Saturday, June 21, 2008

CLOWN ALLEY: Sells-Floto, 1931

Photo courtesy of Bill Strong


A photo from the 1931 Sells-Floto program that shows Spader Johnson (far left), Pat Valdo (2nd from left) and two other clowns from the Ringling Alley in a shot that was reused by many shows in the programs from that time period.

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3 comments:

  1. Mike Naughton7:30 PM, June 21, 2008

    Just a hunch -- would the clown on the right be Owen McQuade?

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  2. Pat Cashin11:07 PM, June 21, 2008

    I keep thinking the same thing but it can't be.

    The guy in this photo is already established in photos where Felix Adler is clearly still very new and green.

    By the time Owen McQuade shows up on Ringling in the late 50s he would have to be at LEAST 10 years older than Felix who was then in his 60s.

    Unless Owen McQuade was in his 70s or older back then, it can't be the same guy.

    But I'd love to find out who this guy is. He turns up in a lot of photos and looks like he had some very funny gags.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Mike Naughton9:14 PM, June 22, 2008

    Time to call Jackie LeClaire or Kenny Dodd.

    ReplyDelete