Johnny Slate successfully manages his circus as it moves from town to town.
Production
Production
Seasons
30 Episodes • Premiered 1963
1. Lion on Fire
2. Silent Love, Secret Love
3. No Middle Ground for Harry Kyle
4. Don't Look Down, Don't Look Back
5. Garve
6. The Loser
7. Uncaged
A circus aerialist is charged with robbery and murder.
8. The Circus Never Came to Town
Mentally retarded Willie Simple still harbors his childlike daydream of becoming a clown. Slate takes pity on him, giving the boy a job although he has been warned that he might cause problems.
9. An Echo of Faded Velvet
10. The Hanging Man
11. Leaves in the Wind
12. The Wrecker
13. Lady in Limbo
Johnny Slate (Jack Palance) is trying to decide which act to send to Russia for a cultural exchange program with the Moscow Circus. Horse trainer Kate Reynolds (Lucille Ball) wants the coveted spot. Menagerie feeder Charles is mauled by one of Kirov's trained bears and dies, leaving his young son Jeff alone in the circus. Coldy ambitious Kate takes care of the boy until Slate locates his Aunt Agatha, a spinster living near Washington DC. Jeff wants to stay with Kate and their separation is surprisingly difficult for her. Kate reveals to Slate that she was a 17 year-old widow with a child on the way, but that she lost the baby. Unhappy, Jeff runs away from his Aunt and returns to the circus in hides with the help of Kirov. Kate and Agatha agree that Jeff belongs with the circus and Kate will be his guardian.
14. A Black Dress for Gina
15. Where the Wire Ends
16. Corsicans Don't Cry
17. Big Man from Nairobi
18. The Show Must Go On-- to Orange City
19. A Place to Belong
20. Man in a Hole
21. Clancy
22. The Last of the Strongmen
23. The Night the Monkey Died
24. Of Blood, Sawdust, and a Bucket of Tears
25. Rosetta
26. The Glorious Days of the Used to Be
27. Love the Giver
28. This Train Don't Stop Till It Gets There
29. There Are No Problems, Only Opportunities
30. You're All Right, Ivy
Joan Blondell, Buster Keaton and Joe E. Brown portray a trio of veteran performers, now reduced to handling menial chores around the circus. Slate's most pressing problem, however, is an uninterested young man who's been turned over to him to ""learn the business."" Over this barrier of gloom climbs spirited and ambitious Ivy Hatch, who has run away from home to join the circus. Ivy has one drawback: She doesn't have any special talent.
