Sgt. Singer's Pizza Circus: Difference between revisions

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Sgt. Singer's Pizza Circus (styled as Sgt. Singer's Spectacular Star Studded Circus Pizza Show) was a family entertainment center chain with approximately 4 locations, a "Kiddieland" location, and multiple travelling shows.

Historical Background

Nickels and Dimes Incorporated

Nickels and Dimes Incorporated (NDI) is an entertainment company founded by Craig Singer sometime around 1972 in Carrollton, Texas.^[1] NDI was best known as the operator of Tilt arcades and Gold Mine arcades throughout the 1970's and 1980's.

Sgt. Singer's Spectacular Star Studded Circus Pizza Show

Taking a page from the recent successes of Chuck E. Cheese's Pizza Time Theatre and ShowBiz Pizza Place, Craig Singer established Sgt. Singer's Spectacular Star Studded Circus Pizza Show in Pasadena, Texas by 1982.^[2] Although unconfirmed, newspapers mark early operations of the chain to be around March 1, 1982. Likewise to competitors, the establishment offered pizza, beer, arcade games, and animatronic shows as the main attraction. Animatronics for Sgt. Singer's were manufactured by Creative Presentations, Inc. of Schaumburg, Illinois.

Sgt. Striper's and the Closure of Sgt. Singer's Pizza Circus

Despite its moderate success as a small regional chain, NDI ultimately shifted its focus back to standard arcades. This meant Sgt. Singer's was now an afterthought to the company, leading to the discontinuation of new locations. Creative Presentations, left with an abundant stock of unused shows, retained all rights to the characters and began selling their stock to other clients. The band, now rebranded as Sgt. Striper's Review, was sold to be versatile in theme. These various themes included:

Sgt. Striper's Circus Band (Distributed by Okamoto Amusements in Japan^[3])
Sgt. Striper's Beach Bums (Also distributed by Okamoto Amusements in Japan)
Sgt. Striper's Country Western Show

By this point in time, the Sgt. Singer's Pizza Circus chain had officially been defunct, with the final store's speculated closure to be August 7, 1991.

Characters

Sgt. Singer / Sgt. Striper

(Voiced by Mark Brink) A tiger on acoustic guitar who fearlessly, "leads his troops," in a menagerie of musical entertainment. The character's name was initially named after creator, Craig Singer, before being renamed Sgt. Striper for wide distribution.

P.T. Bearum

The bear who is "tinkling on his keys" with his western piano.

Pounce D' Lion

A pun on the name of Spanish conquistador, Juan Ponce de León's, Pounce is a lion who jams on an electric guitar.

Patty the Piano-Playing Pachyderm

(Voiced by Martha Webster) A prissy and proper elephant, Patty performs on a grand piano for the audience's enjoyment (despite her laments as heard in the song "Mamas, Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to be Singers,") on a stylish Stage Left.

Mortimer D. Mouse

Mortimer is a cheeky and sarcastic rodent who performs with Patty Pachyderm on Stage Left. Despite irritating Patty with his remarks, Mortimer's singing has always been welcomed by the others (as long as the mouse behaves himself).

Dolly Porker

(Voiced by Martha Webster) Similarly to Patty, Dolly is a picky piggy who can be very particular with her venue of performance. Her name is a pun on Dolly Parton, though doesn't resemble her namesake besides that. She has been said to have been placed on Stage Right.

Trivia

The Sgt. Singer's store in Decatur, Georgia actually featured The Animal Crackers (with Sheriff Bob Wire and the Ape-Ology's) instead of the standard show. It's unknown why this was the case, though rumors suggest it was due to the previous figures requiring off-stage maintenance.^[4]
During Concept Unification, Creative Presentations proposed replacing the Rock-afire Explosion with four retrofit options to Showbiz Pizza Time. Sgt. Singer was one of many CPI characters included in these concepts, along with the Ape-Ologys.^[5]

References

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b_L3v3LnhPk

https://youtu.be/8m4XzRgz71g

[1] ttps://arcadepreservation.fandom.com/wiki/Nickels_and_Dimes_Incorporated

[2] ttp://allincolorforaquarter.blogspot.com/2013/06/brides-of-chuck-e-pizza-time-theatres.html

[3] ttps://web.archive.org/web/20110524063531/http://www.okamotos.co.jp/cotarog/sonota.pdf

[4] ttps://arcadepreservation.fandom.com/wiki/Sgt._Singer%27s_Pizza_Circus#Creative_Presentations_Inc

