Photos courtesy of the International Clown Hall of Fame and Research Center
A Graduate of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Clown College Class of 1991, Ceslee was a clown on the Blue Unit from 1992-1994. Loved by everyone, she died tragically when the Blue Unit circus train derailed outside of Lakeland, Florida on the morning of January 13, 1994. Always helpful and concerned for her friends, Ceslee was killed enroute through the train to alert everyone of a broken wheel on the Clown Car. Always helpful, always concerned; that was our Ceslee.
~ Joel Heidtman
Pages from the program from Ceslee and Ted's memorial service
Ceslee's costume on display at the International Clown Hall of Fame and Research Center
Little Red Riding Hood is depicted as a typical 1940s teen-aged girl, a "bobby soxer" with an extremely loud and grating voice (inspired by screen and radio comedienne Cass Daley, provided by Bea Benaderet). After she sings "The Five O'Clock Whistle" in the opening to establish this fact, Bugs pops out of her basket to ask where she's going. She replies that she's going to "bring a little bunny rabbit to my grandma's. Ta HAVE, see?"
With this part of the story set up, the wolf is now introduced. The wolf switches a "Shortcut to Grandma's" sign, so that Red has to go through a long mountain path, while the wolf uses the real shortcut – a few short steps to the house. Seeing a note on the door that Grandma isn't home (apparently a "Rosie the Riveter" type who's working the "swing shift" at Lockheed), the wolf sneaks inside and dresses like grandma – only to find that a bunch of other wolves are similarly dressed and waiting in the bed for Red! The wolf (voiced by Billy Bletcher) growls for the others to "take a powder – this is MY racket!" Once in bed, the wolf waits for Red to come to the door. But in a twist, the wolf isn't interested in eating Red, but rather the rabbit she brought with her.
The wolf quickly shuffles Red out the door and tries looking for Bugs. Bugs, however, gets the better of the wolf and runs around the house, being 'chased' by the wolf. The wolf, however, is constantly interrupted by Red, who continues asking the questions from the story, such as "That's an awfully big nose for you – ta HAVE."
Towards the end of the cartoon, after eluding the wolf by distracting him into singing, "Put On Your Old Gray Bonnet (With the Blue Ribbons on It)", Bugs manages to get a glowing coal from the fireplace and sends the wolf to the ceiling by scorching his backside. When the wolf comes down, Bugs has a large shovelful of coals waiting to scorch the wolf. However, the wolf manages to catch his feet on the ends of two benches just in time, doing the "splits", facing the camera (see photo). Instead of simply kicking one of the benches away, Bugs proceeds to dump heavy weights into the wolf's arms. After clearing out just about everything in the house (except the kitchen sink), Bugs is about to apply the coup de grace on the wolf – by placing a flower on top of the mass of junk and furniture the wolf is holding – when Red comes back in, bellowing "Hey, GRANDMA!" (Since Red has by now already questioned the wolf on his big eyes, big nose, big ears, and sharp teeth, one wonders what she was planning to ask next.)
By this time, even Bugs has had enough of Red's interruptions, prompting him to say, "I'll do it, but I'll probably hate myself in the morning." He descends the ladder, out of frame, there's a shuffling of the furniture... and now RED is the one desperately trying to avoid getting scorched (doing the "splits" in her dress, but modestly facing away from the camera), while Bugs and the wolf, arms around each others' shoulders, share a carrot and self-satisfied looks, and await the inevitable.
Later Appearances
Red returns as a guest character among the crowds cheering for the Looney Tunes' Toon Squad at the end of the basketball game in the 1996 movie Space Jam.
In 1937, Tex Avery introduced a new character in his cartoon short Egghead Rides Again. Egghead initially was depicted as having a bulbous nose, funny/eccentric clothing, a voice like Joe Penner, and an egg-shaped head (thus the moniker "Egghead"). Many cartoon historians believe that Egghead evolved into Elmer over a period of a couple of years.However, animation historian Michael Barrier asserts "The Egghead-Elmer story is actually a little messy, my sense being that most of the people involved, whether they were making the films or publicizing them, not only had trouble telling the characters apart but had no idea why they should bother trying."
