Tuffy Genders

Harold "Tuffy" Genders was a trapeze artist who was part of the "The Wards" trapeze act who eventually became General Manager Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus. Making his debut in "The Greatest Show on Earth" in 1911, he was born and raised in Bloomington, Illinois, where he trained at the Y.M.C.A. during the 1920s.Tuffy's first professional gig was with the Flying Wards troupe around 1930 or '31. The Wards were a flying return act that trained in Bloomington, and he likely replaced Eddie Ward, the founder of the troupe, who died the year before Tuffy caught on with the act.Tuffy married fellow trapeze artist Gracie Moore when they were both part of Bob Fisher's Fearless Flyers, another Bloomington trapeze troupe. Tuffy continued to work with the Ward troupe, but it was sold by Eddie Ward's widow to one of her late husband's students in 1936. The new owner, Art Concello, was a friend of Tuffy, who continued to work with various flying acts owned and managed by Concello over the years. When Concello became General Manager of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, Tuffy became his assistant.After Concello retired (some accounts say he was fired) in the 1960s, Tuffy was promoted to General Manager of the Big Show. After the GInging Bros. circus was acquired by the Feld family, Tuffy retired. He died in February 1998 Sarasota, Florida. Show less «