FRED ROGERS

Fred Rogers

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


Born Fred McFeely Rogers
March 20, 1928
Latrobe, Pennsylvania, USA
Died February 27, 2003 (aged 74)
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA

Fred McFeely Rogers (March 20, 1928 – February 27, 2003) was an American educator, minister, songwriter, and television host. Rogers was the host of the television show Mister Rogers' Neighborhood, in production from 1968 to 2001. Rogers was also an ordained Presbyterian minister.

Rogers was born in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, a town located 40 miles (65 km) southeast of Pittsburgh. He was born to James and Nancy Rogers; he spent many years as an only child. Early in his life he spent much of his free time with his maternal grandfather, Fred McFeely, and had an interest in puppetry and music. He would often sing along as his mother would play the piano. He was red-green colorblind.[1]

His parents also acted as foster parents to an African American teenager named George, whose mother had died. Rogers eventually came to consider George his older brother. George later became an instructor for the Tuskegee Airmen of World War II and also taught Rogers to fly.[2]
Following secondary school, Rogers studied at Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire, between 1946 and 1948 before transferring to Rollins College in Winter Park, Florida. He received a BA in music composition there in 1951.

At Rollins, Rogers met his wife and Oakland native Sara Joanne Byrd whom he married on June 9, 1952.[3] They had two children, James (born in 1959) and John (born in 1961), and three grandsons, the third (Ian McFeely Rogers) born 12 days after Rogers' death.[4] In 1962, Rogers graduated from Pittsburgh Theological Seminary and was ordained a minister in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). He was a vegetarian who swam every morning, and neither smoked nor drank.[5]

Television career

Early work in television

Rogers had a life-changing moment when he first saw television in his parents' home. He entered seminary after college, but was diverted into television after his first experience as a viewer; he wanted to explore the potential of the medium. "I went into television because I hated it so, and I thought there was some way of using this fabulous instrument to be of nurture to those who would watch and listen."[6]

He thus applied for a job at NBC in New York and was accepted because of his music degree. Rogers moved to New York in 1951 and spent three years working in the production staff for music-centered programming such as NBC Opera Theater. He also worked on Gabby Hayes' show for children. Ultimately, Rogers decided that commercial television's reliance on advertisement and merchandising undermined its ability to educate or enrich young audiences, so he quit working at NBC.

In 1954, he began working at WQED, a Pittsburgh public television station, as a puppeteer on a local children's series, The Children's Corner. For the next seven years, he worked with host Josie Carey in unscripted live TV, developing many of the puppets, characters and music used in his later work, such as King Friday XIII, and Curious X the Owl.

Rogers began wearing his famous sneakers when he found them to be quieter than his work shoes when he moved about behind the set. He was also the voices behind King Friday XIII and Queen Sara Saturday (named after his wife), rulers of the neighborhood, as well as X the Owl, Henrietta Pussycat, Daniel the Striped Tiger, Lady Elaine Fairchild, and Donkey Hodie. The show won a Sylvania Award[7] for best children's show, and was briefly broadcast nationally on NBC.

For eight years during this period, he would leave the WQED studios during his lunch breaks to study theology at the nearby Pittsburgh Theological Seminary. Rogers, however, was not interested in preaching, and after his ordination as a Presbyterian minister in 1962, he was specifically charged to continue his work with children's television. Rogers is among a string of entertainers (including Jackie Mason, Hugh Beaumont, Clifton Davis and Ralph Waite) who have a formal theological background. He had also done work at the University of Pittsburgh's Graduate School of Child Development.

In 1963, Rogers moved to Toronto, where he was contracted by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) to develop a 15-minute children's television program: Misterogers (sic),[8] which would be his debut in front of the camera. The show was a hit with children, but only lasted for three seasons on the network. Many of his famous set pieces, such as Trolley, Eiffel Tower, the 'tree', and 'castle' were all created by designers at the CBC. While on production in Canada, Rogers brought with him his friend and understudy, Ernie Coombs, who would go on to create "Mr. Dressup", a very successful and long running children's show in Canada which, in many ways, was similar to Mister Rogers' Neighborhood. Mr. Dressup had also used some of the songs that would later go on Rogers' later program.

In 1966, Rogers acquired the rights to his program from the CBC, and moved the show to WQED in Pittsburgh, where he had worked on The Children's Corner. He developed the new show for the Eastern Educational Network. Stations that carried the program were limited, but included educational stations in Boston, Washington, DC and New York City.

After returning to Pittsburgh, Rogers attended and participated in activities at the Sixth Presbyterian church in the Squirrel Hill neighborhood of Pittsburgh.

Distribution of Mister Rogers' Neighborhood began on February 19, 1968. The following year, the show moved to PBS (Public Broadcasting Service). In 1971, Rogers formed Family Communications, Inc. (FCI), and the company established offices in the WQED building in Pittsburgh. Initially, the company served solely as the production arm of Mister Rogers' Neighborhood, but now develops and produces an array of children's programming and educational materials.

Mister Rogers' Neighborhood

Mister Rogers' Neighborhood began airing in 1968; the last set of new episodes were taped in December 2000, and began airing in August 2001. The show had the distinction of being the longest running program on PBS; it ran for 998 episodes.[9]

Each episode begins the same way, with Mister Rogers walking until he is coming home and singing his theme song, "Won't You Be My Neighbor?" and changing into sneakers and a zippered cardigan sweater. [10]

In an episode, Rogers might have an earnest conversation with his television audience, interact with live guests, take a field trip to a nearby place such as a bakery or music store, or watch a short film.

