Jinx (born 1953-19??) was a chimpanzee who performed as part of the ice skating duo "Darlene and Jinx" with Darlene Sellek, his owner and trainer.New Orleans Times-Picayune, "Chimp Heads Three-Act Program at Beach Today", 9 Apr 1955
Early life Jinx, a member of the Pan troglodytes species, was born in late 1953 near Léopoldville, the capital of Belgian Congo. Jinx was purchased for $600 (f.o.b. Africa) from a Miami pet shop when he was 2 months old. “We had no idea of going into show business. We just wanted a pet,” claimed Darlene Sellek in an interview during one of the act's Ice Capades appearances in 1957.Chicago American, "World’s 1st Chimp on Ice Is Real Cool", 13 Apr 1957
Performing career Jinx and Darlene first appeared as an act at “The Homecoming” in Dekalb, Illinois, in August 1954, when Jinx was 10 months old.The Hinckley Review, "A Surprise Act", 12 Aug 1954 Jinx showed off his ability to walk a tightrope upside down and blindfolded. 4 months later, the act – billed as “Darlene and Jinx” – performed at the Chase Hotel in St. Louis, where the pair began a significant relationship with the major American circus impresario and director Al Dobritch.
In late January, Darlene started to train Jinx to ice skate, with the help of Baptist Schreiber, who is better known for his training of elephants. A few other show-business chimpanzees in the world were known to roller skate, but Jinx was the first to skate on ice. He first appeared on ice skates in the “Hollywood Ice Review” at Chicago Stadium in February, 1955, with the World and Olympic Ice Skating Champion Gundi Busch.
The relationship with Al Dobritch provided a number of bookings at various Shriner Circuses around the USA over the next few years, the first of which was the Zuhrah Shriner Circus in Minneapolis, at the end of February, 1955. The spring of 1955 found Darlene and Jinx in New Orleans at Pontchartrain Beach, working alongside Runyon and Edwards, and “Daddy Longlegs”, the man with the longest legs in the world.
By June, 1955, Al Dobritch had negotiated a television contract for the act; Darlene and Jinx had signed a 3-year contract with the Super Circus television show, produced in Chicago for station WBKB, “Chicago’s Family Station”.Billboard, "‘Super Circus’ Adds Chimp to Regulars", 2 Jul 1955 While with Super Circus, Jinx worked with the children's television pioneer Claude Kirchner and the ever popular Mary Hartline. Darlene and Jinx were forced to leave the show after only 5 months when the production moved from Chicago to New York in November, 1955.
Jinx visited New York for the first time in late 1955 when Darlene appeared on the What’s My Line? television game show (Game 2, Season 7, Episode 282), hosted by John Daly. During that visit, Jinx was inducted into the American Airlines “Sky Cradle Club” for the flight from New York to Chicago in November, 1955.Houston Chronicle, "The Show Goes On", 11 Nov 1955
In November, 1955, Jinx began regular appearances with Ned Locke on the Captain Hartz and His Pets television show produced in Chicago for television station WMAQ, sponsored by the Hartz Mountain Corporation pet care company. (Jinx first appeared with Ned Locke as his WMAQ radio disc jockey assistant – the world's first chimpanzee radio personality.)
From the end on 1955 through mid-1956, Darlene and Jinx appeared at a number of Shriners Circuses across the US, including the Rizpah Shrine Circus in Madisonville, Kentucky, the Al Chymia Shrine Circus in Memphis, Tennessee the Arabia Temple Shrine Circus in Houston, Texas, the Shrine Circus in Topeka, Kansas, and the Hamid Morton Shrine Circus at Hunt Armory in Bloomsbury, Pennsylvania.Pittsburg Sun-Telegraph, "Chimp Writes Own Story", 17 Apr 1956
In July, 1956, Darlene and Jinx appeared at Belmont Park, Montreal in Quebec. This was followed in August at the Canadian National Exhibition (CNE) where they appeared with the television cowboy star Gene Autry, and then in September at the 4th annual Sudbury Rotary Exhibition in Sudbury, Ontario.Sudbury Daily Star, (untitled), 14 Sep 1956
New Year, 1957, found Darlene and Jinx at Jack Valentine's Supper Club Restaurant in Ft. Lauderdale for a 3-month engagement with Jack Valentine's Ice Show. Here he performed with the great figure skater Jack Paul, who is quoted saying “Jinx outdoes me in figure work”.Miami Herald, "Night Life", George Bourke, 12 Jan 1957
In March 1957, the duo appeared on the Jackie Gleason Show “Cavalcade of Circuses”. In April, Darlene and Jinx made their first appearance in the Ice Capades at Chicago Stadium.Chicago American, "World’s 1st Chimp on Ice Is Real Cool", 13 Apr 1957 In July, they appeared in Las Vegas at The Sands Cirque Room and Hotel El Cortez “Rhythm On Ice Revue”.
