ELECTRIC CITY CLOWN ALLEY: Tonight

I'm loading the car for the long drive to Schenectady, New York to visit the Electric City Clown Alley tonight and share a lot of rare clowning videos and some stories.

JOHN MCCONNELL: Information on Services

Services for John McConnell will be at Doyle Funeral Home, Friday May 20, 2011. Viewing will be from 3:00 PM - 6:00 PM with a service at 7:00 PM. A reception will follow at the Mt. Kemble Firehouse, Springbrook Rd., Morristown (1 mile south of Morristown off of Rt 202.

 

HAPPY EASTER!

ICHOF CLASSIC COMEDY VIDEO TAPES!

From ICHOF Executive Director Greg DeSanto...

We were just given a box of comedy gold! We were handed a box of VHS tapes, donated to help raise funds for our outreach programs. These video tapes that need a good home and are all commercially released VHS tapes, not TV dubs or DVD's.


They are:

I Love Lucy-Lucy the Clown

The Best of Barney Fife (six tapes)
The Love God- Don Knotts
The Lucy Show collector's Editions (5 tapes)
Stan Without Ollie Vol. 1 (Stan Laurel solo films)
Curse of the Pink Panther
The Big Show 1961 (circus movie starring Ester Williams)
The Hustler (Paul Newaman & Jackie Gleason)
W.C. Fields-World's Funniest Man (collection of his Mack Sennett shorts)
Red Skelton-Getting Personal (Red on a Canadian talk show from the mid 80's)
A Classic Christmas on the Ed Sullivan Show (lots of variety acts)
Izzy & Moe (Jackie Gleason & Art Carney)
Rings Around the World (circus movie from the early 60's, Gunther, Francesco clowns)
Sally of the Sawdust (WC Fields silent movie set in a circus)
Slapstick Encyclopedia Complete Set, Vol. 1-8. Chaplin, Keaton, Lloyd, Langdon, Laurel & Hardy

Interested in any of the above? E-mail us at info@theclownmuseum.com for more info!

VENGENCE IN EL CIRCO: Chesty Mortimer Poster

One free internet to the person who can get me a copy of this poster!

BETH GRIMES: Chuckle Taylors

My friend Beth Grimes, a very talented artist, is considering a side business customizing Converse Chuck Taylors with paintings of famous clowns. Anyone interested?

$80 - That includes the shoes and shipping.

HAPPY NEW YEAR from clownalley.net!

FIRST NIGHT DOVER, DE!

Just a reminder that Zirkers Matthew Pauli, Michael Rosman, Moira Lee and myself will be performing in Dover, DE this evening. The legendary Kohl & Co as well as many talented jugglers, facepainters, stilt walkers, balloon twisters magicians, musicians and others will be in town as well, all for one low price. If you are in the area, come on out!

FIRST NIGHT DOVER!

Anyone in or near Dover, DE come on out New Year's Eve and catch Zirkers Matthew Pauli and myself performing our new material, Michael Rosman performing with his daughter Sophia and son Ethan and, last but not least, International Clown Hall of Fame "Lifetime of Laughter" recipients KOHL & CO!

That in addition to various magicians, musicians, balloon twisters, facepainters, games, rides... etc.

So come on out and ring in the New Year with more clowning than you can shake a slapstick at...

NOUVEAU CLOWN INSTITUTE: Feb and May Intensives

CONGRATULATIONS: Doug and Edgar!

Congratulations go out today to clown, magician and circus arts instructor Doug Young and his partner Edgar Cordova who were married yesterday in a ceremony in Washington DC.

SHOWFOLKS CIRCUS 2010: December 11th, 2010 2:00 & 7:00 PM

The Showfolks Circus is at the Robarts Arena in Sarasota, FL tomorrow. This year's Clown Alley includes Jackie Le Claire, Elmo Gibb, Sandy Kozik, Toby Ballantine, Robin Eurich, Barry Phillips, Barry DeChant and Dave & Sherri Sheppard.

I wish I could be there. 

If you are in the area, PLEASE go out and support the Showfolks and send me your pictures and video of the Alley. As always, the Alley gratefully accepts any and all coffee, donuts, water & Gatorade and other snacks so don't be shy ; )

WANTED: Circus Fan With Back Issues of Bandwagon, White Tops etc.

