Gerry Cottle | |
|---|---|
| Born | Gerald Ward Cottle (1945-04-07)7 April 1945 Carshalton,Surrey, England |
| Died | 13 January 2021(2021-01-13) (aged 75) Bath, Somerset, England |
| Occupations | Businessman,circus owner, owner ofWookey Hole Caves |
Gerald Ward Cottle[1] (7 April 1945 – 13 January 2021)[2][3] was a Britishcircus owner and the owner of theWookey Hole Caves inSomerset. He presented theMoscow State Circus andChinese State Circus in Britain, founded Gerry Cottle's Circus, and co-foundedThe Circus of Horrors.
Gerry Cottle was born inCarshalton,Surrey to Reg and Joan Ward Cottle.[4][1][5] His father was astockbroker and grand-master in theFreemasons and his mother was a former air stewardess.[6][5] Gerry Cottle was educated atRutlish School,Merton Park, south London.[5]
After seeing Jack Hilton's Circus inEarl's Court when he was eight years old, Gerry was inspired to work in the circus. He learned how to juggle with oranges and sometimes was invited by his father to his Freemasons lodge to entertain the members.[1] For two summers he worked atChessington Zoo Circus and learned how to ride a unicycle.[1]
Cottle left home in 1961 at the age of 16 to join the Robert Brothers Circus.[7][1] He joined the Robert Brothers Circus inNewcastle, earning £6 a week as an apprentice and by 1968 was a clown called Scats.[1][8] Cottle started by doing menial tasks, but worked his way up to have his ownjuggling act, billed asGerry Melville the Teenage Juggler.[9]
Also in 1970, he met Brian Austen, who worked in the James Brothers Circus. The two formed the Embassy Circus in July 1970 with just five performers; Cottle, Austen, their wives and Austen's brother.[1][10][11] They changed their name to Cottie & Austen's Circus however the two went their separate ways in 1974.[1]
After leaving Austen, Gerry established hisBig Top in 1974 and ran it until 2003.[12] By the mid-1970s the Gerry Cottle Circus was touring Britain with three shows.[13] The show appeared regularly on the first four series ofSeaside Special.[1] He also presented theMoscow State Circus andChinese State Circus in Britain.[11]
In 1979, the Circus visitedIran for a performance, however the tour started at the same time as theIranian Revolution, meaning none of the countries citizens were allowed to leave their homes, resulting in the circus going bankrupt: "We never got paid, ran out of money and had to do a midnight flit from our hotel" (Cottle).[1] He worked as a ringmaster for other venues to make up the money and in 1981 returned with his Rainbow Circus.[1] Also in 1981, he started a short-lived attraction,Gary Glitter's Rock 'n' Roll Circus, but audiences for the shows were few and he quietly ended the show after a few performances.[1]
During his time running the circus he set up a mobile school for the performers’ children.[14]
Cottle announced his retirement in 1993. Two Years later, in 1995, he co-createdThe Circus of Horrors withDoktor Haze which debuted at theGlastonbury Festival and has toured the world since then.[15] This was a collaborative venture withArchaos, a Frenchcontemporary circus.[16]
In 2003 he auctioned off much of his circus paraphernalia when he was refused planning permission to expand on his Addlestone Moor quarters, which was the heart of his company.[1] in order to concentrate on runningWookey Hole Caves, a tourist attraction inSomerset. In 2012 he celebrated fifty years in the business with a new show,Turbo Circus: 50 Acts In 100 Minutes, on a 31-week tour.[17] Cottle and his Magic Circus undertook another months-long tour in 2017.[18]
Gerry Cottle's Circus originally toured with a variety of animals including horses, zebras, elephants, lions, tigers, monkeys, and llamas.[19][20] In 1976, one of Cottle's elephaants, Vicki, appeared on series 4 episode 5 ofIt Ain't Half Hot Mum, titled "Lofty's Little Friend", in which Gunner Lofty (played byDon Estelle) meets the elephant and it follows him back to camp.[1] The 1980s saw an increase inpublic opinion against animal acts. Cottle sold his last elephant and by the end of 1993 had a non-animal circus. In 2012 he said that he now reluctantly supports the ban on circus animal acts, which he says will improve the image of circuses in Britain.[19]
After purchasing Wookey Hole Caves,[10] a tourist attraction that featured show caves, penny arcades and restaurants, he added a theatre, circus museum, hotel and circus school.[21][22] At the latter, local youth were trained in a wide range of circus skills, and performed at the theatre and in Cottle's touring showTurbo Circus.[23]
In 2005, aDalek prop in the attraction went missing, and a ransom note was left behind. The prop was then returned after it was discovered inGlastonbury Tor, this was considered a publicity stunt at first, however Cottle denied this in interviews.[24] In August 2006, it was reported that a security dog had ripped apart certain valuable teddy boys on display, including one once owned byElvis Presley, this however was in fact a publicity stunt, which Gerry admitted to.[25][26]
He married Betty Fossett, youngest daughter of circus showman Jim Fossett, in 1968. The couple had three daughters, Sarah, April and Polly and a son, Gerry.[9][1] He was separated from Betty and had another partner, Anna Carter ofCarters Steam Fair, who he would also separate from.[27][28] During his first marriage, Cottle left Betty to focus on work only to move back into her caravan less than a year later.[8] He had several grandchildren and great-grandchildren.[5]
In the 1980s he becameaddicted to cocaine and was jailed and also fined £500 in 1992; he claimed "work stress" caused his addiction.[7][1] His daughters set up Cottle Sisters Circus.[29]
In 1975 he purchased a unimproved plot in Surrey for £40,000 and lived there for 30 years, eventually selling it for £3 million.[30]
Cottle was the guest for BBC Radio 4'sDesert Island Discs on 15 September 1984. His choices included the "Radetzky March" byJohann Strauss Sr., andHelp! by theBeatles. His favourite was "American Pie" byDon McLean.[31]
Cottle died in hospital inBath, Somerset, in January 2021, aged 75, after contractingCOVID-19 during theCOVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom.[32]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1975 | Going a Bundle | Himself | One episode[33] |
| 1976 | The Generation Game | Guest judge/one episode[33] | |
| 1977—1994 | Pebble Mill at One | Two episodes[33] | |
| 1981 | Forty Minutes | One episode[33] | |
| 1985 | Wogan | ||
| 1987 | Christmas Morning with Noel | ||
| 1994 | This Is Your Life | One episode/episode dedicated toJeremy Beadle[33] | |
| 1997 | Esther | One episode[33] | |
| 2001 | Trouble at the Top | ||
| 2011 | Timeshift | ||
| Salvage Hunters | |||
| 2018 | The Big Audition |
| Year | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1976 | It Ain't Half Hot Mum | One episode of the show featured an elephant owned by Cottle, Vicki, who is credited as "Vicki from Gerry Cottle's Circus"[1][34] |
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