Pio Nock
Pius "Pio" Nock (born November 10, 1921 in Büren an der Aare , † December 4, 1998 in Dortmund ) was a Swiss clown and high wire artist .
Life and circus career
Pio Nock was born as the second oldest of seven siblings into the Nock circus family. At the age of three he was in the ring for the first time, at the age of 5 he was part of an artistry act . In 1929 his parents founded their own traveling circus. Pio Nock was initially an artist, especially on the tightrope, together with his brother Charles . After a serious fall in 1939, he was physically restricted for a long time due to partial paralysis of his right arm. His father persuaded him to act as the stupid August , Charles became his first partner as a white clown . After his recovery, Nock combined the elements of clowning and high wire artistry.
In 1946 Nock married the high wire artist Alexandra Buhlmann, daughter of the director of the Circus Pilatus , which Nock now joined, as did his sister Erika, who married Alexandra's brother Martin. With Martin Buhlmann, Nock developed his most famous number until 1958: a comedic high-wire act, which he performed in the ring above the lion cage and often apparently only narrowly escaped a fall. With his program Nock appeared in various European circuses, including Circus Busch , Circus Althoff and again and again in Circus Knie , with which Nock was also seen in a special program at the Expo in Lausanne in 1964 .
He then went to the USA for several years and appeared there on the "Greatest Show on Earth" of the Ringling Brothers Barnum and Bailey Circus , which made him a world star. A several-minute excerpt from Nock's comical tightrope act can be seen in the 1964 film Circus World with John Wayne , Rita Hayworth and Claudia Cardinale . Nock came here as artists-double of Richard Conte on.
In 1973, Nock actually had an accident over the lion cage during his parade number and fell about 10 meters into the lion cage in front of several thousand visitors in Madison Square Garden . The trainer Wolfgang Holzmair partially intercepted his fall and then kept the lions away from him. After that, Nock never performed in America again.
In 1976 he returned to Circus Knie and was also present at the 60th anniversary of the circus in 1978. Nock continued to play in several European circus houses. He had his last appearance for Knie during a guest appearance on the occasion of a gala for the 75th anniversary of the circus. His last stop was the circus masquerade.
death
Pio Nock died during a performance in the winter circus "Masquerade" in Dortmund. Towards the end of his performance he collapsed and could not be revived in the ring. Thus, a wish that Nock had previously expressed came true:
“I play until I fall over. I want to die in front of as many people as possible, preferably in the arena. "
In order not to disappoint the audience, the artist Nina Cortes, Nock's granddaughter, continued the tightrope act that Nock had developed with her.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ Pio Nock in Circus World , youtube, accessed July 20, 2009
- ↑ High-Wire Clown Falls Into Lions' Cage. New York Times , April 1, 1973, accessed July 20, 2009 .
- ^ A b D. Nevil: Obituary: Pio Nock. The Independent , December 18, 1998, accessed July 20, 2009 .
- ↑ Fierce scramble in a narrow market. Neue Zürcher Zeitung , March 11, 2006, accessed on July 20, 2009 .
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Nock, Pio |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Nock, Pius |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Swiss clown and tightrope artist |
| DATE OF BIRTH | November 10, 1921 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Büren on the Aare |
| DATE OF DEATH | 4th December 1998 |
| Place of death | Dortmund |