Antoinette Concello
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
April 22, 1910
"Queen of the Flying Trapeze"[2]
Antoinette Concello | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | Marie Antoinette Comeau April 22, 1910 Sutton, Quebec, Canada |
| Died | February 5, 1984 (aged 73) Sarasota, Florida, U.S. |
| Resting place | Park Hill Cemetery[1] |
| Other names | "Tony" "Queen of the Flying Trapeze"[2] |
| Occupation |
|
| Employer | Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus |
| Known for | Flying Trapeze |
| Spouse | Arthur M. Concello |
| Awards | Circus Hall of Fame (1963)[3] |
Antoinette Concello (April 22, 1910 – February 5, 1984) was a Canadian-American trapeze artist who became the first woman to perform a triple somersault on the flying trapeze. She was inducted into the Circus Hall of Fame in 1963.
Marie Antoinette Comeau was born on April 22, 1910, in Sutton, Quebec, Canada.[4] Her parents were Toussaint and DeJane Hudson Comeau.[2]
She spent four years in a convent school in Montreal.[2]
Circus life
In the late 1920s, she visited her older sister Gertrude "Mickey" King, a member of an aerial troupe known as the Flying Wards.[2] Antoinette, then sixteen years old, was introduced to the circus life by her sister, who had been performing with the Sells Floto Circus in Detroit.[5] Antoinette became part of the circus in 1927.[6] She made her debut performing an Iron Jaw act, suspended by her teeth from a leather strap.[7]
While training with the Flying Wards in Bloomington, Illinois, she met an expert trapeze artist, Art Concello, whom she later married. Art trained her in becoming a flyer—or leaper—in trapeze performance. With Art, she helped execute the flying trapeze act of the Flying Concello troupe.[8]
In 1931, the circus aerialists joined the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus under John Ringling North.[9] For many seasons, the Flying Concellos performed with the circus company.[8]
During her aerial routines, Antoinette regularly executed two and a half somersaults.[10] Once she had mastered various aerial stunts, she was prepared by Art Concello to attempt the triple somersault, among the most difficult flying tricks. In the summer of 1937 in Detroit, he decided she was ready.[11] She landed the triple somersault at the Detroit Shrine Circus, with Edward Ward Jr. as her catcher.[12] Antoinette gained international fame as the first woman to perform a triple somersault on the flying trapeze.[9] Both her and Art's ability to each perform the triple made them an unmatched act for much of that time.[13]
After injuring her right shoulder in 1943, she returned to performing aerial acts in 1949.[11]
Antoinette Concello was hired in 1950 by filmmaker Cecil B. DeMille to train Betty Hutton ahead of her trapeze artist role in The Greatest Show on Earth.[14] Concello made a cameo appearance in DeMille's 1952 film.[8] She also coached Cornel Wilde and Dorothy Lamour for their trapeze scenes.[2]
Following her retirement from performing in 1953, Concello remained at the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus as the show's aerial director, a position she held until 1983.[2] She was responsible for choreographing the aerial ballet and conducting daily checks with every member of the aerial corps.[15]
Filmography
Concello acted in the following film:[16]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1952 | The Greatest Show on Earth | Herself | |
