Talk:Billy Smart's Circus

History of Billy Smart’s Circus and Windsor Safari Park
1946 Founding of Billy Start's New World Circus. First ever Billy Smart’s Circus appears at Southall Park with Tommy Handley & starts BBC Radio series I.T.M.A. Circus tours alongside Smart’s Funfair. 1940s/1950s Billy Smart is believed to be the first to transport elephants by air, instead of sea. 1950 Enlarged circus travels independently from Funfair. 1951 Brand new circular, 2 pole, Big Top appears. This is an innovation: white canvas on the outside and blue on the interior, enhancing lighting effects. 2nd BBC broadcast from circus. First of many winter seasons at Bingley Hall, Birmingham. 1952 The Stoney Tribe of real Red Indians, from Canada, appear with the show. 1953 New, larger 2 pole tent appears. 1955 Arrival of the 4 pole, all blue Big Top. 1956 ‘The Wild West' major production number first featured in circus on tour. 'Circorama' a series of ten performances, produced for the BBC. 'Circus is home': BBC documentary recorded with commentary by Kay Smart (wife of Ronald Smart, eldest son of Billy Smart). 1956/7 Billy Smart is the subject of ‘This Is Your Life’, a BBC biography programme, presented by Eamonn Andrews. 1958 'Fifty Years a Showman', BBC programme to celebrate Billy Smart's career. Kay Smart guests on 'Desert Island Discs', a BBC Radio biography programme. 2nd Christmas Day TV broadcast successfully transmitted. New big top, seating 6,000, arrives. Up to three performances per day, entertaining up to 18,000 people per day. 1959 The appearance of 'The Arabian Nights' fantasy production number on tour. 'Circus of Horrors' filmed on location at Smart's in London. Gala Charity Circus in aid of Variety Club. Birma, the favourite of the Smart family’s 20 elephants, walks over Jayne Mansfield and Tommy Steele. Over the years, people, who lie down on the ground, to be walked over by Birma, include Billy Butlin (of Butlins Holiday Camps) and John Peel, a well known BBC radio DJ. Jon Pertwee (of ‘Doctor Who’) is ringmaster. 1960 'Spinners of the Big Top', devoted to the Billy Smart show and written by Pamela Macgregor Morris, is published. 2nd Variety Club Charity Gala. Billy Smart's Christmas TV Circus broadcast on Christmas Day by BBC, now established as an annual event. BBC award Billy Smart’s Circus the 'Silver Camera' for being the first programme ever to attract 20 million viewers. 1961 Billy Smart heads consortium, including Cecil and Sidney Bernstein of Granada Television; Billy Butlin of Butlins Holiday Camps; Lord Thomson, a media mogul, who owned The Times and The Sunday Times, as well as many other newspapers; and Sir Leslie Joseph, in an attempt to build a Disney style theme park in the UK. However, after Disney’s conclusion, Billy Smart decided that the technology was not sufficiently enough for a world class theme park in a part of the world with so much rain. 1961 Bruce Forsyth hosts a 3rd Variety Club Charity Gala. Billy Smart's Circus now regularly appears on BBC Television at Christmas and Easter. Regularly attracts more than 20 million viewers per televised show, throughout the 1960s and 1970s. First of a series of winter circuses staged at Queen's Hall, Leeds. 1962 H.R.H. Princess Margaret and Lord Snowden attend a Gala Charity performance. £9,000 (equivalent to approximately £200,000 in 2013) raised for N.S.P.C.C. 1965 Stars and Politicians support a charity performance given to 1,000 orphaned children. 1966 Death of Billy Smart at Ipswich. Ipswich Town lowers all flags to half mast. Mrs Billy Smart receives a standing ovation at Charity Circus performance staged at The Royal Albert Hall in aid of National Society for Mentally Handicapped Children. Joan Crawford joins Billy Smart’s Circus for production of the film ‘Berserk!’. ‘Circus of Fears’ movie made with Billy Smart’s Circus. 1967 BBC 2 broadcast the first ever colour programme on British television: a special production of Billy Smart's Circus. Birma, the elephant, walks over six disc jockeys from the new Radio 1 on BBC TV Christmas Circus. 1968 Special BBC TV production to celebrate 200 years of British Circus. 1970 Critics hail the 1970 touring season as 'the strongest year'. First of three winter seasons staged at Fairfield Hall, Croydon. 1971 Final tour of Billy Smart's Touring Circus. Last performance at Clapham Common in November. Estimated that tens of millions of live audience members had been entertained under Billy Smart’s big top by 1971. Smarts continue to record three annual circus specials for BBC from Winkfield, near Windsor, UK. 1977 Death of Mrs Billy Smart. Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II attends Gala TV performance in the Smarts’ Big Top in Windsor. Performers include Elton John, The Two Ronnies, David Frost and others. Other performers, who appeared in this or other Billy Smart’s Television Shows, over the years, included Stanley Baker, Harry Secombe, Olivia Newton John, Mike Yarwood, Leo Sayer, Gladys Knight & the Pips and Telly Savalas (Kojak). 1978 Billy Smart's TV Circuses now broadcast by ITV at Christmas and Easter. 1980 First of many 'Big Top Variety Show' series recorded under the Billy Smart Big Top for ITV. 1981 The Airey Neave Memorial Trust Thames Television Billy Smart’s Variety Show. Programme attached, with some interesting contributions, including one from Margaret Thatcher, Prime Minister at the time. 1983 Final Television Circus from Billy Smart's Circus broadcast Easter 1983. Estimated that hundreds millions of people had been entertained by Billy Smart’s television shows, around the world, by this time. 1986 Auction of remaining circus equipment at Winkfield Winter Quarters, near Windsor. Winter Quarters sold. 1993 First 'live' performances under Billy Smart's Big Top since 1971 at Richmond Old Deer Park. Windsor Safari Park (now Legoland Windsor) In the 1960s the Smart family bought the St. Leonards Estate, Windsor, from the Dodge family, of Dodge Cars. The Kennedy family spent some time living in this house, during the Second World War, when Joseph Kennedy (JFK’s father) was United States Ambassador to the United Kingdom, from 1938 until late 1940. In 1969 Princess Margaret (sister of Queen Elizabeth II of England) opens Windsor Safari Park, on behalf of the Smart family. Windsor Safari Park attracts up to 2.5m visitors per year. Many parties at the house include one attended by The Beatles. Third generation Smart cousins were singing “Hey Jude” in the ball room of the house and then in walked The Beatles, as a surprise, organised by Billy Smart Jnr. On a private visit, The Prince of Wales (eldest son of Queen Elizabeth II of England) visited Windsor Safari Park, to swim with the family killer whale, accompanied by Gary Smart (son of Ronald “Ronnie” Smart, my eldest son of Billy Smart Snr.). Mid 1970s The Smart family sells killer whale to SeaWorld, USA. Believed to be first adult killer whale flown across the Atlantic Ocean. The Smart family sells Windsor Safari Park in 1977 and, after many years and different owners, Windsor Safari Park is converted into Legoland Windsor. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Barney Herdsy (talk • contribs) 15:25, 14 February 2017 (UTC)


 * If you think any of this material should be included in the article, please provide links to reliable sources that support it. We cannot allow original research or copyright violations.  Ghmyrtle (talk) 16:43, 14 February 2017 (UTC)