[5] ttps://www.showbizpizza.com/info/documents/spt/spt_adp-binder.pdf

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[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-[[File:348578987 496051229323528 5961769661822251617 n.jpg|alt=Image of the main cast from Sgt. Singer's as Sgt. Striper's Touring Band at The Wild Horse Saloon.|thumb|Image of the main cast from Sgt. Singer's as Sgt. Striper's Touring Band at The Wild Horse Saloon.]]
+[[File:348578987 496051229323528 5961769661822251617 n.jpg|alt=Image of the main cast from Sgt. Singer's as Sgt. Striper's Touring Band at The Wild Horse Saloon.|thumb|Sgt. Striper's Review at The Wild Horse Saloon.]]
-Sgt. Singer's Pizza Circus (styled as "Sgt. Singer's Spectacular Star Studded Circus Pizza Show") was a pizza place with at least 4 locations, a Kiddieland location, and multiple travelling shows. The concept was operated by '''Nickels and Dimes Incorporated''', who also operated ''Tilt'' and ''Gold Mine''. The chain offered pizza, beer, animatronic shows, and arcade games for guests to enjoy. While the exact amount of time the chain was active is unknown, newspaper articles helped to give a rough estimate of March 1, 1982 - August 7, 1991.
+'''''Sgt. Singer's Pizza Circus''''' (styled as '''''Sgt. Singer's Spectacular Star Studded Circus Pizza Show''''') was a family entertainment center chain with approximately 4 locations, a "Kiddieland" location, and multiple travelling shows.
-== History ==
+== Historical Background ==
-[[File:Circus Band 2014 Promo.png|thumb|The main cast branded as Circus Band to be sold by Okamoto Amusements.]]
+[[File:Circus Band 2014 Promo.png|thumb|Sgt. Striper's Circus Band, as distributed by Okamoto Amusements of Japan.]]
-[[Nickels and Dimes Incorporated]] (NDI) is an family entertainment center operator established in 1972 by '''Craig Singer''' in Carrollton, Texas.<ref>https://arcadepreservation.fandom.com/wiki/Nickels_and_Dimes_Incorporated</ref> This company is responsible for many large businesses from the time such as Tilt and Gold Mine. Sgt. Singer's Pizza Circus was founded by Craig Singer in Pasadena, TX<ref>http://allincolorforaquarter.blogspot.com/2013/06/brides-of-chuck-e-pizza-time-theatres.html</ref> sometime around 1982. The animatronic cast for the pizza chain would be made by a company called [[Creative Productions]].
+=== ''Nickels and Dimes Incorporated'' ===
-Around 1988 the cast would be rebranded to '''Sgt. Striper's Review''' so that it could be sold to other places. It would also take on other names when sold to different places as well such as [[Circus Band]] for Okamoto<ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20110524063531/http://www.okamotos.co.jp/cotarog/sonota.pdf</ref> in Japan and [[The Sgt. Striper Touring Band]] in the US for a currently unknown company.
+''Nickels and Dimes Incorporated'' (NDI) is an entertainment company founded by Craig Singer sometime around 1972 in Carrollton, Texas.<ref>https://arcadepreservation.fandom.com/wiki/Nickels_and_Dimes_Incorporated</ref> NDI was best known as the operator of ''Tilt'' arcades and ''Gold Mine'' arcades throughout the 1970's and 1980's.
+=== '''''Sgt. Singer's Spectacular Star Studded Circus Pizza Show''''' ===
-== Animatronics ==
+Taking a page from the recent successes of ''Chuck E. Cheese's Pizza Time Theatre'' and ''ShowBiz Pizza Place'', Craig Singer established '''''Sgt. Singer's Spectacular Star Studded Circus Pizza Show''''' in Pasadena, Texas by 1982.<ref>http://allincolorforaquarter.blogspot.com/2013/06/brides-of-chuck-e-pizza-time-theatres.html</ref> Although unconfirmed, newspapers mark early operations of the chain to be around March 1, 1982. Likewise to competitors, the establishment offered pizza, beer, arcade games, and animatronic shows as the main attraction. Animatronics for ''Sgt. Singer's'' were manufactured by Creative Presentations, Inc. of Schaumburg, Illinois.
