Thought this might be a fun discussion, but to keep the discussion open and not drag anyone's name thru the mud if they are alive or dead lets just use names like "Show owner A" or "B".
One owner I worked for was really nice to employee's, he paid good for the times, was willing to come up and sit down and talk with you no matter what your position. The committee's like him and he stood up for his employees. However he did not put up with nonsense.
One time in NC at a fair an employee went off the deep end and was running up the midway running his mouth and causing a scene, the owner had one of the foremen take him down with one punch, guy got up and went back to work, never said anything else. This owner was real good about taking groups of us out to eat breakfast and paying. Great show owner, enjoyed working on that show a lot.
Now I never worked for Show owner B but heard he was a mean one, mean to the employees and the customers. Yell at you for stuff that wasn't your fault, wouldn't pay and left a bunch of employees stranded one time without pay and without a way to make the jump. Just not a way to treat your help, any help that I have hired I always try to pay them a little more at least than average and bonus them when they work hard. I put them in hotels when I needed too, now not the most expensive one but at least a place to shower and lay your head down on a pillow.