Friday, January 21, 2011
CLOWN ALLEY: RBB&B "Adam Smasher" (Late 1940s)
Paul Jung's classic "Adam Smasher" with Paul Jung out in front, Ernie "Blinko" Burch assisting on the left and it looks like Frank Luley on the right. I'm not sure who is playing "Adam" but I'll bet dollars to donuts that Prince Paul is one of the dwarves stuffed inside, ready to run out when that weight falls.
Thursday, January 20, 2011
ICHOF: CANDY BARS!!!
Gem City Amusements of Baraboo, Wisconsin has created these special edition candy bars just for the International Clown Hall of Fame and Research Center!
Help support the Hall of Fame. Proceeds from these candy bars goes directly to help with our projects and preservation.
You get six (6) Handmade Gourmet Milk Chocolate Bars produced by Gem City Candy Company right next door to the Clown Hall of Fame in Baraboo. You will receive three (3) Solid Gourmet Milk Chocolate Bars and three (3) Gourmet Milk Chocolate Bars sprinkled inside and out with candy confetti "balloons". These Bars are specially labeled with the Clown Hall of Fame logo and inductees to the Hall of Fame. These special Candy Bars are available directly from us to benefit the Clown Hall of Fame.
Please lend a hand and assist the efforts of the International Clown Hall of Fame and have fun doing it.
Anyone who has ever stopped by Ralph Pierce's shop knows that these are the finest quality chocolate bars you are ever going to taste.
Anyone who has ever stopped by Ralph Pierce's shop knows that these are the finest quality chocolate bars you are ever going to taste.
CLOWN ALLEY: Clyde Beatty-Cole Bros. Circus; The Changing of the Guard (1992)
From Elmo Gibb...
"I put this gag (a variation of Paul Jung's military gag) together to parody the human cannonball on Beatty-Cole. Fortunately we got the spot directly following the human cannonball and it went over well. This was the first public performance. We had to stall forever, as the prop crew managed to bury the cannon prop behind a trampoline Look for knock-off head (behind pole) and trick cannon flipping over. Explosion and smoke as well."
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
LOU JACOBS: Family Portrait
Photo courtesy of the International Clown Hall of Fame
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| Lou Jacobs, his wife Jean and daughters Dolly and Lou Ann. |
Lou is wearing what might be the single greatest pair of clown pants in the history of the circus and I believe that if you look closely you'll see Dolly is holding a pet guinea pig.
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
GEORGE CARL: The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson
George Carl's first Carson appearance, including the introduction and the snub by Carson at the end.
THE JACKSON 5: With Dom Deluise
Kiss Meets the Phantom of the Park, The Star Wars Holiday Special, Legends of the Super Heroes and now this.
The 70s were indeed a shameful time in our nation's history.
Monday, January 17, 2011
ICHOF: Typography Art
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| Typography art created using the names of Inductees to the International Clown Hall of Fame |
Sunday, January 16, 2011
Saturday, January 15, 2011
JONATHAN "MITCH" FREDDES AND EUGENE "PIDGE" PIDGEON" NPR Interview (2010)
Mitch and Pidge cutting jackpots.
Friday, January 14, 2011
Thursday, January 13, 2011
REMEMBERING CESLEE
2 Performers Die as Ringling Circus Train Derails
The New York Times
By GLENN COLLINS
Published: January 14, 1994
A Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey circus train derailed yesterday on a foggy stretch of track a mile east of Lakeland, Fla., killing a nationally known elephant trainer and a clown and injuring 15 people.
The Polk County Sheriff's Department said the cause of the derailment was unknown and is under investigation. The 53-car train, which derailed at 9:15 A.M., carried 200 performers and circus workers as well as 60 animals in the circus's Blue Unit, one of two Ringling shows that travel across the country in circus trains.
"It's Ringling's most serious train accident in more than 100 years," said a circus spokeswoman, Laura FitzGerald. The train was traveling 35 miles an hour, she said, adding that she did not know if fog had contributed to the accident. The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating.
