The Balasic Family: Three Generations of Acrobats

The Balasic Family were a troupe of performing acrobats originally from Croatia, whose contributions to the variety stage spanned three generations, from the 1860s through the 1930s. The first generation perfomed as a husband-wife duo called the Merkels. Their son Victor married a Czech circus scion named Paula Enders; starting in the late 1890s they and their sons Alfred and Victor Jr (and others) formed the core of the act. Their specialty was the teeterboard, and they are associated with many feats that are today well-known (such as the one where the flying partner lands with his head resting his head on that of the standing partner). Balance and tumbling formed the bulk of their act. In addition to the teeterboard they also did wire walking and worked wih ladders. Still billed as the Merkels (the 5 Merkels, to be exact) they made their first rip to the US in 1911, traveling the Pantages Circuit. World War One interrupted the act for several years, but then they returned, now billed as the 5 Balasis. In 1923, they returned to the States to work the Keith circuit and ended up staying. Two years later, Victor Sr and Paula retied and the act soldiered in as the Balasi Trio through 1930, at which point Victor Jr. formed a new act with his wife called Balasi and Skaren.

To find out more about the variety artspast and present, consult No Applause, Just Throw Money: The Book That Made Vaudeville Famous, available at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and wherever nutty books are sold. And don’t missChain of Fools: Silent Comedy and Its Legacies from Nickelodeons to Youtube, to be released by Bear Manor Media in 2013.