Saturday, May 16, 2009
Friday, May 15, 2009
PETER SHUB: Interview
A clown is a mirror for the society. With these words, Peter Shub proposes a reflection to us on the figure of the clown. On the occasion of his participation in the Festival the International of Theater of Seville, the teacher of clown analyzes the keys of comedy, the contemporary clown and the importance of the laughter in the daily life: we are losing the capacity to laugh?
Thursday, May 14, 2009
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DREW RICHARDSON!
Drew The Dramatic FoolThe very happiest of 29th birthday wishes go out today to my good friend, co-conspirator
and one of the very best clowns anywhere in the world today, Mr. Drew Richardson.
FOREVER YOUNG
May God bless and keep you always,
May your wishes all come true,
May you always do for others
And let others do for you.
May you build a ladder to the stars
And climb on every rung,
May you stay forever young,
Forever young, forever young,
May you stay forever young.
~ Bob Dylan
and one of the very best clowns anywhere in the world today, Mr. Drew Richardson.
FOREVER YOUNG
May God bless and keep you always,
May your wishes all come true,
May you always do for others
And let others do for you.
May you build a ladder to the stars
And climb on every rung,
May you stay forever young,
Forever young, forever young,
May you stay forever young.
~ Bob Dylan
COWBOY MIKE KEEVER: Get Well Soon
Information courtesy of Jimmy Graham
Cowboy Mike Keever is currently in the hospital with pancreatitus.
Here is his information:
Skaggs Regional Medical Center
PO Box 650
Room 121
Branson, Missouri, 65615
417-335-7000 room 121
Please call Mike only if you personally know Mike, otherwise I know that he'd love a card or to read your message in the comments of this post. We all love ya, Mike. Get better soon!!!
Here is his information:
Skaggs Regional Medical Center
PO Box 650
Room 121
Branson, Missouri, 65615
417-335-7000 room 121
Please call Mike only if you personally know Mike, otherwise I know that he'd love a card or to read your message in the comments of this post. We all love ya, Mike. Get better soon!!!
WAITING FOR GODOT
The cast (Nathan Lane, Bill Irwin, John Goodman and John Glover) of the Roundabout Theater Co.'s current Broadway production of Waiting for Godot...
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
THANK YOU!
Scott Saidel
Eric MischelWe all owe a debt of gratitude to these two men, Scott Saidel and Eric Mischel, for getting clownalley.net back.
And to Facebook.
And the Old Bridge Township School System in general and the Lakeridge West bus in particular.
Neither of them are clowns.
I went to school with both of them.
When the blog disappeared Scott, who I hadn't seen since high school, sent me a very nice Facebook message telling me that he'd Googled my name one day, discovered the blog and how much he'd enjoyed it. He knew that Eric, who we'd both gone to school with, worked at Google and suggested contacting him.
Eric and I had been very good friends in middle school. We'd slept over each other's houses, played Atari, rode bikes... typical middle school stuff. I went to Eric's Bar Mitzvah. His father gave me the best lesson I ever got on how to throw a baseball and my very first, and best, stock tip ("Just put your money in the bank.")
I sent him a Facebook message and Eric, who I hadn't seen in 25 years really went above and beyond to get things back up and running here.
So, the old adage really is true: there is no friend like an old friend.
If you appreciate having the archives here back please take a moment to thank Scott and Eric because without them this would very likely have been gone forever.
Thank you guys!
And to Facebook.
And the Old Bridge Township School System in general and the Lakeridge West bus in particular.
Neither of them are clowns.
I went to school with both of them.
When the blog disappeared Scott, who I hadn't seen since high school, sent me a very nice Facebook message telling me that he'd Googled my name one day, discovered the blog and how much he'd enjoyed it. He knew that Eric, who we'd both gone to school with, worked at Google and suggested contacting him.
Eric and I had been very good friends in middle school. We'd slept over each other's houses, played Atari, rode bikes... typical middle school stuff. I went to Eric's Bar Mitzvah. His father gave me the best lesson I ever got on how to throw a baseball and my very first, and best, stock tip ("Just put your money in the bank.")
I sent him a Facebook message and Eric, who I hadn't seen in 25 years really went above and beyond to get things back up and running here.
So, the old adage really is true: there is no friend like an old friend.
If you appreciate having the archives here back please take a moment to thank Scott and Eric because without them this would very likely have been gone forever.
Thank you guys!
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
POODLES HANNEFORD : Gracie's Estate Creates Scholarship Fund
Article courtesy of Don Covington
Post Star
Glens Falls, New York
April 15, 2009
LAKE GEORGE - Gracie Hanneford made a career as a circus performer, like her family did for generations, before moving to Lake George in the 1950s.
Before her death in 2006, she wanted to create a scholarship in memory of her father, Edwin "Poodles" Hanneford IV, a seventh-generation circus performer.
