Grandma in Budapest

My very favorite contemporary American circus clown in a gag that showcases his unique approach and style. Barry Lubin, performing as "Grandma", at the 6th annual Circus Festival of Budapest in January, 2006.






Barry Lubin

Barry Lubin, recently inducted into the International Clown Hall of Fame, is an inventive, creative clown most familiar to American circus audiences as "Grandma", the eager and adored star of the Big Apple Circus.

A member of the 1974 class of Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Clown College, he performed for 5 years with the Greatest Show on Earth. He also performed at the prestigious International Circus Festival of Monte Carlo in 1977. Since 1982, Barry has been featured in 15 productions of the Big Apple Circus and has become that show's Director of Clowning conceiving, co-writing and starring in the Big Apple Circus' production Grandma Goes to Hollywood.

Outside the ring he has appeared (sans makeup) 4 times on the Late Show with David Letterman. His directorial credits include comedy segments for music videos on MTV, Snappy Dance Company in Boston and CBS's Circus of the Stars. He was a creative consultant for NBC's Cheers, and served as Executive Producer, Creator, and Writer of two pilots for Nickelodeon Networks along with partner Yvette Kaplan, for which he also starred. He directed Cousin Grumpy's comedy pig act, Carlos Swenson's comedy horse act, and his cat, Romeo, making him America's Foremost Animal Comedy Director.

His proudest achievements, besides doing a headstand onto a whoopee cushion at Carnegie Hall, are his two daughters, Danielle and Emily.

~ Wikipedia Entry on Barry Lubin