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The Ringling Bros. ‘Greatest Show on Earth’ Is Closing After 146 Years

The Ringling Bros. ‘Greatest Show on Earth’ Is Closing After 146 Years

By Jess McHugh

January 18, 2017

Jerry Cooke/The LIFE Images Collection/Getty Images

After nearly a century and a half of high-flying acrobatics, clowns on stilts, and exotic elephant acts, the Ringling Bros. circus announced its intention to close in May of this year.

The circus was a beloved part of childhood to many kids in the U.S. for decades, though its amusements were not without controversy.

Crowds waned over the past several decades as tastes in entertainment changed and activist groups alleged cruelty against animals used in the show. Some counties and cities banned the use of elephants for entertainment, forcing the circus to announce in March 2015 that they would phase out their traveling elephants and allow them to retire.

The final shows set to take place in the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Long Island in May are already sold out, according to the Associated Press, and resale tickets are going for up to $2,000 per seat.

“We tried all these different things to see what would work, and supported it with a lot of funding as well, and we weren't successful in finding the solution,” said Kenneth Feld, chairman and CEO of the company that owns the circus, told AP.

Before the show closes, take a look back at some of the moments of whimsy and joy of the Ringling Bros. circus over the past century.

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Gjon Mili/The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images

An animal trainer works with leopards, a lioness, and a black panther in the 1940s.

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Nina Leen/The LIFE Images Collection/Getty Images

President and director of Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus John Ringling North (left) stands nearby during a rehearsal for Circus in Sarasota, Florida in 1949.

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Jerry Cooke/The LIFE Images Collection/Getty Images

Ringling Bros. circus performs under the big top tent.

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Nina Leen/The LIFE Images Collection/Getty Images

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Nina Leen/The LIFE Images Collection/Getty Images

Acrobats and performers take a break in Sarasota, Florida.

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Nina Leen/The LIFE Images Collection/Getty Images

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Cornell Capa/The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images

Spectators look on during the high wire act in the Ringling Bros. circus at Madison Square Garden, New York City in 1953.

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Nina Leen/The LIFE Images Collection/Getty Images

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Cornell Capa/The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images; Ralph Morse/The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images

The circus came to Madison Square Garden in 1953.

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Nina Leen/Time Life Pictures/Getty Images

Performers rehearse with the circus' signature elephants in in Sarasota, Florida in 1949.

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Nina Leen/The LIFE Images Collection/Getty Images; Cornell Capa/The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images

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Nina Leen/Time Life Pictures/Getty Images

The show has been a staple of U.S. entertainment since the mid-19th century.

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Nina Leen/Time Life Pictures/Getty Images

Animal rights activists have lobbied against the Ringling Bros. elephant act for decades, citing animal cruelty, including the use of bull-hooks.

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Nina Leen/The LIFE Images Collection/Getty Images

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Nina Leen/Time Life Pictures/Getty Images

Aerialist Miss Lola practiced on a tightrope as the performer’s children looked on in 1949.

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Nina Leen/Time Life Pictures/Getty Images

"The competitor in many ways is time," current owner Kenneth Feld told Associated Press of the dwindling crowds.

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Bob Gomel/The LIFE Images Collection/Getty Images

Tamer Evelyn Currie, of the Ringling Brothers Circus, is pictured performing her act in 1962.

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Gjon Mili/The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images

The Christiani family is pictured practicing their bareback riding act for Ringling Bros. circus performance in Madison Square Garden in 1941.

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Nina Leen/The LIFE Images Collection/Getty Images

A group of circus girls take a ride during rehearsal in 1949.

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Allan Grant/The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images

Actress Esther Williams climbs atop an elephant for a charity show to benefit St. John's Hospital in Hollywood,

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Nina Leen/The LIFE Images Collection/Getty Images

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J. R. Eyerman/The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images

Performer Carmen Miranda took part in the 1949 benefit for St. John's hospital in Sarasota, Florida.

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Nina Leen/The LIFE Images Collection/Getty Images

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