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

Classic Holiday Comedy: Tom & Jerry

A rarely seen MGM Tom & Jerry holiday cartoon from Bill Hanna and Joe Barbera

Billy McCabe from CIRCUS DAYS

Photo by Jill Freedman


Just as important as what a clown does in the ring is how he or she relates to their audience one-on-one in meet and greet situations like these. This is where the REAL circus memories are made.

If children are afraid of circus clowns (or whiteface clowns in particular) up close, they forgot to tell these kids.

The Umbilical Brothers

Not circus clowns, but very funny, very talented variety comedians Shane and David, the Umbilical Brothers.

You can watch them everyday on Noggin on THE UPSIDE DOWN SHOW.

Polack Alley 1942

Photos courtesy of Bill Strong




From Bill:

Here are 2 shots of Polack Bros Clown Alley in the fall of 1942. Dime Wilson worked on Wallace Bros earlier in '42 then did that fall, & the spring of '43 on Polack. The only one I'm sure of other than Dime, is Jack Klipple, standing top left in the 1st pic.
___________________________________________________

From me:

I could be wrong but the guy in the center of the front row in the 1st picture looks to me like it could be a young Dennis Stevens.

Billy McCabe from CIRCUS DAYS

Photo by Jill Freedman


"One of these thing is NOT like the others..."

Saluto and Armstrong

I've never heard anything about Frankie Saluto working anywhere but Ringling, so this photo of him and Jimmy Armstrong (in AUGUSTE MAKEUP?!?) with a Beatty truck in the background is either from a Shrine date or mean that Frankie had spent time somewhere else.

Lou Nagy from CIRCUS DAYS

Photo by Jill Freedman


On "Senior Cut Day" all the seniors cut out of school and head up to "Inspiration Point" to have a huge kegger and sign the class rock. Lou Nagy, at that point 78 years old and misunderstanding the use of the word "senior", assumed that it was an AARP meeting, wandered away from the show after the matinee and went up there with "SENIORS RULE" scrawled in soap across the back windshield of one of the show trucks.

The kids were kind of put off by a 78 year old man in stretch shorts and clown makeup at first but as soon as he started juggling he was an immediate hit. They nicknamed him "Geezer" and he was so popular he was elected king of the senior prom (which was the coolest EVAR) and was voted both "Class Clown" and "Most Likely to Lose His Medic-Alert Bracelet".

He started going steady with Mary Jo Kaputnick, a pretty classmate and waitress at the local Waffle Hut. Their budding romance was put on hold when Lou got his acceptance letter to State where he and his pals pledged TKE, got in and had several wild adventures and run-ins with the uptight old dean who could often be heard screaming "NAGY!" clear across the commons.

He twice switched majors but eventually graduated with a BA in Communication, married his high school sweetheart Mary Jo, had two kids and moved to Seattle to start a small mom & pop coffeeshop.

The one you know today as Starbucks.

And the two kids? His son is wrestling legend Capt. Lou Albano. His daughter, political columnist Ann Coulter.

And that's...the rest of the story. I'm Paul Harvey.

Click the title of any of these CIRCUS DAYS posts to be linked to the amazon.com listing for more of Jill Freedman's great photos of the Beatty-Cole show in the early 70s.

Bernie Kallman from CIRCUS DAYS

Photo by Jill Freedman



Bernie Kallman finds out that he could have saved a bundle on car insurance by switching to Geico.

Jimmy James from CIRCUS DAYS

Photo by Jill Freedman



"Now you know he was just kidding yesterday about the conjoined twin and the fetus bit, right?"

Wallace Bros. 1941

Photo courtesy of Bill Strong


This is the Wallace Bros. Circus Clown Alley, 1941.

Lawrence Cross is in the dress, the clown in the pointed hat with the dog is Bill Strong's grandfather-in-law, Trudy's grandfather Gil Wilson. The identities of the organ grinder and the top hatted big head in the back are unknown.

I believe the gentleman on the far left is a young, but nonetheless still weathered, Swede Johnson.

Billy McCabe from CIRCUS DAYS

Photo by Jill Freedman


Billy McCabe's short-lived "Fetus" track gag, where he'd burst a clear plastic garbage bag filled with water on the track and emerge in what appeared to be nothing but an oversized comedy diaper, hugging audience members and calling them "Momma".

It was cut by management about 2 weeks into the tour.

