Since no ballots have been received as of yet we are adding a new category for 2008: THE HARRY DANN AWARD FOR BEST PICTURE CLOWN. This comes after the subject of "Why no award for picture clowns?" came up at least three times this past weekend.
Ask and ye shall receive!
As for the voting itself, I apologize for the delay in starting the process but I had been exploring several options that I thought would all make the process easier and more secure.
Ultimately none of them would work for our purposes better than what we did last year so...
Cast your votes for the 2008 Felix Adler Awards by sending an email to me at cashincomedy@mac.com with your votes and the words 2008 FELIX ADLER AWARDS in the subject line.
To review...
Voting will continue through Monday March 31, 2008.
The winners will be announced on April 1st, 2008.
Voting will take place in the following three categories:
OTTO GRIEBLING AWARD: For Best Solo Clowning of 2008
PAUL JUNG AWARD: For Best Duo, Trio or Ensemble Clowning of 2008
HARRY DANN AWARD: For Best Picture Clown of 2008
The LOU JACOBS LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD will henceforth be voted on privately by members of "The Academy" and will be presented with the involvement, approval and at the discretion of the Jacobs family.
It is the decision of "The Academy" that the rules for this year's awards shall be:
1) The FELIX ADLER AWARDS are given to American circus clowns or foreign circus clowns working in the United States of America between January 1st and December 31st, 2007.
2) It is the decision of "The Academy" that American circus clowns performing abroad between January 1st and December 31st are eligible for a 2007 "Felix".
3) It is the decision of "The Academy" that BOTH editions of the Big Apple Circus that appeared during the calendar year 2007 are eligible.
4) Ballots for the 2008 FELIX ADLER AWARDS will now be tallied by the accounting department at Mformation Technologies of Edison, NJ.
So cast your votes and send them to cashincomedy@mac.com before midnight on March 31st!
11 comments:
hello from bangkok.....pinky tailor
Pat,
By judging like clown's to like clown's, instead of clown's to flyers, or clown's to horse act's etc. etc., I was starting to think you might have a legitimate awards program going instead of a phony backslapping, guess who I know, and you don't, I hope the world sees this so they think I am the Greatest "private" festival.
Then it appears you have been in touch with the Monte Carlo "gang", and they have "convinced" you that "it isn't a real "competition" unless you have a monarchy,or "circus royalty" and they decide.LOL
Wade Burck
Wade,
"The Academy" is simply a group of pros who oversee the awards to insure that it isn't simply a matter of me giving prizes to friends who are performers.
Votes are counted on a 60/40 basis this year, meaning that 40 percent of the vote is open to the general public, 60 percent is the vote of Academy members.
Next year the vote will be 50/50. In 2010 it will be 40/60 and so on until Academy voting settles at 25%.
This is to insure the Felix Adler Awards will continue to be about excellence in American circus clowning, are not controlled by one individual and cannot be victimized by online sabotage.
It's not absolutely perfect and fool-proof, but it's the best that we've been able to come up with so far.
~Pat
what is a picture clown?
Pat,
I will commend you again, on your effort to stage an honest competition, and your opening paragraph, is proof positive you want to be different then Monte Carlo, and light year's ahead of them, being relatively new.
I was just wondering if, without a crown and coronation, circus royalty was what the MC folk's had in mind, to be the deciding vote.
I was applauding your idea of fair, and whacking those counterfeits ramrodding that other deal.
I feel like some poor soul on Nuremberg night, trying to get Irvin Feld to understand what the track gag really meant. Geez
Your friend,
Wade
What is a "picture clown"?
A picture clown is someone who has a really exeptional makeup and costume; someone who does the PRs because they photograph so extraordinarily well.
Harry Dann was a great picture clown; maybe not the funniest guy in the alley but he always looked like a million bucks in front of the camera.
Ernie "Blinko" Burch, Albert White and Sandy Kaye are other examples of great picture clowns.
I'd even venture to say that you yourself Debbie were a first class picture clown back in the day!
~P
Pat,
Thanks for explanation of what a "picture clown" is. I didn't know either. In that case, I would have to go with Ernie "Blinko" Burch. With those "eyelashes" it's a no brainer.
God bless Ernie. When he was asked if I was his son, and they just spelled his name wrong in the program, he would offer something, I can't mention.... about not unless it was an immaculate conception.......
Thanks for the memories,Pat. A wonderful standard, and example of "Picture Clown."
Wade Burck
Gothamtomato,
I just read your "quote" on your blog page. Brilliant!!! If Pat adds, "real observant" to the list of criteria for "Picture Clown", you are a shoe in, forget Blinko's eyelashes.
Good luck,
Wade Burck
"I'd even venture to say that you yourself Debbie were a first class picture clown back in the day!"
Why, thank you very much sir.
Pat,
Could you clarify rule #3? I saw a group of 6 clown's on Cirque Atayde this winter, who were the funniest I have ever seen. I don't speak that lightly being around the superb Ringling alley's, and working with the likes of Dime, Blinko, Gene Randow and Little Harold, and Joe and Chet to name a few.
I watched these guy's twice a day for 10 day's and was on my knee's gasping everytime. And I don't understand Spanish. Ian Garden Sr. said they were the funniest he had in 30 years.
Thanks,
Wade Burck
Let's not forget Bobby Kaye who was one of the best picture clowns ever...and one of the nicest of men.
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