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

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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 ; )

SUPER CIRCUS: The Lopez Trio

It's always great to watch an episode of SUPER CIRCUS. In addition to ringmaster Claude Kirshner, the beautiful Mary Hartline and the clowns Cliffy Nicky and Scampy this episode features the Lopez Trio of trapeze artists, the comedian from which seems to have watched Charlie Rivel's Chaplin act once or twice.

BILLIE BURKE

An autographed photo of classic mid-century American grotesque auguste, Mr. Billie Burke.

THREE MAN HAWAIIAN SCARF JUGGLING

Two unidentified clowns perform a Hawaiian themed audience partcipation scarf juggling gag at the Fifth Wuhan International Acrobatic Art Festival.

GEORGE CARL: Home Movie Footage

George Carl around the mid-1950's playing in the yard with his wife and brother, somewhere in Ohio.

If you thought George Carl was amazing before, sit down and make yourself REALLY comfortable before you watch this.


Wow.

IN MEMORY OF MARAN BURCH

Photo and news courtesy of Bill Strong


Maran Burch passed away at 9:00 AM last Monday morning, June 25, 2007.

No services will be held at her request, She will be laid to rest next to her husband and performing partner, Ernie "Blinko" Burch.

BOZO THE CLOWN: Boxed Set

Just released yesterday is this 4 disc set of 30 live-action ½ hour full color Bozo's Big Top episodes starring Frank Avruch as Bozo from WHDH-TV in Boston. Each features a 5-minute Larry Harmon Bozo cartoon and are digitally re-mastered and transferred from Larry Harmon's original film masters.

These are NOT the WGN Chicago Bozo show featuring Bob Bell (and later Joey D'Auria) as Bozo, these are the syndication episodes shot at WHDH in 1966 during the run of their Bozo show (1959-1970).

Interesting for several reasons, not the least of which is that they feature a young puppeteer named Carroll Spinney as several characters. Mr. Spinney would soon leave the WHDH Bozo Show for the Children's Television Workshop and create the characters Oscar the Grouch and Big Bird for Sesame Street, two characters he continues to play today almost 40 years later.

These WHDH Bozo shows were the ones that I watched as a very small child and was what sparked my interest in clowns and clowning. I still find them very interesting for how Mr. Avruch deals with the small children in his live studio audience. Like Buffalo Bob Smith on the Howdy Doody Show, he is an absolute master at talking to children while in the difficult position of being both friend/fantasy figure as well as parent/authority figure.

Please click the title of this post to be taken to the Amazon page for the boxed set.

DON CHRISTIAN: Bell Ringing Gag

Don Christian, who we saw last week doing a variation on Cesar's Boxing Gag, doing a bell ringing routine.

BEATTY-COLE: Mark Lavender

Clown College graduate (Class of '75) and veteran of the RBBB Blue Unit Alley in 1976 and the CBCB Alley in 1978, Mr. Mark Lavender.

Mark sent me a message trying to find contact info for former Beatty-Cole Boss Clown Jimmy James and then show electrician Bernie Kallman. I've already forwarded Bernie's email to him but if someone out there has a phone number or email address for Jimmy, Mark would sure appreciate it.

From Mark...
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When I was on Beatty in 1978, I met Nini and Ervin Hall, where Nini greenbroke her mixed breed female baboon act. She and brother Ervin, along their siblings Jimmy and Carmen were the Unicycling Whiz Kids of the 1950s and 1960s. Anyway, Nini and I grew to be good buds on the show and lost track of each other three years after that show. We found each other again about four years ago, and after two and half years of catch-up and courtship over the phone we then met, she moved to Nashville... and we got married this past April 28th... 29 years to the week from the very first time we'd met.... (short engagements, eh?)
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Congratulations go out to you and Nini! What a great story!

Having had the pleasure of working alongside Jimmy, Teppa (sp?), Elaine (and her fiance Adam Burke) and Ervin these last few years I can say that you've certainly married into a large and wonderful family, and one that's about as "real circus" as they come.

VIDBEL'S: Mike Snider and Billy Vaughn

Ringmaster Danny McCallum introduces Mike Snider (whiteface) and Billy Vaughn (auguste), one of the great clown duos of late 20th century American circus clowning, seen here performing their Restaurant Gag on Vidbel's Olde Tyme Circus in 2000.

HOUSCH-MA-HOUSCH: More

More from Housch-ma-Housch.

I recognize the first song as "Pince Nez" by the Squirrel Nut Zippers (currently back on tour in the US after a long hiatus). Does anyone know the name and/or artist of the second song?