Kelly Miller Circus in United States

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Kelly Miller Circus
Local name	Al G-Kelly Miller Brothers Circus
Type	circus
Founded	1938
Closed down	2018
Place	Hugo
Region	Oklahoma
Country	United States
Related persons
Owner	1937-: Kelly Miller 1937-: D. R. Miller 1937-1969: Obert Miller


Directors	2007-2018: John Ringling North II


Assistant Directors	1937: Isla Miller 1937: Lydia Miller 1951: Bill Snyder

Performers & Artists
-: Kennedy Swain Sr.


Key People	-: Ira Watts (superintendent) 1994: Roy Wells (menagerie superintendent)
Zoological department
Animal trainers
1951-: Hope McLennan

Elephant department
Head keepers of elephants
2017-2018: Joey Frisco (elephant trainer) 1947-1952: Fred Logan (assistant elephant superintendent) 1949-1952: Bill Woodcock (elephant trainer) 1943-1943: John Herriot (elephant trainer) -: John Carrol (assistant elephant superintendent) -: Shirley Logan (elephant trainer) 1950-: George Williams (elephant trainer) 1951: Don McLennan (elephant trainer) 1952: Fred Logan (elephant superintendent)

Record history
History of updates	2022-08-22

Latest document update	2022-08-22 05:40:41

Description

Kelly Miller Circus, in Hugo, United States , was founded in 1938. Kelly Miller Circus closed down in 2018.

Comments / picturesThe Al G. Kelly Miller Brothers Circus was created in 1938 by Obert Miller and his sons Kelly and Dory.

Kelly Miller Circus in United States United+States

Kelly Miller Circus in United States United+States

Al G. Kelly Miller elephants in 1943.Pictured on the left is Mena,next Tena,then two little ones Bonnie , and India.Sadly Mena passed away later that year.

Later Millers bought Mary Ann,and Mona from the Polack show.

In 1952, 23 elephants was listed in the menagerie.

In 1958, while the Kelly-Miller circus was traveling through Cuba, Fidel Castro seized power. Shirley and the entire circus was held captive by Castro’s forces for several weeks before finally being released.

The show eventually was closed and the Millers went on to purchase the Carson and Barnes Circus (still operated by the family today), along with other shows. The original name of their first show was reincarnated under leadership of David Rawls in 1984, operated until 2006. At one point in the 1980s, the name was shortened simply to "Kelly Miller Circus."

From its new beginnings in 1984, the show has leased elephants from the Carson and Barnes Circus. No elephants have been owned following its closure by Obert Miller decades earlier.

In 2007, the show was purchased by John Ringling North, grandson of Mabel Ringling (sister to the Ringling Brothers).

2017: North, 77, is the last of his famous circus family in the business. His grandmother was the original seven Ringling brother\\'s only sister.

There is nobody to take the show on the road next year after North retires at the end of Kelly Miller\' s season this year. The show was founded in 1938 as the Al G. Kelly Miller Brothers Circus and would celebrate its 80th anniversary next year if a successor is found.

With many states and cities enacting bans on circus elephants and other exotic animals, North said he wouldn't be able to book Kelly Miller\\'s season next year unless he did it without animals.

References for records about Kelly Miller Circus

Recommended Citation

Koehl, Dan (2025). Kelly Miller Circus, Elephant Encyclopedia. Available online at https://www.elephant.se/location2.php?location_id=735. (archived at the Wayback machine)

Sources used for this article is among others:

https://www.elephants.com/elephants/shirley