Billy Smart jnr: In his heyday Billy Smart jnr, who has died aged 70, rivalled his cigar-smoking, stetson-hatted father Billy Smart snr, the creator of Billy Smart's Circus, in terms of personal publicity. But he was never so dominant in the business, which was controlled by his elder brothers, Ronald and David, until the family bowed out in 1986, though the name continues to this day.
Billy jnr was the third son of a family of 11 children. Born in London, he had a very basic formal education, but played his part in 1946 when his father founded the circus, originally to augment the family's travelling funfair business. The first circus was staged at Southall Park, Middlesex, and featured the cast of the wartime radio show, ITMA, led by Tommy Handley, who appeared as ring-master for the occasion.
As the circus evolved, becoming the first televised show to attract an audience of 22 million, Ronald looked after the logistics and business side, leaving David in charge of production and artists, with Billy jnr concentrating on the animals - and self-publicity.
As one of the most charismatic and eligible bachelors of the circus world, in the 1950s and 1960s he was a regular target for the gossip columns. In circus terms, he was in charge of training and caring for the huge stable of horses and ponies and the herd of 15 elephants.
Billy jnr had first appeared in his father's ring at the age of 12, as assistant equestrian director to the famous Frank Foster, who had formerly been with Bertram Mills Circus.
At 13, he made his debut with his performing pony, Rajah, and by 1949 was a fully competent presenter of animals, with a group of black Dutch Friesian liberty horses - riderless but responding to verbal commands - a group of 12 Welsh liberty ponies and appearing in a four-person dressage riding display with his sister Rosie.
While Ronald and David took turns to manage the elephants, Billy jnr graduated to showing exotic Highland cattle and in 1954 began working with Birma, the doyen (and first) of the Smart herd of elephants, paired with a horse, Castor.
In 1955 he took over the presentation and training of the elephants, which were in his care when the circus stopped touring in 1971, although he later turned over the presentation to his nephew, Billy Wilson Smart.
Billy Smart's Circus was one of the most impressive and innovative shows ever seen in Britain. In 1956, in its vast 6,000-seat four-mast tent, it added an exciting Wild West show, with Billy jnr playing the lead role of Davy Crockett. This display was retained for a number of years, and Billy added to his roles those of Wyatt Earp and a US cavalry captain leading his team to victory over the marauding "Red Indians".
Stars were attracted to the Smarts' charity shows, and in 1959 Birma the elephant performed the stunt of walking over Tommy Steele and Jayne Mansfield, without damage to either. In 1964 Princess Margaret attended a charity gala performance and the following year stars and politicians supported another gala for 1,000 orphaned children.
During his time as trainer and presenter of the elephant herd, Billy jnr became one of the acknowledged leaders in his field, showing 15 or more fully grown elephants, and at times causing controversy by painting his animals in different colours or introducing rock'n'roll into their performance.
Although he was equally adept with horses and ponies, he later concentrated on elephants, leaving the master trainers Rudi Jurkschat and John Gindl, and his nieces Gloria Johnson and Yasmine Smart, to take over the showing and training of the equine stock.
The death of Billy snr, while the circus was visiting Ipswich in 1966, gave his sons greater prominence. In 1967 the BBC featured the circus in one of the first colour programmes to be broadcast on British television, and its later TV shows became popular throughout Europe.
But circuses were coming under pressure from animal rights campaigners and had not yet developed ways of making do without animal acts. After 1971 Billy Smart's Circus gave shows only at its winter quarters, at Winkfield, Berkshire, and the family set about the creation of the nearby Royal Windsor safari park.
At the last stand of the touring show, on Clapham Common, south London, the elephants stampeded on the opening night, when a gypsy-themed number was produced. Billy jnr was quick to take control of the situation and for the rest of the final run they worked like clockwork. Then he took them to America and handed them over to other trainers: the big herd of elephants, along with some of the liberty horses, were sold to the Ringling Bros Barnum & Bailey Circus. Effectively that ended Billy jnr's association with animals, after which time the Smart family concentrated on producing television shows.
Billy's status as a jet-setting bachelor ended in 1973 when, on a flight from London to Los Angeles, he met a German air-stewardess, Hanna Nagel, marrying her five weeks later in Acapulco. They had a son, Billy Jay, to carry on the name (though he went to Eton and became a businessman) and a daughter, Baccara, and lived in Windsor safari park, with other homes in Monaco and Aspen, Colorado.
Five years later tragedy struck when Billy jnr lost the sight of his right eye during a cosmetic operation. He claimed the operation had been carried out, not because of vanity, but because he was appearing so much on television, and bags under the eyes were not good for his reputation or that of the circus. In the previous year, 1977, he had hosted a royal jubilee gala at the Windsor park.
In 1979 the circus switched from BBC to ITV for its Christmas and Easter broadcasts. In 1980 the Big Top variety shows began for ITV, though they ended at Easter 1983, and in February 1986 the auction sale of the winter quarters and equipment, costumes and props ended an era in which Billy Smart's had been undoubtedly Britain's biggest and finest travelling circus.
Billy jnr and his brother David severed all connections with the company, but in later years Ronald and his son Gary revived the title of Billy Smart's Circus, in 1993 launching a smaller and streamlined version, entitled Billy Smart's Quality Big Top Show. Billy jnr retired to Monaco and became interested in property deals; he was often to be seen visiting Prince Rainier's circus festivals in Monte Carlo.
Billy jnr is survived by his wife and two children.
Billy Smart jnr, born October 15th, 1934; died May 23rd, 2005