Jack or Jackie?

Photo courtesy of the Fred Pfening Circus Archives




There are a few photos in the enormous Pfening file that may be misidentified and hopefully the folks here will be able to confirm just who is who in these photos.

This photo identifies the subjects as Jack LeClair and Estelle Butler on RBB&B in 1941.

It may be Ringling-Barnum 1941 and that might be Estelle Butler but I'd bet dollars to donuts that this clown is a young JACKIE LeClaire, not his father Jack.

Slivers or Spader?

Photo courtesy of the Fred Pfening Circus Archives



Another possibly misidentified subject: This photo is identified as Slivers Johnson on Sells-Floto in 1914.

It may well be Sells-Floto in 1914 but that appears to be SPADER Johnson (contemporary of SLIVERS Oakley), not SLIVERS Johnson.

I've only seen a handful of photos of either, can anyone else confirm or deny?

Fratellini Poster

A poster with no mention of the name of the show at all... only the star attraction, the quintessential clown trio: The Fratellinis.

From top to bottom: Paul the classic auguste turned contre-auguste, Francois the most classic of whitefaces and Albert the man who re-created and forever changed the role and appearance of the auguste.




As for yesterday's post, I've received a few messages from folks telling me stories about how nice it was to work with and for Emmett Jr. on the Emmett Kelly Jr. All-Star Circus in the 70s and early 80s. I'm not saying that Emmett Jr. icouldn't be a wonderful person and a great employer, I just don't see him as a particularly exceptional perfomer or circus clown.

His father, the man who crafted that material and persona, was.

Emmett Kelly and Emmett Jr.

For those who still can't tell them apart, or don't know that there is a marked difference between them, today we look at Emmett Kelly and Emmett Kelly Jr.





Emmett Kelly was born December 9, 1898 in Sedan, Kansas, and began his career as a trapeze artist. In 1923, Emmett Kelly was working his trapeze act with John Robinson's circus when he met and married Eva Moore, another circus trapeze artist. They later performed together as the "Aerial Kellys" with Emmett still performing occasionally as a whiteface clown.

He began working as a clown full-time in 1931, and it was only after years of attempting to persuade the management that he was able to switch from a whiteface clown to his now-famous tramp character.

That character, "Weary Willie", was a clown who, rather than go for the laugh, instead appealed to the sympathy of his audience.

His approach was revolutionary for it's time: traditionally, circus clowns wore whiteface and performed elaborate slapstick stunts intended to make people laugh. Kelly (and, more importantly, his versatile mentor on the Cole Brothers Circus, Otto Griebling) helped to usher in an entirely new rhythm and style of circus comedy.

From 1942-1956 Kelly performed with the Ringling Bros and Barnum & Bailey Circus, where he was a major attraction. He left after the AGVA strike of 1956 and spent the next two seasons in New York City performing as the mascot for the Brooklyn Dodgers baseball team. He continued to appear as a celebrity attraction on spot dates, with Shrine Circuses and in nightclubs for the remainder of his career. He also appeared on Broadway, on television and in film roles.

Emmett Kelly Sr. died at the age of 80 of a heart attack on March 28, 1979, at his home in Sarasota, Florida. He is buried in the Rest Haven Memorial Park, in Lafayette, Indiana.



Emmett Jr. is a United States Navy veteran and former auto mechanic who successfully traded on his father's celebrity to carve out a career for himself by appropriating his father's likeness and his most famous routines.

He is best known as the subject of a long running series of collectible figurines that give the impression that he enjoyed a long and distinguished circus career.

He, in fact, did not.

Emmett Sr. was a circus clown. Emmett Jr. is a successful marketer of chochskis.

Guess Which One Was Known as "Chesty"! The Answer May Suprise You!

Photo courtesy of Bill Strong



I'M DONE!!!

I've finished up my circus season with two shows in Jamestown, NY yesterday that were poorly attended because of the Buffalo Bills season opener. These swine would rather watch football than attend a circus?!? No wonder Lucille Ball left this hick burg as soon as she could!