Typical video subject matter includes demonstrations of how inanimate objects, such as bulldozers and crayons, work or are manufactured.

Each episode includes a trip to Rogers' "Neighborhood of Make-Believe", which features a trolley that has its own chiming theme song, a castle, and the kingdom's citizens, including King Friday XIII. The subjects discussed in the Neighborhood of Make-Believe often allow further development of thematic elements discussed in Mister Rogers' "real" neighborhood.

Mister Rogers often fed his fish during episodes. They were originally named Fennel and Frieda.
Typically, each week's episodes explore a major theme, such as going to school for the first time. Originally, most episodes ended with a song entitled "Tomorrow", while Friday episodes looked forward to the week ahead with an adapted version of "It's Such a Good Feeling." In later seasons, all episodes ended with "Feeling."

Visually, the presentation of the show was very simple; it did not feature the animation or fast pace of other children's shows. Rogers composed all the music for his series. He was concerned with teaching children to love themselves and others. He also tried to address common childhood fears with comforting songs and skits. For example, one of his famous songs explains how you can't be pulled down the bathtub drain—because you won't fit. He even once took a trip to the Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh to show children that a hospital is not a place of which to be afraid. During the Gulf War in 1990-91, he assured his audience that all children in the neighborhood would be well cared for, and asked parents to promise to take care of their own children. The message was aired again by PBS during the media storm that preceded the military action against Iraq in 2003.

In February 1990, Rogers' car was stolen while he was taking care of his grandson. The thief apparently realized who the car belonged to after seeing papers and props Rogers had left in the car. The car was returned to Rogers, who found it sitting in front of his home about a day later. The only thing missing from the car was Rogers' director's chair. Rogers' car at the time was an Oldsmobile sedan.[11]

Other television work

In 1994, Rogers created another one-time special for PBS called Fred Rogers' Heroes which consisted of documentary portraits of four real-life people whose work helped make their communities better. Rogers, uncharacteristically dressed in a suit and tie, hosted in wraparound segments which did not use the "Neighborhood" set.

For a time Rogers produced specials for parents as a precursor to the subject of the week on the Neighborhood called "Mister Rogers Talks To Parents About (whatever the topic was)". Rogers didn't host those specials though as other people like Joan Lunden, who hosted the Conflict special, and other news announcers played MC duties in front of a gallery of parents while Rogers answered questions from them. These specials were made to prep the parents for any questions the children might ask after watching the episodes on that topic of the week.

The only time Rogers appeared on television as someone other than himself was when he played a preacher on Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman in 1996 for one episode only. [9]

In 1981, then up-and-coming comedian Eddie Murphy, then a cast member of Saturday Night Live, parodied Rogers' image in "Mister Robinson's Neighborhood", a sketch in which he played a small-time hoodlum who lived in a rundown tenement apartment, that served as a setting for a children's show.

In the mid-1980s, the Burger King fast-food chain lampooned Rogers' image with an actor called "Mr. Rodney", imitating Rogers' television character. Rogers found the character's pitching fast food as confusing to children, and called a press conference in which he stated that he did not endorse the company's use of his character or likeness (Rogers did no commercial endorsements of any kind throughout his career, though he acted as a pitchman for several non-profit organizations dedicated to learning over the years). The chain publicly apologized for the faux pas, and pulled the ads.

Emmys for programming

Mister Rogers' Neighborhood won four Emmy awards, and Rogers received one for lifetime achievement.

During the 1997 Daytime Emmys, the Lifetime Achievement Award was presented to Rogers. The following is an excerpt from Esquire Magazine's coverage of the gala, written by Tom Junod:

Mister Rogers went onstage to accept the award — and there, in front of all the soap opera stars and talk show sinceratrons, in front of all the jutting man-tanned jaws and jutting saltwater bosoms, he made his small bow and said into the microphone, "All of us have special ones who have loved us into being. Would you just take, along with me, ten seconds to think of the people who have helped you become who you are. Ten seconds of silence." And then he lifted his wrist, looked at the audience, looked at his watch, and said, 'I'll watch the time." There was, at first, a small whoop from the crowd, a giddy, strangled hiccup of laughter, as people realized that he wasn't kidding, that Mister Rogers was not some convenient eunuch, but rather a man, an authority figure who actually expected them to do what he asked. And so they did. One second, two seconds, seven seconds — and now the jaws clenched, and the bosoms heaved, and the mascara ran, and the tears fell upon the beglittered gathering like rain leaking down a crystal chandelier. And Mister Rogers finally looked up from his watch and said softly "May God be with you," to all his vanquished children.[12]

Advocacy

Mister Rogers and PBS funding

In 1969, Rogers appeared before the United States Senate Subcommittee on Communications. His goal was to support funding for PBS and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, in response to significant proposed cuts. In about six minutes of testimony, Rogers spoke of the need for social and emotional education that public television provided. He passionately argued that alternative television programming like his Neighborhood helped encourage children to become happy and productive citizens, sometimes opposing less positive messages in media and in popular culture. He even recited the lyrics to one of his songs.

