Circus Bassie & Adriaan existed for real. The first plans were conceived in 1978, and when Bas and Aad van Toor played the characters in Circus Renz, they realized the popularity of the characters and finally decided to go through with the plans. Bas and Aad's half-brother,
Andre du Lord, also took part in the circus as a magician and ringmaster. Due to high workload of leading such an enterprise, which strained the relation between Bas, Aad and
Joop van den Ende, the circus only toured from 1980 until 1982.