Irvin Feld

American circus manager

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July 21, 2026

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Irvin Feld was an American circus manager who, along with his brother Israel and a partner, purchased the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus in 1967. Feld sought to make the circus more family-oriented, removing the freak show and establishing the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Clown College in 1968 to preserve clowning. Under his management, the circus returned to profitability. In 1971, Mattel, Inc. bought the circus from Feld, though his family continued to manage it. The Felds bought it back in 1982, and it became part of Feld Entertainment, headed by Irvin Feld's son, Kenneth. The circus ceased operations in 2017 due to declining ticket sales and increasing costs, partly influenced by animal rights activism regarding the treatment of animals. It resumed touring in 2023 with animal-free shows.12

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Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus
The Feld family circus
…an agreement with concert promoter Irvin Feld, under which the circus continued performing—not under the big-top tent but in indoor facilities which Feld contracted. Without the need to put up and take down the tent, the circus was able to reduce costs and cut its workforce from about 1,400 to…
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…an agreement with concert promoter Irvin Feld, under which the circus continued performing—not under the big-top tent but in indoor facilities which Feld contracted. Without the need to put up and take down the tent, the circus was able to reduce costs and cut its workforce from about 1,400 to…
Read More