Royal American Shows ( RAS ) were a leading American traveling carnival company that operated from the 1920s to the 1990s in the United States and, until the 1970s, in Canada. The company promoted itself as the "Most Beautiful Show on Earth", with the "World's Largest Midway ."
25-540: Sedlmayr is a surname. Notable people with the surname are: Carl J. Sedlmayr (1886–1965), American founder and owner of Royal American Shows Hans Sedlmayr (1896-1984) Austrian art historian Helene Sedlmayr (1813-1898) German beauty of the 19th century Walter Sedlmayr (1926–1990) German stage, television, and film actor from Bavaria Max Sedlmeyer (redirect from Max Sedlmayr), German mountaineer and climber [REDACTED] Surname list This page lists people with
50-404: A bullwhip in some of his Republic Pictures Westerns made during the same period. LaRue made frequent personal appearances at small-town movie theaters that were showing his films during his heyday of 1948 to 1951, a common practice for cowboy stars in those days. However, his skillful displays of stunts with his whip, done live on movie theater stages, also convinced young Western fans that there
75-696: A clone of Lash LaRue?" LaRue is seen on the 1986 Johnny Cash and Waylon Jennings duet album Heroes . On the back cover, LaRue is standing with the duo. In Quentin Tarantino 's 1994 film Pulp Fiction , Winston Wolfe ( Harvey Keitel ) jokingly refers to Vincent Vega ( John Travolta ) as "Lash LaRue". Professional wrestler Mark LeRoux borrowed his ring name from LaRue, dubbing himself "Lash LeRoux" in 1999. Lash LaRue Western comic books were published first by Fawcett Comics (issues #1 through 46) and later by Charlton Comics (issues #47 through 84), between 1949 and 1961. The first issue alone today
100-539: A radio, film and television actress. Their marriage lasted 14 months; they wed February 23, 1951 in Yuma, Arizona , and divorced June 2, 1952. They had no children but did have a godchild, child actor J.P. Sloane, the son of "Television's Singing Troubadour" Jimmie Jackson and "Television's Hollywood Hostess" Anita Coleman. In the later 1950s, LaRue was featured on the children's program The Gabby Hayes Show (in footage from his old PRC Westerns). He appeared several times on
125-552: Is different from Wikidata All set index articles Carl J. Sedlmayr The company was established by Carl John Sedlmayr (October 20, 1886 – November 4, 1965). Sedlmayr was born in Falls City, Nebraska , of German ancestry, and after his father died in 1897 was sent to live with relatives in Kansas City, Missouri . He started work as a travelling salesman for fountain pens , but became interested in
150-445: The surname Sedlmayr . If an internal link intending to refer to a specific person led you to this page, you may wish to change that link by adding the person's given name (s) to the link. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Sedlmayr&oldid=1031876887 " Categories : Surnames German-language surnames Hidden categories: Articles with short description Short description
175-531: The syndicated television series 26 Men , true stories of the Arizona Rangers . LaRue also appeared on Jimmie Jackson's television show Memory Lane . He appeared seven times in different roles in the 1956 TV Western Judge Roy Bean . One of his roles on Judge Roy Bean was as the outlaw John Wesley Hardin . He portrayed another real-life criminal, Doc Barker , in the TV series Gangbusters , which
200-534: The 1920s and 1930s as Sedlmayr signed lucrative contracts with state fairs and festivals throughout the Midwest , Southern United States , and western Canada. The company claimed that its carnival was "dedicated to the principle of carrying clean, high-class entertainment to the public". The company won its first contract with the Calgary Stampede in 1934, and Sedlmayr became "the undisputed king of
225-781: The 1974 Statler Brothers song "Whatever Happened to Randolph Scott ?". Writer/singer/producer Bruce Blackman of the pop group Starbuck wrote and recorded the tribute song "Lash LaRue", included on their 1976 album Moonlight Feels Right . He was mentioned in the Shel Silverstein song "The Great Conch Train Robbery" in Silverstein's 1980 album of the same name. A fifth season episode of Rockford Files , "A Material Difference", has Rockford confronting his notorious sidekick Angel Martin at an outdoor restaurant, asking of his leather jacket and dark clothing, "What are you,
250-583: The PRC brand name for its Westerns), and finally for producer Ron Ormond . It was at this time that he developed his image as cowboy hero Lash LaRue, dressed all in black. Al St. John had been Buster Crabbe 's comic sidekick in PRC Westerns; after Crabbe left the studio, St. John's character "Fuzzy Q. Jones" was written into the Lash LaRue scripts. Lash LaRue was different from the usual cowboy hero of
275-538: The Royal behemoth in quantity, diversity and splendor." By 1967, the company was regularly moving over 800 people, together with livestock and equipment, and "carried the greatest number of flatcars ever carried by any traveling amusement organization in the world." After Carl J. Sedlmayr Sr. died in 1965, the business was run by his son Carl J. Sedlmayr Jr. (1919–2001) and grandson Carl J. Sedlmayr III (1945–1991). The increasing cost of rail transport affected
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#1732781146503300-728: The Western Canadian "A" circuit of fairs in 1946, and its shows starred Lash LaRue , exotic dancers Gypsy Rose Lee and Sally Rand , and Leon Claxton 's all-black musical revue Harlem in Havana . The fairground rides embraced new technology that had been developed in World War II, and included four Ferris wheels placed side by side. The company continued to expand and develop through the 1950s. According to circus historian Fred Dahlinger Jr.: "Always innovative in presentation, technology and operation, few carnivals approached