Ms. FitzGerald identified the dead trainer as Theodore Svertesky, 39, of Bridgeport, Conn. A leading elephant trainer who headed the Ringling Elephant Farm, a research and breeding facility in Williston, Fla., Mr. Svertesky also performed in the center ring. He presented the Blue Show's headline attractions, Romeo and Juliet, 1-year-old Asian elephants who were making their debut with the show.
Officials said Ceslee Conkling, 28, of Fort Worth, Tex., a clown who performed in the show, was also killed. Animals Are Unharmed
Among the performers injured were a clown, a member of the band, two dancers and four members of a Chinese acrobatic troupe. All were treated for minor injuries at Lakeland Regional Medical Center and released.
No animals were in the 17 cars that derailed, and none was injured. After the accident, two members of a television news crew from Orlando were injured when their helicopter crashed behind a nearby high school.
The derailment occurred at a crossing at the intersection of State Route 92 and Fish Hatchery Road as the train traveled from St. Petersburg to an engagement in Orlando on Friday.
Ms. FitzGerald said it had not yet been decided whether the Friday performance in Orlando would be held. The show is scheduled to work its way north, traveling from city to city until its official world premiere in Madison Square Garden on March 24.
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| Ms. Ceslee Conkling December 6, 1965 - January 13, 1994 (Photo courtesy of The International Clown Hall of Fame) |
Fourteen years have passed.
I get busy with life and stuff and only when I take the moment to stop and look do I see it. I dig through albums of photo's, looking for publicity pictures for the next gig. And then I see her. The memories are still very fresh, the pain just under the surface. We took everything for granted. Never think the end is near. The last thing I remember her saying to me in St. Pete on load out before the train run was to make me promise to watch her track gag in Orlando. Give her some new bits.
Then its over...
It was the defining moment for me...the one thing that changed everything forever. Nothing would ever be the same. The show, the clowns, my life. The whole thing about 'never growing up"...changed. We lost something. The show continued but it never quite felt the same. People were very kind, the show opened a day late in Orlando, and the routine began again. Props to be set, clown alley to be spotted. The dry cleaning came back and costumes were collected.
All but one.
That was the saddest moment out of ten years of touring.
To see her costume hanging by itself on a rack backstage... knowing.
The physical hurts healed, but the emotional ones linger. What happened that January morning made me a different person, I pray a better person.
I remember with a smile a pretty clown who loved to fall...
Greg DeSanto
January 13, 2008
-------------------------------------------------------------
Dear Ceslee,
I am not sure if you will receive this, as it is uncertain whether or not e-mail can reach all the way to heaven. But I'll try.
Things have changed, but probably not as much as you would think. Many of your friends are still on the Show, many have left, and many have decided that they didn't get quite enough of the life that we all so passionately love and have returned for more.
The Clowns on both shows are doing well. The Red Unit is hard at work in Winter Quarters on yet another incredible show, and the Blue Show Clowns are enjoying a rest before heading back out onto the Road. I assure you that they are up to the same old buffoonery in the Alley, and the No-Talent Talent Show and the Hot Dog Eating Contest continue to be highlights of both routes.
Technology has changed the Circus quite a bit. Most of the Clowns now have cellular phones, and I have to tell you, it is kind of strange to be in Clown Alley and hear a phone ringing! Also, Circus Management is on this computer network called the Internet, so any information regarding the Show is e-mailed to the Corporate Offices daily. Not a good idea to be late for the Show.
As you can imagine, most of the familiar things have not changed at all. Clowns still put off that makeup order, then scramble trying to find clown white. Early PR appointments still abound, and it is harder than ever to squeeze a few comps out of the Promoter. The frantic pace backstage minutes before opening night remains, and, of course, audiences around the country continue to be mesmerized by the splendor of The Greatest Show on Earth. That, dear friend, will never change.
My, how we miss you. I have seen your parents several times, and I know that they miss you more than you can possibly imagine. You name is spoken fondly, with laughter and tears, every single day. That as well, dear friend, will never change.
A few years ago I rode the Circus Train through that area of immense suffering in Lakeland. I wanted to avoid the trip altogether and drive, but I decided to take the train and find what I was seeking. Standing on the vestibule in the early morning fog, I recognized the location and returned to my room. Clutching the Bible that I have had for more than twenty years, I sat alone, overcome with emotion, in the privacy of my room as the train crawled through Lakeland. Then I found what I had so desperately needed for a long time; peace.
