Charlie Rivel I Clown [1979]

DESCRIPTION COMPLIMENTS OF CIRCOFRENIA

Charlie Rivel, contemporary and friend of Grock, is one of the last great clowns of his generation. When he came to Cortaillod for one of his last shows, Bernard Guillaume-Gentil asked him to tell about his memories, his successes, his best audience and the future of clowns.

What is a great clown? For Rivel: “He is a kind and innocent man. Everyone laughs at him, but he is more intelligent than the others, because it is more difficult to be a fool than an intelligent man.

Charlie Rivel, was born in Spain near Barcelona on April 23, 1896, whose real name was Josep Andreu i Lasserre. From the age of 3, he played in circuses with his father. The latter had fled the famine in Spain for Paris. During a tour in Belgium, he met Charlie Chaplin and a few years later, Rivel imitated Charlot in an acrobatic number. It is a success. Another number with his acrobat brothers will make him even more famous.

Charlie Rivel died at the age of 87, near Barcelona.

Mooky Cornish

 

Mooky as Gloria performing with her poultry partner, Galina, in Regina, Saskatchewan. 

Tom & Pepe

 

Tom Dougherty and Pepe Silva stepping into the ring of the The Great Lilloise Circus Festival in Lille, France.

Circus Vargas: Barbershop Gag

The Circus Vargas Clown Alley performing a barbershop gag in (I believe) 1987. Starring George Clyatt as the barber, Marty T. Clown as his assistant, and a bunch of clowns who are really good at standing around in the ring.

Ringling: Statue Gag

Joe Wesson, Bob Kramer, and Skip Lackey perform a statue gag for a publicity (maybe a Clown College audition) on the Blue Unit in 1980.

Emmett Kelly and Bette Middler 1977

Here are the three Emmett Kelly sections from Bette Middler's first television special on CBS that co-starred Emmett and Dustin Hoffman. Ah, the '70s!

I liked the part where Emmett was weary. 

Ringling: Almax Repair Gag

Al Rios and Max Richardson performing a repair gag on the Ringling Red Unit in 1997

CLOWN ALLEY CLASSIC: Reducing Machine Clyde Beatty 1980

Recently I discovered on an old hard drive that I had saved a lot of the videos from Pat Cashin's "Cashin Comedy Company" Youtube page that got shut down. Many, many, many videos were lost, but luckily I grabbed some! 

I'll roll them out occasionally as a little treat!

From January 28, 2007:

"The Reducing Machine" presented by the Clyde Beatty-Cole Bros, Circus Clown Alley on their 1980 indoor tour.

The gag was produced by Dean "Elmo Gibb" Chambers and was announced by longtime Beatty-Cole ringmaster (and former Beatty-Cole clown), Mr. Jimmy James.

I see Mark Friesen as the yellow haired professor, Gary Cooper as the red haired doctor, "Simon" (I only know his clown name) as the yellow haired doctor, Sandy Kaye as the slim nurse, Mike Snider as the busty nurse, John Kennedy "Eggroll" Kane as the woman from the audience, and Miguel Padilla as the blow off. Any help on the other professor would be appreciated! 

My Friend, Grock

A fantastic documentary on Grock from 1962 featuring performance footage I had not seen before. Enjoy! 

Kelly Miller 1996: Darren Burrell and Tom "Popcorn" Sink

Burl and Popcorn demonstrating their skills on the Kelly Miller Circus in 1996

Ringling: Plastic Man

Andrew Scharff performing his Plastic Man routine during the Three Ring Adventure of Ringling's 129th Edition (Living Carousel) in 1999.

Andrew has been performing this routine since he attended Clown College in 1995, and has performed it on Culpepper Merriweather Circus, Kinoshita, the Togni family's American Circus, and clown festivals and performances all over the world!

Jimmy Armstrong: Clyde Beatty

 

Backstage shots of Jimmy Armstrong on the Beatty Show taken by Bruce Davidson in 1958.

