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Did You Know, Mr. King drank a case of Coca Cola a day.
He refered to everyone as "Son". |
Floyd King was truly the "King" of the circus business.
Floyd King knew the ups and the downs that are a part of show business. Twice in his life he amassed a fortune and twice he lost everything.
King was not the biggest or the smallest show owner, but he competed with all of them. In one way or another he was privy to many of the largest circus transactions in the 20 century.
when he was on top , as he was for most of his life, his abilities were strong enough to be a thorn in the side of the biggest competitors. Like most successful show owners he had boosters and knockers, but to a man they all declared that Floyd King was a true showman.
Floyd King was born in Hickman, Ky., to parents R. M. King (1850 - 1910) and Emma M. Hassell King (1858 - 1938). Floyd's father was a Methodist minister. The year after Floyd's birth the family moved to Memphis where he completed high school then Mr. king then attended Trinity College, (Duke University) where he obtained a B.A. Degree.
After obtaining his B. A. degree, without telling his parents Floyd joined Cherokee Ed's Wild West Show as a "butcher". The 10 car railroad show folded after only ten days so Floyd had to return to Memphis to explain his recent activities to his parents.
He then went to work for a Memphis newspaper, first as a copy-boy and then as a reporter. In 1912 he sent some of his by-lines to Harold Bushea, general agent of the Al G. Barnes Circus and was hired immediately.
R. M. Harvey of the Hagenbeck-Wallace Circus noticed King's work when the two shows played Duluth, Mn.. In 1913 Harvey met King in Chicago and hired him for press man on Hagenbeck_Wallace.
in 1919 King partnered with his brother Howard and started their own show, Sanger's Great European Shows. Floyd chose the Sanger name because of a supply of posters available with that title. In 1921 the Kings bought their second elephant from Jerry Mugivan. The show opened that year as Sanger but when the cache of Sanger posters ran out they switched to Hugo Bros finding left over paper from that ill fated Iowa show.
In 1924 they operated as Harris Bros. and experienced the most profitable season they had to date. The following year (1924) Andrew Downie sold his Walter L. Main show and the King leased the Main name for $ 75.00 a week. Floyd then went to the American Circus Corporation in Peru, In. and purchased 4 flat cars, 2 stock cars, draft horses, harness, a pole wagon and a steam calliope that had been used on the John Robinson circus. The circus continued to grow and profit.
In 1925 a bank in Kansas was trying to sell the Gentry Bros.-James Patterson Circus. Floyd King and John Pluto, (former owner of Golden Bros. Circus) went to Kansas and and bought the show for $ 40,000. Shortly after Floyd bought out Pluto share in the circus.
The King Brothers now owned two railroad circuses. The equipment was shuffled around with the better going to make up the Walter L Main Show. In effect the 15 car Gentry Bros.-James Patterson Circus became the Walter L. Main show and the 10 car Walter L. Main became the Gentry Bros. Circus.
Howard managed the larger Main show, Jess Adkins managed Gentry and Floyd was general agent for both. Adkins left in 1928 and Floyd took over as manager of the smaller show.
Things had gone well for the King brothers until the 1928 season. They switched the titles of the two shows making the Gentry Bros the larger. Business had been bad in the 1929 season for the Gentry Circus. The show owed a 14,000 thousand paper bill and payments were due on the railway cars. The show folded on October 22, 1929.
In 1929 Floyd took the show out under the Cole Bros. World Toured Circus. The show completed the 1929 season and wintered in Texas. in 1930 the show folded mid season, this temporarily ended the King Brothers circus empire. Floyd went back to where he had started, as press agent for the Al G. Barnes Circus 1931-1934. Late in the 1934 season he was transferred to Hagenbeck-Wallace.
Jess Adkins was the Hagenbeck manager and left to join Zack Terrell in framing a new show. King went along as general agent. Adkins and Terrell were looking for a title, King suggested Cole Bros.
In 1938 Adkins and Terrell took out a second circus the Robbins Bros. Another bad season forced the Cole Bros. to close early, few circuses made a full season that year but the Robbins show did finish their season. The next season the two shows combined equipment and went out as Cole Bros. for which Floyd was agent.
For the next few years Floyd took out "wildlife Shows", (walk through animal exhibits which played fairs). He started with one and by 1945 owned a string of 4.
1n 1945 Floyd King bought the Bud Anderson Circus and much of Clyde Beatty's truck show. In 1946 Floyd took the circus out as the King Bros. Circus, this was the first time that the King Bros. Circus Title was used.
In 1949 Floyd partnered with Lucio Cristiani and the King Cristiani title was born. The partnership continued continued until 1954 when Arnold Maley took over Cristiani's interest. 1954 was a very good season but in 1955 they enlarged the show to a 70 truck circus. This proved too much to handle and in 56 they divided the show into two smaller shows but both closed early.
This was the end of Floyd's career as circus owner but not his career in the circus business. In 1956 when Frank McClosky and Walter Kernan bought the Clyde Beatty Circus, Floyd was hired as general agent where he served for many years.
In 1961 Bob Snowden operated a circus under the King Bros. title which was purchased in 1962 by McClosky and Kernan.
During Floyd King career he owned and operated many shows under many titles including "The Hit Parade", which was a combination musical review and circus featuring singers, dancers, circus and novelty acts.
Mr. King's last job was an advisor with James H. Drew Shows. until he died August 24, 1976 at Macon, Georgia, age 88.
In 1977 Floyd L. King was inducted into the Circus Hall of Fame.
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