John Selbini (born Patrick Joseph McCoy, 1854 – 5 November 1932), was an American-born British trick cyclist, acrobat and entertainer, who established The Selbinis, one of the most successful family acts performing in British music halls and internationally between the 1880s and the First World War. Biography Early years Patrick McCoy was born in Westfield, Massachusetts, U.S., the son of Irish immigrants. He moved with his parents and family back to England as a child, and grew up in Hanley, Staffordshire. From about 1864, he travelled with a circus, and learned horse riding and circus tricks, but soon ran away to join another small troupe of cyclists and acrobats led by George Gorin, later known as George Letine. McCoy initially worked as an acrobat and contortionist in the troupe, touring in both Britain and continental Europe, and took on the stage name of Jack (or John) Selbini. From around 1875 he became the troupe's star attraction as a trick cyclist. He then formed a double act with another trick cyclist, William Villion (born William Stephen Bexfield, 1853–1913). They were described as "the only artists that throw backward and forward somersaults on velocipedes." In late 1876 they performed together for eight weeks at the Theatre Royal in Covent Garden, where they appeared before the Prince and Princess of Wales. After Selbini recovered from a serious injury after a fall, the Selbini-Villion troupe toured widely in 1877, including in Germany where he met singer and dancer Lily Knight (1860–1930); they married in 1878, and had five children between then and 1886. The troupe was very successful, and both Lily and Villion's wife Lizzie joined the act. They toured widely over the next three years, often as part of Hengler's Circus, appeared at the Folies Bergere, and before the King and Queen of Spain in 1880. The following year they undertook a lengthy tour of North America with Forepaugh's Circus, before Selbini and Villion decided to end their partnership, for unknown reasons. Family troupe After returning to England, Selbini and his wife started a family troupe, enrolling their eldest daughter, Lalla (born Mary Elizabeth McCoy, 1878–1942). In 1883, they started a two-year tour of North America with Michael B. Leavitt's company. The family of three, with another man known as Alpha, returned to England and added another daughter, Leola (then aged 3) to their act in 1885. They achieved star status on theatre