Billy Smart Jr. (born Stanley Smart, 15 October 1934 – 23 May 2005) was a British

circus A circus is a company of performers who put on diverse entertainment shows that may include clowns, acrobats, trained animals, trapeze acts, musicians, dancers, hoopers, tightrope walkers, jugglers, magicians, ventriloquists, and unicyclis ...

performer and

impresario An impresario (from the Italian ''impresa'', "an enterprise or undertaking") is a person who organizes and often finances concerts, plays, or operas, performing a role in stage arts that is similar to that of a film or television producer. His ...

Biography

Smart, whose real name was Stanley, was the tenth child and third son of Billy Smart Sr. His father was a

showman Showman can have a variety of meanings, usually by context and depending on the country. Australia Travelling showmen are people who run amusement and side show equipment at regional shows, state capital shows, events and festivals througho ...

and

fairground Fairground most typically refers to a permanent space that hosts fairs. Fairground, Fairgrounds, Fair Ground or Fair Grounds may also refer to: Places Canada * Fairground, Ontario, a community United States * Fairground, St. Louis, a neighbo ...

proprietor, who bought a circus in 1946. He would travel with the Circus and go to local schools when at a location for a lengthy period. One school was 'All Saints' at Blackheath, London in 1958, the heath being a regular location for the circus. The first appearance of the Billy Smart circus was on 5 April at Southall Park in Middlesex. The circus toured alongside Smart's funfair; the tents blew down and the circus carried out its performances for two days in the open air. Smart made his circus debut with "Billy Smart's New World Circus" as assistant ringmaster aged 12. He was soon performing with

ponies A pony is a type of small horse ('' Equus ferus caballus''). Depending on the context, a pony may be a horse that is under an approximate or exact height at the withers, or a small horse with a specific conformation and temperament. Compared ...

and

horse The horse (''Equus ferus caballus'') is a domesticated, one-toed, hoofed mammal. It belongs to the taxonomic family Equidae and is one of two extant subspecies of ''Equus ferus''. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million yea ...

s, but became best known later for his

elephant Elephants are the largest existing land animals. Three living species are currently recognised: the African bush elephant, the African forest elephant, and the Asian elephant. They are the only surviving members of the family Elephantidae ...

acts. In one famous incident, he tamed a herd of performing

s when they

stampede A stampede () is a situation in which a group of large animals suddenly start running in the same direction, especially because they are excited or frightened. Non-human species associated with stampede behavior include zebras, cattle, elephants ...

d in the ring. At its peak, Billy Smart's four-masted Big Top could hold over 6,000 people, with a show including hundreds of animals and performers. Smart, together with his brothers, Ronald Smart and David Smart, took over management of the circus when their father died in 1966 at

Ipswich Ipswich () is a port town and borough in Suffolk, England, of which it is the county town. The town is located in East Anglia about away from the mouth of the River Orwell and the North Sea. Ipswich is both on the Great Eastern Main Line ...

. The circus ceased touring in 1971, but televised performances continued until 1983, drawing audiences of up to 22 million at its height. The Smart Brothers also developed Guernsey

Zoo A zoo (short for zoological garden; also called an animal park or menagerie) is a facility in which animals are kept within enclosures for public exhibition and often bred for conservation purposes. The term ''zoological garden'' refers to zoo ...

, selling it in 1972, and opened Windsor Safari Park in 1969 before selling it in 1977, for the equivalent of £30m in 2017 (it is now the site of

Legoland Windsor Legoland Windsor Resort (), styled and also known as Legoland Windsor, is a theme park and resort in Windsor, Berkshire in England, themed around the Lego brand. The park opened on 17 March 1996 and is currently operated by Merlin Entertainment ...

). He lost the sight in his right eye in 1978 after cosmetic surgery severed the

optic nerve In neuroanatomy, the optic nerve, also known as the second cranial nerve, cranial nerve II, or simply CN II, is a paired cranial nerve that transmits visual information from the retina to the brain. In humans, the optic nerve is derived fro ...

, ending his career as an animal trainer. In 1985, the Smart circus Winkfield winter quarters were sold for the equivalent of £20m in 2017. The "Billy Smart's" touring circus was revived by his brother Ronald and nephew Gary in 1993, but Smart concentrated on a second career as a property developer, based in

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

In popular culture

In the Netherlands, Billy Smart was known for the annual "Billy Smart's Kinderkerstcircus" ("Billy Smart's Children Christmas Circus") TV broadcast. Dutch singer Fay Lovsky listed Billy Smart in her 1981 hit "Christmas Was A Friend of Mine" as one of her favourite Christmas traditions. "

Circus of Horrors ''Circus of Horrors'' is a 1960 British horror film directed by Sidney Hayers, and starring Anton Diffring, Yvonne Monlaur, Erika Remberg, Kenneth Griffith, Jane Hylton, Conrad Phillips, Yvonne Romain, and Donald Pleasence. Set in 1947, it fo ...

" (1960), directed by Sydney Hayers, was filmed in Billy Smarts Circus. In the picture, it was called the "Schuler" circus. It was used in the film ''

Berserk! ''Berserk!'' is a 1967 British horror-thriller film starring Joan Crawford, Ty Hardin, Diana Dors and Judy Geeson in a macabre mother-daughter tale about a circus plagued with murders. The screenplay was written by Herman Cohen and Aben Kandel ...

'' (1967), starring

Joan Crawford Joan Crawford (born Lucille Fay LeSueur; March 23, ncertain year from 1904 to 1908was an American actress. She started her career as a dancer in traveling theatrical companies before debuting on Broadway theatre, Broadway. Crawford was si ...

and

Diana Dors Diana Dors (born Diana Mary Fluck; 23 October 19314 May 1984) was an English actress and singer. Dors came to public notice as a blonde bombshell, much in the style of Americans Marilyn Monroe, Jayne Mansfield and Mamie Van Doren. Dors was p ...

. In the movie the circus was called the Great Rivers Circus.

References

(" BFI Screenonline: Big Top Variety Show (1979-1982))

(" The Daily Telegraph, The Telegraph", Billy Smart and Savoy Connection)

Obituaries

Obituary
(''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'', 24 May 2005)
Obituary
('' The Daily Telegraph, The Telegraph'', 24 May 2005)
Obituary
(''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' (f ...

'', 24 May 2005)

("

The Herald Scotland ''The Herald'' is a Scottish broadsheet newspaper founded in 1783. ''The Herald'' is the longest running national newspaper in the world and is the eighth oldest daily paper in the world. The title was simplified from ''The Glasgow Herald'' in ...

", 24 May 2005

External links

Billy Smart's CircusBilly Smart Sr. in ''Circopedia''Only Circus attended by a reigning monarch
{{DEFAULTSORT:Smart, Billy Jr. 1934 births 2005 deaths Deaths from lung cancer British entertainers Circus owners