The chairman of the subcommittee, John O. Pastore, was not previously familiar with Rogers' work, and was sometimes described as gruff and impatient. However, he reported that the testimony had given him goosebumps, and declared, "I think it's wonderful. Looks like you just earned the $20 million." The subsequent congressional appropriation, for 1971, increased PBS funding from $9 million to $22 million.[13]

Mister Rogers and the VCR

During the controversy surrounding the introduction of the household VCR, Rogers was involved in supporting the manufacturers of VCRs in court. His 1979 testimony in the case Sony Corp. of America v. Universal City Studios, Inc. noted that he did not object to home recording of his television programs, for instance, by families in order to watch together at a later time. This testimony contrasted with the views of others in the television industry who objected to home recording or believed that devices to facilitate it should be taxed or regulated.

The Supreme Court considered the testimony of Rogers in its decision that held that the Betamax video recorder did not infringe copyright. The Court stated that his views were a notable piece of evidence "that many [television] producers are willing to allow private time-shifting to continue" and even quoted his testimony in a footnote:

Some public stations, as well as commercial stations, program the "Neighborhood" at hours when some children cannot use it ... I have always felt that with the advent of all of this new technology that allows people to tape the "Neighborhood" off-the-air, and I'm speaking for the "Neighborhood" because that's what I produce, that they then become much more active in the programming of their family's television life. Very frankly, I am opposed to people being programmed by others. My whole approach in broadcasting has always been "You are an important person just the way you are. You can make healthy decisions." Maybe I'm going on too long, but I just feel that anything that allows a person to be more active in the control of his or her life, in a healthy way, is important.[14]

The Home Recording Rights Coalition later stated that Rogers was "one of the most prominent witnesses on this issue."

Rogers had been a supporter of VCR use since its very early days. In his final week of episodes of the original run in 1976, Rogers used a U-Matic VCR to show scenes from past episodes, as a way to prepare viewers for repeats that would begin the following week.

Death and memorial

Rogers died from stomach cancer on February 27, 2003[15], not long after his retirement and less than a month before he would have turned 75. His death was so big in Pittsburgh that the edition of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette published the next day covered the entire front page on Rogers' death. The Reverend William P. Barker presided over a public memorial in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Over 2,700 people attended the memorial at Heinz Hall, including former "Good Morning America" host David Hartman, Teresa Heinz Kerry, philanthropist Elsie Hillman, PBS President Pat Mitchell, Arthur creator Marc Brown, and The Very Hungry Caterpillar author-illustrator Eric Carle.[16] Rogers is interred at Unity Cemetery in Latrobe.[17]

Speakers remembered Rogers' love of children, devotion to his religion, enthusiasm for music, and quirks. Teresa Heinz Kerry said of Rogers, "He never condescended, just invited us into his conversation. He spoke to us as the people we were, not as the people others wished we were." His remains are entombed at Latrobe's Unity Cemetery in a mausoleum.

On New Years Day of 2004, Michael Keaton hosted the PBS TV special "Mr. Rogers: America's Favorite Neighbor". It was released on DVD September 28 that year.

Here is a link to a recent Tank Riot podcast on Mr. Rogers

SWINGING THE ALPHABET: The Stooges and Beyond

Moe Larry and Curly from Violent is the Word for Curly (1938). In 2005, film historian Richard Finegan identified the composer of the song as Septimus Winner, who had originally published it in 1875 as "The Spelling Bee".

Swinging the Alphabet

Lyrics

B-A-bay, B-E-bee, B-I-bicky-bi, B-O bo, bicky-bi bo, B-U bu, bicky bi bo bu.

C-A-cay, C-E-cee, C-I-cicky-ci, C-O co, cicky-ci co, C-U cu, cicky ci co cu.

D-A-day, D-E-dee, D-I-dicky-di, D-O do, dicky-di do, D-U du, dicky di do du.

F-A-fay, F-E-fee, F-I-ficky-fi, F-O fo, Ficky-fi fo, F-U fu, ficky fi fo fu.

G-A-gay, G-E-gee, G-I-gicky-gi, G-O go, Gicky-gi go, G-U gu, gicky gi go gu.

(Dat-da-da-da)

H-A-hay, H-E-hee, H-I-hicky-hi, H-O ho, hicky-hi ho, H-U hu, hicky hi ho hu.

J-A-jay, J-E-jee, J-I-jicky-ji, J-O jo, Jicky-ji jo, J-U ju, jicky ji jo ju.

K-A-kay, K-E-kee, K-I-kicky-ki, K-O ko, Kicky-ki ko, K-U ku, kicky ki ko ku.

L-A-lay, L-E-lee, L-I-licky-li, L-O lo, Licky-li lo, L-U lu, Curly's a dope

M-A-may, M-E-mee, M-I-micky-mi, M-O mo, Micky-mi mo, M-U mu, micky mi mo mu.

A politically incorrect parody of "Swinging the Alphabet", written by Danny "Oingo Boingo and every film score of the last 20 years" Elfman, from his brother Richard Elfman's film Forbidden Zone (1980) that features some great late 70s eccentric dance.

And... since we've brought it up, here's the "Bim Bam Boom" scene, also from Forbidden Zone.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, GAUTHAM!

Happy Birthday wishes go out today to Gautham Prassad.

I'd tell you where his birthday party is but there are still death threats out there ; )

SLIVERS OAKLEY: New York Times Article March 24, 1907

THE GOOSENAGLE FAMILY CIRCUS

Andrew, Mark and I (and sometimes Michael) had such a great time with "Circus Silliness" that we have decided to go into business for ourselves and start booking our show as a civic fund-raiser.

