COLLINS BROS: Magic Box, Wintergarten (2004)

CLUB-HOUSE: Dating

MICHAEL SOLIER: Cirque Audition

Clown? He's clearly very talented but... "clown"?

WALLY BOAG: At the Persian Room

MozART

Link courtesy of Aziz Gual

COPERLIN

TERRY JONES of MONTY PYTHON: Undressing in Public

ALEXEY MIRONOV: Bon Voyage (2010)

ERIC ANTOINE (2007)

I don't know if this idea appears in a magic book somewhere (and I don't speak French) but this routine is, beat for beat, EXACTLY like the one my friend and mentor Walt Kaptain used to do in the early 80s.

MAC RONAY: With Enrico Simonetti (1968)

TAMMY PARRISH: Read More About It! (1987)

This public service announcement followed the Clown College 20th Anniversary special on CBS in 1987.

THE MELUSINAS

LES PARFAITS: Inconnus

CLUB HOUSE: Juggling

CLUB-HOUSE: Come In

ALEL: Jackie's Revenge

KELLAN BERMUDEZ: Cole Bros. Clown & Human Cannonball

Video courtesy of M. Lane Talburt

MYSTERE CLOWN FOOTAGE

Does anyone have, or know of any video posted anywhere online, of Benny Le Grand or Brian Le Petit's work in Cirque's Mystere?

CLOWN ALLEY: Cirque du Soleil

DAVID LARIBLE: Roncalli Finale (2010)

ANDY GRIFFITH: The Spirit of Dan Rice

About 100 years after Dan Rice toured America doing Shakespearean parody, here is Andy Griffith doing much the same type of comedy on the Andy Griffith Show.

CLOWN ALLEY: Bertram Mills Circus (1948)

CHRISTMAS CIRCUS THRILLS KIDS

WILL NORMAN: International Brotherhood of Magicians (1960)

BALANCE ON BROOM (aka BROTHERHOOD OF MAGICIANS)

PICCADILLY THEATRE OF VARIETIES (1936)

PICCADILLY THEATRE OF VARIETIES

OLEKSIY KRASNYKH: Trombone

DENIS LACOMBE: Just For Laughs Festival

MIMIRICHI

CLOWNS FOR A CAUSE: Akron, Ohio (July 6, 2010)

If you are anywhere near Akron, OH tomorrow some excellent clowns are putting on a show for a very worthy cause. This is a once in a lifetime chance to see these folks perform together so DO NOT MISS IT!!!

ETTORE PETROLINI

I think that Jerry Bangs and Chesty Mortimer have a new partner...

MAC RONAY: With Enrico Simonetti (1966)

DAVID LARIBLE: Broom (2010)

David Larible and Patrick Philadelphia, Circus Roncalli 6/27/2010.

HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY!

Personalize funny videos and birthday eCards at JibJab!

1812 OVERTURE: The Music Lovers (1970)

Tchaikovsky's Year 1812, Festival Overture in E flat major, Op. 49, popularly known as the 1812 Overture, sequence from Ken Russell's 1970 film The Music Lovers.

I am currently fascinated with the epicly silly; nonsense on a grand scale.

POPOVICH: Circo Arlequin (2002)

Is this Gregory Popovich?

DAVID LARIBLE: Circus Roncalli (6/27/10)

Larible and Gensi opening the latest edition of Circus Roncalli.

THEATER LICEDEI: Bullfight

JERRY LEWIS: The Patsy (1964)

Jerry and the always brilliant Hans Conried.

ZIP-E & DROUILLE: Cirque Estival (2010)

WHAT'S OPERA, DOC?: Staged Cabaret Production

Link courtesy of Brian Weckerly

ZIP-E & DROUILLE: Cirque Estival (2010)

STEVE COPELAND: Steve's Morning (2010)

A short film by Steve Copeland shot on the backlot of the Kelly-Miller Circus.

JIGALOV & CSABA

THEATER LICEDEI: Attraction

DIMITRI: Swiss Society of New York Ball (2010)

ONIONHEAD: Black Beauty Network

"Gimme my hat back!" is my new favorite line in the world right now ; )

ELASTIC

LOU JACOBS: Newsreel footage from Benefit Show at Jewish Hospital in Philadephia (1934)

Look for Lou at about the .40 second mark...

Performers from circus during a stage show at a Jewish hospital in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

TIMELESS QUOTES FROM THE BUDDHA

MO WILLEMS QUOTE

"Sometimes over the din of angry graphic artists demanding their art form be taken seriously, it can be hard to hear the small voice inside of us asking what's wrong with being funny, or entertaining kids. Besides it being a noble endeavor, making kids comics is fun."

- Mo Willems (in his forward to Klassic Krazy Kool Kids Komics)

Try to listen to that small voice more often...

Dave Carlyon and friend

DUO RUMBATINO: Plates

FRANCK MARVIN: In the Spirit of Bob Williams

Link courtesy of Tommy Moore

MONTY PYTHON: The Life of Brian - Not the Messiah Concert

In a world that I find increasingly depressing, it's comforting to know that the Pythons are still out there doing wonderfully silly things.

TINO WALLENDA

Video courtesy of M. Lane Talburt

JOEL & KOTINI Jr: Hip-Hop (2006)

PASCALINO: My 2nd Least Favorite Gag in the Whole World

No offense to Pascalino, I'm sure that he's an excellent clown, but I am declaring war on this routine. If YouTube is any indicator, EVERY circus in Europe, Russia and South America is currently featuring this gag.

I understand when people are influenced by a great routine but this one isn't even really very good. Why is everyone doing it???

I get it, you don't need props for it. It's something other than the bit with the four chairs.