The shows went well though. In fact, most of yesterday went very well. As soon as I finished posting I went downstairs, had my breakfast and the clouds parted and the sun started shining. My mood lightened considerably when the woman at the front desk pointed out that my picture was on the front page of the newspaper. Always a nice start to any day.

In fact the only downer yesterday was that I met a clown who had been on the Beatty-Cole show when I was a kid. He's been kicking around the circus industry ever since and was proof positive that maybe I DON'T want to meet all the clowns that I remember from my childhood. What a thoroughly unpleasant experience.

Having met him, I can now completely understand why a certain circus producer punched him right in the mouth a few years back. I find it hard to believe that it doesn't happen to him every day.

So, in an effort to clean the palatte after that experience, here is a great photo from the Bill Strong Collection of a clown I'm sure that I would have enjoyed meeting much more: Paul "Chesty Mortimer" Mortier beeming beatifically as he flirts with a pretty showgirl.

Jimmy Armstrong in the Rain

I think this photo of Jimmy Armstrong best sums up how it feels to be a circus clown in Jamestown, NY today.

The guy who came up with "May All Your Days Be Circus Days" wasn't talking about circus days like this.

End of the Tour and Cowboy Mike's Art

It's one of those days.

It's the last day of my 2006 circus season. A rainy day in Jamestown, NY, birthplace of Lucille Ball. The show goes on for one more date in Rochester, MN but I can't be there. No matter. I've always looked forward to working these dates before but this year it just wasn't as much fun.

I'm sitting in my room at the Comfort Inn and listening to Brian Eno and Harold Budd's Ambient Music 2 and I think that I need to see some more of Cowboy Mike Keever's artwork to lighten my mood and get me ready for these last two shows.

Mike's art always picks me up. So does hearing a nice fast rendition of the Dixieland standard "That's a Plenty". Maybe I just need to blast some Dixieland through this room, get some coffee and enjoy my "complimentary continental breakfast" and things will seem a little less gray.




Chuck Sidlow, former Ringling Boss Clown and currently working with Pedro Reiss and Dolly Jacobs' Circus Sarasota.



Duane "Uncle Soapy" Thorpe




Jackie LeClaire

Fabulous Freak Brothers (and One Sister)

Photo courtesy of Ron Jarvis



Ron Jarvis sent this photo, which at first glance looked to me like a 1968 Moby Grape album cover, but which he assures me is a photo of the 1973 Red Unit Clown Alley of the Ringling show. It looks as though it was taken on the night they were all busy driving ol' Dixie down. Where was the First of May party that year? Gettysburg?

He then challenged me to name as many of the clowns out of makeup as I could.

I got two. By process of elimination that must be Peggy Williams in the center.

And there is no hiding the fact that that COULDN'T be anyone but Billy Baker down in the right hand corner.

As for the rest of them, they look like roadies for Blue Oyster Cult. GET A HAIRCUT!

It's obvious that Irvin Feld and Bill Ballantine hadn't thought to include "Long-haired freaky people need not apply" to the early Clown College applications.

He shoulda had a sign!

Happy Knapp

Photo courtesy of Bill Strong



Who is he? What did he do? Where did he come from? Where did he go?

Does anyone out there have ANY information on Happy Knapp?



And would those in the back with their more sophmoric senses of humor PLEASE stop giggling about his name and emailling me about what a "Happy Knapp" would cost in Thailand!!!

The Prince and the Kindergarten Teacher

Photo courtesy of Jeff Darnell



This from Jeff Darnell...

"Prince Paul out of makeup chatting up my kindergarten teacher, Mrs Love, at the "circus party" in Greensboro. This was held at my folks house in 1980 when I played my hometown in the 110th edition. The CBS circus special hosted by Michael Landon was watched by all on something very state of the art back then..... a VCR (Beta Max)"

Felix Adler 1947

World War II is over. Having made the world a better place, the vets have returned home and the baby boom is on. It's just before the explosion of television, so it's a good time for the American circus industry.

It's 1947, Felix Adler is on the cover of the Ringling program looking EXACTLY like a post war, three-ring circus clown should and all is right with the world.

