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Con Colleano
Con Colleano (born Cornelius Sullivan; 26 December 1899 – 13 November 1973) was an Australian tightrope walker. He was the first person to successfully attempt a forward somersault on a tightrope, and became one of the most celebrated and highly-paid circus performers of his time. He was known as "The Wizard of the Wire" or "The Toreador of the Wire". He performed with his nine siblings and a cousin as a circus troupe, touring Australia as well as in South Africa, Europe, and the United states between 1930 and 1950. A 2025 documentary film about the family by Pauline Clague, The Colleano Heart, premiered at the Adelaide Film Festival in October 2025 and was broadcast on NITV and SBS Television in January 2026.
Colleano was born Cornelius Sullivan in Lismore, New South Wales on 26 December 1899, the son of Cornelius Sullivan (1874–1952), and Julia Vittorine Sullivan (1878–1953), née Robinson, a woman of partial Bundjalung descent, whose father was an Afro-Caribbean man from St Thomas in the Danish West Indies. Colleano was the third of 10 children. His father (reportedly a freed convict) made a precarious living from sideshow "take-on-all-comers" boxing and gambling.
Around 1907, when Colleano was seven years old, the family settled in Lightning Ridge, New South Wales, then a newly established opal mining field, and a fertile ground for the father's talents. Here Colleano received a rudimentary education and learned circus skills from the sideshows present in the town.[citation needed]
By 1910, those of the family of sufficient age had formed a small circus troupe, calling themselves the "Collinos" (apparently as an Italian-sounding name befitting the "sable" complexion of the children, in order to cover the "native blood" in their veins). They travelled through New South Wales, and supplemented their income by working for the major travelling circuses of the time.[citation needed] They also pretended to be Spanish over some periods of time, and also Arab, to hide their heritage.
By 1918, now known as "Colleano's All-Star Circus" (with more of Con's siblings), the troupe was sufficiently established to travel through Queensland on their own hired train. The children became known as "The Royal Hawaiian Troupe" (again to cover for their dark complexions). All ten of the siblings, as well as a cousin, performed as part of the troupe.
In 1919, Con managed to achieve the foot-to-foot forward somersault he had been attempting for some time, which was destined to secure his subsequent career. In 1922 he was engaged by the popular Tivoli circuit, the major outlet for vaudeville in Australia, on a salary of £60 a week. His siblings also appeared at The Tiv as "Eight Akabar Arabs".
Having learnt dance moves from his fiancée, soubrette Winifred Constance Stanley "Winnie" Trevail (1900–1986), which he translated to the wire, Con was ready to move overseas to further his career.[citation needed]
At his first performances in South Africa he was billed as Australian, but in April 1924 he adopted the Spanish toreador persona he was to employ for the greatest part of his subsequent career. In September 1924 he appeared at the New York Hippodrome Theatre and was soon noticed and engaged by Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, the largest in the country. Colleano close relationship with the Ringling family, especially John and Mabel Ringling.
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Con Colleano
Con Colleano (born Cornelius Sullivan; 26 December 1899 – 13 November 1973) was an Australian tightrope walker. He was the first person to successfully attempt a forward somersault on a tightrope, and became one of the most celebrated and highly-paid circus performers of his time. He was known as "The Wizard of the Wire" or "The Toreador of the Wire". He performed with his nine siblings and a cousin as a circus troupe, touring Australia as well as in South Africa, Europe, and the United states between 1930 and 1950. A 2025 documentary film about the family by Pauline Clague, The Colleano Heart, premiered at the Adelaide Film Festival in October 2025 and was broadcast on NITV and SBS Television in January 2026.
Colleano was born Cornelius Sullivan in Lismore, New South Wales on 26 December 1899, the son of Cornelius Sullivan (1874–1952), and Julia Vittorine Sullivan (1878–1953), née Robinson, a woman of partial Bundjalung descent, whose father was an Afro-Caribbean man from St Thomas in the Danish West Indies. Colleano was the third of 10 children. His father (reportedly a freed convict) made a precarious living from sideshow "take-on-all-comers" boxing and gambling.
Around 1907, when Colleano was seven years old, the family settled in Lightning Ridge, New South Wales, then a newly established opal mining field, and a fertile ground for the father's talents. Here Colleano received a rudimentary education and learned circus skills from the sideshows present in the town.[citation needed]
By 1910, those of the family of sufficient age had formed a small circus troupe, calling themselves the "Collinos" (apparently as an Italian-sounding name befitting the "sable" complexion of the children, in order to cover the "native blood" in their veins). They travelled through New South Wales, and supplemented their income by working for the major travelling circuses of the time.[citation needed] They also pretended to be Spanish over some periods of time, and also Arab, to hide their heritage.
By 1918, now known as "Colleano's All-Star Circus" (with more of Con's siblings), the troupe was sufficiently established to travel through Queensland on their own hired train. The children became known as "The Royal Hawaiian Troupe" (again to cover for their dark complexions). All ten of the siblings, as well as a cousin, performed as part of the troupe.
In 1919, Con managed to achieve the foot-to-foot forward somersault he had been attempting for some time, which was destined to secure his subsequent career. In 1922 he was engaged by the popular Tivoli circuit, the major outlet for vaudeville in Australia, on a salary of £60 a week. His siblings also appeared at The Tiv as "Eight Akabar Arabs".
Having learnt dance moves from his fiancée, soubrette Winifred Constance Stanley "Winnie" Trevail (1900–1986), which he translated to the wire, Con was ready to move overseas to further his career.[citation needed]
At his first performances in South Africa he was billed as Australian, but in April 1924 he adopted the Spanish toreador persona he was to employ for the greatest part of his subsequent career. In September 1924 he appeared at the New York Hippodrome Theatre and was soon noticed and engaged by Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, the largest in the country. Colleano close relationship with the Ringling family, especially John and Mabel Ringling.
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