Jacko Fossett, Billy Merchant, and Jimmy Scott

A program page from 1974/1975 the Belle Vue Circus in Manchester featuring Jacko Fossett, Little Billy Merchant, and Jimmy Scott.

Thank you to Fudi Zsilak for sharing!

Remembering Pat Cashin

Seven years ago Pat Cashin, the founder and namesake of this blog, passed away much too young. Not a week goes by that I don't think of him, or one of the amazingly funny things he said offhandedly, or a story about him.

I have no idea how he ran this blog so well, because I struggle to post several times a month. He was a great friend and he is missed by so many. May his memory live on in all of the people's lives he touched

Here he is with Aziz Gual and Lance Brown in final gag of the 1997 Ringling Clown College graduation, Three Brothers' Pizza.

Mump & Smoot: The Café

Canadian clowns Mump and Smoot performing an excerpt from their show, "Something", at Laurentian University, Sudbury, Ontario.

Nola Rae: The Conductor

Nola Rae performing a sketch from her show "Upper Cuts" at the Shaw Theatre in London, 1984.

Matute Alvarez

Chilean clown Matute Alvarez doing a version of Jeff "Gordoon" Gordon's toilet paper act.

Matute will be clowning at Cirque D'Hiver this winter along with comedy magicians, Scott & Muriel. 

Clown College: Dentist Gag

Sean Conklin and Kirby Soderberg perform a dentist gag during the 1989 Clown College graduation performance. 

Tomas Kubinek

A preview of Tomas Kubinek's one man show from Portland in 2012.

Cirque Du Soleil: Dralion Preshow Clowning

Hayden Spencer, Borys Borys, Facundo Gimenez and Guto Vasconcelos perform preshow clowning in Dralion in 2014.

The History of Bozo The Clown

A retrospective on the character of Bozo The Clown from WGN.

Los Alarcons

Los Alarcons performing on Circo Mundial

Ringling: Tom and Tammy Parish 1981

A news story from 1981 featuring soon to be ICHOF inductees Tom and Tammy Parish on the Ringling Blue Unit. 

Ringling: Human Bomb

Margie Talavera and David Kiser performing a human bomb gag on the Ringling Blue Unit in 1990.

Clown Alley Women's History Month: René Coker

René Coker and Toto Johnson performing a laundry gag on the Ringling Red Unit in 1989.

Clown Alley Women's History Month: Karen DeSanto

Greg and Karen DeSanto performing their soap entrée on the Big Apple Circus' 2005/2006 tour.

Clown Alley Women's History Month: Giulia Azzario

The Josè Michel Clowns, with white clown, Giulia Azzario, performing in Circus Krone in 2009.

Clown Alley Women's History Month: Antoschka

Antoschka performing a rola bola act in the Planet of Smiles show.

Clown Alley Women's History Month: Annie Fratellini

Annie Fratellini and her husband, Pierre Etaix performing on French television in 1975.

Clown Alley Women's History Month: Christina Gelsone

Christina Gelsone and her husband/partner, Seth Bloom, are better known as the Acrobuffos. Their international touring theater show, Air Play, just performed its 400th performance to a sold out audience in Adelaide, Australia. 

Clown Alley Women's History Month: Rone & Gigi

Rone & Gigi perform Part 1 of the Big Ears Show at Clown Camp in 2008.

Clown Alley Women's History Month: Ruthie Chaddock

Soon to be ICHOF inductee, Ruthie Chaddock and Steve Smith perform Dr. Quack, Chiropractor for a segment on CBS Sunday Morning about the Ringling Clown College in 1990.

Clown Alley Women's History Month: Marni Zalban

Marni Zalban, Gregory Parks, and Leo Acton rehearse a musical gag in Winter Quarters for the Ringling Blue Unit in 2001.

Clown Alley Women's History Month: Jessi Hoffchildt

 

Please join us in celebrating Jessi Hoffschildt, who just completed a ten year run with Kinoshita Circus in Japan!

Clown Alley Women's History Month: Gardi Hutter

A highlight reel from Gardi Hutter's show, "The Tailor". 

