Her long, honey-colored hair caught the eye of John Ringling North who was organizing a circus parade. He was looking for an Alice in Wonderland. Menasha's Connie Clausen (1923-1997) didn't particularly like circuses, but her father loved them! Traveling with the Ringling Brothers, Barnum & Bailey Circus would be her ticket to the world. Her mother, Edith, said," Art Clausen, if she gets mangled by one of those awful beasts, I'll never forgive you--never." Connie would work with the biggest of all land beasts--the elephants.
The former St. Mary Catholic School student performed with the Greatest Show on Earth for two years in the early 1940s. Connie was 1 of 9 female artists who formed the pachyderm ballet, and she had a brief romance with an acrobat. She, also, witnessed a devastating fire in Cleveland, Ohio where many exotic animals perished or had to be shot. These experiences led to her largely comical autobiography of circus life. Excerpts of her book appeared in the Readers Digest in 1960.
Leaving the carnival world, both Connie and her sister "Lolly" went to Hollywood. While Lolly studied voice and music, Connie worked in MGM marketing--rubbing elbows with the likes of Spencer Tracy. Encouraged to go to NYC, she worked as a Conover model and appeared in the January 1948 issue of Woman's Day Magazine. As the wife of TV producer Bruce Anderson, her biggest accomplishment may have been giving birth to twin boys in 1954.
Throughout the 1950s-1960s, Connie performed on Broadway and in television productions (including the soap opera "Love of Life"). She became the face of Beech-Nut baby food and Westinghouse appliances. When her circus book came out in 1961, the now Mrs. Alvin Hollander, included the Twin-Cities in her book tour.
*Partial Re-Post from April 22, 2022.
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