Back in Chicago in January, 1958, Darlene and Jinx filled in for “The Three Adaros” at the American Electroplaters Society 46th Educational Session and Banquet and performed an act called “Hi Jinx” in the Merriel Abbott Ice Revue at Chicago Hilton.
Darlene and Jinx appeared on America's most popular television variety program of the era, The Ed Sullivan Show “John Harris’s Ice Capades Of 1958”, broadcast on CBS television from Madison Square Garden in New York City on Sunday, 7 September 1958.
Retirement As Jinx aged, he began to become less controllable. At a Christmas Show in New York in 1960, he exhibited greater aggression toward his young audience.https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1961&dat=19601218&id=W-ciAAAAIBAJ&sjid=v4wFAAAAIBAJ&pg=1067,2691924&hl=en
Jinx's 1966 appearance in “Jamboree On Ice” at Indian Rocks Beach Palm Garden Restaurant, St. Petersburg, Florida, marked the end of his performing career. He retired in 1967 to the St. Louis Zoo.
Co-stars Gene Autry Professor Backwards Gundi Busch Leo Carrillo Jill Corey John Daly Al Dobritch Lola Dobritch Jack Entratter Georgia Gibbs Great Wallendas Mary Hartline Peter Lind Hayes Mary Healy Miss Ohio Joan Hyldoft Dennis James Emmett Kelly Claude Kirchner Ned Locke Miller & Woodcock Elephants Garry Moore Jane Morgan Hugh O'Brian Joe Pasternak Johnnie Ray Duncan Renaldo Bob Reynolds Sharon Kay Ritchie Adrian Swan Sophie Tucker
Performances Date Location Venue Event 12 Aug 1954 Dekalb, IL The Homecoming26 Dec 1954 St Louis Chase Hotel 01 Feb 1955 Chicago Chicago Stadium Hollywood Ice Revue28 Feb 1955 Minneapolis Minneapolis Auditorium Zuhrah Shrine Circus01 Apr 1955 New Orleans Pontchartrain Beach 02 Jul 1955 Chicago Super Circus TV Show31 Jul 1955 Chicago Super Circus TV Show01 Oct 1955 Madisonville, KY Municipal Baseball Park Rizpah Temple Shrine Circus30 Oct 1955 Garry Moore Show "Zoo Parade"11 Nov 1955 Houston Sam Houston Coliseum Arabia Temple Shrine Circus21 Nov 1955 Chicago Chicago Heart Assn Hilton Hotel13 Dec 1955 Madisonville, KY Municipal Park Rizpah Shrine Circus12 Feb 1956 Memphis Al Chymia Shrine Circus01 Mar 1956 Kansas City Municipal Auditorium Police Circus02 Mar 1956 Topeka, KS Shrine Circus16 Mar 1956 Wichita, KS Shrine Circus17 Apr 1956 Bloomsbury, PA Hunt Armory Hamid Morton Shrine Circus07 Jul 1956 Montreal Belmont Park 18 Jul 1956 Minneapolis Golden Strand Aqua Follies18 Aug 1956 Toronto CNE 12 Sep 1956 Toronto CNE 14 Sep 1956 Sudbury, Ontario 4th annual Sudbury Rotary Exhibition12 Jan 1957 Ft. Lauderdale Jack Valentine's Supper Club Restaurant Valentine's Ice Show08 Mar 1957 Ft. Lauderdale Jack Valentine's Supper Club Restaurant Valentine's Ice Show30 Mar 1957 Buffalo, NY Buffalo Shrine Circus Cavalcade Of Circuses13 Apr 1957 Chicago Chicago Stadium Ice Capades13 Jul 1957 Las Vegas The Sands Cirque Room 20 Jul 1957 Las Vegas Hotel El Cortez Rhythm On Ice Revue02 Dec 1957 Municipal Auditorium 04 Jan 1958 Chicago Conrad Hilton Hotel Merriel Abbott Ice Revue25 Jan 1958 Chicago Conrad Hilton Hotel American Electroplaters Society 46th Educational Session and Banquet07 Oct 1958 New York Madison Square Garden Ed Sullivan Show11 May 1959 Philadelphia Willow Grove Park 24 Aug 1959 Toronto CNE 25 Jul 1960 Hagerstown MD Hagerstown Fair Ice Skating Extravaganza18 Dec 1960 New York Manhattan Savings Christmas Show12 Jan 1966 St. Petersburg Indian Rocks Jamboree On Ice
References
The information contained in this entry was obtained from a scrap book of newspaper clippings collected by Darlene Nay (formerly Darlene Sellek) during Jinx's career as a performing artist.
External links