There are better bits. PLEASE! Let's give this one a rest!

BOB WILLIAMS & LOUIE: The Johnny Cash Show (Circa 1970)

CLOWN ALLEY: Clyde Beatty-Cole Bros. Circus (Circa Early 90's)

CLOWN ALLEY: Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey (1962)

Click the link for newsreel footage of the Ringling show in Washington in 1962. The clip features Mike "Coco" Polakovs walking stilts over Harold Ronk as well as Otto Griebling, Freddie Freeman and Billy Leveshire doing the boxing gag...

Clowns perform acrobatics during a circus show in Washington DC.

BUSTER KEATON & JIMMY DURANTE: Haircut

Buster looks like he's having the time of his life. Show business is fun, no?

CLAUDE JUTRA: "A Chairy Tale" (1957)

THE RASTELLIS: "European Night" (1959)


I had linked to this clip before but the earlier link has been taken down so... here it is again.

I doubt anyone, anywhere will have a problem with seeing the Rastellis again ; )

BOB WILLIAMS & RED DUST : The Lux Show (April 3, 1958)

LEONARD WOLEN: With Sue & Rudi Lenz

Photo courtesy of Sue Lenz

Together of Circus Vargas in the early 90s.

GASTON & ROLI

CLOWN ERICO: Bigger Wands

I'm going to stop at Starbucks this morning. They have really good muffins.

JAMIE CASHIN: Chicks Dig Scars

"Chicks Dig Scars"

FRANK RANDLE (1934)

TUTIK CLOWNS: Boxing Entree

THE 7 ASHTONS: The Colgate Comedy Hour

BIG APPLE CIRCUS: WNBC-NY

PETER SHUB & FRIENDS (2009)

DAVID LARIBLE: Monte Carlo (1999)

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!

Happy Father's Day!

My children showed that they knew their father's taste by giving me boxed sets of the Three Stooges, the Muppet Show and Saturday Night Live.

Last night Shane and I watched The Blues Brothers together. This is how he insisted on going to church this morning...

DOUGIE ASHTON: Photo by Sally Ashton

Recently heard from the great Mr. Ashton, a legendary funnyman.

JENNY VAN MEGGELEN: Whiteface; Circus Althoff

DAVID LARIBLE: Water Spitting

LOOKING FOR BEN SAID!!!

Dear Mr Cashin,

My name is Mr Beluahed . I live in Brussels Belgium .I have been trying to find My uncle for years.I visited your blog and I saw some comments about Mr BENSAID.http://clownalley.blogspot.com/2008/05/ben-said-who-was-this-man.html

Please could you help me contacting someone who knows him.

My family lost contact with my uncle in the mid-sixties. All we knew is that he used to work in a circus in Germany and that he moved to the USA in 1968. We haven't heard from him since. My family have changed their last name and moved from the city they used to live in . This may be why we never heard from him.

I read a lot about the people who knew him but infortunately I couldn't find any contact for help .

Hopefully you could help if you could contact the people who left comments on your blog.

Thank you very much for whatever information that you could give me or any other tips to carry on with my search.

My warm thanks to you Mr. Cashin,

Beluahed M

CAROL BURNETT: With Emmett Kelly

Here's YET ANOTHER photo of Carol Burnett scared out of her wits. See in Diane Keaton's book CLOWN PAINTINGS Carol confessed that she simply cannot see a clown without being absolutely terrified because she was frightened by one at the circus as a child. Since then she can't be around them at all. They are SO creepy...

This despite the fact that there are several photos of her backstage at Ringling in L.A. with clowns such as Bobby Kay in the late 60s and 70s, year after year, when she took her kids to the circus for free. She seemed to forget to bring it up when she had Emmett Kelly as a guest on her program and again when Peggy Williams gave Ms. Burnett an honorary degree from the Ringling Clown College on her show.

Not that I think she's a flat out liar or anything...

THEATER LICEDEI: Riverdance

HOWARD "BUFFO" BUTEN

CLOWN ALLEY: Show and Date Unknown

That looks like Carl Marx and Jimmy Armstrong. Can anyone positively identify anyone else in the photo? Anyone know the show or year?

DEMETRI MARTIN

For those still having trouble understanding how comedy can be considered "visual" without being "physical".

RENE BAZINET

CLEANING: Goos Meeuwsen and Barthelemy Glumineau

CESAR DIAZ: Musical Saw

PAUL JEROME: In and Out of Makeup (April 21, 1940)

Does anyone have any of the other Acme News pictures from this series?

Does anyone know why Paul Jerome would be shaving years off his career? He may have been 40 years old in 1940 but he had been a professional circus clown for over 20 years by this point.

CONGRESS OF CLOWNS: Moscow

THEATER LICEDEI: Beer

ALEX: Revolving Ladder (2010)

RASPBERRY: High Speed Video

Recorded using the Photron ultima 1024 PCI at one thousand frames per second (fps), this sequence shows the interesting facial expressions involved in a 'linguolabial trill'.

PAUL JEROME: In and Out of Makeup (1937)

It bears repeating that Jackie Le Claire tells me that his father Jack thought that Paul Jerome was the absolute funniest clown in the entire Ringling Alley.

ROBETTA & DORETTO (1894)

A little more of something like this and Banana Shpeel just might have been a hit...

ABBOTT & COSTELLO: Magic Act; Lost In a Harem (1944)

THE FORNASARIS: Circus Benneweis (1980)

?!?

I'm speechless...

HOLLY PITCHELL REMEMBERS: Richard Capelli (Star Ledger April 6, 1973)

Scan courtesy of Holly Pitchell

FRANCO FRANCHI & CICCIO INGRASSIA

PIPPO & YOGHI

PIC: Masks