GREATEST SHOW ON EARTH - 1952
“The Greatest Show on Earth” is a story about the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus. The film was produced, directed, and narrated by Cecil B. DeMille and won the Academy Award for Best Picture. The movie showed actual circus acts and a behind-the-rings look at the massive logistics effort which made big top circuses possible.
The film stars Betty Hutton and Cornel Wilde as trapeze artists competing for the center-ring, and Charlton Heston as the circus manager running the show. James Stewart also stars as a mysterious clown who never removes his make-up, even between shows.
In addition to the film actors, 1400 members of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey's Circus' troupe appear in the film, along with hundreds of animals.
Remember When
THE SATURDAY EVENING POST MAGAZINE - AN INSPIRATION FOR ALL AMERICANS
The story of The Saturday Evening Post begins with Benjamin Franklin’s Pennsylvania Gazette, which was first published in 1728, and then became known as The Saturday Evening Post in 1821. The modern era of The Saturday Evening Post began in 1897 when famed publisher, Cyrus H. K. Curtis, purchased the magazine for one thousand dollars. Each magazine sold for 5 cents a copy until 1942 when it was increased to 10 cents. Most memorable were the famous Post covers, many by Norman Rockwell, whose name grew as the magazine became popular. Rockwell sold his first two paintings to Editor George Horace Lorimer in 1916 for $ 75.00 each.
On the editorial side, The Saturday Evening Post featured short stories and commentary by such famous authors as F. Scott Fitzgerald, Sinclair Lewis, and Booth Tarkington. Perhaps more memorable to today’s baby boomers are the stories about Tugboat Annie or tractor salesman, Alexander Botts.