Egghead made his second appearance in 1937's Little Red Walking Hood and then in 1938 teamed with Warner Bros.' newest cartoon star Daffy Duck in Daffy Duck and Egghead.In 1938 Egghead continued to make appearances in the Warner cartoons, including The Isle of Pingo Pongo, and A-Lad-In Bagdad.In A Feud There Was (1938) Egghead made his entrance riding a motorscooter with the words "Elmer Fudd, Peacemaker" displayed on the side, the first onscreen use of that name. Egghead shifts from having a Moe Howard haircut to being bald and wearing a brown derby, a baggy suit, and a high-collared shirt.
His voice, laugh, and mannerisms are very much like those of Joe Penner. In the same period, a Warner's publicity sheet for Cinderella Meets Fella refers to Elmer as Egghead's brother, which seems to argue that at least internally at the studio the characters were always viewed as distinct, even as Fudd emerged and Egghead receded into obscurity.Egghead himself returned decades later in the compilation filmDaffy Duck's Quackbusters. More recently, he also made a cameo appearance at the end of Looney Tunes: Back in Action and was also given in his own story, which starred him alongside Pete Puma, in the Looney Tunes comic book.
Egghead has the distinction of being the very first recurring character created for Leon Schlesinger's Merrie Melodies series (to be followed by such characters as Sniffles, Inki, and even Bugs Bunny), which had previously contained only one-shot characters, although during the Harman-Ising era, Foxy, Goopy Geer, and Piggy each appeared in a few Merrie Melodies.
In the 1939 cartoon Dangerous Dan McFoo, a new voice actor Arthur Q. Bryan was hired to provide the voice of the hero dog-character and it was in this cartoon that the popular "milk-sop" voice of Elmer Fudd was created. Elmer Fudd has since been the chief antagonistic force in the majority of the Bugs Bunny cartoons, initiating one of the most famous rivalries in the history of American cinema.
The International Clown Hall of Fame and Research Center is trying to reach a fan page goal of 2,000 fans for their facebook page by midnight tonight with a very special surprise for the 2,000th fan from the hall's new prize closet.
If you have a facebook acoount, please click the title of this post to become a fan.
Please take a moment to click the title of this post and watch three videos of Jango Edwards and the faculty and students of the Nouveau Clown Institute. You're going to like what you see.
In 1987 Banks landed his first acting role, performing as a minor character in the fantasy-comedy Date with an Angel.
Banks hit it big when he developed (and starred in) a one-man theatrical show titled Home Entertainment Center – a comedic play about an easily-distracted procrastinator trying to meet a work deadline. He gave 440 performances of Home Entertainment Center at venues like the Canon Theater, Pasadena Playhouse, Marine's Memorial Theater, and The One Act in San Francisco (where the show ran for eleven months). For his performances, he was awarded the LA Weekly Theater Award, four Drama-Logue Awards, and three San Francisco Bay Area Critic's Awards. He also performed at the Aspen Comedy festival, the Cast Theater, Callboard Theater, and Las Palmas Theater.
In 1989 Home Entertainment Center achieved national fame when it was filmed and aired on Showtime; the filming was done at the Marine's Memorial Theater. The show featured original songs written and performed by Banks. On May 14 of 1989, he appeared (with Penn) on the Dr. Demento radio program (that year's Mother's Day Special) and performed a number of his songs live on-air.
The ensuing fame landed him a tv pilot on Showtime in January 1991 – The Steven Banks Show (sometimes inaccurately referenced as The Steven Brooks Show). The plot of the show was much the same as his one-act play: Banks portrayed Steven Brooks – an underachieving, chronic procrastinator fascinated by trivia and cursed with a penchant for comedic songs.