Clown Alley Women's History Month: Female Fools Part 2

Joe Dieffenbacher highlights more women clowns in the second part of his video series: Ariel Speedwagon, Sophia Knox-Miller, Devin Shacket, Windy Wynazz, and Leah Orleans.

Clown Alley Women's History Month: Karen Hinrichs Lukes

Karen Hinrichs Lukes, Sean Hartman, Karen Fox, Brandon Magnuson, John Rieffel, Kenny Mikey, and Beth Cooper performing a rainy picnic gag during the 1994 Ringling Clown College graduation. 

Clown Alley Women's History Month: Lisa Chapman

Lisa Chapman and Tyler Bechtel performing a brain bank gag during the 1993 Ringling Clown College graduation. 

Note: If the video is silent at the beginning, it is due to copyrighted audio. Just hum Darth Vader's theme from the Star Wars films to yourself and enjoy!

Clown Alley Women's History Month: Mooky Cornish

A promo for Glories of Gloria, Mooky Cornish's solo show. 

Clown Alley Women's History Month: Iman Lizarazu

A demo reel for Iman Lizarazu's solo show filmed in 2018.

Clown Alley Women's History Month: Female Fools Part I

Joe Dieffenbacher highlights three women clowns in the first part of his video series. This segment features Kate Brehm, Tobi Allison Daniel, and Devin Shacket. 

Clown Alley Black History Month: Jamarr Woodruff

Jamarr Woodruff, Brandon Bolden, Neal Skoy, James McGrath, Dan Berkley, and Gabor Nemes teach about the importance of hydration during the Ringling Blue Unit preshow in 2006.

Note: Again, sorry for the bad audio, but for some reason it is silent for the first half of the gag.

Clown Alley Black History Month: Willie Yeomans

Willie Yeomans demonstrating his proficiency with a fire baton during the 1982 Ringling Clown College graduation.

Clown Alley Black History Month: Stephanie Knox

Stephanie Knox and Hiromitsu Harada perform a head crank box walkaround during the 1988 graduation of the Ringling Clown College.

Note: I had to remove the music from the end of the video due to a copyright claim. Just hum "Twist and Shout" to yourself when the video goes silent.

Clown Alley Black History Month: Sean Davis

Sean Davis, Darren Burrell, Stephen Simon, and Molly Pelley performing a Rapunzel gag during the 1995 graduation of the Ringling Clown College. 

Clown Alley Black History Month: Marlon Russ

Marlon Russ, Rudy Wollrabe, and Brandon Foster perform a football themed slide table routine during Winter Quarters for the Ringling Red Unit in 2010.

Clown Alley Black History Month: Brian Wright

Brian Wright, Ben Macon, and Linsey Merryfield Britt performing a wrestling gag on the Ringling Red Unit in 2015.

Clown Alley Black History Month: James Holyfield

James Holyfield, Dan Rooney, and Laura Presley performing the Reducing Sauna gag during the 1991 graduation of the Ringling Clown College.

Clown Alley Black History Month: Gregory Parks

Gregory Parks and Josh Shack performing Whack-a-Clown on the Ringling Blue Unit in 2004.

Clown Alley Black History Month: Lea Abierra

Lea Abierra and Aziz Gual perform an opera gag at the Ringling Clown College in 1997.

Clown Alley Black History Month: Lem Fillyaw

Lem Fillyaw, Brad Weston, and Alex Weinreb perform an ATM gag at Ringling Clown College in 1993.

Clown Alley Black History Month: Darren Wilson

Darren Wilson and Matt Mullins perform a tea time gag in the 1993 Ringling Clown College graduation.

Clown Alley Black History Month: Danise Payne

Danise Payne and Tina Kitt performing in the 1978 Clown College graduation.

Please check out Danise's fantastic book, Elbows In My Ears, about her life and career as a circus clown:

https://www.amazon.com/Elbows-My-Ears-Little-Wardrobe-ebook/dp/B0B41VFTW9/ref=sr_1_1?crid=14VHJEFTZE828&keywords=elbows+in+my+ears&qid=1676079743&sprefix=elbows+in+my+%2Caps%2C257&sr=8-1

Clown Alley Black History Month: Preston Crawford

Preston Crawford, Kevin Thompson, Kevin McGowan and....I think Christopher Hudert performing on the Ringling Blue Unit in 1984.