Toby Takes a Tubby

This looks to me to be Toby Ballantine (son of clown, author, artist and longtime Clown College director Bill Ballentine) performing a riff on Lou Jacobs' classic riff on Buck Baker's bathtub gag on an Ohio Shrine date in the late 70s/early 80s.

Jimmy Armstrong

Photo courtesy of Robin Estes



Jimmy Armstrong, longtime fixture on the Ringling and Beatty shows as well as many, many Shrine circuses.

Pio Nock in CIRCUS WORLD

Photo courtesy of Robin Estes



I'm currently working on a Shrine show alongside Tony Nock, son of Pio Nock, seen here (in checked jacket and green hat) in the John Wayne/Rita Hayworth film CIRCUS WORLD.

Mike Coco on Mills Bros.

I don't remember if I've posted this one before...

It's obviously Mike "Coco" Polakov, possibly with his own son, probably from the mid 50s when he was with the Mills Bros. Circus before he joined the Ringling show.

Blinko and Flo

Two perfect examples of the rapidly vanishing/nearly extinct classic American whiteface circus clown: Ernie "Blinko" Burch and Albert "Flo" White on the Ringling show in the 50s.

Mark Anthony on Clyde Beatty

A young Mark Anthony on the Clyde Beatty Circus (the railroad show, NOT to be confused with the Clyde Beatty-Cole Bros. Circus) in what looks to be the late 40s to early 50s.

Jeff Darnell Photos of Lou Jacobs, 1983

Photos courtesy of Jeff Darnell






These photos came in from my new friend Jeff Darnell last night.

I'll let Jeff tell you all about them...

______________________________________________________________________________________________

By way of introduction, my name is Jeff Darnell...... Clown College class of '78 and former Blue Show clown in the late 70's and early 80's.

I joined the CC faculty in 1983 and later did advance clowning in the south eastern US.

Tom Dougherty and I were classmates in 1978. My family and I had the pleasure of a visit with Tom at my home in Durham, NC last week while he was en route to Des Moines from Savannah. We had a blast digging up stuff from the collection of things from my Ringling days. The Slivers Oakley scrapbook discovery has had an impact on Tom..... and amazing "ripple effects" on my clown, "JD." After a long period of "dormancy" in the performing world, Tom is encouraging me to "return to the ring" of sorts..... and dust off the skill sets of my past.

I recently walked through a two year Hospice experience with my Dad. This journey has squeezed and stretched my heart&soul in many directions. One thing that's being revealed to me is that the timing is now right to begin the second half of my "clown journey."

I have some things on the back burner that will soon be heating up!

For those of you who don't know me, I left the Blue Show to begin the adventure of getting my degree in furniture design and construction with a minor in Psychology at Appalachian State University. I met my wife, Judy, in Boone while working as RAs in Frank and Hoey Dorms. We have a daughter named Allie. She is in the 8th grade.

My veins still had sawdust in them after touring full time with the Blue Show and I returned to Clown College in 1983 to teach make up, stilt walking, and drive the CC bus. I still have flash backs to the Class of '83 "theme song" that was sung over and over and over and over and over and over and over en route to the Venice Villas at night...... and in the morning too. "Do wa diddy diddy dum diddy do!"

I had the privilege of sitting at the feet of George Shellenberger in the prop department down at Winter Quarters. I made it a point to soak up his homespun wisdom..... and was always in awe of his incredible ability to visualize..... then build some of the coolest, and of course the sturdiest, props that would usually make it out on one of the tours. George could do this from a small "doodle sketch" on a pad or just by listening to a clown/student describe what he wanted the prop to do.

I also had the honor of sharing a common wall with Lou Jacobs during the fall of '83 while we occupied the back two condos at the Venice Villas. We were right beside the pool. I will always remember his gracious response to a plate of fresh pineapple I cut up for a Sunday afternoon lunch. He said, "that's good!" Then he smiled and said "thank you." He was a man of few words. His twinkling, "Santa Claus" eyes did most of his talking and this will forever be remembered by me. Our world is a better place because of the mark he left on our hearts!

