Dates

• Existence: 13 March 1926 - 26 September 2016

Biography

Kay Smart was born in Lambeth, London on 13 March 1926 to Albert Pentice (13h December 1880 -28 April 1958) and Adeline Manning aka Adele Bromley (7 September 1893 - 11 December 1931). Albert was a circus acrobat, during the First World War he joined The Welsh Regiment and was badly wounded at the Battle of the Somme in 1916, which resulted in a paralysed arm which ended his performing career. During his convalescing in London, he met Adeline, a theatre seamstress and set up home together. Albert took on backstage work at the theatre and become a greengrocer. Albert and Adele had two children Kay and Albert Rhodes aka Rocky (26 September 1923 – 1988).

Kay started a career in the theatre at an early age, before forming a double act with Rocky in c1940, The Pavions, however, by 1943 Rocky had joined the army and Kay move to Blackpool where she worked as a conductor on the Trolly Buses. During this time Kay joined a trapeze act called The Juleos. While performing with Cody’s Circus in 1945, Billy Smart came to see the show and ended up buying the outfit including Kay’s act. Circus was a new venture for the Smart family and Kay had to show Billy Smart’s oldest son, Ronnie, how the king poles and Big Top was built up and pulled down.

Kay and Ronnie married on 12 March 1950 and had three children Christine, Gary, and Lord.

At the Smart Circus, Kay presented the horses and other animals such as polar bears, and was responsible for the orchestra and music, ice cream, drinks and balloon sales. She also carried out a number of Public Relations roles including Desert Island Discs and What’s My Line in the early 1960s, and often gave interviews on radio and television on circus life. When granny Smart’s daughter Ena left the circus Kay took over managing the box office and eventually had to give up appearing in the ring.

Kay supported Ronnie as he set up The Windsor Safari Park which opened in 1969 and when Billy Smart’s Circus stopped travelling in 1971, she worked in the cash office at the Safari Park until the business and the circus winter quarters were sold in 1988. Kay and Ronnie moved to Spain for some time and later to Jersey. In 1992 they travelled Europe looking at circuses and re-launched the new theatre style Billy Smart’s Circus in 1993 at Richmond with the help of their son Gary. Kay and Ronnie booked the acts and Kay took care of the wardrobe and music for the show. They run this outfit until the 1998 season after which they sold the equipment to start co-producing a Billy Smart show in conjunction with Tony Hopkins, a longtime family friend. They eventually moved back to the UK settling in Ascot, Berkshire.

Kay was a published poet and a long-time member of the Order of the Lady Ratlings. She also sat on the Board of Trustees of the Variety Benevolent Fund for Artists and Actors at Brimsworth House in Twickenham.

Kay died on 25th September 2016 in Jersey.

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