In the summer of 1991 after Paul "Pee-Wee Herman" Reubens was arrested for allegedly masturbating in an adult movie theater, Banks was among a number of entertainers who protested the decision of CBS to drop Reubens' show from their lineup. Banks can be seen in a crowd of protestors on an LA street in the E!True Hollywood Story episode about Reubens' arrest. Reubens was later offered (and declined) a supporting role on Banks' fledgling TV program.
Showtime aired the pilot for Banks' show, but never ran any other episodes. In 1994, PBS took an interest in his act. They filmed and aired The Steven Banks Show that summer – the first original sitcom ever produced and run by PBS. Brandon Tartikoff produced the show, filmed at WYES in New Orleans. A CD album for the show was also released, consisting of original songs written and performed by Steven Banks. 13 shows were shot and the program garnered critical acclaim, but one episode "Miss Janie Regrets" was not aired due to controversy over a PBS-like children's show parody. Banks' show has attained a kind of cult status despite its short run on PBS.
Banks most recently performed as "Billy the Mime" in the 2005 comedic documentary "The Aristocrats" which was uncoincidentally co-created by his good friend Penn Jillette and Paul Provenza.
Writing
In 1998 Banks began writing for Nickelodeon's animated series CatDog. He wrote several CatDog books as well. He continued working for Nickelodeon, penning several SpongeBob books (including The Big Halloween Scare which actually charted on the New York Times bestseller list). In 2002 Banks was named head writer for The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius, and in 2004 he was nominated for one of the 56th Annual Writers GuildAwards for the episode Rescue Jet Fusion.
In late 2004 he became story editor for the hit show "SpongeBob SquarePants" and has worked on the show for five seasons and continues as head writer for season eight.
Banks and friend Penn Jillette also collaborated in writing Love Tapes – an unconventional love story for the stage which premiered February 2005 at Sacred Fools Theater in Hollywood.
Big Apple Circus - Bello Nock, Barry Lubin Ringling Red - Alan Digweed, Clown Alley Ringling Blue - Clown Alley Ringling Gold - The Caveagna Family Circus Sarasota - Al Calienes Cirquesa - Tom Dougherty Circus Vargas - Jon Weiss and "Matti" Hamid Shrine Circus - Greg and Karen DeSanto, Pat Cashin, more TBA Kelly-Miller - Ryan Combs, Steve Copeland Shrine Circus, Springfield MA - Barry Lubin Yankee Doodle - Pat Cashin New Cole Bros. Circus - Bermudez Triangle/Cassalino Clown Alley Showfolks Circus - The "Congress of Clowns" All-Star Clown Alley
If anyone else knows "Who is Where" on other shows, please share!
Probably the best promotional video that I've ever seen for a clown doing fair shows. Mr. Thumond really knows his market and expertly tailored this video specifically for its total domination.
The Symphony of Science is a musical project headed by John Boswell designed to deliver scientific knowledge and philosophy in musical form. You are free to disagree that their reverence for the material and its message combined with their "irreverent" presentation constitutes a very subtle form of highly educational clowning...
Unruly Media, a viral video tracking service, first charted "A Glorious Dawn" on September 21, 2009. A month later, the video had received more than a million views and was ranked in the music category on YouTube as one of the top rated videos of all time. On November 9, 2009, Third Man Records released a 7-inch single of "A Glorious Dawn" for the 75th anniversary of the birth of Carl Sagan.