Peluza

Photo courtesy of Bill Strong



Peluza, a clown on the Shrine circuit in the 1950s who modeled his makeup and costume after Jimmy Stewart's character,Buttons, in the film THE GREATEST SHOW ON EARTH. I know, strange choice because most professional clowns agree that Stewart's makeup was the nadir of effective clown makeup design and his character, as noble as his motives may have been, is arrested for the murder of his wife at the end of the film.

But the image was used heavily to promote a wildly successful film that did win an Oscar for Best Picture, so I can see why someone might try to capitalize on that.

Bill Strong tells me, "Peluza has received much criticism over that, but regardless of the fact, he was a very good clown."

Jules Turnour

If you ever see a copy of the book AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF A CLOWN by Jules Turnour on eBay, snap it up!

Happy Birthday Mr. Gern

A very happy 49th birthday to my friend Rik "Bonzo Crunch" Gern.

Felix Adler by Cowboy Mike Keever

Photo courtesy of Cowboy Mike Keever





I need a smile today.

Things are not going my way at the moment and I was looking for something to post for today that made me smile both inside and out. This is it. Its a painting of Felix Adler done by Cowboy Mike Keever.

To paraphrase Steve Smith, "It makes me smile all over".

I apologize for it being sideways, that's how it was received. I still haven't figured out how to correct that on my new mac but I have a few days at home this week, so I hope to get a little more "mac savvy".

Picture Day on the Beatty show

Photo courtesy of Bill Strong



I'm not sure who that is on the elephants but from left to right underneath we have Shorty Hinkle, Jimmy James, another unidentified (Toby Jorio?) and Lou Nagy with Kenny Dodd in the foreground.

I would guess from Jimmy's makeup that this was taken in the mid-60s. That and the fact that Bernie Kallman isn't there, leading me to believe that this was taken before he joined the show.

Picture Day on Ringling

Pile up gang! It's Picture Day from back before Clown College, when the auguste came to rule the Ringling Alley.

Four, count 'em, FOUR whitefaces all dressed in white costumes trimmed in red. No "clown" noses. Two wearing similar peaked white hats but each unique enough that they are easily identifiable.

I'm not sure of the name of the guy at the top (I know that he was used on the cover of the Ringling program one year so he's probably someone for whom I haven't connected the name and the face yet) but I know that right below him are Jackie LeClaire's father Jack LeClair (they spelled their last names differently) on the left and Milt Taylor on the right, two lovely young women and Frankie Saluto at the bottom.

Frankie's makeup is slightly altered in this photo from his usual makeup at the time. Jack LeClair's makeup is different too.

There are several photos (all from about the same time, possibly the same day) of Jack LeClair with this makeup he wearing here, one that differs GREATLY from his earlier makeup. Why would a clown with such a great, expressive face and such a simple yet effective makeup suddenly change it at this point in his career?

I've been told that "back in the day" Ringling management would ask some clowns to come up with an alternate makeup for some press photos to make it seem like there were more clowns on the show than there actually were.

That's why we have strange photos of Lou Jacobs, Gijon Polidor and Felix Adler all in a very similar makeup (the most famous photo of which is a close up of Felix shouting with his hand to his mouth, which was used for years on posters and publicity materials and is the logo for the Felix Adler tent of the CFA) over the years. That's why we have photos of Paul Jerome in whiteface in the 40s. That is why there are whiteface photos of Otto Griebling on the Cole show.

So maybe THAT explains the change in Frankie Saluto and Jack LeClair's makeups.

Or maybe they just felt like a change.

Rules were far more relaxed for the clowns on the Ringling show back then and they were free to experiment and try different things.

Otto and Jackie

Otto Griebling, out of makeup, bowling with Jackie LeClaire in what looks to be the late 50s/early 60s.

I remember reading in an interview that Otto's daughter was always mortified that her father wore his hair so long. Then the Beatles came along and suddenly he was the coolest Dad around. Groovy!

Joe Jackson Sr.

Photo courtesy of Robin Estes



Vaudeville star Joe Jackson Sr., in and out of makeup.