Gone, but not forgotten, you are loved. Rest well.
Your friend,
Joel HeidtmanDecember 6, 2000
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| (Photo courtesy of The International Clown Hall of Fame) |
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
PAYASO BIRIBA
When performing Jerry Lewis' material it might be useful to remember that most children nowadays have never seen a typewriter.
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
CLOWN ALLEY: Ringling Blue Unit Alley at the Sons of the Desert Convention (1992)
Steve Smith, David Kiser, Sean Conklin, Dan Rooney and Greg DeSanto presenting the "Otto" to Hal Roach.
Monday, January 10, 2011
Sunday, January 09, 2011
Saturday, January 08, 2011
Friday, January 07, 2011
Thursday, January 06, 2011
Wednesday, January 05, 2011
SNUB POLLARD: Circus Eyebrows
Looks like Snub had been looking at photos of Grock, Little Walter, maybe Albert Fratellini? Add a nose and he could pass for one of the Francescos ; )
Tuesday, January 04, 2011
Monday, January 03, 2011
TRICK KELLY AND JUSTIN BIEBER: Single Ladies
Pro Clown Store's Trick Kelly and teen pop chanteuse Justin Bieber performing their cover of Beyonce's "Single Ladies".
If you like the song, drop Trick a note at the Pro Clown Store's site by clicking here.
Sunday, January 02, 2011
JOE "KOKO" COYLE: Detroit Yacht Club Venetian Night (1940)
Can anyone identify the two other clowns?
Saturday, January 01, 2011
A VERY HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Matthew Pauli and I backstage last night at the Schwartz Center for the Arts in Dover, DE with the legendary Kohl & Co. (past recipients of the International Clown Hall of Fame's "Lifetime of Laughter" award) as part of First Night Dover.
Matthew and I had four amazing shows and were even responsible for introducing the mayor of Dover at the kickoff of the event!
From Mr. Kohl himself:
Hey Pat, it was great seeing you guys at the show. Thanks so much for posting this photo. I don't know about being legendary, but we do our best to make people laugh and I guess that's what it's all about. Take care and Happy New Year to all our Clown and Magic friends.
Check out the Kohl & Co. website here.
Friday, December 31, 2010
FIRST NIGHT DOVER, DE!
Just a reminder that Zirkers Matthew Pauli, Michael Rosman, Moira Lee and myself will be performing in Dover, DE this evening. The legendary Kohl & Co as well as many talented jugglers, facepainters, stilt walkers, balloon twisters magicians, musicians and others will be in town as well, all for one low price. If you are in the area, come on out!
Thursday, December 30, 2010
CLOWN ALLEY: Clyde Beatty-Cole Bros. Circus (1978)
Photos of the Clyde Beatty-Cole Bros. Circus Clown Alley in Miami, FL December 1978 courtesy of Laura Levine
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| Jimmy James Plott preparing to take the ring under the World's Largest Big Top |
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| Jimmy James, Sandy Kozik and Jim Marple in the Alley |
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| Sandy Kozik: Portrait of the Artist as a Baby Clown |
More to come
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
ICHOF: RE: American Pickers
To help alleviate some of the phone calls to the International Clown Hall of Fame inquiring as to the price of various displays seen on American Pickers the other night: NOTHING IS FOR SALE!!!
I think that we've said it in every conceivable way but still there seems to be a misunderstanding that everything seen in the episode has a sale price. It does NOT.
The items that were sold were part of the International Clown Hall of Fame's collection that has NOTHING to do with the Hall's stated mission of preserving and honoring the great clowns of the past. Often when someone donates a pair of shoes, a trunk or any other item of historical importance it comes to us along with several other pieces that have nothing to do with clowns or clowning. The Hall has acquired a sizable collection of things that have little or nothing to do with the ICHOF's mission. These things have not been discarded, ever, and take up a great amount of space and cost money to insure and store.
It is these items were made available to American Pickers as a way to raise awareness of the ICHOF's move to Baraboo, WI as well as to raise sorely needed funds for the Hall's continued operation.
