to Henny Porten and Asta Nielsen, she was one of the most po ...

, did not return after a brief European tour; later, she resurfaced as a star of German silent film.

Circus and Follies

In 1913, Bird became a center-ring performer with the

Barnum and Bailey Circus The Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus (also known as the Ringling Bros. Circus, Ringling Bros., the Barnum & Bailey Circus, Barnum & Bailey, or simply Ringling) is an American traveling circus company billed as The Greatest Show on Ear ...

, where she remained after its merger with the

Ringling Brothers Circus Ringling Bros. World's Greatest Shows is a circus founded in Baraboo, Wisconsin, United States in 1884 by five of the seven Ringling brothers: Albert, August, Otto, Alfred T., Charles, John, and Henry. The Ringling brothers were sons of a Ge ...

. In the seasons of 1919 and 1920, the side rings were vacant during Bird's performance; such singularity was reserved for the circus’s greatest stars. Bird's peers were equestrienne

May Wirth May Wirth (6 June 189418 October 1978) was an Australian circus and vaudeville performer famous for her ability to do somersaults forwards and backwards on a running horse. She was inducted to the Circus Hall of Fame as a bareback rider in 1963 ...

and aerialist Lillian Leitzel, the latter widely considered the greatest circus star of all time. Bird spent the circus’s off-season on Broadway, appearing in ''The

Ziegfeld Follies The ''Ziegfeld Follies'' was a series of elaborate theatrical revue productions on Broadway in New York City from 1907 to 1931, with renewals in 1934 and 1936. They became a radio program in 1932 and 1936 as ''The Ziegfeld Follies of the Ai ...

of 1916'' and in several editions of Ziegfeld’s ''Frolics''. In 1921, she appeared in

John Murray Anderson John Murray Anderson (September 20, 1886 – January 30, 1954) was a Canadian theatre director and producer, songwriter, actor, screenwriter, dancer and lighting designer, who made his career in the United States, primarily in New York City and ...

's ''Third Annual

Greenwich Village Follies The ''Greenwich Village Follies'' was a musical revue that played for eight seasons in New York City from 1919 to 1927. Launched by John Murray Anderson, and opening on July 15, 1919, at the newly constructed Greenwich Village Theatre near Chri ...

''. In 1920, she performed a specialty number in '' The Deep Purple'', a silent film directed by Raoul Walsh. Bird never relied on novelty or hair-raising stunts; rather, she was acclaimed for her unusual speed and seemingly effortless grace. Contrary to several well-meaning accounts, she did, indeed, employ a parasol for balance. During several exhibitions, she performed high above the streets of New York City; in addition to selling war bonds at such exhibitions, she gained widespread publicity. Following her retirement from show business, the cross-dressing Berta Beeson, “the

Julian Eltinge Julian Eltinge (May 14, 1881 – March 7, 1941), born William Julian Dalton, was an American stage and film actor and female impersonator. After appearing in the Boston Cadets Revue at the age of ten in feminine garb, Eltinge garnered notic ...

of the Wire,” paid homage to her legacy in form and content.

Personal life

Millman's first two marriages were brief: one ending in annulment, the other in quick divorce. Her third husband was Harvard graduate and military veteran, Joseph Francis O'Day, who died shortly after losing his fortune in the

stock market crash A stock market crash is a sudden dramatic decline of stock prices across a major cross-section of a stock market, resulting in a significant loss of paper wealth. Crashes are driven by panic selling and underlying economic factors. They often foll ...

of 1929.

Death

Destitute, Bird joined her mother and extended family in her native Colorado, where she died of

uterine cancer Uterine cancer, also known as womb cancer, includes two types of cancer that develop from the tissues of the uterus. Endometrial cancer forms from the lining of the uterus, and uterine sarcoma forms from the muscles or support tissue of the ut ...

several months before her fiftieth birthday."Passing of the Dancing Star of the Wire", ''White Tops'', August/September 1940 Her eulogy was written by author

Dixie Willson Dixie Lucile Reiniger Willson (30 July 1890 - 6 February 1974) was an American screenwriter, as well as an author of children's books, novels, and short stories. Life Willson was born in Estherville, Iowa to John David Willson, a lawyer, and ...

(sister of composer

Meredith Willson Robert Reiniger Meredith Willson (May 18, 1902 – June 15, 1984) was an American flutist, composer, conductor, musical arranger, bandleader, playwright, and writer. He is perhaps best known for writing the book, music, and lyrics for the 19 ...

Circus Hall of Fame

Bird Millman was inducted posthumously into the

International Circus Hall of Fame The International Circus Hall of Fame is a museum and hall of fame which honors important figures in circus history. It is located in Peru, Indiana on the former grounds of the Wallace Circus and American Circus Corporation Winter Quarters, als ...

in 1961.

Fictional

She is mentioned briefly in Gwenda Bond's book Girl on a Wire as the main protagonist's idol.

References

Resources

Items of interest * ''Vanity Fair'', October 1916 (cover) * “Why Bewitching Bird Millman ‘Hushed’ Her Goldspoon Marriage,” ''Denver Post'' (Magazine Section), 12 October 1924, p. 2 * Willson, Dixie. ''Little Texas'' (1929); ''Mystery in Spangles'' (1950) Collections * The Royal Gorge Regional Museum & History Center in Cañon City, Colorado houses several artifacts, including personal letters and Bird's vaudeville scrapbook. * The Robert L. Parkinson Library and Research Center at the

Circus World Museum The Circus World Museum is a museum complex in Baraboo, Wisconsin, devoted to circus-related history. The museum features circus artifacts and exhibits and hosts daily live circus performances throughout the summer. It is owned by the Wisconsin Hi ...

houses programs, photographs, and more.

External links

International Circus Hall of Fame Inductees

The Circus in America - Bird Millman
* *

Bird Millman in The Historical Museum of the City of Kraków {{DEFAULTSORT:Millman, Bird 1890 births 1940 deaths American circus performers Tightrope walkers Vaudeville performers Ziegfeld girls People from Cañon City, Colorado Deaths from uterine cancer Deaths from cancer in Colorado 20th-century circus performers