Paul Jerome: Tramp Makeup

The very distinctive tramp makeup of Paul Jerome, "The Neon Clown", which features the light up nose that so many writers have attributed (and continue to attribute) to Felix Adler. Jerome's earlier whiteface makeup IS similar to Adler's and next week I'll try to find a few photos to post side by side for comparison.

Otto

Series of photos courtesy of Robin Estes



Last night we received a message in the "comments" section of a photo of Otto Griebling and Harriet Hodgini from someone identifying themselves as "Julie".

She said that she is the grand-daughter of Otto and Hanna Griebling.

I hope a few more photos of "Grampa" here could entice Julie to email me at cashincomedy@yahoo.com so I could talk to her at length about her grandfather.

More Otto

Another Otto

Happy Kellams

Longtime Shrine Circus fixture Happy Kellams

Big Apple Circus: Step Right Up

Last night I was fortunate enough to see the dress rehearsal for the new 29th edition of Big Apple Circus, "Step Right Up".

Unbelievable!

Francesco, Justin Case, Johnny Peers, Joel Jeske (who really outdoes himself) and Barry Lubin ALL IN ONE SHOW! And that's just the comedy! Steve Smith and his team have much to be proud of this morning. They've assembled an amazing cast that have created a truly wonderful show.

Bobo Barnett & Clown College

"Prof." Chester "Bobo" Barnett, former Ringling clown and longtime star clown with several Shrine shows, in cap and gown and described as "Bachelor of Buffoonery College of Humor" in this autographed photo from 1945.

How widely distributed was this photo and just how much did Bobo have invested in the idea? Was it just for this one single publicity photo? Did he frame the act around it for a time?

We've all heard that the idea for Clown College was Irvin Feld's.

I've heard that the idea for Clown College was Danny Chapman's.

I've heard that the idea for Clown College was first suggested by Otto Griebling.

But maybe the germ of the idea came from a widely distributed publicity photo of Bobo Barnett?

The Francescos 1955: Boxing Gag Video

Video of what looks to me to be the Francescos doing a boxing gag in 1955.

Unfortunately, I can't show it to you here.

Google videos does not allow you to embed video the way YouTube does so you'll have to cut and paste the address below into your web browser window...



http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=5451813045811338234&q=circus*+clown*&pr=goog-sl



It's only a few seconds of video but it's well worth your trouble for the chance to see a absolutely flawless execution of a "toothpick" in live performance.

9/11

I don't think that there is ANY photo that sums up the shock, horror and genuine uselessness that I felt on the morning of September 11, 2001 like the image of Emmett Kelly running across the RBB&B lot with a bucket of water attempting to help put out the roaring Hartford Circus Fire of 1944.

You sat and watched it on TV, over and over and over... and were powerless. You had no idea when or where it was going to stop. No idea what to do.

No matter what you did, what you thought, no matter how hard you tried you couldn't stop it from happening again and again and again. The worst thing imaginable. Over and over and over. Planes, buildings, horror, crashes, death. Over and over and over.

And just when you believed that it couldn't get any worse, the Towers began to collapse.



It was a beautiful day. With the trail of smoke visible from my front window, it was STILL a beautiful day.

That's what really killed me. How could something so terrible happen on such an absolutely beautiful day?



I'd just driven past the towers a few days before. I was driving through the Holland Tunnel on my way to Steve Smith's birthday party, listening to the new Elvis Costello CD and I felt good. Really good. All seemed really right with the world.

It was a wonderful night. It was a wonderful party. People came from far and wide and I met and talked with people I've admired since childhood, all there to celebrate the birthday of a man who has been a good friend to us all.

On September 10th I spent the day at Newark Airport. I was there shooting a commercial for United Airlines and spent the whole day in their VIP lounge, looking out at the New York skyline, drinking it in.

I still felt good from the party. I felt good to be cast in another commercial. I'd done 5 in the last year. One was even running internationally. It felt like I was finally getting somewhere . It felt like things were finally coming together.

Then...

Slivers: Beautiful Day

Photo courtesy of Tom Dougherty




Tom described this as his favorite picture of Slivers. I can see why.

