Backstory
Gene Hall was born into a family of touring circus performers in 1939. As a child, he hoped to discover a special talent, just like his father (the strong man) or his mother (a trapeze artist), however, he was unable to find a circus talent that he excelled in. As a young child, his father made him perform alongside him in a two-person act called “Strong Man and the Small Man” where he stood on top of one of the barbells with a similarly weighted monkey equalizing the load. To trick the audience that Gene was in fact a small adult and not a child, his father squeezed lemon juice over his face and forced him to stand in the sun for hours in hopes that this would age his skin to appear as an old man instead of a boy. This attempt was unsuccessful and left burn marks on his face, permanently disfiguring him.
Shut out and ignored by the other circus performers, Gene went on to spend most of his time with the animals, allowing him to foster a friendship with the monkeys. Deemed an outcast by his parents due to his pitiful appearance and lack of circus talent, he defaulted to become a clown. The makeup allowed him to conceal the burn marks and hide from the scared looks of the audience. On his 15th birthday, Gene officially joined the company as “Yutzo the Yo-yo Clown” featuring a bit where he taught one of the monkeys to use a yo-yo. This act never worked as planned, and both Yutzo and the monkey were booed by audience members. His father, embarrassed and disappointed, mocked him and kicked the monkey once he got off the stage. The boy was furious. He picked up the hard wooden yo-yo and used it to strike his father’s head, killing him instantly. Everything shifted for Gene in this moment. For the first time in his life, he felt content now that his father was dead. The rest of the circus performers rushed to the backstage area when they heard the screams from the Strong Man. Feeling powerful and dominant for the first time in their lives, Gene and the rest of the monkeys attacked the remaining performers, brutally killing them all.
Gene and the monkeys abandoned the circus camp and were never caught for their attacks that day. For many years, they hid from the public by living off the grid and hitching rides on the back of train cars. After many years had passed, Gene and the monkeys came across a new traveling circus train and inquired about joining with their trained monkey act. After many years of caring for and living with the monkeys, they were able to perfect not only the yo-yo act, but many other tricks as well. Impressed by the unique talent of the monkeys and Gene’s ability to communicate with and train them, the Ringmaster offered them a spot in their show. After the first weekend of performances, word spread of the new act and a television executive came to see the show with his daughter. Impressed by what he saw, he offered Gene a guest spot on a popular local lunchtime television program. They eventually received their own show titled “Yutzo the Clown and the Magic Monkey Troupe” which was syndicated across the country. After 4 successful seasons, viewership began to decline, and the executive decided to cancel the program as his daughter had grown up and was no longer interested in concept.
Shut out and ignored by the other circus performers, Gene went on to spend most of his time with the animals, allowing him to foster a friendship with the monkeys. Deemed an outcast by his parents due to his pitiful appearance and lack of circus talent, he defaulted to become a clown. The makeup allowed him to conceal the burn marks and hide from the scared looks of the audience. On his 15th birthday, Gene officially joined the company as “Yutzo the Yo-yo Clown” featuring a bit where he taught one of the monkeys to use a yo-yo. This act never worked as planned, and both Yutzo and the monkey were booed by audience members. His father, embarrassed and disappointed, mocked him and kicked the monkey once he got off the stage. The boy was furious. He picked up the hard wooden yo-yo and used it to strike his father’s head, killing him instantly. Everything shifted for Gene in this moment. For the first time in his life, he felt content now that his father was dead. The rest of the circus performers rushed to the backstage area when they heard the screams from the Strong Man. Feeling powerful and dominant for the first time in their lives, Gene and the rest of the monkeys attacked the remaining performers, brutally killing them all.
Gene and the monkeys abandoned the circus camp and were never caught for their attacks that day. For many years, they hid from the public by living off the grid and hitching rides on the back of train cars. After many years had passed, Gene and the monkeys came across a new traveling circus train and inquired about joining with their trained monkey act. After many years of caring for and living with the monkeys, they were able to perfect not only the yo-yo act, but many other tricks as well. Impressed by the unique talent of the monkeys and Gene’s ability to communicate with and train them, the Ringmaster offered them a spot in their show. After the first weekend of performances, word spread of the new act and a television executive came to see the show with his daughter. Impressed by what he saw, he offered Gene a guest spot on a popular local lunchtime television program. They eventually received their own show titled “Yutzo the Clown and the Magic Monkey Troupe” which was syndicated across the country. After 4 successful seasons, viewership began to decline, and the executive decided to cancel the program as his daughter had grown up and was no longer interested in concept.