The Pickle Family Circus was a small circus founded in 1975 in San Francisco, California, USA. The circus formed an important part of the renewal of the American circus. They also influenced the creation of Cirque du Soleil in Montreal. Neither circus features animals. This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... San Francisco redirects here. ... Cirque du Soleil (French for Circus of the Sun) is an entertainment empire based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada and founded in Baie-Saint-Paul in 1984 by two former street performers, Guy Laliberté and Daniel Gauthier. ...

After working with the San Francisco Mime Troupe, the Pickle Family Jugglers (founded by Peggy Snider, Larry Pisoni, and Cecil MacKinnon) decided to create the Pickle Family Circus. Their first show was in May 1975, in the gymnasium of John O'Connell School in San Francisco. After they received a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts in 1976, they went on their first tour, going to five cities in Northern California. The San Francisco Mime Troupe is an award winning theatre of political satire, which performs free shows in various parks in the San Francisco Bay Area and around California. ... The National Endowment for the Arts is a United States federally funded program that offers support and funding for projects that exhibit artistic excellence. ...

In the early years, the circus boasted three clowns: Larry Pisoni, Bill Irwin, and Geoff Hoyle; they were the stars of a Pickle Family Circus production in 1981 called Three High. After Irwin left the Pickles in 1979, Pisoni and Hoyle worked as a duo. It was at this point that Hoyle evolved his Mr. Sniff character. Clowning redirects here. ... Bill Irwin (born April 11, 1950, Santa Monica, California as William Irwin) is an American actor and clown noted for his contribution to the renaissance of American circus during the 1970s. ... An editor has expressed a concern that the subject of the article does not satisfy the notability guideline or one of the following guidelines for inclusion on Wikipedia: Biographies, Books, Companies, Fiction, Music, Neologisms, Numbers, Web content, or several proposals for new guidelines. ...

Juggling was always an essential part of the Pickle Family Circus, and every show ended with the Big Juggle, involving intricate passing patterns.

Several members of the Pickle Family Circus were in the 1980 movie Popeye starring Robin Williams, including Bill Irwin (playing Ham Gravy), Larry Pisoni (Chico), Geoff Hoyle (Scoop), and Peggy Snider (playing Pickelina and credited as Peggy Pisoni). Popeye is a 1980 live-action film directed by Robert Altman, based on the comic strip and cartoon character Popeye the Sailor. ... For other persons named Robin Williams, see Robin Williams (disambiguation). ...

The Pickle Family Circus is now a part of Circus Center, which comprises the San Francisco School of Circus Arts, the New Pickle Circus, and the San Francisco Circus; The New Pickle Circus stages a professional show mounted each December in San Francisco and several special productions throughout the year.

References

• Lorant, Terry & Carroll, Jon (1986) Pickle Family Circus, The Pickle Press. ISBN 0-87701-377-2

External links

• Circus Center