SARASOTA — Throughout his life, Elvin Bale has had many roles: aerialist, innovator, daredevil, circus entertainer.
He will receive his own marker on the St. Armands Circle’s Circus Ring of Fame on Feb. 8.
There, he will join such circus stars as animal trainer Gunther Gebel-Williams of Venice, with whom he shared a special connection. Both were hired in 1968 by Irvin Feld, who had just purchased The Greatest Show on Earth, the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus that year.
Like Gebel-Williams, Bale would be a longtime resident of Venice. These days, Bale lives in Pomello Park, 20 miles from Myakka City but he still owns property on East Venice Avenue.
In 1969, Gebel-Williams became the star of the original Ringling circus, and Bale, already dubbed the “World’s Greatest Daredevil,” would perform an aerial act.
Bale had already perfected his famous heel catch finish on the flying trapeze — without a net.
As an aerialist, Bale would perform before Pope John Paul II in the Vatican, Presidents Kennedy, Nixon, Carter and Ford, and win Gold and Silver Clown awards from the Festival International du Cirque de Monte Carlo and the Circus Oscar in Madrid, Spain.