If you live in NY/NJ/PA/DE or MD and know of any sponsors (schools, firehouses, PBA, fraternal organizations... etc.) that might be interested in a 90 minute self-contained high-energy comedy stage show then please drop us a line at cashincomedy@yahoo.com.

ELMO GIBB: Jose Cole Circus 2009

Dean "Elmo Gibb" Chambers will be returning to the Jose Cole Circus for the 2009 season and touring the upper midwest. To find out more about the show, please click here.

I could be wrong but I believe this will be Elmo's 32nd season as a professional circus clown.

Wow!

INSIGHT FROM THE DALAI LAMA

"I have found that the greatest degree of inner tranquility comes from the development of love and compassion. Cultivating a close, warmhearted feeling for others automatically puts the mind at ease. It is the ultimate source of success in life."

YURI NIKULIN: Circus Idols

CLOWN ALLEY: Festival International du Cirque de Monte Carlo (2009)

Musical clowns outside le Grand Chapiteau at the Festival International du Cirque de Monte Carlo.

CLOWN CONC: On Ice

CLOWN ALLEY: Ringling 139th Clown Alley (2009)

Photo courtesy of Larry Clark

Top row: left to right Dustin Portillo, Randy Snowden, Book Kennison, Sean Davis, Lance Brown 

Next row: Eric Allen, Larry Clark, Yvinson Acero, Joy Powers, Julio Ramazini, Ivan Vargas

Bottom row: Brandon Foster, and Trish Snowden.

I thought you might enjoy this. It's the official Press photo for all 13 of us on Zing Zang Zoom!

HARPO MARX AND DANNY KAYE: Ringling Clowns (1948)

Harpo Marx and Danny Kaye performing Otto's "Mrs. Jones" walkaround (one adapted by Olsen & Johnson for Hellzapoppin') at a Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus benefit show for to St. John's Hospital in Hollywood.

OTTO'S GRANDDAUGHTER!

Whoever it was that just posted a comment as "Otto Griebling's granddaughter" PLEASE contact me at cashincomedy@yahoo.com!

PAUL LOPEZ: Sax on Ladder

INSIGHT FROM THE DALAI LAMA

"Human happiness and human satisfaction must ultimately come from within oneself. It is wrong to expect some final satisfaction to come from money or from a computer."

P-50: World's Smallest Car

Once again, the world has finally caught up to what Lou Jacobs knew all along.

IMPROV EVERYWHERE: Welcome Home

GROCK: "Au Revoir M. Grock" DVD!!!

I am currently working very hard trying to get an acceptable dub of Au Revoir M. Grock, Grock's 1950 film which contains performance footage as well as autobiographical recreations.

I've got it, it's very clear. The sound is a little muddy but OK. There are some problems with the video transfer that I've got a friend working on right now. I'm hoping to be able to offer copies on eBay by the end of the week.

IMPROV EVERYWHERE: High Five Rob

JOHN KRICFALUSI: Spaghetti Buster!

Most of you remember John Kricfalusi for his work on The New Adventures of Mighty Mouse, Ren & Stimpy and Ripping Friends. John K also has a great animation blog where many of the topics that he discusses apply just as well to clowning as they do to animation.

Click the title of this post to be taken to John K's STUFF and his recent post on the importance of "anticipation".

INSIGHT FROM THE DALAI LAMA

"If advertising is for a good cause, it is worthwhile. Buddha advertised enlightenment or Nirvana. If it is reasonable and beneficial, it is good, but if it is only for profit, cheating , and exploitation, or is misleading, then it is wrong."

RUSSIAN CIRCUS CLOWNING (1967)

BLUE MAN GROUP: Royal Variety Performance

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, TUBA!

Happy 29th Birthday wishes go out today to my pal, Mr. Tuba Heatherton!

DOUGIE ASHTON: Photo in the Seats (1974)

RINGLING PR: Liberty Science Center in Jersey City Today!

Dan Berkley and I will be performing a Science of the Circus show to day at the Liberty Science Center 222 Jersey City Boulevard Jersey City, NJ (right in the shadow of the Statue of Liberty) at 1:00 and 3:00 PM to promote Ringling's upcoming appearances in Newark and the Meadowlands.

INSIGHT FROM THE DALAI LAMA

"Humans are not machines - we are something more. We have feeling and experience. Material comforts are not sufficient to satisfy us. We need something deeper - human affection."

BUSTER KEATON: "Pest of the West" (1938)

Buster Keaton attempts to serenade a senorita and discovers it's more trouble than it's worth. Made for Jules White at Columbia (same producer and studio as the Three Stooges) this is from Buster's first Columbia short"Pest from the West" made in 1938.

Knowing that he's going to be hit, and when he's going to be hit, but continuing to play on anyway makes this a "mechanical gag" (my own description, don't look it up) like Andy Kaufman's "Mighty Mouse", The Muppets "Mah Na Mah Na" or Ernie Kovacs' "Nairobi Trio" where the action continues "mechanically" despite some physical obstacle.

LE PETIT BONHOMME EN MOUSSE: Le Plus Grand Cabaret du Monde

Link suggested by Mike Naughton

BILLY LEVISHON: Kansas City Star (1962)

Billy Levishon (dressed for Coco's Painters and Decorators gag) and friend at the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus in 1962.

