MICHAEL ROSMAN'S CIRCUS CAMP

Michael Rosman, Mark Lohr and I just finished our final 2008 circus camp yesterday afternoon at Camp Milldale in Reisterstown, MD. We taught 30 children juggling, balance, plate spinning, diablo, devil sticks, tightwire, rola-bola, stilts, rolling globe, chari-vari and clowning.

It always a pleasure to teach with Mike and Mark and we have a great support staff in Noelle Burk, the "V Family" and Michael's wife Heddie.

This year we had a tremendous number of students returning for a second, third and in some cases a fourth year! With the countless number of options as to how to spend your summertime available to kids today we are all deeply appreciative that so many of the same kids choose to keep coming back year after year, session after session to hone the skills that they've already acquired and are eager to learn more.

Another nice feature is that it's a family affair: Michael brings his two children, Mark brings his seven or eight of his fourteen kids with him and Shane even spent a few days this summer, becoming new best friends with Michael's son Ethan. That's particularly nice because Ethan's dad Michael was staying at our house five and a half years ago the day that Shane was born.

On the long ride home yesterday Shane watched the second volume of the brand new clownalley.net DVD compilation and got to see Lou Jacobs perform the Hunting Gag for the first time... and absolutely loved it... and watched it over and over and over again.

And made his father very, very proud ; )



Lou Jacobs Hunting Gag photo courtesy of Mike Naughton

MARK ANTHONY?

An unidentified clown who looks to me to be a young Mark Anthony.

What say the experts out there?

SLAPUS: Synchronized Swimming

RACHEL SAGE: Vertigo

The Joshua Katcher directed video for Rachel Sage's song "Vertigo" from her new album Chandelier.

As for the chump in Slivers Oakley's makeup, "Who hired her"?

CLOWN ALLEY: Ringling Blue Unit, 1993

Photos and comments courtesy of Steve Copeland

Hey Patrick,

Not sure if you've found these yet, but here are some possible photos for
clownalley.net


1. 1993 Blue Unit Alley members at some PR (maybe in DC?). I see Ceslee
Conkling, Sean Conklin, "Frenchie" Villanueva, Brian Searle, Jon Bogle,
Bob Greenspun, and Joey Kohler



2. Ceslee performing the sunblock umbrella walkaround at the PR.



A series from the Red Unit taken in Greensboro, NC in 1993

3. James Halliday (?) and Dave DeDera performing the stilt boxing gag
from Come In



4. Michael Frum from a safe cracking magic illusion track gag (?)


5. Michael Frum and Karen Bell from an artist track gag. The statue looks
like the one from the painter soap gag DeSanto did on Blue in the 80's.




6. Rik Gern in possibly the same artist track gag



7. Huel Speight doing the 3 Square Meals walkaround

KELLY-MILLER CIRCUS: Congratulations!!!

Congratulations go out today to my friend, Kelly-Miller "show kid" Georgia Grace Cainan (daughter of Casey McCoy and Natalie Cainan and the grand-daughter of ringmaster and magician Phil Chandler) who graduated kindergarten yesterday!

Let's give the little lady a hand!

THE SORELETTIS: Headshots

Perhaps Raffaele de Ritis could coax my friend Frank Bogino into giving us all some more information on the Sorelettis.

Some background on Frank, from Frank...

Hi Pat

My name is Frank Bogino - my family whent to the US on the Ringling show in 1947 and I was born in Boston that year. We were one of the best risley acts in the country and the first acrobatic circus act to be engaged in a Las Vegas Revue - The Dunes in 1950.

I grew up in New Orleans and also went to music school. In the summer I was learning to be a circus artist and became a very good acrobatic tumbler and risley top man but when I started traveling with the family I was called in to the US Army.

When the Vietnam war was over I went to Europe with my family and worked in the top circuses. In my 30s I set up a very nice comedy act similar to George Carl and with this act I performed in the top theatres and circuses in Europe. At the age of 43 I retired and today I manufacture Amusement Rides.

BILL BRICKLE

BLACKPOOL TOWER CIRCUS: Program Cover, 1979

CLOWN COLLEGE REUNION: Lou Jacobs

Photo courtesy of Steve Copeland

Video tributes to Lou Jacobs a well as a slideshow of photos taken directly from Otto Griebling's personal scrapbook, the Barry Lubin roast (no Euro-trash balloon "artistes" allowed) and the awarding of the Lou Jacobs Lifetime Achievement Award to Mike Coco... all at the Clown College 40th Anniversary Reunion at the Circus World Museum in Baraboo, WI September 18-21.

If you haven't already, please click the link to your right for more information.

POODLES HANNEFORD: By Billy De Beck

A sketch of Poodles Hanneford by Billy De Beck, the creator of Barney Google and Snuffy Smith comic strips. Outside the ring notice Barney Google and his horse Spark Plug, the inspiration for Jack Le Clair's famous bendover gag.

Under De Beck's signature it says that the sketch was done at the Ambassador Hotel which means that it was probably done in Los Angeles during Poodles stint in silent comedy shorts.

THE CHICKYS: Bruno, undated

CIRCUS KRONE: Charlie Rivel Statue

The statue of Charlie Rivel that stands outside Circus Krone, one of several staues erected to Rivel around Europe.

I'm sure that there will be Lou Jacobs and Otto Griebling statues erected outside the new Madison Square Garden, right?

I hear that they are almost finished with the Barry Lubin statue in Damrosch Park.

CLOWN COLLEGE REUNION: CBS Television, 1988

A CBS television commercial for the Clown College 20th Anniversary special.

The 40th anniversary will be held in less than a month in Baraboo, WI at the Circus World Museum. CBS won't be there, but it's going to be pretty special nonetheless. Click the link to the right to see the latest, updated schedule of events and if Greg and Karen don't already have your checks... GET THEM OUT NOW! Time's a wastin'!

DAVID LARIBLE: Conductor, Roncalli

"LITTLE BILLY" MERCHANT

Little Billy on the cover of the 1960 Bertram Mills program.

Although there is a Coco in this picture, this is NOT Billy Levishion; )

MARK ANTHONY

REMINO CAVEAGNA & IVES MILETTI Boxing Gag

FREDI CODRELLI

I drove myself crazy yesterday afternoon trying to find out the name of a clown in a piece of video. Dominique Jando, Greg DeSanto and Raffaele de Ritis were kind enough to confirm the performer in question as Fredi Codrelli.

From Raffaele...

The clown doing the scarf magic with Zippo-Paul is Fredi Codrelli. He was an Austrian clown, that Bernhard Paul booked in the early Roncalli tours (1980-84). They did togheter several entrée (talking a lot). Codrelli is largely responsable as teacher and developer of Zippo's character.