VENICE - Irene Bale, a circus acrobat, animal rider, trapeze artist and trick bicycle rider who belonged to a longtime circus family, has died of complications of Alzheimer's disease. She was 87.
Mrs. Bale died at her Venice home on Thursday, according to the Farley Funeral Home.
The Bale family, whose circus roots go back 350 years, was inducted into the Circus Ring of Fame in 2003.
Born in London, Mrs. Bale was an acrobat before her marriage to E. Trevor Bale, a former animal trainer and ringmaster with the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus.
Mrs. Bale's three daughters and a son also became circus performers.