Is there a circus fan out there with a large collection and the time and interest to search through back issues of publications like White Tops, Circus Report, Billboard, Bandwagon, Call of the Calliope etc. for clown photos and articles to share?

Anthing sent will be posted and shared with the ICHOF.

Thanks!

KUNG-FU PANDA AUDITIONS: From Joanie Spina

AURELIA'S ORATORIO: McCarter Theater in Princeton, NJ (Sept 10-Oct 17, 2010)

I saw Aurelia's Oratorio last night. If you are familiar with the astonishingly high quality work of Aurélia Thierrée's parents, Victoria Thierrée Chaplin and Jean Baptiste Thierrée, as well as that of her brother James, you'll know that I entered the theater with extremely high expectations.

And I was not disappointed. Not for one single solitary second.

You cannot miss this show! The McCarter is DIRECTLY across from the Princeton train station and surrounded by ample parking. If you are anywhere in the tri-state area, anywhere in the Northest, you have no excuse for not making the trek to Princeton between now and October 17th to witness one of the very best "new circus" shows that I've ever seen.

Please DO NOT watch the video below if you plan on coming. See the show without knowing any of the visuals. If you can't make it to the McCarter, watch and see what you're missing...

The McCarter Theater is making $20 tickets available to all weekday performances Tues-Thurs @ 7:30pm. for readers of clownalley.net. When people call to order tickets (609) 258-2787 they should mention the clownalley.net discount!

JAMES ROANE CASHIN: 11 Months Old Today!

TODD GRIFFITH AND MARK LOHR: Update

I spoke with Mark Lohr the other day. He is in fine spirits and recovering well from his recent hip replacement surgery. A sobering reminder to all you young clowns out there, take it easy and be careful. 

I just received the following on Facebook from Brandon "Dooby" Foster...

"Back on the road after visiting Todd at the hospital. He and his mother have been overwhelmed with the cards, donations, and love that our circus family near and far has shown. Thank you all! Each and every email, card, or prayer has made an enormous impact."

You can still send him a get well message (or send another!) by going to: www.texashealth.com. Click on send patient an email. You must type in his name: Howard T Griffith, room: B422, and type a message. They will be printed and delivered to his room every day.

CLOWNS FOR A CAUSE: Akron, Ohio (July 6, 2010)

If you are anywhere near Akron, OH tomorrow some excellent clowns are putting on a show for a very worthy cause. This is a once in a lifetime chance to see these folks perform together so DO NOT MISS IT!!!

LOOKING FOR BEN SAID!!!

Dear Mr Cashin,

My name is Mr Beluahed . I live in Brussels Belgium .I have been trying to find My uncle for years.I visited your blog and I saw some comments about Mr BENSAID.http://clownalley.blogspot.com/2008/05/ben-said-who-was-this-man.html

Please could you help me contacting someone who knows him.

My family lost contact with my uncle in the mid-sixties. All we knew is that he used to work in a circus in Germany and that he moved to the USA in 1968. We haven't heard from him since. My family have changed their last name and moved from the city they used to live in . This may be why we never heard from him.

I read a lot about the people who knew him but infortunately I couldn't find any contact for help .

Hopefully you could help if you could contact the people who left comments on your blog.

Thank you very much for whatever information that you could give me or any other tips to carry on with my search.

My warm thanks to you Mr. Cashin,

Beluahed M

CHARLIE CHAPLIN: Lost Film Discovered

Link courtesy of Jeff Taub

LOST CHARLIE CHAPLIN FILM DISCOVERED IN MICHIGAN ANTIQUE SALE

By SCOTT EYMAN

Palm Beach Post Staff Writer

He's wearing a little moustache that would soon become world famous, carrying only a nightstick and the possibility of greatness.

It's Charlie Chaplin, making a cameo appearance in a Keystone comedy called A Thief Catcher in January 1914, just about a month after he started working at the Edendale, California, studio. It's the 36th film he made in a frantic year's activity before he left for more green, not to mention greener, pastures.

Until a few months ago, nobody knew it existed.

A Thief Catcher, released by the Mutual Film Corporation on February 19, 1914, was thought to be among the half of all silent films lost to history. The short actually stars Ford Sterling, Mack Swain and Edgar Kennedy. Chaplin appears for perhaps 2 minutes of the 10-minute film.