MYSTERY CLOWN

Photo courtesy of Robin Shaw-Bickford



That's Jimmy Graham in the back and Jimmy Briscoe on the right but who is that on the left?

INSIGHT FROM THE DALAI LAMA

"Time never waits but keeps flowing. Not only does time flow unhindered, but correspondingly our lives too keep moving onward all the time. If something goes wrong, we cannot turn back time and try again. In that sense, there is no genuine second chance."

CHARLIE CHAPLIN: One AM (1916)

Chaplin plays the role of a homeowner who, after a night on the town, comes home late, drunk and unable to find his key. He only wants to go to bed, but the inanimate objects around him prevent him.

For the next twenty minutes he staggers into, out of, and through the house in an inebriated confrontation with the house itself

One A.M. was a unique Charlie Chaplin silent film created for Mutual Films in 1916. 

It was the only film he starred in alone, except for a brief scene of Albert Austin playing a cab driver.

Directed by Charles Chaplin
Edward Brewer (technical director)
Produced by Henry P. Caulfield
Written by Charles Chaplin (scenario)
Vincent Bryan (scenario)
Maverick Terrell (scenario)
Starring Charles Chaplin
Cinematography William C. Foster
Roland H. Totheroh
Editing by Charles Chaplin
Distributed by Mutual Film Corporation
Release date(s) August 7, 1916
Running time 2 Reels (full length unknown)
c. 34 mins.

JOE E. BROWN: The Circus Clown Trailer (1934)

Joe E. Brown plays a dual role in The Circus Clown, as would-be circus entertainer Happy Howard and his rustic old father. When dad, a former circus man himself, disapproves of Happy hitting the sawdust trail, the boy does so anyway, smitten by a beautiful female bareback rider. So naïve is our hero that he doesn't realize that the "girl" is actually female impersonator Jack (Don Dillaway), who strings Happy along just for laughs. 

Once this plotline is straightened out, Happy becomes the hero of the day by substituting for a drunken aerialist -- and there is no more proud or enthusiast spectator than Happy's happy dad. If Joe E. Brown looks genuinely frightened in his scene in the lion's cage, he should; the lion affectionately pawed Brown during one take, resulting in six stitches in the comedian's arm. 

More serious than most Brown vehicles, The Circus Clown is distinguished by the star's spectacular acrobatics (the real thing -- no doubles), and by some excellent split-screen work during the "father/son" scenes.

Joe E. Brown - Happy Howard / His Father
Patricia Ellis - Alice
Dorothy Burgess - Babe
William Demarest
Donald Dilloway - Jack
Gordon Westcott - Frank
Charles Wilson - Sheldon
Harry Woods - Ajax
John Sheehan - Moxley
Bobby Caldwell
Spencer Charters
Ernest Clark
Ronnie Cosbey - Dickie
William B. Davidson
Tom Dugan
Poodles Hanneford
Earl Hodgins
Lee Moran

TOPPER MARTYN: Comedy Juggling and Magic

Link suggested by Mike Naughton

ED WYNN: Piano Bike (10/27/1949)

Dinah Shore with Ed and his piano bike on The Ed Wynn Show.

THE REVIEW IS IN!

"Circus Silliness" review by Chris Shelton

Andrew Scharff, Michael Rosman, Pat Cashin & Mark Lohr

Baltimore Entertainment

Chris Shelton

Hi All,

Just writing to say that myself and fellow clowns Keith Crabb, Brian Raboin, Brian's wife Noelle and daughter, Giavanna went to see "Circus Silliness: The Clown Symposium" in the Baltimore area this past Sunday. The first half of the show the performers were all kids, with some familiar last names: Ethan and Sophia Rosman (Recently of "Ellen Show" fame), Grace and Genevieve Lohr, and Veronica, Vonya, Valeria. Vayla, and Viahna LaMarra.

Sadly, missing from the cast was Shane Cashin. Shane was busy representing his school in the finals of a prestigious Spelling Bee contest! Congratulations Shane!

And all of the kids did a wonderful job in the show.

Two year old Giavanna was riveted throughout and so was I.

The second half performers were Pat Cashin, Mark Lohr, Michael Rosman, and Andrew Scharff. They did a first rate job and all worked well together. Pat's new character looks great! And his work with Andrew was very polished. Andrew's contortion was really cool. Mark did some wonderful physical comedy! And Mike was really great. His diabolo routine was the funniest I have ever seen (reminiscent of the style comedy of Andy Kaufman). Great job guys! Thanks for the entertainment and thanks for hanging around after the show (special thanks to Pat for making the extra effort to win over Giavanna...she was waving to you from the window as we left)!

Chris

Thank you, Chris! Your check is in the mail ; )

SANDY KAYE: Shanghai, China (2007)

The idol of billions, Mr. Sandy Kaye.

THE SALVINIS

INSIGHT FROM THE DALAI LAMA

"We humans have existed in our present form for about 100,000 years I believe that if during this time the human mind had been primarily controlled by anger and hatred, our overall population would have decreased. But today, despite all of our wars, we find that the human population is greater than ever. This clearly indicates to me that love and compassion predominate in the world. And this is why unpleasant events are "news"; compassionate activities are so much a part of our daily life that they are taken for granted and, therefore, largely ignored."

HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY, JONATHAN BURNS!

Happy Birthday to yesterday's birthday boy, Jonathan Burns of The Showoff Show.

