Irvin Feld was the head of Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus

Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus

Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus is an American circus company. The company was started when the circus created by James Anthony Bailey and P. T. Barnum was merged with the Ringling Brothers Circus. The Ringling brothers purchased the Barnum & Bailey Circus in 1907, but ran the circuses...

 and founder Feld Entertainment. He was a music promoter who is credited with discovering Paul Anka

Paul Anka

Paul Albert Anka, is a Canadian singer, songwriter, and actor.Anka first became famous as a teen idol in the late 1950s and 1960s with hit songs like "Diana'", "Lonely Boy", and "Put Your Head on My Shoulder"...

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Biography

He was born on April 19, 1918 in Hagerstown, Maryland

Hagerstown, Maryland

Hagerstown is a city in northwestern Maryland, United States. It is the county seat of Washington County, and, by many definitions, the largest city in a region known as Western Maryland. The population of Hagerstown city proper at the 2010 census was 39,662, and the population of the...

 to Russian immigrants.

After ten years as one of several national promoters for the Ringling Circus, he bought it on November 11, 1967 for $8 million. In 1968, he began the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Clown College

Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Clown College

Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Clown College trained around 1,400 clowns in the "Ringling style" from 1968 to 1997.-History:...

. He sold the circus to Mattel

Mattel

Mattel, Inc. is the world's largest toy company based on revenue. The products it produces include Fisher Price, Barbie dolls, Hot Wheels and Matchbox toys, Masters of the Universe, American Girl dolls, board games, and, in the early 1980s, video game consoles. The company's name is derived from...

 in 1971 for $50 million in Mattel stock. He bought it back in 1982.

He died on September 6, 1984, at age 66 in Venice, Florida

Venice, Florida

Venice is a city in Sarasota County, Florida, United States. According to the U.S. Census Bureau's 2007 estimates, the city had a population of 21,015. It is noted for its large snowbird population. Its newspaper is the Venice Gondolier Sun...

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Legacy

The circus passed to his son Kenneth Feld

Kenneth Feld

Kenneth Jeffrey Feld is the CEO of , which owns Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, Disney on Ice!, and He is also the producer of several Broadway plays. The business was started by his father Irvin Feld and Ken became CEO upon his father's death in 1984. He has three daughters, two...

, who had joined the company in 1970. In 1987, he was inducted into the International Circus Hall of Fame.

Ownership

Feld Entertainment also owned:

• Holiday on Ice
  Holiday on Ice
  Holiday on Ice is an ice show currently produced by Joop van den Ende's Stage Entertainment Group with its headquarters in Amsterdam, Netherlands...
  
  .
• Ice Follies
  Ice Follies
  Shipstads & Johnson Ice Follies was a touring ice show featuring elaborate production numbers, similar in concept to Ice Capades. It was founded in 1937 by Eddie Shipstad, Roy Shipstad, and Oscar Johnson, who also skated in the show. In later years, Olympic skaters such as Donald Jackson, Barbara...
  
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• Disney on Ice
  Disney on Ice
  Disney On Ice is a touring ice show produced by Feld Entertainment under agreement with The Walt Disney Company. Aimed primarily at children, the shows feature figure skaters dressed as Disney cartoon characters in performances that each derive their music and plot from elements collected from...
  
  !, Doodlebops Live! and Disney Live
  Disney Live
  Disney Live is a touring stage show produced by Feld Entertainment under agreement with The Walt Disney Company. Aimed primarily at children, the shows feature performers dressed as Disney cartoon characters in performances that each derive their music and plot from elements collected from various...
  
  !.

In September 2008, Feld also acquired the motorsport

Motorsport

Motorsport or motorsports is the group of sports which primarily involve the use of motorized vehicles, whether for racing or non-racing competition...

s division of Live Nation

Live Nation

Live Nation is a live-events company based in Beverly Hills, California, focused on concert promotions. Live Nation formed in 2005 as a spin-off from Clear Channel Communications, which then merged with Ticketmaster in 2010 to become Live Nation Entertainment....

, including the properties of Monster Jam

Monster Jam

Monster Jam is a live motorsport event tour and television show operated by Feld Entertainment. The series is sanctioned under the umbrella of the United States Hot Rod Association and takes place primarily in the United States and around the world...

 (and several associated monster trucks), Supercross

Supercross

Supercross is a motorcycle racing sport involving off-road motorcycles on an artificially-made dirt tracks consisting of steep jumps and obstacles. Professional supercross contest races are held almost exclusively within professional baseball and football stadiums.-History:Supercross was derived...

, Arenacross, and the IHRA

International Hot Rod Association

The International Hot Rod Association, also known as IHRA, is the 2nd largest drag racing sanctioning body after the NHRA.-The Carrier Era:The IHRA was formed in November 1970 by businessman Larry Carrier. Throughout this period the organization was operated primarily in the south-eastern United...

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