This photo was found and the gag was later re-worked by David Larible and performed along with 4 audience volunteers for many years on the Ringling show. By the time of Barnum's Kaliedoscape the gag was running 20 minutes and it is for this gag that Larible won his Silver Clown in Monte Carlo. A variation is currently being performed by Kwame and Kwame, the two folk-clowns from Camaroon, on Cirque du Soleil's 38th touring show PRETENSHUS.

Jimmy and Hillary James from CIRCUS DAYS

Photo by Jill Freedman


Few remember that when Jimmy James started his long career on the Beatty-Cole show it was in the sideshow. Jimmy and his sister had caught the attention of Frank McCloskey as they were one of the very few male/female conjoined twins, connected at the wrist. They were something of a sensation and were noted for their renditions of "Me and My Shadow" and "Everything You Can Do I Can Do Better".

After Jimmy and his sister Hillary were successfully separated in the early 70s Jimmy went on to enjoy many more years on the Beatty show, continuing as a clown and later as Ringmaster.

The sister left show business. Wanting to start fresh, she took her mother's maiden, went on to college and then to law school, got married and started a family. She's become something of a success in her own right, you may know her today as Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton.

When the show is playing nearby you can always catch her at the cookhouse where she's more than willing to jump up on the table and belt out a song or two from the old days for a baloney sandwich and a cup of coffee.

"I'm just an old show broad!", she'll loudly exclaim as she's slaps herself hard on the tush. Most folks on the show don't even recognize her as the former First Lady and senator from the state of New York. They just know her as "Hill the Pill".

And now you know the rest...of the story. I'm Paul Harvey.

Shorty Hinkle from CIRCUS DAYS

Photo by Jill Freedman


"I yam what I yam and dat's all what I yam!" says Shorty the Hinkle Man. This popeyed little sailor (from a far less litigious time in American circus history) must have been exposed to some radioactive spinach. Just count the fingers on that hand!

Johnny Hutch

Sad news from John Cooper...


I grieve to have to report the death of veteran acrobat Johnny Hutch recently. Johnny will probably be best known to Americans as the little, old, bald guy who appeared in The Benny Hill Show towards the end of Benny's life (a role made most famous by the late Jackie Wright) , but he was an accomplished acrobat of great ability and experience, as well as friend and mentor to many. The two acts for which I remember him are The Halfwits - a comedy vaulting act - and The Herculeans - olde tyme acrobats.

Johnny was in his nineties, and had lost his wife quite recently. Although I do not know the official cause of death, I suspect those two factors will have contributed.

If you ever met the man, you will feel a decided sense of loss.
May he Rest In Peace.

John Cooper

Jimmy and Billy from CIRCUS DAYS

Photo by Jill Freedman


Jimmy James and Billy McCabe check to see if their letter to the editor has been published in the latest issue of Women's Wear Daily in this photo from CIRCUS DAYS.

Click the title of this post for the Amazon.com link to Jill Freedman's CIRCUS DAYS.

Rescue 911: Shrine Clown

A very sobering reminder that circus clowning is an extremely physically demanding job.

Dale and Bruce

Photos courtesy of Mr. Bill Strong



From Ringling to Vargas to the Showfolks Circus the other night, Dale Longmire and Bruce Gutilla (trading wigs back and forth?), two perfect examples of that most extinct of circus animals, the glamorous whiteface clown.

Look at that wardrobe! They make Albert White and Blinko Burch look like they were shopping at Wal-Mart with coupons.

Shorty Hinkle from CIRCUS DAYS

Photo by Jill Freedman


Today's photos come from Jill Freedman's book CIRCUS DAYS, photos that she took on the Clyde Beatty-Cole Bros. Circus in the early 70s.

Here we see that Shorty Hinkle is equal parts Gene Kelly and Emmett Kelly as he recreates a classic scene from SINGIN' IN THE RAIN.

Click on any of the titles of today's posts for the Amazon.com link to Ms. Freedman's book

Bernie Kallman from CIRCUS DAYS

Photos by Jill Freedman


At least Bernie Kallman has the sense to stay under his umbrella.

Jimmy James from CIRCUS DAYS

Photo by Jill Freedman


Jimmy James, it seems, is the only one with the sense to avoid it altogether and actually come in out of the rain ; )

Billy McCabe from CIRCUS DAYS

Photo by Jill Freedman


And if Billy McCabe pokes his head out of the Alley and sees his shadow there'll be six more weeks of rain this season.