Finding a lost Chaplin appearance can be roughly compared to finding a lost Beethoven quartet, and you can hear many potent notes in his brief appearance. Following on the heels of a previously lost 1927 John Ford film, a Clara Bow film and others being discovered recently in New Zealand's film archives, the existence of A Thief Catcher proves yet again that amazing discoveries are still possible even after a hundred years.

The 16mm print was found by historian and collector Paul Gierucki at an antiques show in Michigan. Thinking it was just another old Keystone comedy, he didn't look at it for a while. He finally got around to it in early March and quickly realized what he had.

"Is this who I think it is?" he asked fellow collector Richard Roberts, sending along a frame grab. "Probably," said Roberts, "but we need to see him move."

Once you've seen him move, there's no question who the actor is.

Mabel's Strange Predicament, the first film in which Chaplin appeared in his famous makeup, started shooting January 6th, 1914 - a day after production began on A Thief Catcher.

"It's either his second moustache picture or his first," says Richard Roberts. "It cements the concept that he had the character before he came to Keystone and didn't slap it together on the way to the shooting stage one day. Even when he's doing a minor part he's doing that character. It's a new brick in the Chaplin biography. And this opens up the door to other unknown Chaplin appearances at Keystone."

Every few years, someone rushes to the press with news of a lost Chaplin film, which invariably turns out to be a familiar film with a different title. But A Thief Catcher is the real deal.

Chaplin wasn't a known commodity in February 1914, when the picture was released. That would come gradually over the next nine months as his starring comedies took the world by storm.

In later years, Chaplin did an unbilled cameo in a 1915 Essanay comedy entitled His Regeneration, as well as a surprise appearance as himself in King Vidor's 1928 feature Show People.

A Thief Catcher will be unveiled at Slapsticon, a film convention, on July 17th at 8:00 pm at the Spectrum Theater in Rosslyn, Va.

From Slapsticon...

SLAPSTICON 2010 TO UNVEIL LOST AND FORMERLY UNKNOWN CHAPLIN FILM

In past years, the International Film Festival Slapsticon has prided itself on recovering and presenting lost comedy treasures, even discovering previously undocumented films featuring the Great Clowns of early cinema, rewriting film history books and filmographies. This year, at SLAPSTICON 2010, motion picture historians will be updating the filmography of the Greatest Comic of All, Charles Chaplin, as SLAPSTICON presents for the first time since it’s original release, Chaplin’s 36th Keystone short subject, a heretofore unknown appearance Chaplin made at Mack Sennett’s legendary Fun Factory in the same year and at the same studio in which he made his film debut.

Chaplin had recalled in his own autobiography that apart from his starring role Keystone Comedies, he had also played bit parts as a Keystone Kop in several pictures. Despite this information, the titles of these works remained elusive for over 90 years and no film prints have surfaced -- until now. SLAPSTICON 2010 proudly presents one of those previously thought lost Keystone comedies, A THIEF CATCHER, released by the Mutual Film Corporation on February 19, 1914. The short stars Ford Sterling, Mack Swain, Edgar Kennedy, and features Chaplin making an extended and very funny cameo as a policeman. The film was shot January 5th through January 26th, 1914, making it perhaps the second or third film Chaplin made at Keystone. The short was released following Chaplin’s third starring Keystone comedy MABEL'S STRANGE PREDICAMENT. Its importance as an early Chaplin appearance cannot be underestimated, and definitely adds another interesting chapter to Chaplin’s early film career.

The print of A THIEF CATCHER was discovered earlier this year by Film Historian / Preservationist Paul E. Gierucki, current head of restorations for CineMuseum LLC, and one of the"Godfathers" of a group of Comedy Film Historians known as the “Silent Comedy Mafia” who help to organize the yearly Slapsticon festivals.

A THIEF CATCHER will be part of a Chaplin Rarities Program at SLAPSTICON 2010 showing Saturday Evening, July 17th at 8:00 pm at the Spectrum Theater in Rosslyn, Va. Also featured in the Rarities program will be a newly recovered reel of Chaplin Outtakes from his Mutual Comedies, and a sparkling print of Chaplin’s Liberty War Loan propaganda short, THE BOND (1918) featuring outtakes from that film. These remarkable comedies are just a few of the rare treasures that will be screened in the four days of SLAPSTICON 2010, which runs Thursday through Sunday, July 15-18th at the Rosslyn Spectrum Theater in Arlington, VA. For more information, a complete program schedule, registration and hotel information, go to www.slapsticon.org.