George Levasseur - Ringling Brothers Circus Strongman

George Levasseur - Ringling Brothers Circus Strongman

This spectacular elephant lifting stunt of
George Levasseur's turns the calander back to the year 1907 when the Ringling Bros. billed the Detroit-born strongman as "The Strongest Man on Earth."

Levasseur was the center ring attraction with this and other dramatic displays of his strength such as allowing a large motor car filled with passengers to drive over his body.

Another sensational stunt was known as "The Human Chain where the daring strongman would resist the pulling powers of two teams of horses tugging in opposite directions in vain to seperate his clenched arms.

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Joan Rhodes

Joan Rhodes
The lovely Joan Rhodes looked every bit the blonde bombshell but could perform incredible feats of strength that most men twice her size could not even dream of accomplishing. She left home at the age of 13 to join the circus where she was "adopted" by the Strongman who taught her how to build her strength.

She was featured prominantly in magazines articles and newsreel clips bending iron bars, breaking nails, and tearing phonebooks as shown in this classic shot from the 1950's.

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Ivan Poddubny - "The Russian Hercules"

Ivan Poddubny was one of the greatest of the Russian Strongman wrestlers. He was born in a small village and worked hard jobs even from a young age. After some training, he joined the russian circus, performing feats of strength and wrestling all comers. After 40 years, he retired undefeated on both counts. He is still a well-known sports hero in Russia with several big wrestling tournaments bearing his name.

Ivan Poddubny - "The Russian Hercules"

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Louis Cyr's Protege: Horace Barre

Horace Barre was Louis Cyr's protege as they traveled the country performing in the John Robinson Circus. Barre was often referred to as the "French Herculese" or the "French Sampson" and, like his mentor, he excelled in such oldtime strongman feats as the back lift, hefting heavy dumbbells overhead and barrel lifting.

Horace Barre

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The Saxon Trio Perform at The Ringling Brothers Circus

The Saxon Trio Perform at The Ringling Brothers Circus
Here's a look at a very rare Ringling Brothers Circus Poster featuring Arthur Saxon and the other members of the Saxon Trio.

The poster shows a few of their feats which included several amazing supporting feats - the most impressive being the "human bridge" supporting over six thousand pounds as a car with several passengers drove over a planks that two of the members of the Saxon Trio held up with their feet.

That must have been a great one to see in person.

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Circus Strongman George Levasseur's Classic Stage Weights

Circus Strongman George Levasseur's Classic Stage Weights

George Levasseur was the "Strongman" at the Ringling Brothers Circus during the early part of the 20th century. He was famous for his Backlifting ability but he performed all manner of classical strongman feats, including lifting several unusual "stage" weights as pictured here: Globe barbells, dumbbells and kettlebells.

Notice the Thick Handles on the globe barbells.

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Louis Cyr and Horace Barre' - John Robinson's $25,000 Challenge Feature

Louis Cyr and Horace Barre' - John Robinson's $25,000 Challenge Feature
During the 1898 Circus Season, Canadian Strongman Louis Cyr and his assstant/protege' Horace Barre performed their unique feats of strength all around the country in the John Robinson Circus.

As they criss-crossed the map, John Robinson put up $25,000 for any person who could duplicate any one of either of their feats.

Their performance included the back lift, Cyr's Barrel Lifting Feat, supporting feats, and lifting other heavy dumbbells or blockweights of various sizes and shapes.

Adjusting for inflation, that would be nearly $600,000 today, and, ironically enough, their money would still be safe...

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