Classic Holiday Comedy: Hey Ya, Charlie Brown!

One of my favorite scenes from one of my favorite Christmas specials with a new soundtrack...

Sunday Morning Art Gallery w/ A. Woodrooft

Paul Jerome (tramp makeup) by A. Woodrooft.

That's WOODROOFT, as in...

"You're WHAT?!? Woooooooooood...ROOFT! Rusted."

Love Shack, baby. That's where it's at.

Dorabell

Harry Ritter and what looks to be Frank Cromwell in a photo taken on Ringling somewhere between 1947 and 1960.

I make that guess because the person who looks to be Frank Cromwell is dressed like Clarabell from the Howdy Doody show. I would have to guess that this was some kind of cross-promotion between the two shows. Clarabell's wearing a box around his waist telling us that he would prefer to be called "Dorabell" and he's got Clarabell's face painted on his shoes.

Isn't that just a dorabell?

My favorite part of the photo is the washline of BVDs in the background. Clean underwear always says "classy".

Bill and Bobby, Bobby and Bill

Photo courtesy of Greg DeSanto


Clown College Dean and former road clown Bill Ballantine with Bobby Kay in a photo that looks to be taken at the Venice Winter Quarters in (judging from Bobby's Amazing Technicolor Dream Robe) the late 60s/early 70s.

Jerry Adams

Photo courtesy of the Pfening Circus Archive


Jerry Adams in an undated photo from the Sells-Floto Circus.

Around the Water Cooler

Photos courtesy of the Harold Babour Collection


Frankie Saluto and two unidentified partners.



Ernie "Blinko" Burch, ever the picture perfect picture clown.



Frankie Saluto and someone (judging from the suit I'd guess Billy Ward or Paul Wenzel) wearing a Paul Jung creation.

Several photos from an ad or an article that seems to have run in water cooler trade magazine.

Duane "Uncle Soapy" Thorpe: 10/11/24 - 12/9/95

And last, but certainly not least, take a moment today to remember Duane Lawrence "Uncle Soapy" Thorpe who may have left this world 11 years ago today but will always be a part of The Alley.


Duane Lawrence "Uncle Soapy" Thorpe
October 11, 1924 - December 9, 1995

Painting by Cowboy Mike Keever



From Joel Heidtman...

Rest well Dear Friend... and Thanks for the memories.

You are loved.

Your pal,

Joel Heidtman

Bonzo Goes to Sarasota

For those in the Sarasota/Bradenton area - Do yourselves a favor and catch the best circus Advance Clown working today when he hits your town on Saturday! Bring a camera! Bring the kids! Bring a camcorder! This will be one to remember!

And if you're a circus PRODUCER...well, he's STILL unsigned for next year so feel free to bring along a contract and talk with Mr. Gern about the 2007 season.




Bonzo Crunch from Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus will be at G.Wiz

HERALD STAFF REPORT

SARASOTA - Bonzo Crunch, a clown from Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, will perform at G.Wiz, The Hands-On Science Museum.

Crunch is scheduled at 1 p.m and 2 p.m.. Saturday at the museum, 1001 Blvd. of the Arts, Sarasota, according to a museum press release.

"This is the first time for G.WIZ and its visitors, and it's been 50 years since Ringling Bros. has rolled into town," Lansky said.

The clown act is appropriate for the museum because Ringling Bros. acts allow visitors to see many of the laws and principles of physics brought to life, the press release stated.

Before and after the performances, Bonzo Crunch will play with G. WIZ visitors, teaching them how to juggle and make their own juggling bags, Lansky said.

Cost for the show is $9 for adults, $8 for seniors age 65 and older and $6 for children age three to 18. Children younger than three attend free as do G-WIZ members.

For information, call 309-4949

Keith Nelson

The past work of one of the great clowns of the present, The Bindlestiff Family Cirkus' Keith "Mr. Pennygaff" Nelson.

Keith, Stephanie and the Bindlestiff crew never fail to amuse and amaze. And they rock a mean seder!

Click the title of this post to link to bindlestiff.org

John Philip Soapsa

The last of the series of Harold Ronk Estate photos that I received from Robin Estes.

Here's Duane "Uncle Soapy" Thorpe, a much-loved member of the Ringling Clown Alley for almost 40 years, in 1970 production number wardrobe being escorted by "Gargantua".

"Whoooooooooooooo hired HER?!?"

