From the Observer

By Katie Johns

January 9, 2019

Ron Morris was an adventurer.

Morris’ wife, Arlene Morris, said show business is a risky one, and it’s hard to know if a show would make it through a season.

But that didn’t stop her husband from being involved in the business.

“I think he enjoyed the creative end of it, the business end of it and also the people, who were great adventures on their own,” Arlene Morris said.

In 1971, the Morrises came to Sarasota so Ron Morris could write a biography on high-wire legend Karl Wallenda. From there, the pair started traveling with different circuses running concessions, which he started in as a young man in Toronto. He met a circus family and invested with them and ran their concessions.

Arlene Morris said her husband had a creative eye for art and used that while creating material for various shows. After traveling with the circus, the Morrises settled in Sarasota.

The late Morris, a circus entrepreneur and impresario, established Sarasota’s Spotlight Graphics, which has been an industry leader in circus posters, programs and ticket printing. After 30 years, Morris sold the business and retired.

When he wasn’t running the business, he also produced circuses and was a past president of Showfolks of Sarasota and a former Circus Ring of Fame board member.