IN MEMORIAM: Erick Lee "Lux Interior" Purkhiser, October 21, 1946 – February 4, 2009

For Immediate Release:
February 4, 2009

Lux Interior, lead singer of The Cramps, passed away this morning due to an existing heart condition at Glendale Memorial Hospital in Glendale, California at 4:30 AM PST today. Lux has been an inspiration and influence to millions of artists and fans around the world. He and wife Poison Ivy’s contributions with The Cramps have had an immeasurable impact on modern music.

The Cramps emerged from the original New York punk scene of CBGB and Max’s Kansas City, with a singular sound and iconography. Their distinct take on rockabilly and surf along with their midnight movie imagery reminded us all just how exciting, dangerous, vital and sexy rock and roll should be and has spawned entire subcultures. Lux was a fearless frontman who transformed every stage he stepped on into a place of passion, abandon, and true freedom. He is a rare icon who will be missed dearly.

The family requests that you respect their privacy during this difficult time.

BUSTER KEATON: Ringling Clown (1948)

Gary Cooper as Robinson Caruso and Buster Keaton as Friday performing a walkaround at a Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus benefit show for to St. John's Hospital in Hollywood.

DEAR NIGERIA...

I'm not sending you any money.

I'm NEVER going to send you any money.

You can quit emailing me now.

CIRCUS SILLINESS: CCBC Theater, Essex, MD (2009)

Photos courtesy of the lovely Ms. Valeria Lamarra

Some photos from this past weekend's shows...

Andrew Scharff, Pat Cashin & Mark Lohr

Andrew Scharff

Michael Rosman

Pat Cashin as "Prof. Zudi Goosenagle"

Mark Lohr

Andrew Scharff, Mark Lohr & Pat Cashin (Michael Rosman booty shake not pitured)

The Cast

OLSEN & JOHNSON: TIME Magazine Article (1949)

LAUGH FACTORY

TIME Magazine
Monday, Jul. 11, 1949

The studio audience recoiled under a shower of dried beans and pin feathers; then a covey of dead quail and a stuffed cow flopped down onto the stage. There were shotgun blasts, scampering midgets, severed arms, proscenium-climbing cupids and baboons in full cry. Ole Olsen and Chic Johnson, the rowdiest, slap-happiest zanies in show business, had moved into Milton Berle's time spot (Tues. 8 p.m. E.D.T., NBC TV) with their first television show.

Family Act: The Buick-sponsored, hour-long uproar offered explosive fragments of an act the comics have been working on for 35 years. It grew from the first prop they ever used — a brass rail to support their vaudeville rendition of Sweet Adeline. Today, their hundreds of props fill three baggage cars, their cast of 90 includes 35 stooges. For all its size, the show is still essentially a family vaudeville act. Johnson's pretty daughter, June, and his son-in-law, Comic Marty May, have leading roles. So does deadpan Ole's deadpan son, J. C. Olsen. Johnson's wife and Olsen's mother used to be in the act and are still on call. "We're more laugh manufacturers than comedians," says Ole Olsen, 56. "Our gags are kind of living cartoons with spoken captions. We operate on the theory that people want fun, fun and more fun. Mister, you can't stand still. Even when we make mistakes we make them enthusiastically."

Two nights after their television premiere, Olsen & Johnson unveiled their new revue Funzapoppin before 8,700 people in Madison Square Garden. Next morning the gun-shy critics produced mixed notices. "A gargantuan honky-tonk," sniffed the Time's Brooks Atkinson. "Olsen & Johnson would be practically scriptless if the Chinese hadn't invented gunpowder," grumped the Herald Tribune. "A cheerful nightmare," said the World-Telegram. Actually, Olsen and Johnson seem to be criticproof. Funzapoppin's predecessor, Hellzapoppin, was disdained by almost every critic, yet it ran for more than three years on Broadway.

Into the Parlor: Last year Olsen & Johnson invaded Europe to satisfy a lifetime ambition to play in Scandinavia (Olsen is of Norwegian descent; Johnson, Swedish). They were so successful in London that the show never got to the Continent. One Hellzapoppin road company is still in England; another is touring New Zealand. Both men have invested their huge earnings (they grossed $227,000 in 16 nights in Chicago; $387,000 in 14 days in Toronto) in real estate and in such enterprises as a string of frozen-custard stands on Long Island and an ice-skating rink in California.

Though Olsen & Johnson did poorly on radio in the 1930's, they are confident about their TV future because "all our gags are ocular." The audience—under constant attack from live piglets, cakes of ice, skirt-blowers, chorus girls and clowns —has always been an integral part of their act. The comics have not yet quite solved the problem of framing their wide-ranging madhouse on TV's small screen. By using five television cameras (instead of the two or three used on most TV shows), Olsen & Johnson think they will be able to get the visual intimacy they need. Their only other problem, according to Chic Johnson: "We've got to figure a way of jumping out of the TV set and into people's parlors. It may take time but we'll do it."

INSIGHT FROM THE DALAI LAMA

"Just as rust, which arose from the iron itself, wears out the iron, likewise performing an action without examination would destroy us by projecting us into a negative state of existence."

CIRCO MOSCOW

This prime example of Soviet circus comedy from Circo Moscow includes one element that truly makes it quintessentially Russian...

KULIKI-TAKA!

THE THREE STOOGES: The Men Behind the Mayhem

A LONG, LONG TIME AGO...

