Lillian Leitzel (born Leopoldina Alitza Pelikan; 2 January 1892 – 15 February 1931) was a German-born acrobat who specialized in performing on the Roman Rings, for 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 ...
. The inaugural (posthumous) inductee to 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 ...
, Leitzel died in hospital two days after a fall during a live performance.
[
]
Early life
Leitzel was born as Leopoldina Alitza Pelikan in a family of circus performers. Her father was most likely Willy Dosta, an itinerant circus performer; another possible candidate was Edward J. Eleanore, a Hungarian army officer and theater performer. Her mother, Nellie Pelikan, was a Czech circus acrobat. Nellie was one of 6 children born to Eduard Pelikan, an acrobat/clown/strongman. Eduard's son Adolf performed as a clown under the pseudonym "Bluch Landolf". Lillian's brother, Alfred Pelikan, later became director of the Milwaukee Art Institute.
She spent her childhood in Germany, where she lived with her maternal grandparents. Although she had been well-educated and had prepared to pursue a career as a concert pianist, she joined her mother's aerobatic circus group, the Leamy Ladies. The troupe was completed by her aunts Tina and Toni and Lily Simpson and they toured Europe in 1905.
In 1910, she came to the United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
with the circus troupe and performed with Barnum and Bailey
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 ...
. The group later dissolved and its members returned to Europe, but Leitzel continued to attempt to perform in the American 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 ...
circuit. In South Bend, Indiana
South Bend is a city in and the county seat of St. Joseph County, Indiana, on the St. Joseph River near its southernmost bend, from which it derives its name. As of the 2020 census, the city had a total of 103,453 residents and is the fourt ...
, she was seen by an agent of the Ringling Brothers who offered her a contract. When Ringling and Barnum and Bailey merged, she became a huge star and a headline performer for the circus.
Act and personality
Leitzel's act included one-armed planges, momentarily dislocating the shoulder during each plange. She would flip her body over her shoulder repeatedly, sometimes hundreds of times in a feat of endurance, encouraging the audience to count each one in unison. Only four feet, nine inches, she was also famous for her demanding personality and temper. Leitzel was the first performer in history to command her own private Pullman car
In the United States, Pullman was used to refer to railroad sleeping cars that were built and operated on most U.S. railroads by the Pullman Company (founded by George Pullman) from 1867 to December 31, 1968.
Other uses
Pullman also refers to ra ...
completely furnished with her own baby grand piano.
Her quick temper was legendary. It was not uncommon to witness Leitzel cursing or slapping a roustabout
Roustabout (Australia/New Zealand English: rouseabout) is an occupational term. Traditionally, it referred to a worker with broad-based, non-specific skills. In particular, it was used to describe show or circus workers who handled materials ...
who did not adjust her rigging exactly to her liking. Further, Leitzel was known to fly off the handle and fire then rehire her personal maid, Mabel Cummings, several times a day. In sharp contrast, she was known to the children on the show as "Auntie Leitzel", and she would hold birthday parties for her fellow performers in her private dressing tent.
Marriages
The identity of her first husband is unknown. She married Clyde Ingalls in 1920, and the couple divorced in 1924. Her third husband was circus trapeze
A trapeze is a short horizontal bar hung by ropes or metal straps from a ceiling support. It is an aerial apparatus commonly found in circus performances. Trapeze acts may be static, spinning (rigged from a single point), swinging or flying, an ...
performer Alfredo Codona Alfredo Codona (October 7, 1893 – July 30, 1937) was a Mexican trapeze artist who was a member of the world-famous "Flying Codonas" and was the first aerialist to continually perform the triple somersault. Alfredo came from an itinerant perfo ...
, whom she wed in 1928.
Accident and death
On 13 February 1931, she fell to the ground from her rigging while performing in Copenhagen, Denmark
Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...
at the Valencia Music Hall, when the swivel that held the rope in place fractured and snapped. She and Codona had been performing in Europe separately, and he rushed to Copenhagen. After she apparently showed signs of improvement, Codona returned to his company in Berlin. However, she died on 15 February, two days after the fall, aged 39. She was buried in Inglewood Park Cemetery in Inglewood, California.
Honors
Lillian Leitzel was the first inductee elected 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 1958.
A vintage circus poster depicting her was used as the subject of a United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
postage stamp
A postage stamp is a small piece of paper issued by a post office, postal administration, or other authorized vendors to customers who pay postage (the cost involved in moving, insuring, or registering mail), who then affix the stamp to the f ...
issued as part of a set on 5 May 2014.
In media
The book ''Queen of the Air: A True Story of Love and Tragedy at the Circus'' by Dean N. Jensen, is about Lillian Leitzel. It was published by Crown in 2013 (/).
References
External links
Lillian Leitzel's biography at the official Ringling Bros. website
Collection of informational articles about Lillian Leitzel's career and life
* ttp://www.trivia-library.com/b/biography-of-queen-of-the-circus-lillian-leitzel-part-2.htm Bio, part 2 at Trivia Librarybr>Bio, part 3 at Trivia Library
{{DEFAULTSORT:Leitzel, Lillian
1892 births
1931 deaths
Accidental deaths from falls
Deaths onstage
Acrobats
Strongwomen
Burials at Inglewood Park Cemetery
People from Wrocław
People from the Province of Silesia
German emigrants to the United States
German entertainers
Circus strongmen and strongwomen