John Boswell
Composer John Boswell had been experimenting with sampling and remixing for some time before creating his first YouTube videos. Boswell had worked with Auto-Tune in the past and thought people might be interested in hearing American astronomer Carl Sagan sing. He first saw Cosmos in 2004 and soon after bought the set of DVD's. Boswell looked through these episodes for "profound quotes" that lacked music in the background. Once he found these quotes, Boswell Auto-Tuned Sagan's voice and picked from the best ones. After completing what became "A Glorious Dawn", Boswell posted the video on YouTube in September 2009, thinking he might get a few thousand views at most. Surprisingly, the video went viral within a week.[1][2] To date, the video has received more than two million views and is ranked as one of the top rated videos of all time in the music category.[3]
John Boswell attended Gonzaga Preparatory School[2] and graduated from college with a degree in economics. Soon after, Boswell started Colorpulse, an electronica music project, and began to focus on production.[4] Boswell lives in Bellingham, Washington.[2] His current music project, Symphony of Science, "aims to spread scientific knowledge and philosophy through musical remixes"[5] and to "deliver scientific knowledge and philosophy in musical form".[6]
Music and video
A Glorious Dawn
Boswell's first video in the Symphony of Science series is 3 minutes, 34 seconds long and features Carl Sagan and Stephen Hawking. Samples include clips from Cosmos (1980) and Stephen Hawking's Universe (1997).[6] On September 21, 2009, Unruly Media, a viral video tracking service, began to chart the popularity of the video.[7] At the end of the first week of October, the video had received 800,000 views,[2] and by the end of the month, more than a million. By the end of 2009, the video had surpassed 2 million views.
The title takes its name from the chorus spoken by Carl Sagan, remixed from an episode of Cosmos:
Third Man Records released a 7-inch recording of "A Glorious Dawn" on November 9, 2009, in honor of the 75th anniversary of the birth of Carl Sagan.[8] The one-sided single was created by United Record Pressing in a unique "Cosmos Colored Vinyl", limited pressing of 150 copies; it was then re-pressed on regular vinyl in a larger run. The flipside is etched with a copy of the diagram found on the Voyager Golden Record.[8]
We are All Connected
The second video in the series is 4 minutes, 12 seconds in length and features Carl Sagan, Richard Feynman, Neil deGrasse Tyson, and Bill Nye. Audio and video samples are taken from The History Channel's Universe series, Carl Sagan's Cosmos, interviews with Richard Feynman in 1983, Neil deGrasse Tyson's cosmic sermon, and Bill Nye's The Eyes of Nye series. Additional visuals come from NOVA's The Elegant Universe, Stephen Hawking's Universe, and Cosmos, among others.
The title comes from the chorus spoken by Neil deGrasse Tyson and remixed by Boswell:
The third video in the series is 4 minutes, 21 seconds in length and was released on November 23, 2009. "Our Place in the Cosmos" features Carl Sagan, Richard Dawkins, Michio Kaku and Robert Jastrow. Samples were taken from Cosmos, Genius of Charles Darwin, a TED talk, Stephen Hawking's Universe, interviews and visuals from Baraka and Koyaanisqatsi, History Channel's Universe series, and Cosmic Voyage.
The title comes from words spoken by Carl Sagan and remixed by Boswell:
The exploration of the cosmos
Is a voyage of self discovery
As long as there have been humans
We have searched for our place in the cosmos
The Unbroken Thread
The fourth video in the series is 4 minutes in length and was released on January 6, 2010. "The Unbroken Thread" is themed around biology and evolution rather than the cosmos, and features Carl Sagan, David Attenborough, and Jane Goodall.
The title comes Sagan's Cosmos, and features in the refrain:
The secrets of evolution
Are time and death
There's an unbroken thread that stretches
From those first cells to us
Reviews
Musician Carrie Brownstein found the idea behind Symphony of Science "quite beautiful and amazing in both its sincerity and aims". She also enjoyed the "hip-hop stylings" of the camera angle on Bill Nye while he is moving his hands around and expressing himself on "We Are All Connected".[9] Writer Nick Sagan, son of Carl Sagan, was impressed with "A Glorious Dawn", giving it a favorable review and stamp of approval. Sagan writes: "John Boswell over at Colorpulse Music is a mad genius, sampling both Cosmos and Stephen Hawking's Universe series into three minutes and thirty-four seconds of pure, concentrated awesomeness...Love it, love it, love it. Dad would have loved it, too."[10]
Columnist Franklin Harris argues that Boswell's videos show that science can arouse the minds of artists just as much as religion and mythology have in the past. Harris calls the videos "art for the Information Age, inspired by science".[11]
"We talk about theatre museums filled with old costumes and things. What we also need is a theatre museum of the old routines on videotape. We are only the custodians of those techniques, and they should be preserved."
