Con Colleano facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Con Colleano
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| Born |
Cornelius Sullivan
26 December 1899 |
| Died | 13 November 1973 (aged 73) Miami, Florida, U.S.
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| Occupation | Tightrope walker |
| Spouse(s) | Winifred Constance Stanley Trevail |
Con Colleano was a famous Australian tightrope walker. He was born Cornelius Sullivan on December 26, 1899, and passed away on November 13, 1973. Con was the first person ever to do a forward somersault on a tightrope! This amazing trick made him one of the most popular and highest-paid circus stars of his time. People called him "The Wizard of the Wire" or "The Toreador of the Wire."
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Early Life of Con Colleano
Con Colleano, whose birth name was Cornelius Sullivan, was born in Lismore, New South Wales, Australia. This was on December 26, 1899. He was the third of ten children. His mother, Julia Vittorine Sullivan, had a mixed background. Her father was from the Danish West Indies (now the U.S. Virgin Islands), and her mother was partly from the Bundjalung people, an Aboriginal group.
Around 1907, when Con was seven, his family moved to Lightning Ridge, New South Wales. This town was a new opal mining area. Here, Con got some basic schooling. He also started learning circus skills from the different shows that visited the town.
Con Colleano's Circus Career
By 1910, some of Con's family members were old enough to perform. They started a small circus group called the "Collinos." They chose this Italian-sounding name to help hide their Indigenous heritage. They traveled around New South Wales. They also worked for bigger traveling circuses to earn more money.
By 1918, their group was bigger and known as "Colleano's All-Star Circus." They even traveled through Queensland on their own rented train. The children in the group were called "The Royal Hawaiian Troupe," again to help explain their darker skin.
In 1919, Con finally mastered a very difficult trick: a foot-to-foot forward somersault on the tightrope. This amazing move would make him famous. In 1922, he was hired by the popular Tivoli circuit, a major place for vaudeville shows in Australia. He earned a high salary of £60 a week. His siblings also performed there as "Eight Akbar Arabs."
Becoming a World-Famous Performer
Con learned many dance moves from his fiancée, Winifred Constance Stanley "Winnie" Trevail. He then used these moves on the tightrope. This helped him get ready to perform overseas and become even more famous.
When he first performed in South Africa, he was introduced as Australian. But in April 1924, he changed his act. He started using a Spanish bullfighter persona. This act would make him famous for most of his career. In September 1924, he performed at the New York Hippodrome Theatre. Soon, the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, the biggest circus in the United States, hired him.
His new act was exciting! It included graceful bullfighting movements in the ring. Then, he would perform Spanish dance moves on the tightrope. He would finish with his dangerous forward somersault.
Throughout the 1930s, Con was the main star of Ringling Bros. He earned an amazing US$1000 per week! At that time, the circus tent could hold up to 16,000 people. In the winter, he performed in Europe on the vaudeville circuit. He was very popular there.
In 1937, Con returned to Sydney, Australia for shows at the Tivoli. He kept performing in the U.S. into the 1940s. He even appeared on television on the Texaco Star Theater in 1952. His farm in Pennsylvania became a place where his siblings and their children could stay between shows. In 1950, he and his wife Winnie became citizens of the United States.
Con Colleano's Later Years
In 1956, Con and Winnie moved back to Australia. They bought a hotel in Forbes, New South Wales. After a while, they returned to America. Con went back to performing on the tightrope. He finished his career in Honolulu in 1960.
Con and Winnie did not have any children of their own. Con was the uncle of American actor Bonar Colleano. He was also the great-uncle of American actor Jack Stehlin.
Death
Con Colleano passed away at his home in Miami in 1973. His wife Winnie survived him. She later moved back to Australia and passed away in Sydney in 1986.
Con Colleano's Heritage
Con Colleano's father was white. His mother was the daughter of a West Indian father and a part-Aboriginal mother. When Australia became a nation, there were laws that aimed to create a white society. These laws made it hard for people of mixed race to get good jobs. However, the circus offered a special chance for them to find work.
When Con performed in South Africa, he started using his Spanish bullfighter act. Being seen as Spanish was helpful for his career. He continued to be seen as Spanish for most of his life. He was generally not very concerned about his heritage within the accepting world of the circus.
Honors for Con Colleano
In 1997, Australia Post honored Con Colleano on a postage stamp. The stamp showed a poster called The Wizard of the Wire. May Wirth, another famous circus performer, was also honored on the same stamp.
Con Colleano's Legacy
Con Colleano inspired many people. Jack Wilson and Joe Keppel met in Colleano's Circus after the First World War. They later formed a famous act called Wilson, Keppel and Betty.
Con Colleano was added to the International Circus Hall of Fame in 1966. His wife, Winifred Colleano, was also honored in 1975.
His life was celebrated in a show called Skipping on Stars (2004) by The Flying Fruit Fly Circus. Artist Karla Dickens also celebrated his life in her multimedia art installation called A Dickensian Circus in 2020.
