Vilmos Milano

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Vilmos Milano (civil Wilhelm Müller ) (born July 8, 1913 in Zalaegerszeg ; † 1995 ) was a German-Hungarian acrobat and circus director.

Life

Vilmos Milano was the son of a Hungarian and a German. His parents owned a circus where Milano first performed acrobatic exercises at the age of 6. Strength acrobatics had a long tradition in the family: According to Milanos own descriptions, his grandfather was a “great strength man” , while an aunt “played the one-armed handstand when she was over 50 ” .

In 1934 the family moved to Germany, but had difficulties with the authorities due to the lack of Aryan evidence. The result was financial problems. In the meantime, Milano had developed a large number of acrobatic feats, with which he was engaged by numerous circus companies. After the bombing raids on Dresden, Milano - meanwhile married - lived in Sebnitz and had their first appearances there in May 1945. With four horses and a donkey, he founded the Milano Circus in 1949 . Much of the program was determined by artistic performances, including the director's power numbers.

When trying to place an advertisement in the magazine Freie Wort on the occasion of a guest performance in Ilmenau in May 1961 , Milano convinced the doubting editorial team of his abilities by turning a hoof nail into a corkscrew in front of them. A big article and sold out performances were the result. In 1968 he suffered a ruptured lung during a performance in Lommatzsch and ended his active career. In 1971 he was also weakened by a heart attack. Vilmos Milano last lived in Dresden and died in 1995. The Milano Circus was expropriated by the GDR authorities in 1971; according to other sources, the company ceased operations in 1972.

Tricks and tricks

In addition to turning a horseshoe nail into a corkscrew, for example, Vilmos Milano lifted a 300-pound ball with his teeth while using his arms to stretch an expander. Then he lifted the ball three feet up with one finger. Milano balanced a wooden beam through the ring on which twelve adults sat. He broke horseshoes, tore iron chains, and carried a spinning carousel filled with six people while another person sat on his neck. He lifted horses and carried them through the ring. Several people ran over his body while he was lying on his back on a board of nails. Also in the supine position, Milano had her chest weighed down with an anvil that the audience could hit.

Private

Milano's wife Sonja comes from the Brumbach circus family. Originally she wanted to take up the acting profession, but then got into her husband's circus business and became a successful predator trainer. Together they had four sons, of whom Michael worked with predators as early as 1960 at the age of 16 and also showed some acrobatic tricks. The twins André and Armand also worked in the showman business. Son Mario performed with a group of lions, and later also with bears. Today he works like his father as a ringmaster. B. the Dresden Christmas Circus.

literature

  • Lothar Groth: The strong men - a history of strength acrobatics , Henschelverlag Berlin, 1987, ISBN 3-362-00223-4

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b bild.de of November 24, 2013: Germany's oldest circus director looks back , accessed on March 14, 2015
  2. ↑ a b c d e Lothar Groth: The strong men - a history of power acrobatics , Henschelverlag Berlin, 1987, page 183 ff, ISBN 3-362-00223-4
  3. ↑ a b c Reinhard Krug / Gisela and Dietmar Winkler: Circus posters: Circuses in Central Germany as reflected in their posters from 1946 to 1990 , pages 103 and 104 , accessed on March 14, 2015
  4. ↑ Dresden Christmas Circus comes with 40 artists , accessed on March 14, 2015
personal data
SURNAME Milano, Vilmos
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Müller, Wilhelm (real name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German-Hungarian power acrobat and circus director
DATE OF BIRTH July 8, 1913
PLACE OF BIRTH Zalaegerszeg
DATE OF DEATH 1995