Slivers on a hilltop, on a beautiful idyllic day playing with a dog. He's a young man at the height of his career, at the top of his profession with one of the largest circuses the world will ever see as his playground in the background.

What's not to love?

More Unseen Slivers

Photos courtesy of Gene Wolande







These extremely rare family photos come to us from Gene Wolande, a Los Angeles screenwriter and relative of Frank "Slivers" Oakley. The first, a glimpse of Slivers in makeup without his wig, the second ANOTHER photo of Slivers out of makeup (!) and finally a great close-up of Slivers in the catcher's mask he used in his famous Baseball Gag.

Mr. Wolande has written an award-wining screenplay on Slivers' life that I'm sure we'd ALL like to see get made into "a Major Motion Picture". As much drama, comedy and pathos as there is to Slivers' story I find it hard to believe it hasn't been made into a movie already.

Slivers Oakley: Golf Gag

Photo courtesy of Tom Dougherty



Another in a series of photos from the Tom Dogherty Collection, The Golf Gag, taken from the personal scrapbook of Frank "Slivers" Oakley.

Slivers Rag

Todd Robinson reminded me that "Slivers Rag" the Ragtime accompaniment to Slivers' Baseball Gag, composed by Harry Cook (and described as an "Eccentric Rag") is available online at...

http://parlorsongs.com/issues/2001-6/thismonth/featurea.asp

Frank Oakley: Out of Makeup

Photo courtesy of Tom Dougherty



Another photo from the Tom Dougherty Collection of photos from the personal scrapbook of Frank "Slivers" Oakley.

This is the only photo of Frank Oakley, out of makeup, that I've ever seen.



Tomorrow, another photo from the Dougherty Archives and one that helps dispel the myth that Slivers was a "one trick pony" with only his famous Baseball Gag. Tomorrow: Slivers' Golf Gag!

Slivers Oakley in His Prime

Here is the 2nd in a series of extremely rare photos from the Tom Dougherty Collection of Slivers Oakley from Slivers' own personal scrapbook. Today's photo looks to be taken during his prime. Why is is sideways? Because that's the way it was received and I don't know enough about my new macbook to change it yet.



FRANK “SLIVERS” OAKLEY


Frank Oakley, also known as “Slivers” (1871-1916) was the most popular circus clown of his generation. Born in Sweden, both of Oakley's parents were concert singers. At the age of 14 he began to practice as a contortionist and at 16 he joined his first circus. His parents convinced him to enroll at the University of Michigan but two years later Oakley was back under the big top.

His began his career with Andrew MacDonald's Circus but he soon joined the Ringling Bros. Circus in 1897. Before the turn of the century Oakley performed with the Barnum & Bailey Circus followed by three seasons with the Adam Forepaugh & Sells Bros. Circus (1900-02). Oakley returned to the Barnum & Bailey Circus for four seasons (1903-07) where he reportedly earned up to $1,000. a week.

Slivers was famous for working solo in the ring. His featured gag was a one-man baseball game in which he played all the positions of both teams. Among his classic walkarounds was a gag in which he rode around the hippodrome track atop two giant lobsters.

He went on to perform in other circuses, in vaudeville and was featured (sometimes partnered with fellow clown Marceline Orbes) in the massive shows at the New York Hippodrome, where I believe he performed on opening night.
He married vaudeville singer Nellie Dunbar in 1902 and together they had one daughter, Ruth.
With the coming of motion pictures and the superstardom of Charlie Chaplin Slivers was supplanted as an American comedy icon. When other opportunities dried up he tried to return to Ringling where he was offered only $75.00 a week to perform walkarounds.

He committed suicide, dying by gas asphyxiation, on March 8, 1916 in his room at 308 West 71st Street in New York City. Oakley had fallen for Viola Stoll, a young vaudeville actress, and remained infatuated even after she was arrested and incarcerated for stealing his late wife's jewelry. When he tried to have her paroled from Bedford Reformatory by proposing marriage, she rejected him.


Tomorrow, the rarest of the RAREST of the rare...Slivers without makeup!