Gerry Cottle

Gerald Ward Cottle (7 April 1945 – 13 January 2021) was a British circus owner and the owner of the Wookey Hole Caves in Somerset. He presented the Moscow State Circus and Chinese State Circus in Britain, founded Gerry Cottle's Circus, and co-founded The Circus of Horrors.

Early life Gerry Cottle was born in Carshalton, Surrey to Reg and Joan Ward Cottle. His father was a stockbroker and grand-master in the Freemasons and his mother was a former air stewardess. Cottle started by doing menial tasks, but worked his way up to have his own juggling act, billed as Gerry Melville the Teenage Juggler.

Also in 1970, he met Brian Austen, who worked in the James Brothers Circus. The two formed the Embassy Circus in July 1970 with just five performers; Cottle, Austen, their wives and Austen's brother. They changed their name to Cottie & Austen's Circus however the two went their separate ways in 1974. By the mid-1970s the Gerry Cottle Circus was touring Britain with three shows. The show appeared regularly on the first four series of Seaside Special.

Cottle announced his retirement in 1993. Two Years later, in 1995, he co-created The Circus of Horrors with Doktor Haze which debuted at the Glastonbury Festival and has toured the world since then. This was a collaborative venture with Archaos, a French contemporary circus.

In 2003 he auctioned off much of his circus paraphernalia when he was refused planning permission to expand on his Addlestone Moor quarters, which was the heart of his company. Cottle and his Magic Circus undertook another months-long tour in 2017.

Animal acts Gerry Cottle's Circus originally toured with a variety of animals including horses, zebras, elephants, lions, tigers, monkeys, and llamas. In 1976, one of Cottle's elephants, Vicki, appeared on series 4 episode 5 of It Ain't Half Hot Mum, titled "Lofty's Little Friend", in which Gunner Lofty (played by Don Estelle) meets the elephant and it follows him back to camp. a tourist attraction that featured show caves, penny arcades and restaurants, he added a theatre, circus museum, hotel and circus school. At the latter, local youth were trained in a wide range of circus skills, and performed at the theatre and in Cottle's touring show Turbo Circus.

In 2005, a Dalek prop in the attraction went missing, and a ransom note was left behind. The prop was then returned after it was discovered in Glastonbury Tor, this was considered a publicity stunt at first, however Cottle denied this in interviews. In August 2006, it was reported that a security dog had ripped apart certain valuable teddy bears on display, including one once owned by Elvis Presley, this however was in fact a publicity stunt, which Gerry admitted to.

Personal life He married Betty Fossett, youngest daughter of circus showman Jim Fossett, in 1968. The couple had three daughters, Sarah, April and Polly and a son, Gerry. During his first marriage, Cottle left Betty to focus on work only to move back into her caravan less than a year later.

In 1975 he purchased an unimproved plot in Surrey for £40,000 and lived there for 30 years, eventually selling it for £3 million.

Cottle was the guest for BBC Radio 4's Desert Island Discs on 15 September 1984. His choices included the "Radetzky March" by Johann Strauss Sr., and Help! by the Beatles. His favourite was "American Pie" by Don McLean.

Death Cottle died in hospital in Bath, Somerset, in January 2021, aged 75, after contracting COVID-19 during the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom.

Filmography