Thursday, August 14, 2008

CLOWN ALLEY: Clyde Beatty-Cole Bros. Circus, 1992


Photos courtesy of Dean Chambers




From Dean "Elmo Gibb" Chambers...


I found this backyard picture of the alley Jerry's first year. Left to right are: Mark Myers, Jerry Nye, Larry Armstrong, Doug Keaty (sp?), Elmo, Buck Nolan, James Houser, ?(beats me--I really don't remember him, as I was only there the first weekend and didn't see the show again for a while). Dave Williams is stuffing Bobby Torres into the trash can.

This was the second year for the Recycling Machine gag, the only time Johnny Pugh asked me to repeat a gag. I'm guessing 1992, because the following year Bruce Feiler wrote his book and I turned the recycling machine into the stomach pump. See if you can locate a 1992 program to ID the mystery clown. It was also the year the show opened with the human cannonball and we followed immediately with the cannon gag.

Elmo




5 comments:

  1. Houser was a resident of New Jersey and a very funny clown. I don't know what happened to him when he departed CBCB.
    I thought Dave Williams was a very funny clown, as well. He was very animated and had a natural flair for being a little clown character.
    I counted 10 clowns in the photo -- wow, what an alley.

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  2. I've said this to Elmo several times, "You should A.open a prop shop, B. build props for Disney."

    I first met Elmo in 1981 when we worked the Rochester, NY Shrine date for Jimmy Douglass which was produced by Gracie McIntosh.

    We had 8 clowns in the alley at the time; the dressing room was lively for sure.

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  3. It is Rob Torres, not Bobby. Houser was from Indiana and returned there after he left the show at the end of the 1993 season.
    Thought you'd like to know.
    Mark Myers

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  4. Mark Myers: I met some other "kids" on that show and we became friends, hanging out every chance we got bewteen 1985-1990. I recently reconnected with some of them including David Gaona (flyer, juggler, teeterboard). He asked me if I knew anything about James Houser. If you have any contact information for James, I'd really like to pass it along to David. My email address is asktia@aol.com or look me up on Facebook.

    Thanks,

    Angela Story-Krug

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  5. Mark Myers please get in contact with me. This is Misty from Tuscumbia Al. We were friends and kept in touch for a few yrs but then lost contact. I was Misty King back then but Im Misty Marie Nichols now on facebook or email me at lilspoiledmisty@gmail.com. I miss talking to you and think about you and Rob everytime i see a circus.

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