STANLEY ALLEN SHERMAN: Leather Clown Nose Making Workshop

One-Day Sunday
Leather Clown Nose Making Workshop
Sunday July 22, 2007
www.maskarts.com


How to make your own leather clown noses

Making well over 100 custom clown noses for clowns in the New York area and around the world Stanley Allan Sherman will teach a one-day Sunday workshop –

One great thing about the leather clown nose is they do not sweat like rubber or latex and they have a much more natural look than rubber. From what clowns have reported to me, their leather clown noses have lasted on an average of 8 to—well…Drew Richardson's clown nose is going on 22 years.


In the class you will learn how to:

Choose leather for your nose
Prepare the leather
Mold leather into your clown nose
Sharpen the knife blade. (Very important, you cannot cut leather with a dull knife).
Fit the clown nose
Cut the clown nose
Punch the clown nose holes under your nostrils so you can breath
Paint and finish your clown nose...(You can custom color your nose, any color you wish)
Prepare and fit the elastic and string
On-your-own: take a piece of leather home, make a back-up Clown Nose


Date: Sunday July 22, 2007

Time:
10:30 AM to 12:30 PM choosing leather to molding your clown nose
12:30 PM to 1:30 PM lunch and quick nose drying
1:30 PM to 4:40 PM cutting to finishing
(The workshop times are approximations - it can go longer or shorter)


Class size is limited


Price: $100 for the class
Tool fee: $74.80 (you get to keep the 7 tools)
Material fee: $22.00 (Leather, paint, elastic, silk thread)
Total $196.80


To reserve your spot you must pay the full fee in advance, because I need to buy the tools and supplies in advance. (Will accept 50% deposit from those people with financial needs. Can now accept credit card payments with Google Checkout).


Past Clowns Nose Students who would like to take the class again may for a reduced fee of $68 including supplies.


To sign up or find out more info simply click the title of this post (which will take you to www.maskarts.com) or call 212-243-4039.

BEATTY-COLE: The Firehouse Gag

Posted here at the personal request of my friend, Mr. Dean "Elmo Gibb" Chambers, here is the Clyde Beatty-Cole Bros. Clown Alley (circa 1980) performing that all-time classic of the American three-ring circus: THE FIREHOUSE GAG.

"FIREMEN! SAVE MY BAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY-BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!"

The gag was created by Jim Rutherford and is produced here by Jimmy Douglas.

Look for future Vidbel Alley staple, Mike Snider, fresh off of Ringling Lou Jacobs' former partner Mike Padilla and then Boss Clown Sandy Kaye.

I had a wonderful conversation with Dean last night and look forward to the next!

SHRINE CIRCUS: Ernie Wiswell

Master of the "comedy car" act, Ernie Wiswell backstage at the Shrine date in West Springfield, MA on May 19 1956.

RINGLING: Engine Repair 101

Video courtesy of Steve Copeland



Greg DeSanto and Kevin Carr from the 1991 Ringling Blue show performing one of my very favorite track gags.

From the vast DeSanto Archives...

NY HIPPODROME: Billy Rose's Jumbo

The 1935 premier of Billy Rose's JUMBO, the final production staged at the massive NY Hippodrome with cameos by first-nighters Ed Wynn, Fannie Brice, George Burns and Gracie Allen. Imagine Slivers Oakley, Marceline, Toto, Joe Jackson or Poodles Hanneford working this enormous stage. The entire Cole Bros. Circus (with Otto Griebling, Emmett Kelly and Jojo Lewis in the Alley) appeared there in the 30s.

The production was directed by longtime Ringling director John Murray Anderson.

In addition to Jimmy Durante (who reprised his role in the 1962 film version) the show featured several circus acts including A. Robins, the Banana Man.

At about 3:15, if I'm not mistaken, the Kimris (Bill and Trudy Strong's family) are included.

Wow.

BIG APPLE CIRCUS: Matthew Pauli

Link courtesy of Don Covington



A very nice article that gets everything right except the man's name.

Please click the title of this post for the New Haven Independent's piece on my friend MATTHEW Pauli, currently appearing as Grandma in the Big Apple Circus' 29th production STEP RIGHT UP.

CLOWN COLLEGE: 20th Anniversary Special

The first few minutes of the 1987 CBS television special celebrating the 20th anniversary of Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Clown College.

I was in the 30th class in 1997. We didn't get a television special.

Interesting to note the emphasis on the fact that Ringling "only" had 14 clowns in 1968. The Red and Blue units only have 14 clowns each now.

If you look to the left of the screen in the opening shot where Dick Van Dyke is at the podium you will see then CC makeup instructor Ruth Chaddock and CC director Steve Smith.

The purple 1931 Ford that belches smoke in the montage is currently sitting in my garage. It belonged to Kent "Speedo the Speedway Clown" Tyler for almost 40 years.

Mr. Van Dyke has since made disparaging remarks about circus clowns in Diane Keaton's book CLOWN PAINTINGS. As a circus clown, I would certainly welcome the chance to make disparaging remarks about Mr. Van Dyke's post-1960s career for Ms. Keaton's next book, PEOPLE WHO ARE ONLY FUNNY WHEN THEY WORK WITH CARL REINER.