Information courtesy of Dave McKenna

Fifty years ago today, a plane carrying Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and J.P. "The Big Bopper" Richardson crashed in Clear Lake, Iowa.

Holly was the headliner of the Winter Dance Party tour of 1959.

The tour was promoted by Irvin Feld. 

Feld’s music promotion business, called Super Attractions, had its roots at a record store/drug store he and brother Israel Feld opened in 1940 on the 1100 block of 7th Street NW in Washington, DC.

By the next decade, according to to a 1956 story in the Washington Post, Feld’s music empire was grossing $5 million a year.

The Winter Dance Party, which had started about a week prior to Holly’s death, was a disaster even before the plane crash.

The tour bus lacked heat and broke down several times in the tour’s earliest days.

Holly’s drummer, Carl Bunch, was hospitalized with frostbite caused by waiting in the winter cold during one of the breakdowns, after a show in Duluth, Minn.

Two nights later, with Bunch still in the hospital, Holly and the other top acts chartered a plane with their own money rather than take a bus after the Clear Lake show on Feb. 2, 1959. That plane crashed a few miles after takeoff.

Other performers on the tour—including Dion and the Belmonts and the last version of Holly’s band, the Crickets, with bass player Waylon Jennings—were already on the bus on their way to Moorhead, Minn., where the next night’s show was scheduled, when the crash occurred.

From Wikipedia...

The Winter Dance Party" was a tour that was set to cover 24 Midwestern cities in three weeks. A logistical problem with the tour was the amount of travel, as the distance between venues was not a priority when scheduling each performance. For example, the tour would start at venue A, travel 200 miles (320 km) to venue B, and travel back 170 miles (270 km) to venue C, which was only 30 miles (48 km) from venue A. Adding to the disarray, the tour bus used to carry the musicians was ill-prepared for the weather; its heating system broke shortly after the tour began. Drummer Carl Bunch developed a severe case of frostbitten feet while on the bus and was taken to a local hospital. As he recovered, Buddy Holly and Ritchie Valens took turns with the drums.

The Surf Ballroom in Clear Lake, Iowa was never intended to be a stop on the tour, but promoters, hoping to fill an open date, called the manager of the ballroom at the time and offered him the show. He accepted and the date of the show was set for February 2.

By the time Buddy Holly arrived at the ballroom that evening, he was frustrated with the tour bus and told his bandmates that, once the show was over, they should try to charter a plane to get to the next stop on the tour, Moorhead, Minnesota. According to VH-1's Behind the Music: The Day the Music Died, Holly was also upset that he had run out of clean undershirts, socks, and underwear. He needed to do some laundry before the next performance, and the local laundromat in Clear Lake was closed that day.

Flight arrangements were made with Roger Peterson, 21, a local pilot who worked for Dwyer Flying Service in Mason City, Iowa. A fee of $36 per person was charged for the single engine Beechcraft Bonanza B35 (V-tail), registration N3794N (later reassigned). The Bonanza could seat three passengers in addition to the pilot.

Richardson had developed a case of the flu during the tour and asked one of Holly's bandmates, Waylon Jennings, for his seat on the plane; Jennings agreed to give up the seat. When Holly learned that Jennings wasn't going to fly, he said, "Well, I hope your ol' bus freezes up." Jennings responded, "Well, I hope your ol' plane crashes." This exchange of words, though made in jest at the time, haunted Jennings for the rest of his life.^[3][4]

Ritchie Valens had never flown in a small plane before, and asked Holly's remaining bandmate on the plane, Tommy Allsup, for the seat. Tommy said "I'll flip ya for the remaining seat." Contrary to what is seen in biographical movies, that coin toss did not happen at the airport shortly before takeoff, nor did Buddy Holly toss it. The toss happened at the ballroom shortly before departure to the airport, and the coin was tossed by a DJ who was working the concert that night. Valens won a seat on the plane.^[3]

Dion DiMucci of Dion & The Belmonts, who was the fourth headline performer on the tour, was approached to join the flight as well; however, the price of $36 was too much. Dion had heard his parents argue for years over the $36 rent for their apartment and could not bring himself to pay an entire month's rent for a short plane ride.^[5]

At approximately 1:00 AM Central Time on February 3, the plane took off from Mason City Municipal Airport. Around 1:05, Jerry Dwyer, the owner of Dwyer Flying Service, could see the lights of the plane start to descend from the sky to the ground. At the time, he thought it was an optical illusion because of the curvature of the Earth and the horizon.

The pilot, Roger Peterson, was expected to file his flight plan once the plane was airborne, but Peterson never called the tower. Repeated attempts by Dwyer to contact his pilot failed. By 3:30 AM, when the airport at Fargo had not heard from Peterson, Dwyer contacted authorities and reported the aircraft missing.

Around 9:15 in the morning, Dwyer took off in another small plane to fly Peterson's intended route. A short time later Dwyer spotted the wreckage in a cornfield belonging to Albert Juhl, about 5 miles northwest of the airport (43°13′12″N 93°23′0″W / 43.22°N 93.38333°W / 43.22; -93.38333Coordinates: 43°13′12″N 93°23′0″W / 43.22°N 93.38333°W / 43.22; -93.38333). The manager of the Surf Ballroom, who drove the performers to the airport and witnessed the plane taking off, made the positive identification of the performers.

