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Irvin Feld
Irvin Feld
Born	May 9, 1918; Hagerstown, Maryland
Died	September 6, 1984 (aged 66); Venice, Florida
Nationality	American
Occupation	Businessman
Known for	Owner of Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus ; Founder of Feld Entertainment
Spouse	Adele Schwartz Feld
Children	Kenneth Jeffrey Feld Karen Feld
Relatives	Israel(brother); Fannie Feld (sister); Zelda Feld Fribush (sister); Doris Feld Goldstein (sister); Freda Miriam Feld Arenson (sister)

Irvin Feld (May 9, 1918 – September 6, 1984) was a business entrepreneur who built a chain of record stores, promoted rock groups, produced concerts involving some of the biggest names in popular music. He was also the head of Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus and founder of Feld Entertainment.^[1] He was a music promoter who is credited with discovering Paul Anka.

Biography

Feld was born on May 9, 1918, in Hagerstown, Maryland, to Russian-Jewish immigrants.^[2] Following high school, in 1938 he and his brother opened a drugstore on Seventh Street NW in Washington, D.C. Records proved big-sellers at the store. He later opened Super Music City record stores, and eventually branched out into producing both his own records and his own live concerts.^[3] After ten years as one of several national promoters for the Ringling Circus, Feld, along with his brother Israel Feld and Houston Judge Roy Hofheinz, bought the circus on November 11, 1967, for $8 million.^[1]^[4] In 1968, he began the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Clown College. He sold the circus to Mattel in 1971 for $50 million in Mattel stock. He bought it back from Mattel in 1982 for $22.8 million.^[4]

Feld died on September 6, 1984, at age 66, in Venice, Florida.^[5] He was survived by two children, Karen and Kenneth.^[6] He was remembered in the New York Times as the "man who saved the circus".^[7]^[8]^[9]

Personal life and legacy

In 1946, he married Adele Feld. They had two children, Karen and Kenneth. After Adele Feld committed suicide in 1958, the children were raised by their aunt and uncle in Washington, DC.^[10]^[11] After Feld died in 1984, the circus passed to his son Kenneth Jeffrey Feld, who had joined the company in 1970.^[12] In 1987, Feld was inducted into the International Circus Hall of Fame.^[13]

References

^ ^a ^b "Feld Stewardship". Feld Entertainment. Archived from the original on November 4, 2011. Retrieved 2011-11-15. On November 11, 1967, his dream became reality as the Feld family purchased Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey from John Ringling North.
^ Richard Leiby. (March 27, 2009). "Kenneth and Karen Feld's Sibling Rivalry Is Headed to Court". Washington Post.
^ Weil, Martin. "American Impresario Irvin Feld Dies". Washington Post. Retrieved 30 July 2018.
^ ^a ^b "Feld Family Buys Ringling Bros". Associated Press in New York Times. March 19, 1982. Retrieved 2008-07-20. Mattel Inc. said that it had sold Ringling Brothers-Barnum & Bailey Combined Shows Inc. for $22.8 million to a family that had owned the circus and has been in its management for 26 years. Two members of the family, Irvin Feld and his son, Kenneth, said that the deal included the circus, Ice Follies, Holiday on Ice and the new Walt Disney's World on Ice. The transaction also includes a Las Vegas nightclub act called Beyond Belief. The acquisition involves more than 1,200 performers and employees, 500 circus animals and 98 railroad cars. Irvin Feld was a record and music promoter and music store chain owner before becoming involved with the circus in 1956. In 1967, he and his brother acquired the company's total assets from the Ringling and North families for $8 million. Two years later, the circus became a publicly held corporation, and in 1971 the company was sold to Mattel for $50 million in stock.
^ "Irvin Feld, Owner of Ringling Bros. Circus, Dies". Hartford Courant. September 7, 1984. Archived from the original on May 25, 2011. Retrieved 2008-07-20. Irvin Feld, once hailed as the "greatest showman on earth" and the owner, chairman and producer of Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, died here Thursday.
^ Kerr, Peter (1984-09-07). "IRVIN FELD, 66, CIRCUS OPERATOR". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2024-06-27.
^ "Opinion | The Man Who Saved the Circus". The New York Times. 1984-09-11. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2024-06-27.
^ "American Impresario Irvin Feld Dies; Was Owner of Ringling Bros. Circus". Washington Post. September 7, 1984. Archived from the original on May 25, 2011. Retrieved 2008-07-20. Irvin Feld, 66, the son of East European immigrants who grew up to be a major American impresario and an heir in spirit to the legendary P.T. Barnum as the owner and operator of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, died yesterday in a Venice, Fla., hospital.
^ "The Call of the Circus". New York Times. August 3, 2008. Retrieved 2008-08-04. My grandfather Irvin Feld was a promoter. He bought Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus in 1967. My father, Kenneth, joined the company, now Feld Entertainment, in 1970 and is C.E.O.
^ https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/business/1982/04/05/how-irvin-felds-career-path-took-him-straight-to-the-circus/b8d9cc74-683a-4818-bf84-1936e8374120/ ^{[bare URL]}
^ People: "'Lord of the Rings' Irvin Feld Has Made a Fading Circus the Greatest Show on Earth Again" By Dolly Langdon May 12, 1980
^ "Ringmaster of the Universe: How Billionaire Kenneth Feld Keeps Ringling Bros. Circus Alive". Forbes.
^ "International Circus Hall of Fame inductees". International Circus Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on 2008-09-17. Retrieved 2008-08-04.