Diagnosis: Jerk

OLSEN & JOHNSON: Fireball Fun-For-All

Olsen and Johnson's TV show. I can only imagine how hard it was to try and pull THIS off every week!

There are so many gags in the first 12 minutes of the show that the director and cameramen are rarely (if ever) on the right performer at the right time to catch the action.

RINGLING: 1940 Alley Photo

Members of the 1940 Clown Alley of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus taken in the basement of Madison Square Garden in New York City in April at the start of the tour.

JOHN GILKEY: Cirque du Soleil's QUIDAM

John Gilkey's brilliant eccentric juggling (greatly enhanced by the sounds of Yma Sumac's song "Gopher") from Cirque du Soliel's Quidam.

His character is like a weird Jerry Seinfeld/Jerry Lewis hybrid.

Not that there's anything WRONG with that.

BORIS and TAMA

I'm going to remain silent on this one.

Discuss.

Please.

THE COLLINS BROTHERS: Boxing Entree

The Collins Brithers on Circo Massimo with yet another take on the Boxing Gag.

RON JARVIS: Ringling Red Unit

Photos courtesy of Ron Jarvis


Pat,

I just figured out how to scan this stuff...




The juggling shot is moi '74...

The duo is Mark Buthman & Ron Jarvis 1973-74...

Bozo Row circa 1979 Hollywood, CA. Can you name the Row???

Clownron

----------------------------------------------

I see Billy Baker, Kevin Bickford, Robin Shaw, Dolly Baker, Jimmy Briscoe, Ed Smith, Daniel Rodgers and Mr. Ron Jarvis.

How did I do?

~P

DOUG ASHTON: Dancin' Ashton

Eccentric genius Doug Ashton dancing in a production number during his first season with the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus in 1967.

Mr. Ashton doesn't seem to be dancing along with the music from the show quite as much as he's dancing to the music in his own head, so I've replaced the soundtrack with the song "Fidgety Feet" by the Firehouse Five plus Four and added the applause that I think he deserves for such a performance.

He's doing everything a three ring circus clown SHOULD do during a production number! He's having fun, he's exciting to watch, he's playing with the showgirls on the track and keeping in the moment.

Which, unfortunately, is everything that management frowns on.

Look to the right of the screen for whiteface clown Dennis Stevens (performing the assigned dance steps while in drag) and to the left as Dougie is egged on by his longtime partner in crime Lazlo Donnert.

DAN RICE: Happy 4th of July!

Happy Independence Day to everybody here in America.

As for everyone else? Happy Wednesday!

PETER SHUB: Awakening from the Long Sleep of Life

Awakening from the Long Sleep of Life is a true story about clown Peter Shub who lost his five year old son in a tragic accident.

He leaves us with a philosophy about life and loss and the message to celebrate and thank life rather than to mourn for death.

MARK ANTHONY: Breakaway Bicycle Gag 1967

An extremely difficult piece of video for me to find, here is Mark "Mark Anthony" Galkowski's reinterpretation of the classic breakaway bicycle act performed in Venice, Fl in 1967 on the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus.

I remember him performing this again a few years later on the Blue Unit in the early 70s when I was very young but I haven't seen the act at all since then, until this video arrived last week.

Small detail: notice that Mark is working here without a wig.

NEW YORK TIMES: Mike and Lara

Jay Stewart and Lara Heidtman Smith goofing around outside The Alley on the Rinling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Red Unit in 2000.


Mike Smith and Jay Stewart perform the classic Washer Woman Gag at the Happy Liuzhou International Clown Festival in Liuzhou, China in 2007.

The Sunday New York Times travel section ran a story about Idaho yesterday entitled "The Last Wilderness" about what a beautiful and fascinating state Idaho is to vacation in.

The article can be found at: http://travel.nytimes.com/2007/07/01/travel/01Last.html

At the article's end the writer only mentions three resorts in the ENTIRE state, one of which is the THREE RIVERS RESORT IN KOOSKIA AT LOWELL, IDAHO, which is owned and operated by friends and former Ringling circus clowns Mike and Lara (Heidtman) Smith.

Contratulations on the endorsement and hope to see you both when we go back to China in the fall!

To find out more about the Three Rivers Resort, or to book a vacation, please click the title of this post.

The Fratellinis: Autographed Photo

An autographed photo of The Fratellini Trio, (from left) Paul, Albert and Francois.

I wonder why they changed Paulo to "Paul", Alberto to "Albert" but Francois never became "Frank"?

Do you think it's a "whiteface" thing?

"Frank Fratellini" doesn't have the same ring anyway. Sounds like a very blunt plate of pasta.

"Frankie Fratellini" is even worse.

It's probably better just he way it is.

SLIVERS OAKLEY PROJECT: Update

So the t-shirts and mugs (still available at the CLOWNALLEY.NET store, see the link on the right hand side of this page) have brought in some money but we're still far from having enough for any kind of marker. Several people have told me that they'd prefer to just donate money. So that's the next faze.

This week I will set up a PayPal account that will be completely dedicated to CLOWNALLEY.NET projects.

Several people have asked if we have a deadline for donations? The answer is "kind of". I'd like to be able to install the marker by August 28, 2007. That will be my 40th birthday and will also mark (although not the exact date) 10 years since the closing of Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Clown College.

I realize that August 28th may not be a realistic deadline, but it WOULD be a nice birthday present ; )