COLE BROS. CIRCUS: Otto, a Lady and a Horse

The year? Somewhere between the early thirties and the early fifties.

Otto Griebling on the Cole Bros. Circus.

RINGLING TRAIN: Owen, Chuck, Freddie & Co.

Looks like we have Owen McQuade up top, my pal Chuck Burnes just below and I'm not sure of the next five below him but that's Freddie Freeman standing on terra firma and sporting his top hat at a rather jaunty angle.

I'm guessing the "59" at the bottom sounds reasonable enough as a year for this, I believe that's the year that Ringling returned to the rails after two full seasons as a "truck show".

CIRCUS DAY (1966)

An educational short produced in 1966 featuring an actor dressed sort of like Felix Adler narrates some footage of the Cole Bros. circus setting up the tents. The film then abruptly changes to the midway of the Clyde Beatty Circus (this is not the "Clyde Beatty-Cole Bros. Circus, which toured from the late 50s through 2001 or so) and sometimes back again as the performance starts.

It's an interesting look at the old tent show days, with three rings presented under the big top, rain or shine.

It's made more interesting for us by the fact that at about 14:00 you'll see a group of clowns outside the tent. Look carefully and you'll find Bobby Kay amongst them.

At about 16:15 or so you'll see Bobby riding on an elephant in opening.

At one point you'll see a tramp clown driving a float. This is not Otto Griebling and it is not Joe Jackson but he looks quite a bit like both.

And at the end you'll see just how much Emmett Kelly had effected the popular conception of what a clown does.

BIG APPLE CIRCUS: Grandma and Joel

Big Apple Circus gives Valley Cottage Elementary a sneak peek
By CHRISTINA JENG
THE JOURNAL NEWS

(Original publication: May 22, 2007)

VALLEY COTTAGE -Peals of children's laughter echoed through the elementary school auditorium yesterday morning after a little old woman with a whoopee cushion let out a very rude noise.

To the utter delight of students at Valley Cottage Elementary, members of the Big Apple Circus stopped by to give the children a taste of what's to come.

"Alright, ladies and gentleman," circus host Joel Jeske announced in a booming voice, "Grandma and the cushion of doom!"

With that, the old lady laid down what looked like a very dusty handbag, rubbed her hands together, walked to one end of the stage and rushed back across only to very gingerly dive headfirst into the whoopee cushion.

And although Grandma was old, the joke wasn't. The children burst into cheers and shrieks of excited laughter.

"Give Grandma a round of applause!" Jeske shouted over them.

The youngsters also had an opportunity to ask the performers questions about the circus. They peppered them with questions like, "How do you talk without words in the circus?" "Is it hard to put your makeup on?" and "How do you balance things on your face?"

To the last, Jeske used a juggling club to show how he learned to first balance it on his hand, then at the end of his index finger, his thumb and finally on his nose. And to really wow his young audience, he demonstrated the skill using a piano bench.

Jeske and Grandma, also known as Director of Clowning Barry Lubin, introduced themselves to the students yesterday and made a plug for the circus' show, "Step Right Up!" The performers, along with their acrobats and animals, will be at the Palisades Center in West Nyack from June 15 to 24.

"We just want to let everybody know that our show is there and we'd love to see all these children show up and enjoy the show," Jeske said afterward.

Principal Brenda Grier, who delighted in the performers as much as the children did, said the school's family resource center would provide tickets to students who cannot afford them. Tickets prices range from $15 to $38.

"This year they provided us with a nice promo," she said of the circus. "They are wonderful. Grandma always steals the show."

Six-year-old Zaim Ragoncic agreed.

"If the Great Apple Circus was like a story, Grandma would be like the main character," he said. "She's really silly. Sometimes she's like my grandma."

Find a video report on yesterday's circus visit at LoHud.com.

Reach Christina Jeng at cjeng@lohud.com or 845-578-2497.

_____________________________________________________________________________


Grandma was portrayed by Matthew Pauli at this special school show performance, not by Barry Lubin. Please click the title of this post to be taken to a video from the show.

KIRK MARSH: Fool House

I'm in Orlando, Florida with the family this week and had the chance last night to take them to see Kirk Marsh's "FOOL HOUSE" at the Orlando Fringe Festival.

I first met Kirk in the summer of 1997 when we attended Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Clown College together. Now, 10 short years later, he just may be on the fast track to becoming this generation's answer to George Carl.

