Benny Le Grande

Does anyone know what happened to Benny Le Grande, the original featured clown with Cirque's first resident Las Vegas show MYSTERE?

Tomas Kubinek

A brilliant clown and "Certified Lunatic", Tomas Kubinek has been featured with Circus Flora and can be seen touring North America with his stage show THE MAESTRO RETURNS.

For more on Tomas Kubinek (including tour dates) please click the title of this post.

Peter Shub

For more on Peter Shub please click the title of this post.

Oleg Popov

Some clowns I like a lot more after reading their autobiographies (Emmett Kelly, Coco, Charlie Rivel, Buster Keaton) and some (Grock, Chaplin) I like less.

Popov is one of those people I found I liked a little less after reading his.

Rene Bazinet

Former partner of David Shiner, featured clown in Cirque's SALTIMBANCO and star of their film version of ALEGRIA, Rene Bazinet.

New Year's Eve

For anyone who is interested, I'll be hosting and clowning at the Hamid First Night Circus show at the Government Center in Fall River, Mass on New Year's Eve. We have a "meet & greet" at 3:30 and full performances at 5:30, 7:30 and 10:30 PM.

Happy New Year!

Fumagalli

Fumagalli was born Natalino Huesca in Genoa to a large circus family with four brothers and sisters. His father, Fumagalli, was a clown who appeared in Frederico Fellini's film “The Clowns”. His mother was a trapeze artist.

Natalino began his circus career at 10 years old, first with rope dancing and trapeze, touring with his family throughout Europe.

He has appeared in pantomime and played at the great houses of the world: Getty Theatre in Dublin, Palladium in London and Royal Alexander in Toronto.

It was while with Circus Roncalli that Huesca developed the costume, makeup and distinctive hairstyle of his auguste character that has also become known as "Fumagalli". He has appeared all over the world with the best international circuses and is soon to come to America with the Big Apple Circus.

Fumagalli is married and has three sons. His two oldest, Nino and Nico have already developed their own act.



Click the title of this post for more information from the Huesca family's website.

David Shiner

David Shiner on Circus Roncalli

More David Shiner

Even More David Shiner

The very expressive face of the brilliant David Shiner.

Albert Fratellini

Albert Fratellini puts the finishing touches on his famous makeup with an assist from the Mrs.

Charlie

Charlie Rivel, who I just learned that John Ringling North attempted to bring to the States several times to tour with the Ringling circus and who's Chaplin impersonation on the trapeze North considered "the greatest clown act I ever saw."

How differently American circus clowning might have developed had Rivel come to America.

Then again, he might have just as easily been swallowed up by the massive Ringling organization (like Marceline was) and spit out a few seasons later, a shadow of his former self.

Better to consider the former...

Peace on Earth, Goodwill to All

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas from some folks here in the Alley!

Old hand-held super-8 circus fan footage, on an 8th generation VHS, transferred to digital by pointing a webcam at a TV screen and then having the resulting video compressed for You Tube doesn't add up to much, video quality-wise. In fact, UFO, Bigfoot footage and the Zapruder film are all far clearer, but this is the best I could do in time for Christmas.

A very happy and healthy holiday to you and yours,
The Cashins

Otto Griebling and Freddie Freeman: Boxing Gag

Otto Griebling and Freddie Freeman on the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus in a greatly truncated performance of their version of the classic Boxing Gag, which they brought with them from the Cole Bros. show.

Look for Paul Wenzel on the track passing Harry Ritley and Gene Lewis on the track under the opening credits.

This is also from the "Christmas With the Greatest Show on Earth" television special, live from Winter Quarters in Sarasota, FL December 16, 1955.

RBB&B Clown Alley: Christmas with the Greatest Show on Earth

Members of the 1955 Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Clown Alley (featuring the likes of Emmett Kelly, Otto Griebling, Paul Jung, Charlie Bell and Prince Paul) perform on a live television special "Christmas with the Greatest Show on Earth" December 16, 1955 from the circus' Winter Quarters in Sarasota, FL.

Charlie Cairoli: Babes in Toyland 1954

An equally bad transfer as yesterday's footage of the Banana Man from the same live 1954 NBC broadcast of "Babes in Toyland", this time featuring an entree by Charlie Cairoli and, I believe, Paul Freeman.

The interplay between Charlie and Paul blurs the distinction between the comedy styles of circus, vaudeville, burlesque and music hall as Paul reminds me more than anything of, essentially, a musical Bud Abbott in traditional whiteface makeup and wardrobe while Charlie, by turns, evokes the spirits of Charlie Chaplin, Harpo Marx, Lou Costello and Stan Laurel.

The strength of the material hopefully excuses the poor quality of the video. I hope to be able to post better transfers soon.

Merry Christmas John Cooper!

The Banana Man: Babes in Toyland 1954

Sam Levine as the Banana Man (using props, costume and character developed by A. Robins who had been billed both as "The Banana Man " as well as "The One Man Music Shop") performing on a live 1954 NBC television broadcast of Babes in Toyland.

This is neither the best quality video nor the best performance of the act (it is rushed quite a bit) but I hope to be able to post a better quality video of a better performance soon.

Wayne Scott

Photos courtesy of Rik Gern

Hey Patric,
I just got back from Wayne and Marty's, where I spent hours photographing Mark Antony's carved clown figurines, and Rather than shrink all of the pictures down for email, I'll send you, as well as Wayne and Marty, a disc containing all of the pictures at full resolution. Talk to you soon.

Rik
P.S. They said it's OK if you want to post these, as well as the upcoming ones, on your blog.



The man himself, Mr. Wayne Scott, holding a photo of himself as a proud graduate of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum and Bailey College of Clowns' very first class: The Class of '68.




A better shot of that photo of Wayne in character.




A figurine, meticulously sculpted by Mark Anthony, of Mr. Scott.



Thank you Rik. Our hopes go out to our good friends Wayne and Marty for Wayne's continued good health.



You may visit the Scotts website by clicking the title of this post.

Sunday Morning Art Gallery w/Michelle Hove

A stool sample featuring the famous faces of Paul Jerome and Lou Jacobs by artist Michelle Hove.

Click the title of this post to view more of Ms. Hoves works