The circus film Trapeze was about the desire to do a triple somersault by a young flyer who found the one man that knew how to do it. Featuring Tony Curtis, Burt Lancaster and Gina Lollabrigida, it became a circus classic.Filmed in 1956 in Cirque D'Hiver and at the nearby Billancourt Studios, Eddie Ward, famed flyer on American Circuses served as the Technical Director. Burt Lancaster had gotten his start in the Circus back in the late 1930's on Kay Bros. Circus and had become a flyer. He did his own flying in the movie.
Tony Curtis was the youthful, physically fit flyer with a dream to catch the Triple Somersault that had eluded all others except, Mike Ribble who was only the 6th man to ever perform the triple.
Tony Curtis died in Las Vegas last night at the age of 85.
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In Billy Barton's "Story of Fay Alexander", in CIRCUS REPORT (March 21-May 17, 1976), he recounts the filming of TRAPEZE
(1956). Fay did the flying for Tony Curtis, and received screen credit as Technical Advisor--Flying Sequences. Willie Krause doubled in the catch trap for Burt Lancaster, and Eddie Ward, to his dismay, was made up as Gina Lollobrigida's Lola, who did girl tricks and dropped bars for Fay, as Tino Orsini. In Lancaster's circus career, he and Nick Cravat partnered in a bar act, but never worked flying trapeze. In a letter to Fay, Lancaster wrote that "whatever success comes to this film, we owe it all to you."
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