-The chain's main cast consisted of '''Sgt. Singer''' the tiger, '''P. T. Bearum''' the bear, and '''Pounce D' Lion''' the lion. The chain generally had a 3 stage setup but was also compatible to be a one stage setup. The main cast would be in the center stage and  when using the 3 stage setup would use other Creative Presentations animatronics for the other stages, generally '''Patty the Piano-Playing Pachyderm''' and '''Mortimer the Mouse''' on the right stage and '''Dolly Porker''' on the left. Some locations such as the one in Decatur Georgia would also use the '''Ape-Ology's''' in the center stage later in the store's lifespan. The Decatur  Georgia location may have also had a fourth stage with Bob Wire but this is not proven as of currently.
+=== ''Sgt. Striper's'' and the Closure of ''Sgt. Singer's Pizza Circus'' ===
+Despite its moderate success as a small regional chain, NDI ultimately shifted its focus back to standard arcades. This meant ''Sgt. Singer's'' was now an afterthought to the company, leading to the discontinuation of new locations. Creative Presentations, left with an abundant stock of unused shows, retained all rights to the characters and began selling their stock to other clients. The band, now rebranded as '''''Sgt. Striper's Review''''', was sold to be versatile in theme. These various themes included:
+* [[Circus Band|Sgt. Striper's Circus Band]] (Distributed by Okamoto Amusements in Japan<ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20110524063531/http://www.okamotos.co.jp/cotarog/sonota.pdf</ref>)
+* [[Sgt. Striper's Beach Bums]] (Also distributed by Okamoto Amusements in Japan)
+* [[Sgt. Striper's Country Western Show]]
+By this point in time, the ''Sgt. Singer's Pizza Circus'' chain had officially been defunct, with the final store's speculated closure to be August 7, 1991.
+== Characters ==
+=== Sgt. Singer / Sgt. Striper ===
+(Voiced by Mark Brink) A tiger on acoustic guitar who fearlessly, "leads his troops," in a menagerie of musical entertainment. The character's name was initially named after creator, Craig Singer, before being renamed Sgt. Striper for wide distribution.
+=== P.T. Bearum ===
+The bear who is "tinkling on his keys" with his western piano.
+=== Pounce D' Lion ===
+A pun on the name of Spanish conquistador, [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juan_Ponce_de_Le%C3%B3n Juan Ponce de León's], Pounce is a lion who jams on an electric guitar.
+=== Patty the Piano-Playing Pachyderm ===
+(Voiced by Martha Webster) A prissy and proper elephant, Patty performs on a grand piano for the audience's enjoyment (despite her laments as heard in the song "Mamas, Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to be Singers,") on a stylish Stage Left.
+=== Mortimer D. Mouse ===
+Mortimer is a cheeky and sarcastic rodent who performs with Patty Pachyderm on Stage Left. Despite irritating Patty with his remarks, Mortimer's singing has always been welcomed by the others (as long as the mouse behaves himself).
+=== Dolly Porker ===
+(Voiced by Martha Webster) Similarly to Patty, Dolly is a picky piggy who can be very particular with her venue of performance. Her name is a pun on [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dolly_Parton Dolly Parton], though doesn't resemble her namesake besides that. She has been said to have been placed on Stage Right.
 == Trivia ==
+* The ''Sgt. Singer's'' store in Decatur, Georgia actually featured The Animal Crackers (with Sheriff Bob Wire and the Ape-Ology's) instead of the standard show. It's unknown why this was the case, though rumors suggest it was due to the previous figures requiring off-stage maintenance.<ref>https://arcadepreservation.fandom.com/wiki/Sgt._Singer%27s_Pizza_Circus#Creative_Presentations_Inc</ref>
-* Sgt Singer's Pizza Circus was named after it's founder Craig Singer.
+* During [[Concept Unification]], Creative Presentations proposed replacing the Rock-afire Explosion with four retrofit options to Showbiz Pizza Time. Sgt. Singer was one of many CPI characters included in these concepts, along with the Ape-Ologys.<ref>https://www.showbizpizza.com/info/documents/spt/spt_adp-binder.pdf</ref>
 == References ==
-https://arcadepreservation.fandom.com/wiki/Sgt._Singer%27s_Pizza_Circus#Creative_Presentations_Inc
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b_L3v3LnhPk
-https://youtu.be/8m4XzRgz71g
+https://youtu.be/8m4XzRgz71g<references />
-http://allincolorforaquarter.blogspot.com/2013/06/brides-of-chuck-e-pizza-time-theatres.html (Not all info on this page is correct)
-<references />