325-521: The adult nature of the film and would not have consented to appear in the film. He did not actually appear in any of the pornographic scenes. The film was later released without the pornographic scenes and retitled Hard Trail in an attempt to eliminate the double entendre . LaRue died of emphysema in 1996 at Providence Saint Joseph Medical Center in Burbank , California. He had recently undergone triple-bypass surgery and suffered from emphysema . He
350-560: The carnival circuit". In 1938, when employees at the Barnum & Bailey Circus went on strike, RAS were able to expand further into spaces left vacant by the circus, but during World War II , restrictions on rail use meant that the company was unable to travel to Canada. From about 1931, the company employed Tom Parker , later the manager of Elvis Presley . Through his work as a " carny " with RAS, selling candy apples , Parker met his future wife, Marie Mott, and acquired an awareness of
375-567: The cultural and political dynamics of the South and Midwest. He left Royal American Shows in 1938. The partnership between Sedlmayr and the Velare brothers continued until the early 1940s. Sedlmayr then owned and operated the Rubin & Cherry shows for two years in partnership with Sam Soloman, before relaunching Royal American Shows as the company's sole owner in the mid-1940s. The company regained
400-449: The era. Dressed in black, he spoke with a "city tough-guy" accent somewhat like that of Humphrey Bogart , whom he physically resembled. His use of a bullwhip, however, was what set him apart from contemporary cowboy stars such as Gene Autry and Roy Rogers . His influence was felt throughout the dying medium of B-Westerns; for example, he had an imitator, Whip Wilson , who starred in his own brief series, and even Roy Rogers started using
425-708: The fairground lifestyle. In 1907 he took a job as a ticket seller in Chicago , and later started opening his own sideshow attractions. After gaining experience as a showman, he and a partner bought the Siegrist & Silbon Shows in 1921. Sedlmayr took sole ownership and changed the company name to Royal American Shows in 1923. In 1924 he began running the company in partnership with two brothers, Curtis J. Velare (1880–1970) and Elmer C. Velare (1884–1947), who specialized in operating and running mechanical fairground rides . The business expanded rapidly through
450-607: The finances of the company. In 1975, while in Regina, Saskatchewan at Buffalo Days, after undercover surveillance of the operation, Revenue Canada in conjunction with the RCMP raided the midway operation, seizing records and equipment. The company was accused of tax evasion and fraud by the Canadian authorities, and Sedlmayr Jr. was placed under arrest. He was freed after paying an outstanding tax bill. The inquiry into RAS affairs led to
475-760: The foundation of the Alberta Gaming Commission . Sedlmayr Jr. vowed never to return to Canada, and many of the company's properties remained in storage there until the 1990s. The company continued to operate in the United States, but steadily diminished in size. The last RAS show was staged in Lubbock, Texas , in 1997. The Shows' equipment and materials were sold by auction at its winter base in Tampa, Florida , in 1999. Lash LaRue Alfred "Lash" LaRue (June 15, 1917 – May 21, 1996)
500-411: The small PRC studio, launched a new Western series with a difference: the features would be filmed in then-unusual Cinecolor . Singing cowboy Eddie Dean starred, with "Al LaRue" featured as "The Cheyenne Kid" and using a bullwhip expertly to disarm villains. LaRue graduated to his own starring series (as "Cheyenne") in 1947, first for PRC, then for its successor Eagle-Lion (which continued to use
525-544: Was Wilson and that Lash was born in Michigan. LaRue was originally screen tested by Warner Bros. but was rejected because he looked too much like Humphrey Bogart , then one of the studio's contract stars. He signed a contract with Universal Pictures in 1944 as "Alfred LaRue", appearing in two Deanna Durbin musicals and a serial. Durbin and LaRue were romantically involved during his tenure there. In 1945 independent producer Robert Emmett Tansey , releasing through
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#1732781146503550-561: Was a Western motion picture star of the 1940s and 1950s. Born Alfred LaRue in Gretna, Louisiana in 1917, he was reared in various towns throughout Louisiana, but in his teens the family moved to Los Angeles , California , where he attended St. John's Military Academy and the College of the Pacific . Strangely, his California death records reportedly indicate the actor's father's surname
575-402: Was at least one cowboy hero who could perform in real life the things he did on screen. He continued working in films and television until he retired in 1990. For a time he was married to Reno Browne , a B-Western film actress, who together with Dale Evans was one of only two Western actresses ever to have their own comic book fashioned after their characters. He later married Barbra Fuller ,
600-473: Was cremated at Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Glendale, California . He was survived by his wife, Frances Bramlett LaRue, three sons and three daughters. He had reportedly been married at least ten times. LaRue was mentioned in the 1973 song "Childhood – 1949", written and recorded by Bobby Goldsboro as the B-side to his hit single "Summer (The First Time)". He is one of many classic Western stars mentioned in
625-574: Was later recut into the film Guns Don't Argue . LaRue and Steve Brodie shared the role (from 1959–1961) of Sheriff Johnny Behan in Cochise County , Arizona , on ABC 's The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp , starring Hugh O'Brian . LaRue appeared five times; Brodie, nine times. A role as the villain in a pornographic Western, Hard on the Trail , in 1972, led him to repentance as a missionary for ten years, as he had not been informed of
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