Cole Bros. Circus (Clyde Beatty-Cole Brothers Circus), located at PO Box 127, in Deland, Florida, United States , was founded in 1957.
"Dailey Bros. owner Ben Davenport gave daughter Norma five elephants--Norma, Mary, Maude, Bessie and Konti--in 1950 as a wedding present after she married Pete Cristiani. They became the Norma Cristiani elephants and were used on various circuses and Shrine dates until (according to Norma) she sold them to Beatty-Cole in 1960."
Circus Helper Crushed to Death By Elephant He Was Handling TENAFLY, June 4 – A 45-year-old circus laborer was picked up and thrown to the ground twice yesterday before being crushed to death by an elephant he was handling after a performance on Roosevelt Common. The laborer, Alvin Kelly of Dallas, was helping to water a Group of 13 elephants following the afternoon performance of the Clyde Beatty Circus. … “We have reports that Kelly had been drinking heavily earlier in the day and that might have had something to do with the elephant’s actions,” the spokesman said. “He also was carrying a big stick, which he may have poked the elephant with at the wrong time.” The elephant, the police spokesman said, is now with the circus in New City, N.Y., where it had a performance today. “The elephant is a problem for the circus to take care of, not the police,” the spokesman continued.