Wednesday, May 14, 2008

MYSTERY CLOWN: RBB&B @ MSG, 1956

Photo courtesy of Bill Strong


If I had to guess I'd say that this might be a young Duane "Uncle Soapy" Thorpe at the beginning of his career, before he developed his classic neat whiteface makeup that we all remember.

4 comments:

  1. Hi Pat,
    This photo is probably mislabeled. It is actually 1954 in the Garden.
    This is spec and you can see Harold Ronk on the right.
    The ring curb design and the aerial ballet rigging is another clue to the year.
    Do you think the clown might be Albert White? During spec he usually would be in center ring. However most of the time in spec he was in "drag".
    Regards,
    Dom Yodice

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  2. I'll guarantee if Dom says it's '54,it's '54, but I'm sure it's not "Flo", and far be it from me to accuse any circus of rehashing publicity photos.

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  3. Tho it is hard to tell, the face looks like it could be Fred Hanlon. My 1954 route book lists him in the cast.

    Sandy

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  4. I think it's one of the Hanlon Brothers too.

    -Greg

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