And he's only about 28. I can't imagine what he'll be doing when he REALLY hits his stride!



Below is a review of the show from the Orlando Sentinel...

_______________________________________________________________________

Fringe review: 'Fool House'

posted by emaupin on May 21, 2007 3:11:18 PM


OK, here's a new use for the Orlando Sentinel. When an audience member lends you a credit card to break into your imaginary onstage house, you make the Sentinel into a paper airplane to sail the card back to its owner.

Can you do that with a laptop?

I think not, and there's lots of stuff onstage in Fool House that you can't do online. Catch a banana in your mouth, for instance, or put your little red hat on your head without using your hands.

That's because Kirk Marsh is an old-fashioned kind of clown, and what he does, he does very well. He can juggle, of course, and he can turn a doleful face to an audience that's unexpectedly watching him dress. He can even lure my husband onto the stage. (What is it with that this year?)

Best of all, he can charm an audience into watching something very low-tech, something very mild-mannered, for three quarters of an hour. Sometimes comic madness can be sweet.

-- Elizabeth Maupin

Remaining performances: 7:10 p.m. Tuesday 5/22, 11:15 p.m. Wednesday 5/23, 5:30 p.m. Friday 5/25, 8:25 p.m. Saturday 5/26, 1:10 p.m. Sunday 5/27. Brown venue.
________________________________________________________________________

Please click the title of this post to be taken to Kirk's website.

LIUZHOU, CHINA: Alive from Stage Five

Which brings us to the last of the stage lineups from Liuzhou, China's Happy Liuzhou International Clown Festival: Stage 5


Stage 5

El Magnifico
David Engel and Hilary Chaplain

The Hello Show
Peter Straus and Brian McNelis

Bizzurkus
Seth Bloom and Christina Gelsone

FELIX ADLER: The White House Clown

Emboldened after a day in Orlando at Disney with the family and a two hour phone call with Rik Gern about clowning I'm going to take yet another break from posting Liuzhou photos and instead post this historical photo of Ringling clown Felix Adler, often called "The White House Clown" for the number of times he was photographed with American Presidents and/or their families.

Here is "Funny Felix" with "Sistie" and "Buzzie" Dall (don't you just love the "pet names" that the rich and powerful give to their offspring?), the grandchildren of President and Mrs. Franklin Delano Roosevelt. They "enjoyed at day at the show" and are seen here with George Harmon (little person), Felix Adler and Peter Marold.

I know. There are three children and a grown-up in this photo "with the clowns". "Is the woman in the photo a Roosevelt or a baby-sitter"? I don't know. "Which of these three children hasn't yet received an affluent nickname"? I'd suppose the youngest but I really don't know.

I'm just suprised to be able to provide proof positive that supports Felix's claim to being "The White House Clown"...

LOU JACOBS: Lou & Pee Wee

A photo that I found in an auction currently on eBay of Lou & Pee Wee, the dog Lou had after his longtime friend and comedy partner, Knucklehead.

Click the title of this post to view the auction.

LIUZHOU, CHINA: The Roar from Stage Four

The powerful lineup of performers at Stage Four of the Happy Liuzhou International Clown Festival...


Peter Panic

Lauren Muney and Michael Menes

Greg Frisbee

Cheryl Schruefer & Michael Saab (Bubble Boy Danger Show)

Tak

LIUZHOU, CHINA: The Melee at Stage Three

The talented cast of performers from Stage Three of the Happy Liuzhou International Clown Festival at Long Tan Park in Liuzhou, China...

Stage Three

The Martian Brothers

Chris, Gina and Hunter Allison

Festival Organizer Extraordinarie: Brenn Swanson

Ron "Toto" Johnson

Kevin Brown

Eric "EZ" Zander

MYSTERY CLOWN: Substitute Ringmaster

I'm in Orlando with the family and staying at the beautiful Marriot Cypress Harbor resort right around the corner from Sea World. I'll get back to the Liuzhou festival photos tomorrow, I PROMISE and then it's right back to posting classic videos.

As for today's photo: Many Ringling clowns have acted as substitute Ringmasters on the show over the years. Duane "Uncle Soapy" Thorpe did it for many years during the North era. How many of you can identify the former Ringling clown in this photo? Hint: He was in Liuzhou AND works here in Orlando...

RINGLING RED ALLEY AND HAMID SHOW: Thank You!

