|
CZAR NEWS #2 - October 26, 2001
http://www.czarofbizarre.com
===============================
Contents
1 - Message from the Czar
2 - Notes from the Home Office
3 - How to Subscribe/Unsubscribe
===============================
----------------------------------
1 - Message from the Czar
----------------------------------
Dear Friends,
Nate Eagle was a true showman's showman. He was a classy guy
-- not excessively flamboyant but classy. He knew how to
extract the most from the talent he presented but also took
the time to know and understand "his people" and be both a
good boss and a good friend.
"Nate Eagle's Hollywood Midgets" appeared with several large
carnivals, the shows last years of touring being with the
James E. Strates Shows. I knew Nate from having been on the
Strates show for part of a season with Claude Bentley's
Sideshow.
There were several operators who toured troupes of midgets
with carnivals. The shows were presented "revue" style,
about one-hour in running time with a cast of singers,
dancers, comedians, etc... The physical layout of these
shows had a cookie-cutter sameness, as the formula worked
very effectively. See this diagram:
( http://www.czarofbizarre.com/newsletter/0002_diagram.html )
As a midway patron, you could look in the open doorway in
the center of the showfront and see the audience on bleacher
seating looking down at the stage. You couldn't see the tiny
entertainers ON the stage because of the "teaser" panel,
(about 4' high), that ran between the two doll house-like
dressing rooms at the back side of the stage.
Although it's quite possible that some of the cast members
may have worked in a film or two, the "Hollywood" part of
the title was just midway hype, but then that's what
carnival shows were all about -- attractions that titillated
the imagination. One thing's for certain; Nate's little
people worked much harder than any film stars, sometimes
doing as many as twelve shows a day -- pretty rigorous
workout for any normal-sized entertainer!
It occurs to me that this is a pretty massive overload of
information on a print made from a 3' X 5' banner. If asked,
I'd probably say the story would add a flavor of history and
authenticity to the print. The truth is that I simply enjoy
telling stories about the subjects of my paintings.
All the very best,
Johnny Meah
"The Czar of Bizarre"
-----------------------------------------
2 - Notes from the Home Office
-----------------------------------------
Greetings from Czar HQ!
An unusual new piece from Johnny is included in "On the
Ball":
( http://www.czarofbizarre.com/0002_ontheball.cgi )
It's a great new art book now available. Over 80 artists
transformed a typical bowling ball into a unique work of
art, and they are all beautifully photographed and
collected inside. I hope to get a picture of Johnny's ball
up on the site soon, but seek out the book - it's a lot of
fun!
If you missed the first issue of Czar News, it is now
archived in the "Newsletter" section:
( http://www.czarofbizarre.com/newsletter/ )
All future editions will be archived here as well.
"Nate Eagle's Hollywood Midgets" are now available -- a
limited edition 4-color lithograph, (500 only), numbered,
signed, and ready to be shipped! Drop by the shop to have a
look:
( http://www.czarofbizarre.com/shop/ )
The first print, "Baby Irene," is still available as well,
although she's moving pretty well for a big girl. You can
take a gander at her while you're in the shop.
The next lithograph will be "Anatomical Venus," which should be
available in a couple of weeks, just in time for the holidays.
Thanks for everyone's great feedback on the site. We'll be
adding some new surprises soon, so visit often and send your
friends!
Best,
Mike
---------------------------------
3 - How to Subscribe/Unsubscribe
---------------------------------
To subscribe, just visit
http://www.czarofbizarre.com/newsletter/ and enter your
email address.
To unsubscribe, reply to this message with the word
"UNSUBSCRIBE" in the subject line.
==================================================================
The Czar of Bizarre
http://www.czarofbizarre.com/
|
|
