Ringling circus talent czar dies

By The New York Times
Published: April 24, 2009

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Timothy J. Holst, 61, who joined the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus as a Keystone Kops clown, rose to the role of singing ringmaster and ultimately became the talent czar, died April 16 in a hospital in Sao Paulo, Brazil, during a visit to sign up circus acts.

Holst, whose official title was vice president for talent and production, circled the planet for more than two decades signing performers from star clowns to trapeze hair-hangers. He was fluent in Spanish and Swedish and spoke passable Russian, Mandarin, French and Portuguese. He recently calculated that he had visited 164 countries.

"He was the ambassador to the world for the Greatest Show on Earth," said Kenneth Feld, Ringling's owner and chief executive. "And for the performers, he was the one who introduced them to American society. He became involved in these families' lives at every step of the way."