The items that were sold were:
A carnival game
Some widely available reproduction circus posters (none with a clown image)
A toy elephant
The items that were sold were:
A carnival game
Some widely available reproduction circus posters (none with a clown image)
A toy elephant
The Dom DeLuise painting, the clown bike, the shoes and everything else featured in the segment are STILL on display at the Hall of Fame in Baraboo, WI. No clown items were ever for sale to the show and they are not for sale to anyone else. They are NOT for sale.
The ICHOF website will have a gift shop open soon with books, videos, t shirts and posters. These will be the only items that the International Clown Hall of Fame offers for sale to anyone. At any price.
If you are calling the Hall to purchase ANYTHING that you saw on TV the other night you can stop calling now.
Thank you ; )
FIRST NIGHT DOVER!
Anyone in or near Dover, DE come on out New Year's Eve and catch Zirkers Matthew Pauli and myself performing our new material, Michael Rosman performing with his daughter Sophia and son Ethan and, last but not least, International Clown Hall of Fame "Lifetime of Laughter" recipients KOHL & CO!
That in addition to various magicians, musicians, balloon twisters, facepainters, games, rides... etc.
So come on out and ring in the New Year with more clowning than you can shake a slapstick at...
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
FROM THE ICHOF: Re: American Pickers
From the desk of International Clown Hall of Fame and Research Center Director, Mr. Greg DeSanto...
We were VERY happy with American Pickers! Frank & Mike were great to work with and the segment gives a peek into the museum and all the treasures it holds. For more info check out our website at www.theclownmuseum.com and if you'd like to help continue our mission to preserve this great history of clowns. We accept PayPal and all gifts are very welcomed and greatly needed as we enter 2011.
NY GOOFS: NY and Dallas Intensive Workshops
These are the very best intensive courses in the country with some of the very best instructors in the world. Seriously, these are NOT to be missed...
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Monday, December 27, 2010
QUOTE: Mike Wolfe
"When we walked into the International Clown Hall of Fame I had no idea I was going to have so much fun!"
- Mike Wolfe, American Pickers
INTERNATIONAL CLOWN HALL OF FAME ON "AMERICAN PICKERS" TONIGHT ON THE HISTORY CHANNEL!!!
Big show under the Big Top: 'American Pickers' to highlight Baraboo on History Channel Monday
Brian D. Bridgeford, News Republic | Posted: Wednesday, December 22, 2010 10:30 pm |
Baraboo's clown museum, and unique objects from its storerooms, will be featured on national television at 8 p.m. Monday.
The local flavor will be part of the newest episode of the popular antiques and artifacts show "American Pickers," televised on the History Channel - Channel 44 for those receiving Charter cable television.
Monday's "American Pickers" episode will feature an "amazing miniature automated carnival" from the International Clown Hall of Fame and Research Center, according to a press release from the History Channel's Heather DiRubba.
"American Pickers" follows hosts Mike Wolfe and Frank Fritz as they travel the country rummaging through attics, basements and junk piles looking for unique and unusual objects.
The episode stems from a June visit by Wolfe, Fritz and their television crew to Baraboo.
Greg DeSanto, a Baraboo clown and executive director of the museum, said the Hall of Fame was one of the highlights of the hosts' visit.
The TV hosts interviewed DeSanto, his wife and fellow clown Karen DeSanto, while looking over the exhibits and rummaging through the museum's storerooms of artifacts.
"They were looking for unique and interesting places and they found one here in Baraboo," DeSanto said. "They really thought a clown museum would be an interesting dig for them."
Exploring the Hall of Fame and searching for an artifact in Baraboo was fairly easy and comfortable for the show hosts, he added.
"They're used to climbing under theater stages and dusty, musty barns," DeSanto said. "They're archeologists of interesting objects."
In each episode, the pickers also explore small towns and introduce viewers to "quirky characters" they find during their search for interesting objects.
DeSanto said he and Karen dressed in clown make-up and costume while leading Wolfe and Fritz around the museum and conducting their interviews.
He expects that after being featured on a popular national show, the Hall of Fame and Baraboo will gain some attention, resulting in an increase in appeal for tourists.
