Eddie Diijon and Der Tod des Flohzirkusdirektors

As part of my research into Flea Circuses I regularly scan ebay for "Flea Circus" related items. I was lucky to find two DVDs this month.

The first was "Der Tod des Flohzirkusdirektors" or "Death of the Flea Circus Director", a film from Thomas Koerfer 1973. This fictional account of the life of Ottocaro Weiss has some good scenes with real flea performances. Following the death of the fleas the Ottocaro's act takes a much darker turn. The film is in German with English subtitles.

One of the things I find interesting about this piece is the performer's historical story telling as part of the act. It's known that this was the style that L.Bertolotto used in his performances.

The second film Eddie Diijon - Entertainer and Showman is an autobiography from this Canadian performer. Eddie learnt the art of Flea training from an Old Chinese gentleman when he was doing the club circuit in Hong Kong. With his act he appeared at the Canadian National Exhibition and on the David Letterman show.

You can purchase the Eddie Diijon DVD from Balance Productions, 181 Devonshire Ave,
London, Ontario, Canada.