Lillian Leitzel

Lillian Leitzel (January 2, 1892, Breslau, Germany (present-day Wrocław, Poland) – February 15, 1931, Copenhagen, Denmark) was an acrobat/aerialist who specialized in performing on the Roman Rings,for the Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus. The inaugural (posthumous) inductee to the International Circus Hall of Fame, Leitzel died in hospital two days after a fall during a live performance.[1]

Lillian Leitzel
Lillian Leitzel in 1931
Born
Leopoldina Alitza Pelikan

(1892-01-02)January 2, 1892
Breslau, Germany (present-day Wrocław, Poland
Died February 15, 1931(1931-02-15) (aged 39)
Copenhagen, Denmark
Known forTrapeze
Acrobatics

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".[2] Lillian's brother, Alfred Pelikan, later became director of the Milwaukee Art Institute.[3]

She spent her childhood in Germany, where she lived with her maternal grandparents.[4] 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.[5]

"The Leamy Ladies (Lillian Leitzel at left) in 1905.

In 1910, she came to the United States with the circus troupe and performed with Barnum and Bailey. The group later dissolved and its members returned to Europe, but Leitzel continued to attempt to perform in the American vaudeville circuit. In South Bend, Indiana, 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.[6]

Act and personality
Leitzel performing in 1925

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 completely furnished with her own baby grand piano.[7]

Her quick temper was legendary. It was not uncommon to witness Leitzel cursing or slapping a roustabout 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.[8]

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 performer Alfredo Codona, whom she wed in 1928.

Accident and death

On February 13, 1931, she fell to the ground from her rigging while performing in Copenhagen, Denmark 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 February 15, two days after the fall, aged 39.[1] She was buried in Inglewood Park Cemetery in Inglewood, California.[9]

Honors

Lillian Leitzel was the first inductee elected into the International Circus Hall of Fame in 1958.[10]

A vintage circus poster depicting her was used as the subject of a United States postage stamp issued as part of a set on May 5, 2014.[11]

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 (ISBN 030798656X/ISBN 978-0307986566).

References
  1. "Circus Fall Fatal To Lillian Leitzel. Famous Circus Star Dead From Fall". New York Times. February 16, 1931.
  2. Liebling, A. J. "HERE COME THE CLOWNS". The New Yorker. Retrieved 2020-08-06.
  3. Dean Jensen, Queen of the Aur
  4. "Trivia on Biography of Queen of the Circus Lillian Leitzel Part 1". trivia-library.com. Retrieved 2012-01-03.
  5. "Lillian Leitzel, The High-Flying 'Queen' Of The Circus". NPR.org. Retrieved 2019-01-02.
  6. Masek, Mark. "Grave Spotlight - Lillian Leitzel". www.cemeteryguide.com. Retrieved 30 March 2013.
  7. Eckley, Wilton. The American Circus. Boston: Twayne Publishers, 1984.
  8. Willson, Dixie. "Under the Big Top", Good Housekeeping, June–October 1931.
  9. Lillian Leitzel profile, cemeteryguide.com; accessed December 5, 2016.
  10. "International Circus Hall of Fame". International Circus Hall of Fame. Retrieved 2008-08-04.
  11. Sheehan, Brian (2014-05-05). "USPS Issues Vintage Circus Posters Forever Stamps". PRNewswire. Postal News Blog. Retrieved 2016-09-29.
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