Dan Castello (1836April 23, 1901) was an American

showman Showman can have a variety of meanings, usually by context and depending on the country. Australia Travelling Funfair, showmen ("showies") are people who run amusement and side show equipment at regional shows, state capital shows, events ...

animal trainer Animal training is the act of teaching animals specific responses to specific conditions or stimuli. Training may be for purposes such as companionship, detection, protection, and entertainment. The type of training an animal receives will vary ...

clown A clown is a person who performs physical comedy and arts in an Improvisational theatre#Comedy, open-ended fashion, typically while wearing distinct cosmetics, makeup or costume, costuming and reversing social norm, folkway-norms. The art of ...

, and circus director who made the first transcontinental railroad tour in American circus history.

Early life

Daniel Castello was born in 1836. He was a resident of

Racine, Wisconsin Racine ( ) is a city in Racine County, Wisconsin, United States, and its county seat. It is located on the shore of Lake Michigan at the mouth of the Root River (Wisconsin), Root River, south of Milwaukee and north of Chicago. It is the List ...

Circus life

Castello began his career in the late 1840s as a tumbler and equestrian. Originally a champion bareback rider, he later transitioned to work as a manager and clown. He managed a small floating circus that entertained audiences at the ports along the

Great Lakes The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes spanning the Canada–United States border. The five lakes are Lake Superior, Superior, Lake Michigan, Michigan, Lake Huron, H ...

Travelling Circus

In the midst of the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

, Dan Castello ventured into circus proprietorship in 1863. He partnered with Matt Van Vleck to establish a wagon show in Fair Play, Wisconsin, debuting Castello & Van Vleck's Mammoth Circus in

Dubuque, Iowa Dubuque (, ) is a city in Dubuque County, Iowa, United States, and its county seat. The population was 59,667 at the 2020 United States census. The city lies along the Mississippi River at the junction of Iowa, Illinois, and Wisconsin, a region ...

.Slout, W. L. (2009). Clowns and Cannons: The American Circus During the Civil War. United States: Borgo Press. Castello became a singing and horseriding clown, later known as the great American Clown and Leaper. After the tour, Castello left to break horses for a summer tour. At the end of 1865, he took on James M. Nixon as a partner and the two continued together for the next few years. Dan Castello's Great Circus & Egyptian Caravan was founded in Delavan, Wisconsin, in 1867 by Dan Castello and William C. Coup. It featured camels that belonged to the United States Camel Corps. In September of the year, Dan Castello's Circus and Van Amburgh's

Menagerie A menagerie is a collection of captive animals, frequently exotic, kept for display; or the place where such a collection is kept, a precursor to the modern zoo or zoological garden. The term was first used in 17th-century France, referring to ...

combined for a show in

Savannah A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland-grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) biome and ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach th ...

. In 1868, The Great New York Circus combined with Dan Castello's great show for an appearance in Cleveland. By 1869, the Wisconsin circus clown, in partnership with James M. Nixon arrived by train in

Omaha, Nebraska Omaha ( ) is the List of cities in Nebraska, most populous city in the U.S. state of Nebraska. It is located in the Midwestern United States along the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's List of United S ...

. During their run in the

Midwestern United States The Midwestern United States (also referred to as the Midwest, the Heartland or the American Midwest) is one of the four census regions defined by the United States Census Bureau. It occupies the northern central part of the United States. It ...

, manager James M. Nixon had the idea to bring Dan Castello's Circus and Menagerie to the

Pacific coast Pacific coast may be used to reference any coastline that borders the Pacific Ocean. Geography Americas North America Countries on the western side of North America have a Pacific coast as their western or south-western border. One of th ...

.Saturday Review. (1959). United States: Saturday Review Associates.

Transcontinental Tour

In 1869, the

Transcontinental Railroad A transcontinental railroad or transcontinental railway is contiguous rail transport, railroad trackage that crosses a continent, continental land mass and has terminals at different oceans or continental borders. Such networks may be via the Ra ...

was completed, allowing traveling entertainers to tour the United States from coast to coast. Dan Castello's Great Circus was among the first to take advantage, moving from Nebraska to California. The circus launched its journey from Nebraska, moving through Colorado to San Francisco for a series of Western shows. They reached San Francisco on July 26, 1869. Performing at the California State Fair in September 1869, Dan Castello's Circus and Menagerie holds the distinction of being the nation's first transcontinental circus transported fully by rail. Following its departure from Sacramento, the circus visited various points throughout California until October. Facing financial strain, Castello sold his circus in California and eventually joined forces with P.T. Barnum.

P.T. Barnum's Great Traveling Museum, Menagerie, Caravan, & Hippodrome

Following the second fire that razed

Barnum's American Museum Barnum's American Museum was a dime museum located at the corner of Broadway, Park Row, and Ann Street in what is now the Financial District of Manhattan, New York City, from 1841 to 1865. The museum was owned by famous showman P. T. Bar ...

, Barnum, the museum's proprietor, decided to retire. Dan Castello came up with the idea of leveraging Barnum's money, fame, and talent to establish a massive circus. In 1870, a proposal was made to the American showman

P. T. Barnum Phineas Taylor Barnum (July 5, 1810 – April 7, 1891) was an American showman, businessman, and politician remembered for promoting celebrated hoaxes and founding with James Anthony Bailey the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus. He was ...

to join Dan Castello, owner of the Dan Castello Show, along with side-show manager and part-owner W.C. Coup as a partner in the circus enterprise. On April 10, 1871, Castello, W.C. Coup, and

opened their joint venture, a

travelling menagerie A travelling menagerie was a touring group of showmen and animal handlers who visited towns and cities with common and exotic animals. The term "menagerie", first used in seventeenth century France, was primarily used to refer to aristocratic or ...

and equestrian stunt show which utilized the famous Barnum name. From the circus conceived and organized in Delavan by W.C. Coup and Dan Castello, it became P.T. Barnum's Great Traveling Museum, Menagerie, Caravan, & Hippodrome. On March 20, 1871, the first circus was loaded on rail cars and transported to

Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

, where it would perform its first show on April 10, 1871. Castello managed the circus department of P.T. Barnum's Great Traveling Museum, Menagerie, Caravan, & Hippodrome through his smaller travelling show titled Dan Castello's Mammoth Circus which was performed in a separate tent. The advertisements portrayed him as a 'gentleman of rare accomplishments as a jester and conversationalist, whose varied and ripe experience in Continental Europe, and North and South America, render his services of great value'. By 1872, they had a revolving Temple of Juno pulled by 20 camels. In March 1873, P.T. Barnum's Great Travelling World's Fair included P.T. Barnum as the proprietor, W.C. Coup as the general manager, and Dan Castello as the manager of the Grand Oriental Circus. Castello sold his interests after being bought out in 1874 and had parted ways with P.T. Barnum who joined James Bailey to create Barnum and Bailey's Circus.Gorbach, J. (2019). The Notorious Ben Hecht: Iconoclastic Writer and Militant Zionist. United States: Purdue University Press. In 1876, Dan Castello's Centennial Circus was established in Delavan, co-owned by W.C. Coup and Dan Castello.History of Walworth County, Wisconsin: Containing an Account of Its Settlement, Growth, Development and Resources...its War Record, Biographical Sketches, Portraits of Prominent Men and Early Settlers; the Whole Preceded by a History of Wisconsin...and an Abstract of Its Laws and Constitution.... (1882). United States: Western historical Company.

Death

Dan Castello died in 1909.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Castello, Dan 1836 births 1909 deaths American circus performers American circus owners American clowns Animal trainers