Soapy's Spec Drag

Photos courtesy of Robin Estes, from the Estate of Mr. Harold Ronk


Don Foote's design for Soapy's spec wardrobe for the 1970 100th edition Ringling Blue Unit show.




Soap out workin' it on the floor with the help of Prince Paul.




A Don Foote design for Soapy's spec wardrobe for the 106th, proving that fashion's fickle fads may have and come and gone quickly in the 60s and 70s but Soapy's Victorian taste in drag remained the ever the same.

That Was Then...

Photo courtesy of Robin Estes, from the Estate of Mr. Harold Ronk


Coco the Clown with Coconut.

...This Is Now

Me with the funniest kid I know, my son Shane "Buddy Boy" Cashin who is celebrating his fourth birthday today.

When asked what our friends should name their baby, without hesitation Shane immediately replied, "Coupon!"

When asked for a name for another couple's baby he came up with "Fried Baby Head".


He's got a very "Zappa-esque" sense of humor for a four year old.


This morning he had breakfast with Daddy and Dean "Elmo Gibb" Chambers, who he remembered from this past summer as "That funny guy who bonked me in the head with a giant hammer". In makeup or not, I can't think of a better clown to have around for your birthday.

The Prince

Photo courtesy of Robin Estes, from the Estate of Mr. Harold Ronk


Some people call him "The Space Cowboy".

Some call him "The Gangster of Love".

Some people call him "Maurice". (Wheeeeeeeeet-woooooooo!)

But we know him as Prince Paul, and he's crunkin' out the kinda old school moves that make ALL the fly ladies lose they minds in this photo from the 106th edition Ringling Blue Unit.

Mad skills. Mad, mad skills.

More Prince

Photo courtesy of Robin Estes. from the Estate of Harold Ronk


An undated photo that looks to be from the late 60s with Prince Paul, an elephant (possibly the same Baby John from the other day) an unidentified fella and Ringmaster Harold Ronk.

The legs of that stiltwalker on the left may be those of Mike Coco, maybe Barry Sloan.

Prince of Oz

Photo courtesy of Robin Estes, from the Estate of Harold Ronk


Half Wizard of Oz, half Mad Hatter - all Prince!

The Three Manlys

Photo courtesy of Bill Strong


From Bill Strong:

"My definition of wit is what comes off the top of the head (or off the wall), whichever you prefer. I love Greg's remark,"more bells than you can shake a clown at". That's funny!

The attached picture is from a 1943 International Artists Calendar, of The Three Manlys, my limited knowledge of written German tells me they were brothers, and came from Copenhagen."

Thanks again, Bill! Click the title of this post to link to Bill's circus blog, YESTERDAY'S TOWNS.

Los Alarcons

Photo courtesy of Bill Strong



The name came up the other day so here's a photo of musical comedy act, Los Alarcons.

Mike Coco

Photo courtesy of Robin Estes, from the Estate of Mr. Harold Ronk


Mike Coco in a publicity photo for the 1970 100th edition of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus. The "blurb" has been left on the picture.

What's the consensus? Do we want to see the blurbs or do we prefer that I continue to crop them?

More Mike

Photo courtesy of Robin Estes, from the Estate of Mr. Harold Ronk


Mike Coco, Ringmaster Harold Ronk, Prince Paul Albert (back to the camera) and Albert White (seated with his back to Mike) in a gag that also included Gene Lewis.

What that gag was, I don't know. Possibly a picnic? It must have been done prior to 1966.

Click the title of this post to link to the earlier photo.

More and More of Mike

Photo courtesy of Robin Estes, from the Estate of Mr. Harold Ronk



A photo from Coco' s 1960s classic soap gag COCO'S CRAZY COLORISTS. We've already seen a few pictures from this gag, click the title of this post to link to the earlier photos.

Notice Mike's rubber topped gag wig. What is that, a 'reservoir tip" on the top???

Sunday Morning Art Gallery: Mike Keever

Ariah the Elephant by Cowboy Mike Keever

Click the title of this post to link to the Cel-ebration Art Gallery in Red Bank, NJ and learn more about Mike and his artwork.

Sunday Morning Art Gallery: Karen DeSanto

Some of the magnets currently available on eBay by the extremely talented Karen DeSanto...


Ruth Chaddock by Karen DeSanto




Duane "Uncle Soapy" Thorpe by Karen DeSanto



Click the title of this post to link to Karen's eBay store. Bid early and often!