Word: feld
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: during 1990-1999
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...Feld has become an ice-rink impresario as well. The company created an ice show under license from the Disney company in 1981 and now has five touring companies. One of the shows, which stars Mickey Mouse, features 60 skaters (average age: 21), who perform scenes from such cartoons as Steamboat Willie and Fantasia. The skaters need 245 costumes, which contain "enough spandex to cover a football field," the promoters...
...expected to collect $250 million in revenues this year, double the level of four years ago. Last year his attractions were seen by an estimated 20 million people in Europe, South America and Asia, as well as 20 million in more than 150 cities in the U.S. Says Feld: "Our international circus and ice shows cross all cultural and political boundaries. You don't need to understand a specific language...
...Feld show is a mixture of world-class performances, a sensory overload of color and music, and roller-coaster pacing. Calculating that the attention span of the average child is about 8 1/2 minutes, he cuts most acts to their best eight. Feld's formula includes a dash of gimmickry to pack 'em in. In 1985 it was the "Living Unicorn," a goat whose horns had been surgically fused. The stunt drew criticism from animal-rights activists but boosted ticket sales by more than 20%. Says Feld: "P.T. Barnum would have been proud...
...Feld inherited the business and his know-how from his father, the late Irvin Feld, a flamboyant promoter who bought the faltering circus from John Ringling North for $8 million in 1967. At the time, the acts and the performers were aging. The show had only a dozen clowns, some in their 70s and 80s. The senior Feld threw out the freak shows, hired new acts, stepped up the pace of the show and started the world's first clown college. Determined to get the best performers, he bought an entire West German circus for $2 million in 1968 just...
...typical Feld circus unit is a major logistical production that travels in its own 45-car train, costs $600,000 a week to operate and employs some 140 performers, 120 stagehands and 90 animals. Each show has its own star attraction. Feld's biggest has been wild-animal trainer Gebel-Williams, 55, who is on a two-year farewell tour after a career of more than 11,000 performances and 500 stitches from mishaps with sharp-clawed cats. Gebel- Williams changed the nature of animal training by developing close bonds with his animals, which range from Bengal tigers to Lipizzaner...