The Bonanza was at a slight downward angle and banked to the right when it struck the ground at around 170 miles per hour (270 km/h). The plane tumbled and skidded another 570 feet (170 m) across the frozen landscape before the crumpled ball of wreckage piled against a wire fence at the edge of the property. The bodies of Holly and Valens lay near the plane, Richardson was thrown into a neighboring cornfield, and Peterson remained trapped inside. All four had died instantly from "gross trauma" to the brain, the county coroner Ralph Smiley declared. Holly's death certificate detailed the multiple injuries which show that he surely died on impact: The body of Charles H. Holley was clothed in an outer jacket of yellow leather-like material in which 4 seams in the back were split almost full length. The skull was split medially in the forehead and this extended into the vertex region. Approximately half the brain tissue was absent. There was bleeding from both ears, and the face showed multiple lacerations. The consistency of the chest was soft due to extensive crushing injury to the bony structure. The left forearm was fractured 1/3 the way up from the wrist and the right elbow was fractured. Both thighs and legs showed multiple fractures. There was a small laceration of the scrotum. ^[6]

In 2007, Richardson's son had an autopsy performed on his father to verify the original finding. In part this was done because of the long known discovery of Holly's .22 calibre pistol in the cornfield two months after the wreck, giving rise to the question of whether or not an accidental firearm discharge had caused the crash, and to whether Richardson had walked away from the wreckage because his body was found farther from it. William M. Bass undertook the procedure and confirmed Smiley's report. The body of Richardson was in good preservation but showed "massive fractures" showing that he too had surely died on impact.^[7][8]

Investigators came to the conclusion that the crash was due to a combination of poor weather conditions and pilot error. Peterson had performed poorly on his previous flight instrumentation tests and was not rated for night-time flight, when he would have to rely on his instruments rather than his own vision. They also found that Peterson was not given accurate advice about the weather conditions of his route, which, given his known limitations, might have caused him to postpone the flight.

INSIGHT FROM THE DALAI LAMA

"My message is the practice of compassion, love, and kindness. Compassion can be put into practice if one recognizes the fact that every human being is a member of humanity and the human family regardless of differences in religion, culture, color, and creed. Deep down there is no difference."

FRED GARBO INFLATABLE THEATER CO.

PLAYING BY AIR: Nashville Shakespeare Festival (2009)

Filmed at Nashville Shakespeare Festival's Vaudeville-themed production of Richard III in January 2009. Featuring Playing by Air performers Ben Detrick, Ted Joblin, and Jacob Weiss.

THE BRUTOS: Cera Gray Commercials (1964)

THEY SAY WE'RE YOUNG AND WE DON'T KNOW, WON'T FIND OUT UNTIL WE GROW...

Ned! Ned Ryerson!!!

THANKS!

My thanks go out to Mike Rosman, Noelle Stone, my fellow Goosenagle Brothers, Andrew Scharff and Mark Lohr (more about that soon) and the "V Family" as well as the crew and staff of the CCBC Theater in Essex, MD for a wonderful weekend of "Circus Silliness".

The "Professor" character is now up and running. Thanks to Matthew Pauli, Christopher Hudert, and Chris Shelton for their feedback as well.

HAPPY 29th BIRTHDAY, PEGGY & BRIAN!

Happy 29th Birthday wishes go out today to...

Ms. Peggy O'Neill-Hull, a very funny and talented clown and my Clown College "Eccentic Dance" Instructor

One of my very favorite contemporary clowns and someone that
I'm very fortunte to count among my friends, Circus Bambouk's Brian Foley

INSIGHT FROM THE DALAI LAMA

"You can develop the right attitude toward others if you have kindness, love, and respect for them, and a clear realization of the oneness of all human beings."

VALERIE FRATELLINI: Concertino Pour un Clown (2008)

Photo courtesy of AUCIRQUE.COM

Ms. Valérie Fratellini, December 17, 2008 à l'Académie Fratellini dans l'Altair.

I BACCALA: Festival Mondial du Cirque de Demain (2009)

CIRCUS SILLINESS: Essex, MD Today at 2:00 PM

We had a great time last night performing at the CCBC Theater. The show came together very nicely and the house was just about sold out. We got a visit from Kevin Brown and his daughter in the afternoon, Matthew Pauli and Christopher Hudert for the 8:00 show.

We heard that we might also get visits from John Hadfield and Chris Shelton today.

Produced by Michael Rosman, “Circus Silliness” will be performed 2 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 1 in the B Building Theatre at CCBC Essex, 7201 Rossville Blvd. Tickets are $15 for all seats and are available through the CCBC Box Office at 443-840-ARTS (2787).

INSIGHT FROM THE DALAI LAMA

"It is our custom to say that someone is "lucky" or "unlucky" if they meet with fortunate or unfortunate circumstances, respectively. It is however, too simplistic to think in terms of random "luck." Even from a scientific point of view, this is not a sufficient explanation. Should something unfortunate happen, we immediately think, "Oh, how unlucky!" And yet this is not sufficient to explain what happened- there must be a cause. We seem to cal "luck" that factor which overrides external conditions to bring about a positive situation. But that too is a cause; it is an inner cause, which we call "merit."

TOTO: "Pink Lemonade" (1936)

Many thanks to Tommy Moore for the link

Toto (Arnold Nobello 1888-1938) in the Cabin Kids' 1936 Al Christie directed Educational Pictures short Pink Lemonade.