"That's what's so great about having a national program that's so highly rated and seen by so many people," DeSanto said. "Not only will (the audience) get to see some fun stuff they got to pick, you'll get a sense of the International Clown Hall of Fame and Research Center (and) you'll get a sense of the town of Baraboo. Really, they fell in love with this little town and this circus lineage that goes with it."
The Clown Hall of Fame is a non-profit, tax-exempt organization, and as such DeSanto said they were not free to sell off objects directly connected to their mission of preserving the history of clowning. However, he said, the museum has collected interesting and historic objects over the years that are not directly connected to clowning.
"People, when they donate a collection, they give us everything," he said. "Some things in the collection are not clown-related; they might be circus-related or carnival-related."
It was from among those items that Wolfe and Fritz picked a variety of things to buy, including the miniature carnival that will be featured Monday evening.
"We took them through our basement, our storage, our museum, our backrooms," DeSanto said. "They were fascinated by this stuff that is really different from anything they've encountered on a farm or in some storage locker."
Information about Baraboo's International Clown Hall of Fame can be found online at www.theclownmuseum.com, while the "American Pickers" website, including video of episodes, can be found at www.history.com/shows/american-pickers.
Sunday, December 26, 2010
Saturday, December 25, 2010
Friday, December 24, 2010
MERRY CHRISTMAS: From clownalley.net
This year's video Christmas card was a joint venture between Shane, Jamie and myself. We hope you like it.
A very Merry Christmas to you all and a Happy, Healthy and Prosperous New Year.
Peace on Earth; Good Will to All,
~P
Thursday, December 23, 2010
SANDY POWELL: Ventriloquist Act
Sandy Powell (30 January 1900 - 26 June 1982) was an English comedian best known for his radio work of the 1930s and for his catchphrase Can You Hear Me, Mother?
Born Albert Arthur Powell in Rotherham, Yorkshire, England in 1900, he attended White's school in Mosborough where he helped his mother (Lily le Maine) to put on a marionette show. After he left school he became a music hall entertainer, often wearing a kilt in the guise of a Scottish comedian. During this part of his career he was associated with the singer Gracie Fields, and released several records where he collaborated with her.
He made a total of 85 78rpm records between 1929 and 1942 mostly double-sided sketches with him in various occupations. The first, The Lost Policeman on the cheap Broadcast label, sold almost half a million copies, and his subsequent recordings for Broadcast and Rex were extremely popular. He said in a 1982 interview that he used his stage work to advertise the records, rather than the other way about.
Sandy had a stooge in his act during the 1930s, the boy soprano, Jimmy Fletcher, father of the actor Gerard Fletcher, of Emmerdale, Coronation Street and other TV . From 1930 he took his own revue, Sandy Powell's Road Show, on tour - it ran for ten years and was extremely popular despite having only a handful of performers and two backdrops.
In the 1930s he began to work on the radio, always introducing his show with catchphrase Can You Hear Me, Mother? Powell said that the catchphrase originated on an occasion when he had dropped his script and was killing time at the microphone while rearranging the pages. It is also attributed to his mother's coercion and her Hardness of Hearing, during his early career. He also appeared in a number of films during the 1930s, usually as himself. A popular figure, he worked continuously on radio, television and pantomime through the 1940s and 1950s, and was still performing occasionally up to his death in 1982. Part of his act was a comedy ventriloquism act, where the dummy would fall apart. He was still well-known enough to have a pub named after him in 1970.
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
BEN TURPIN: With Mystery Clowns (1934)
All we have to go on here is that the man in the center in silent film star Ben Turpin and that this was taken at a show in 1934. I suppose we can assume it's Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey in Los Angeles but there is no guarantee of that.
Does anyone recognize the two clowns?
CONGRATULATIONS: Doug and Edgar!
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
FRERE JACQUES: Royal Variety Show (1984)
Robert Dhery and company in a piece that was first seen in London performed by the Crazy Gang in the 1950s.
Monday, December 20, 2010
THIRD INTERNATIONAL CLOWN FESTIVAL IN YEKATERINBURG
Anyone know if there is going to be a DVD available?
Sunday, December 19, 2010
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