Circus talent czar Timothy Holst dies at 61

Timothy J. Holst, who joined the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus as a lowly Keystone Kops clown, rose to the role of singing ringmaster and ultimately became the show's talent czar, died April 16 in Sao Paulo, Brazil, during a visit to sign up circus acts. He was 61.

He died in a hospital there after a short illness, said a circus spokesman, Stephen Payne.

Holst came to Venice, Fla., for his clown training in 1971 and was a longtime resident of Sarasota County.

Before proselytizing for the circus, Holst spent 2 1/2 years as a missionary in Sweden for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Recently, he served as executive secretary of the church's Lakewood Ranch Ward.

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