Sgt. Singer's Pizza Circus: Difference between revisions

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== Current Whereabouts ==
== Current Whereabouts ==
Sometime between the 1990s and 2014 a japanese company called Okamotos Entertainment, a frequent IAAPA buyer, bought 3 sets of Sgt. Singer animatronics and put them into Ibaraki factory/warehouse to be held for sales, rebranding the band as Circus Band<ref name=":0" />. As of now they currently only have one set, or no sets left, but none for sale.
Sometime between the 1990s and 2014 a japanese company called Okamotos Entertainment, a frequent IAAPA buyer, bought 3 sets of Sgt. Singer animatronics and put them into Ibaraki factory/warehouse to be held for sales, rebranding the band as Circus Band<ref name=":0" />. As of now they currently only have one set left, with the other two sets sold to a currently unknown client or clients.




Revision as of 01:53, 22 March 2024

Image of the main cast from Sgt. Singer's as Sgt. Striper's Touring Band at The Wild Horse Saloon.
Sgt. Striper's Review at The Wild Horse Saloon in Idlewild Park (Pennsylvania).

Sgt. Singer's Pizza Circus (styled as Sgt. Singer's Spectacular Star Studded Circus Pizza Show) was a chain of family entertainment centers that were best known for their animatronic bands manufactured by Creative Presentations and their massive arcade selections.

History

Sgt. Striper's Circus Band, as distributed by Okamoto Amusements of Japan.

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:

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 Right. 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. She has been said to have been placed on Stage Left. She would sing songs such as "9 to 5".[4]

Patty Pachyderm and Mortimer Mouse on stage left in Decatur, Georgia

Stage Composition

There is not much info known about the stage setup specifics, however we do know that Sgt. Singer's generally used a 3 stage setup similar to Showbiz Pizza. On

the left stage was Dolly Porker, on center stage was P.T. Bearum, Sgt. Singer, and Pounce D' Lion, and on right stage was Patty Pachyderm and Mortimer Mouse. One known exception to this however is that in Idlewild Sgt. Striper's Touring Band was a one stage setup, having only the main cast of P.T. Bearum, Sgt. Striper, and Pounce D' Lion.

Showtape Songs

Not much is currently known about the songs. However it is known that there was a showtape where Dolly Porker would sing "9 to 5"[4] and that the Sgt. Striper Touring Band had 4 or 5 songs in one showtape.[5]

Installed Locations

Florida

France

Georgia

Pennsylvania

Texas

Current Whereabouts

Sometime between the 1990s and 2014 a japanese company called Okamotos Entertainment, a frequent IAAPA buyer, bought 3 sets of Sgt. Singer animatronics and put them into Ibaraki factory/warehouse to be held for sales, rebranding the band as Circus Band[3]. As of now they currently only have one set left, with the other two sets sold to a currently unknown client or clients.


There was also a Sgt. Singer animatronic that was part of a 3 player band in Mirapolis Park, but after the park closed it's specific whereabouts became unknown. Upon some research, reddit user DesteRat made three theories that the animatronic was either buried, was in a travelling show that went to multiple places, or was taken by park owner Anne Fourcade to be restored/put into a museum. As of now none of these theories have solid evidence however. [6]

Videos

Link Description Filming Date
Link Video of a family going around Mirapolis Park, with Sgt. Singer showing up near the end

The band is unofficially named Sgt. Striper and His Band by several people

July 22, 1990
Link Patty Pachyderm and Mortimer Mouse performing with the Jungle Jamboree Unknown

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.[7]
  • 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.[8]

References

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

https://youtu.be/8m4XzRgz71g

  1. ↑ https://arcadepreservation.fandom.com/wiki/Nickels_and_Dimes_Incorporated
  2. ↑ http://allincolorforaquarter.blogspot.com/2013/06/brides-of-chuck-e-pizza-time-theatres.html
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 https://web.archive.org/web/20110524063531/http://www.okamotos.co.jp/cotarog/sonota.pdf
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-atlanta-journal-animatronic-history/141365162/
  5. ↑ https://www.facebook.com/groups/6759081733/posts/10159398422271734/?comment_id=10159398518821734&reply_comment_id=10159398762676734
  6. ↑ https://www.reddit.com/r/Animatronics/comments/18g3xvc/comment/kdatuc3/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3
  7. ↑ https://arcadepreservation.fandom.com/wiki/Sgt._Singer%27s_Pizza_Circus#Creative_Presentations_Inc
  8. ↑ https://www.showbizpizza.com/info/documents/spt/spt_adp-binder.pdf
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