Thanks go out to the Ringling Red Unit Alley, especially Leo, Kelly and Alan for showing my son Shane and I a really wonderful time with a nice long post-show conversation in the Alley. Thanks for the homecoming!

We left the Red Show in Trenton, NJ and headed over to Plymouth Meeting, PA to catch the Hamid show where Shane played with all the show kids while I visited with friends and shared stories about the trip to China. Everyone there raved about how Greg and Karen DeSanto KILLED in Springfield.

I leave for Orlando at 6:00 AM tomorrow morning and hope to get to see Todd Zimmerman, Thom Wheaton, Kirk Marsh and maybe Brian Weckerly while I'm there.

Oh, by the way, the above photo comes from Gary Peare and is of Mike Coco, his son, Coconut and Bobby Kay doing a LA area hospital visit to promote the Ringling show July 31, 1970. It has nothing really to do with what I've posted but it's a really great photo!

WE INTERUPT THE LIUZHOU PHOTOS...

To ask this important question: Can anyone positively identify this clown from the Tom Mix Show?

LIUZHOU, CHINA: Stage One

Stage One AKA The Traditional Stage AKA Woodstock/Led Zeppelin Stage List of Performers...

The Troubadors:
Greg May & Sean Fagan

Clowns Without Bearings:
Ted Lawrence, Chris Grabher & Chris Shelton

Supersonic Hypercool Awesome Clown Show:
Matthew Duncan, Brian Foley & Erin Schmahl

LIUZHOU, CHINA: More from Stage Two

Here are more Stage Two photos from the Happy Liuzhou International Clown Festival in Liuzhou, China...


Stage Two in the final stages of construction and decoration.

Stage Two fully completed and being rocked by Thom Wheaton (reaching for hat), Jesse Dryden (holding ladder on left) and Todd Zimmerman (holding ladder on right) who KILLED with a 40 minute trio show of amazing circus skills and really well-planned and executed slapstick.

Backstage Stage Two with Jason T. Stewart (foreground), Gary Spear (left) and Mike Smith (right). This picture gives no indication of the frequently hectic backstage pace but all three teams got along famously and jelled into a great "Alley" back in the dressing rooms.

LIUZHOU, CHINA: The Stage Two Crew

As CLOWNALLEY.NET's 800th post, here are the first of a series of photos from what was surely the largest international clown event in history, The Happy Liuzhou International Clown Festival in Liuzhou, China. The performers on Stage Two (the "Water Stage") were...



Todd Zimmerman (back to camera), Jesse Dryden (holding ladder) and Thom Wheaton (on ladder).



Jason T. Stewart (back to camera) and Mike Smith were a huge hit performing the classic Washer Woman Gag in their own style.



Andrew Scharff, Pat Cashin and Gary Spear. A guy couldn't ask for two better partners.

DOUG ASHTON: Royale Super Circus

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?

JACKIE LE CLAIRE: Happy 80th Birthday!

Larry H. writes in to tell me that congratulations are in order. According to his records former Ringling great (and according to some sources the STAR clown of the Ringling European tour), International Clown Hall of Fame inductee and current Circus Sarasota "Ambassador of Mirth" Mr. Jackie LeClaire turns 80 years young today.

Very happy returns of the day, Mr. LeClaire. Your friendship throughout the last 10 years has helped me immeasurably and your impressive body of work (and that of your father) continue to serve as an inspiration to the next generation of clowns.

And to think, we started corresponding because you were amazed that anyone in that Clown College class of '97 knew who Chesty Mortimer was ; )

Happy Birthday, Jackie!

CIRQUE BOUGLIONE: The Bird Entree

Here it is again: The Bird Entree.

I'm not sure who this is performing it. They do a masterful job with the material but it's still not my favorite routine. I've got one more version around here somewhere that I have to track down and post here for comparison.

HOME AGAIN!

I'm finally home again after the enormous Happy Liuzhou International Clown Festival in Liuzhou, China.

I'll post some photos and some video from the festival in a few days, after I've had time to decompress. Right now my son Shane and I are going to see Spiderman 3.

Until then, here is a link to some photos and thoughts from an Englishman working in Liuzhou that we met and befriended while we were there...

http://liuzhou.blog-city.com/

And here are some of the local media photos...

http://s13.photobucket.com/albums/a268/Liuzhou/clowns/