Peggy Williams: Ring of Fame 2023

 

Sorry this is a few days late. I've been dealing with a leak under my trailer's floor. Luckily it is fixed and I don't own the trailer anyway!

Congratulations to Peggy Williams who was inducted into the Ring of Fame in Sarasota, FL on Saturday Feb 4th surrounded by friends, family and her peers.

Clown Alley Black History Month: Huel Speight

Huel Speight, Greg Sherman, and Laura Pape perform a hat routine on the Ringling Blue Unit in 1989.

Clown Alley Black History Month: Robert "Onionhead" Dunn

Robert Dunn, or as he is known to thousands of fans of the Universoul Circus, Onionhead, speaks with a "reporter" promoting the show's run in Chicago in 2019. 

Clown Alley Black History Month: Dean Anderson

Dean Anderson, Jeff Wolff, and Gordon Klein laying some carpet in the 1986 Clown College graduation. 

Clown Alley Black History Month: Carlos Ragas

Carlos Ragas, Larry Fortunato, and David Duby performing a pizza gag on the Ringling Red Unit in 1989.

This gag was developed in Clown College the year before by Andy Martello and Larry Fortunato. 

Bernhard Paul’s 40th Birthday 1987

 

Please excuse the translation:

Such a festival hadn't been there for a very long time! ✨

Circus founder, director and clown Bernhard Paul was invited to his 40th in a tent filled with 700 celebrity guests. They were cooked by 40 star chefs with a total of 40 stars from all over Germany, who came up with 40 exclusive desserts. The main course ? Vienna Schnitzel, of course! 🍽 🍽

I Love Lucy: Lucy Hates Grapes

The Hollywood Reporter resurfaced a 1974 interview Ball did with "The Dick Cavett Show." She was asked about one of her favorite episodes, to which she said "grapes" – referencing the beloved moment from the "Lucy's Italian Movie" episode. 

However, she revealed that she thought she was going to be killed. Ball was joined by Teresa Tirelli D'Amico for the grape-stomping scene — but a language barrier kept the two from understanding one another.

Tirelli, who only spoke Italian, took an accident to heart.

"[Tirelli] was told that there would be a fight, and it was also explained to her that there were times when my legs had to come up in this huge vat of real grapes," Ball said. "I slipped and when I slipped, I hit her, accidentally. And she took offense. So, she hauled off and let me have it. This was supposed to happen, that she got right! But when she hit me ... took all the wind out of me."

"She kept me down by the throat," Ball continued. "I had grapes up my nose, in my ears, and she was choking me." 

Los Rivelinos 1988

Los Rivelinos performing in Circo Espana in 1988.

Rest In Peace: Ceslee Conkling

Taken from the world twenty-nine years ago today. Here she is with Margie Talavera performing a doctor gag on the Ringling Blue Unit in 1992.

BREAKING NEWS: ICHOF Announces 2023 Induction Candidates!

Five days into the new year, the International Clown Hall of Fame and Research Center is very proud to announce the 2023 Inductees!

Please welcome -

The legendary Rastelli family

Tom & Tammy Parish

Ruth Anne Chaddock

Paul Jerome

The Board of Directors is thrilled to welcome these amazing clowns and their contributions to the art of clowning into the ICHOF.

Each has left an distinct imprint of the craft of clowning and have inspired generations of clowns and their audiences with their talents and dedication.

Details following very soon as to Induction time, place & date.

Big Apple Circus: Bello and Francesco

 

Bello Nock and Francesco Brunaud on Big Apple Circus for the 1999/2000 season “Bello and Friends”.

Happy Lou Year 2023!

Lou Jacobs and Pee-Wee performing his renowned hunting gag. Lou was making a special appearance on the Blue Unit's 1982 television special.