Billy Smart's Circus (c1946 - 2006)
Biography
Billly Smart's Circus was established by William 'Billy' Smart (1894-1966). Billy came from a fairground family from London with an interest in horses and circuses. In 1946 Billy came across Cody's Circus and bought the big top.
Billy Smart's New World Circus made its debut at Southall Park, Middlesex, on 5 April 1946, for the first full season after the end of the war. Initially, Billy run his circus in conjunction with his fun fair, which was being run by his children, but by 1952 the fun fair, which was overshadowed by the circus, disappeared. The success of the circus side of the business however continued to increase and in 1955, Billy Smart's Circus grew from its two-pole tentto a 6,000 seat, four-pole round big top with a hippodrome track around the ring, and a vast entrance tent, thus enabling the staging of spectacular parades, which became a Billy Smart's Circus trademark.
Billy's greatest innovation, however, was his relationship with the newly established television networks when he agreed to broadcast his circus live on the BBC in 1947. Over the years, Billy Smart's Christmas Spectacular became a BBC holiday tradition, which ITV took over in 1979 and carried on until 1982. The BBC's first-ever colour broadcast was a 'Tribute to Billy Smart', while Royal Performances took place in London, raising thousands of pounds for charity.
A large part of the success of the circus was the showmanship that Billy brought to the operation of the circus, the large family he could draw upon to run the shows and his ability as a showman to market and capture opportunities to advertise. Whilst other circus proprietors were threatened by the rise in popularity of television and shunned the cameras, Billy Smart embraced them. Smart's Circus grew to be one of the largest in the world, touring every part of the British Isles, and with permanent quarters and an associated zoo at Winkfield, Berkshire, not far from where Smart began his fairground career. His success took the circus through twenty-six tenting tours, winter seasons, frequent TV appearances and the provision of animal acts to other circuses.
Billy died in his caravan on 25 September 1966 and the circus passed onto his sons Ronnie, David and Billy Jr. who continued travelling Billy Smart's New World Circus until around 1971.
In the 1990s Ronnie and his sons Gary and Lord revived the Smart Circus and started to tour a smaller scale version of the original circus. However, the Smart Circus was never the same after the dead of Billy and soon after, the Smart name was rented out to other circus operators until it stopped operating in the early 2000s.
Found in 1051 Collections and/or Records:
Business Records Relating to Scotland Leases, 1994 - 1995
Records relating to a lease between the city of Aberdeen District Council and Patio Hotel (Aberdeen) Limited.
Business Records Relating to Smart's Circus, 1976 - 1994
Includes correspondence with World Distributors Publishing; photographs of the Smart family and Smart's Circus infrastructure; promotional material, photographs, contracts, correspondence, immigration documents and work permits for various artists for the 1994 and 1995 seasons of Smart's Circus including Les Fernandos, Mik and Mak Clowns, Volkovy Duo, Troupe Ben Karim and Trio Paulovitsch.
Business Records Relating to Smart's Circus, 1993 - 1994
Includes correspondence, contracts, work permits, immigration documents and travel documents for various artists for the 1993 and 1994 seasons of Smart's Circus.
Business Records Relating to Smart's Circus, c1990 - 1994
Includes contracts, work permit applications and correspondence between Smart's Circus and various artists including the Kis Faludy Troupe and the Gladiators Troupe. Also includes photographs and printed images of various acts and artistes collected by the Smart Family for research for performing in Smart's Circus including Jane Whitney speciality acts and Andrew & Jacqueline.
Business Records Relating to Smart's Circus, 1966 - 2001
Includes Billy Smart's Circus Facts and Figures 1971, press hand out, poster design, promotional material for circuses in other countries, contact lists, blank television contract, canteen menu from 1993, promotional booklet for Guernsey Zoo and information for the sale of a hospitality trailer once owned by Smart's Circus.
Business Records Relating to Smart's Circus, 1976 - 1997
Includes correspondence from the Variety Club of Great Britain, correspondence to Angelo Munoz, BBC London Letter publication issue no. 1545 which features the killer whale Ramu who once lived at Windsor Safari Park, quotes from the press about Smart's Circus and a letter from Paul Harley-Green to Ronald Smart.
Business Records Relating to Smart's Circus and the Smart Family, 1966 - 2004
Includes Ronnie Smart's heavy goods vehicle drivers licence, tickets and invitations for Smart's Circus performances, sales brochure for mobile hospitality suite once owned by the Smart family in Surrey, correspondence from Cyril B. Mills, catalogue of Smart's Circus miniature models, information about Kitty Joyce, correspondence from Buckingham Palace and correspondence from the BBC regarding the television show Time Shift special on British circuses.
Business Records Relating to Smart's Circus Marketing, 1980 - 2000
Includes leaflets from circuses from all over the world collected as research for designing Smart's Circus leaflets and programmes, leaflet designs, programme proofs and mock ups, photographs for potential use in programmes, tickets, 'Reflections of Gary Smart - Man and Boy' draft text and a 'Not a lot of people know that!' document written by David Hibling.
Business Records Relating to Smart's Circus Tours 2000 and 2001, 1999 - 2000
Includes correspondence between Smart's Circus and Birmingham, Southend on Sea, Epsom, Brent, York, Hull, Watford and Brighton Hove Councils requesting permission to use their parks as sites for Smart's Circus the 2000 and 2001 tours.
Business Records Relating to Sonny Hayes & Co., 1993
Includes correspondence, a contract, a photograph and a proposed script for the opening of the 1993 Smart's Circus tour from the act Sonny & Hayes Co.
Business Records Relating to Southsea Marine Land Seawater Filtration, 1962 - 1968
Southsea Marine Land, Winkfield Zoo. Includes travel itineraries, quotations, plans and a copy of Guernsey Evening Press and Star.
Business Records Relating to Stardust Circus, 1997 - 1998
Includes correspondence between Smart's Circus and Stardust Circus about payments, invoices and the sale of Smart's Circus outfit.
Business Records Relating to Sylvia Schickler and Nikolai Tovarich, 1993 - 1994
Includes correspondence, invoices, a contract and ferry tickets for Sylvia Schicker and Nikolai Tovarich and their horse act for the 1993 season of Smart's Circus.
Business Records Relating to Tatiana and Andre and Co., 1996 - 1997
Includes contracts, work permit applications and permits and correspondence for Tatiana and Andre and Co. for the 1997 season of Billy Smart's Circus.
Business Records Relating to Thames Television International, 1975 - 1986
Includes invoices, costings, payment information and correspondence between Smart's Circus and Thames Television International regarding the commissioning and broadcasting of various Smart's Circus programmes in various countries.
Business Records Relating to Thames Television Work, 1978 - 1999
Includes correspondence, contracts and invoices between Thames T.V. and Smart's Circus.
Business Records Relating to Thames T.V. Work, 1978 - 1982
Includes letters and contracts between Thames T.V. and Smart's Circus and payments.
Business Records Relating to the 22nd International Circus Festival in Monte Carlo, 1997 - 1998
Includes tickets, leaflets, correspondence, booking confirmations and schedules for Ronnie and Kay Smart's trip to Monte Carlo in 1997 for the 22nd International Circus Festival.
Business Records Relating to the Ali Hassani Troupe, 1994 - 1998
Includes accommodation agreements, work permits and travel documents for the Ali Hassani Troupe for the 1994, 1995 and 1998 tours of Smart's Circus.
Business Records Relating to the Argentinian Devils, 1998
Includes visas, work permits, contracts and travel documents for performers the Argentinian Devils for the 1997 and 1998 tours of Smart's Circus.