The Cole Bros. Circus was a medium-sized American circus. It was founded in 1884 as "W.W. Cole's New Colossal Shows", by William Washington Cole. In the 1930s, the circus employed two noted animal trainers, Clyde Beatty and Allen King, both of whom traveled in their own railroad cars. During their shows the Cole Bros. Circus would often parade from their 35 large cars in the rail yards to where the circus was being performed. Another well-known performer with the circus was Bob Strehlau Juggles the Clown. In 1957 the show was renamed Clyde Beatty Cole Bros. Circus and bought by the Acme Circus Operating Corporation, an organization formed by Jerry Collins, Frank McColsky, Randolph Calhoun, and Walter Kernan.

As of 2014, Cole Bros. Circus was one of the few traditional circuses in the United States that remains under the Big Top tent. As of 2016 the show was essentially defunct, largely in response to animal rights activists advocating against the use of animals for live performances.

In 1940, in Fulton county Indiana, a fire killed many of the animals in the Cole Brothers circus.

Alternative names
W.W. Cole's New Colossal Shows
Clyde Beatty Cole Bros. Circus - 1957
Cole Bros. Circus
Cole Bros. Circus Worlds Largest Circus Under The Big Top
Cole Bros. Circus Of The Stars

Performers
Many performers traveled with Cole Bros. Circus. In 1908, featured on a herald as performing were the Seven Bostock-Sangers, the Heuman Family, Professor Charles Tinney's Concert Band, and prominently Mlle. De Zizi. On a herald published in 1959, Pinito De Oro, Gallaso, Tonito, 8 Moroccans, Beatty, Flying Palustres, and Hugo Zacchini were some other performers highlighted. Some additional performers who traveled and/or performed with the Cole Bros. Circus over time were the Flying Thrillers, the Imperial Harolds, the Esqueda Family, Harietta, the Nelson Family, J. M. Christiansen, Cese O'Dell, Harold Barnes, Rozina, and Estrella.

Advertising techniques
The Cole Bros. Circus used many advertising formats in order to draw as much attention and customers as possible. One of the advertising techniques they used the most were heralds. The Cole Bros. Circus heralds often didn't have color. These posters would often talk about how incredibly enormous the circus was in performance quality and in comparison to other circuses. The posters included quotes such as, "FUN FOR THE WHOLE FAMILY - STUPENDOUSLY PRESENTING THE WORLD'S FAMOUS, BIGGEST AND GREATEST FEATURES", "THIS COUNTRY'S REPRESENTATIVE AMUSEMENT, ENDORSED BY THE CRITICS OF THE UNIVERSE", and "BIGGEST AND BEST CIRCUS IN THE WORLD".

Visited by the Cole Bros. Circus (1935)
 Benton Harbor, Michigan
 Marietta, Ohio
 Falls City, Nebraska
 Little Rock, Arkansas

Known for
The Cole Bros. Circus, like most other American circuses in the 1930s, would set up side poles, dozens of feet tall, to put a big tent on top. Nevertheless, although intriguingly enormous, this was a common scene. However, the Cole Bros. Circus was known especially for their giant street parade from the railroad yard to the circus grounds.

See also
 List of circuses and circus owners
 Clyde Beatty
 William Washington Cole

References

External links

  (archived)
 Clyde Beatty and Cole Bros. Circus records, 1959, held by the Billy Rose Theatre Division, New York Public Library for the Performing Arts
 CircusWorld archive search for Cole Bros.
 item Robert L. Parkinson Library & Research Center, Circus World. 
 item Robert L. Parkinson Library & Research Center, Circus World.
 item Robert L. Parkinson Library & Research Center, Circus World. 
 Atwell, Harry. "Cole Bros. Circus" Library of Congress
 Atwell, Harry. "Erecting the Big Top, Cole Bros. Circus, 1937" Library of Congress
 Poster, "Clyde Beatty - Cole Bros. Circus; Nashville Fair Grounds-Saturday Oct. 8." Artstor. Collection of Vanderbilt University Fine Arts Gallery, 1979.

Circuses