Photos courtesy of Dean Chambers
From Dean "Elmo Gibb" Chambers...
I found this backyard picture of the alley Jerry's first year. Left to right are: Mark Myers, Jerry Nye, Larry Armstrong, Doug Keaty (sp?), Elmo, Buck Nolan, James Houser, ?(beats me--I really don't remember him, as I was only there the first weekend and didn't see the show again for a while). Dave Williams is stuffing Bobby Torres into the trash can.
This was the second year for the Recycling Machine gag, the only time Johnny Pugh asked me to repeat a gag. I'm guessing 1992, because the following year Bruce Feiler wrote his book and I turned the recycling machine into the stomach pump. See if you can locate a 1992 program to ID the mystery clown. It was also the year the show opened with the human cannonball and we followed immediately with the cannon gag.
Elmo
Houser was a resident of New Jersey and a very funny clown. I don't know what happened to him when he departed CBCB.
ReplyDeleteI thought Dave Williams was a very funny clown, as well. He was very animated and had a natural flair for being a little clown character.
I counted 10 clowns in the photo -- wow, what an alley.
I've said this to Elmo several times, "You should A.open a prop shop, B. build props for Disney."
ReplyDeleteI first met Elmo in 1981 when we worked the Rochester, NY Shrine date for Jimmy Douglass which was produced by Gracie McIntosh.
We had 8 clowns in the alley at the time; the dressing room was lively for sure.
It is Rob Torres, not Bobby. Houser was from Indiana and returned there after he left the show at the end of the 1993 season.
ReplyDeleteThought you'd like to know.
Mark Myers
Mark Myers: I met some other "kids" on that show and we became friends, hanging out every chance we got bewteen 1985-1990. I recently reconnected with some of them including David Gaona (flyer, juggler, teeterboard). He asked me if I knew anything about James Houser. If you have any contact information for James, I'd really like to pass it along to David. My email address is asktia@aol.com or look me up on Facebook.
ReplyDeleteThanks,
Angela Story-Krug
Mark Myers please get in contact with me. This is Misty from Tuscumbia Al. We were friends and kept in touch for a few yrs but then lost contact. I was Misty King back then but Im Misty Marie Nichols now on facebook or email me at lilspoiledmisty@gmail.com. I miss talking to you and think about you and Rob everytime i see a circus.
ReplyDelete