The Abbotts of Unreason (Joe Dieffenbacher, Mark Renfrow and Bob Scheile) were all graduates from the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Clown College Class of '83.
They were a huge hit at festivals and clubs in the USA, combining strong comic characters with circus skills and slapstick. For more info, please visit www.nakupelle.com.
Just wanted to let people know there are three spots still open for the leather clown nose making workshop this January 5th and 7th at 7 PM. If you would like to participate let me know tonight as I will be buying tools tomorrow morning.
Have a great and healthy 2010 Stanley
Want to make your own Custom Fitted Leather Clown Nose?
CUSTOM FITTED CLOWN NOSE MAKING WORKSHOP
TUESDAY JANUARY 5TH & THURSDAY JANUARY 7TH, 2010 FROM 7:00 PM TO ABOUT 9:30-10:00 PM
"I just want to give a plug for Stanley's leatherclown noses. I bought one twenty-two years ago and it's still in good shape. I used it a lot in performance the first ten years and still use it in rehearsal. It has such a distinct (and comfortable) feel when I wear it, that I'm ready to play as soon as I put it on (Pavlov's fool)." Foolishly, Drew RichardsonJanuary 5, 2007
One great thing about the leather clown nose is they do not sweat like rubber or latex, you can breathe and they have a much more natural look than rubber. From what clowns have reported to me their leather clown noses have lasted on an average of 8 to 10 years. Ooops it is longer - Drew Richardson's nose is going on 22 years.
How to make your own leather clown noses? Making well over 100 custom clown noses for clowns in the New York area and around the world, Stanley will teach a two-day workshop...
In the class you will learn how to:
Choose leather for your nose
Prepare the leather
Mold leather into your clown nose
Sharpen the knife blade. (Very important, you cannot cut leather with a dull knife).
Fit the clown nose
Cut the clown nose
Punch the clown noseholes under your nostrils so you can breathe
Paint and finish your clown nose...(You can custom color your nose, any color you wish)
Prepare and fit the elastic and string
TUESDAY JANUARY 5TH & THURSDAY JANUARY 7TH, 2010 FROM 7:00 PM TO ABOUT 9:30-10:00 PM
Class size is limited
Price: $100 for the class Tool and material fee: $89 (you get to keep the 7 tools) Total: $189.
To reserve your spot you must pay the full fee in advance by October 29, 2009, because I need to buy the tools and supplies in advance.(Will accept 50% deposit from those people with financial needs. Now accepting credit card payments in advance with Google Checkout).
High Note is a Warner Bros.Looney Tunesanimated short directed by Chuck Jones. It was originally released on December 3rd, 1960 and is performed without dialog, relying solely on the animation and music to carry the plot.
“Why do I like clowns so much? Why are they so powerful to children? Probably because they are dangerous. That kind of danger is really what it’s all about. It’s that kind of stuff that I think gets you through life. Those are the only things worth expressing, in some ways: danger and presenting subversive subject matter in a fun way."
Lou Jacobs about to pass under the net, Jim Vogelsang headed down the track, Bucky Dussel passing him with what looks like a stack of cups and saucers and Jonathan "Mitch" Freddes about to take a seat on the track in front of Ring Three.
FUN FACT: There are more clowns on end track in this photo then there has ever been on the Gold Unit.
Mitch in distress down front with Mike Oster about to pass behind.
Jonathan "Mitch" Freddes sporting an early version of "The Donald".
And just who is this glamorous young rockstar, you might ask? Eric Carmen of the Raspberries? Paul McCartney and Wings' guitarist, Denny Laine? Bowie sideman Mick Ronson? Seals? Croft? Mott? A Hoople? Some extraneous Bay City Roller? No!
Folks, this is the one and only Mr. Mitch Freddes. That's right everybody, once upon a time our pal Mitch was a world-class chick magnet. And don't you forget it!
Guinness World Record holder, John Russell and Guinness drinker, Mitch Freddes.
Ceslee's costume on display at the International Clown Hall of Fame and Research Center
Ceslee and Ethel
