JOHN CARROLL
MARCH 3, 1926
APRIL 25, 1980
ELEPHANT TRAINER
Al. G. KELLY – MILLER BROS. CIRCUS
1948 – 1968
CARSON AND BARNES CIRCUS
1969 – 1980
FOUNDER OF THE JOHN CARROLL’S
SHOWMEN’S REST TRUST FUND
Circuses are full of different kinds of entertainers—trapeze artists, tight rope walkers, clowns, bareback riders, snake handlers, and magicians, to name just a few. There are also a multitude of workers behind the scenes—unsung heroes erecting the bleachers and the big top and pulling it all down and packing it all up when the circus moves on. Those who feed, water, and care for the circus animals. The costume seamstress designing and repairing the dazzling outfits for the performers. Or the lonely accountant counting the take on the opening night of the circus and writing the checks to pay the bills.
But one of the most exciting jobs has to be elephant trainer. The most common elephant found in circuses is the Asian elephant—often a female. They grow to be nine feet tall at the shoulder and can weigh up to 8,000 pounds. The bulls weigh up 10 feet tall at the shoulder and up to a massive 10,000 pounds. So, it is a BIG job. And for 31 years spanning stints in two different circuses that is what John Carroll did—trained the elephants which is how he came to be affectionally called “Elephant John.”
“Elephant John” joined the circus when he was just 15 years old. His first job was as a “cage boy.” That is, his job was to take care of the cages of the wild circus animals such as big cats, bears, elephants, and other exotics. The cage boy scoops up bedding straw, manure, and the left-over food and scrubs the cages clean. Cage boys also helped load and unload the animals during travel. This grunt job often leads to the more important job of animal trainer because the cage boy learns on the job how to understand the animals and learns about all aspects of animal husbandry. In fact, many famous animal trainers started as cage boys and ended up in the ring starring in their own acts.
The elephant trainers were also integral to setting up the big top. According to an El Paso Times article that appeared on Sunday, April 9, 1978, “the circus elephants are the main workers when it comes to raising the supporting tent poles.” The article went on the explain, “The elephants respond immediately to his (Carroll’s) profanity with sureness developed from years of hearing he same commands from the same person. Carroll, his elephants and some helpers can get the big tent set up in about 45 minutes.”
However, “Elephant John’s” career came to an end on Monday, April 28, 1980, in Jacksonville, Texas, when he died of a heart attack during a show. According to the Wednesday, April 30, 1980, edition of the Tyler Morning Telegraph, “Some people claim they don’t want their funeral to be a big production. But final rites for John Carroll were held in the spotlighted center ring of a circus tent, and his friends said he would have wanted it that way…His funeral was held Monday after the Carson-Barnes set up its tent atop Breezy Hill here for another show.” Circus owner D. R. Miller joined the Rev. Oscar Wilkie, circus chaplain, in conducting a brief ceremony. The body was then transferred to Hugo, Oklahoma, where Carroll was buried in the Mt. Olivet Cemetery in the Showmen’s Rest area, a separate section reserved for circus performers and their families.
Carroll didn’t forget his circus colleagues and friends—he left his entire life savings to establish a trust fund, to provide gravestones for show people who could not provide their own. Several of the markers in Showmen’s Rest in the Mt. Olivet Cemetery are inscribed with the fund’s name.
