Notoriously eccentric, Doug Ashton's Chaplinesque clown character is widely regarded to be one of the funniest ever to appear with the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus. He also appeared on several Shrine circuses and enjoyed a long run at Knott's Berry Farm while here in the States.
He appears in this clip with "His Gal Sal" (his beautiful and talented wife Sally) from Royale Super Circus in his native Australia.
Doug Ashton and Michael Karp both joined Ringling at about the same time that Freddie Freeman retired. Doug Ashton's makeup and costume were very different in '66 and '67 from what his character evolved into. I wonder if there was any conscious "passing of the torch" from Freddie to Michael and Dougie?
2 comments:
Pat. Thanks for the clip. Brings back good feelings. I worked with Dougie around the time he and Sally first hooked up.
Hi Pat,how can I contact Doug & Sally? they are good friends but we lost contact.Vern Ellis.Circus Fans Of Australasia.
vernellis@bigpond.com
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