So she contacted Rosemarie Earl, a guidance counselor at Lake George High School. She told Earl her will would include a donation to provide Lake George students with scholarships, but she never mentioned the amount.
It was not until a few years later, after Hanneford died and her assets were sold, that the Lake George Scholarship Association learned the gift was more than $900,000, the bulk of Gracie Hanneford's estate.
"When I got the letter from the attorney, I was flabbergasted," said Jim Mathis, president of the association, which doles out scholarships to Lake George students and graduates each year.
Earl, who is also on the association board, said families will sometimes donate money to honor someone. A $1,000 gift is a common amount, and she originally thought Gracie Hanneford's donation would be around $1,000.
"I thought it was wonderful," Earl said, of the bequest. "It's going to be there, really, forever. If we give away the interest of that money, the principle will always be there."
Hanneford put stipulations on the money.
Known as the Poodles Hanneford Scholarship for the Performing Arts, awards will be given to qualifying students who intend to study subjects such as theater, film, television, radio, music, literature, screenwriting, journalism and circus arts.
Lake George graduates now enrolled at a college can apply, too. Students can continue receiving the scholarship if they show they are still studying the written or performing arts.
Gracie Hanneford never attended Lake George schools. She came to the area with her family in 1956, after a career as a horseback rider in her family's circus act, an act that was part of several top circus shows in the early to mid-1900s.
After moving to a home on the east side of Lake George, her family set up a dog act at Frontier Town, the former theme park in North Hudson.
Later, Hanneford moved to California for a time but eventually returned to Lake George.
She served on the altar guild and was a vestry member at St. James Episcopal Church, and she was part of the Glens Falls Hospital ladies auxiliary, according to her Dec. 20, 2006 obituary.
Her father, Poodles, was born in a circus wagon in England in 1891. He began performing at 5 as a bareback rider, turning his skills into a career that took him across England and to Ireland before bringing his act to circuses in the U.S.
He was known as Poodles the Riding Fool, a clown who set a world record by making 26 consecutive running leaps on and off a horse, according to a press release from the association.
Poodles was inducted into the Clown Hall of Fame in 1965. He died two years later.
Now his name will carry on for years as the scholarship helps students pay for college.
The association received a portion of the endowment from Gracie Hanneford last year and used it to give two scholarships of at least $1,000 each, Mathis said.
Mathis said the association could give out as much as $20,000 from the Hanneford fund this year. Students have until next week to apply.
The Hanneford fund is the largest at Lake George High School. The association raises money each year for scholarships and hands out other awards through other bequests.
The Hanneford endowment is among the largest recent bequests to local schools for scholarships.
At the Hadley-Luzerne High School, officials two years ago were shocked to receive $1 million from the late Alice Harris, a former student who later owned a grocery store in Lake Luzerne and often loaned money to students so they could pay for college.
The Harris fund provides scholarships to students who cannot afford college.
Other local high schools have numerous scholarships created by area groups or businesses, along with those made in memory of others.
Some scholarships are given to students who study a particular subject.
Queensbury High School once received $50,000 from Sarah McEchron, a Queensbury teacher when the district was made up of one-room schoolhouses.
Only the interest from the McEchron bequest can be used, with the money going to students who pursue teaching careers, said Kathy Fisch, Queensbury's director of guidance.
High schools like Granville, Hudson Falls and Saratoga Springs have similar scholarships, but none from bequests as large as the Hanneford fund.
Peg Earl, the mother-in-law of Rosemarie Earl and a friend of Gracie Hanneford, knew Gracie was interested in the performing arts and wanted to honor her father's legacy. But Peg never imagined her endowment would approach $1 million.
"She wanted to keep her father's image alive as long as she could. To tell you the truth, I couldn't believe the amount myself," she said.
While Peg Earl said she could only assume that most of the endowment came from the sale of Gracie Hanneford's home, Gracie was a frugal person.
"She was one of those people who never bought a new car. She always bought a used car," Peg Earl said.
CIRCUS PERFORMER ESTABLISHES SCHOLARSHIP FUND
Post Star
Glens Falls, New York
April 15, 2009
LAKE GEORGE - Gracie Hanneford made a career as a circus performer, like her family did for generations, before moving to Lake George in the 1950s.
Before her death in 2006, she wanted to create a scholarship in memory of her father, Edwin "Poodles" Hanneford IV, a seventh-generation circus performer.
So she contacted Rosemarie Earl, a guidance counselor at Lake George High School. She told Earl her will would include a donation to provide Lake George students with scholarships, but she never mentioned the amount.
It was not until a few years later, after Hanneford died and her assets were sold, that the Lake George Scholarship Association learned the gift was more than $900,000, the bulk of Gracie Hanneford's estate.
"When I got the letter from the attorney, I was flabbergasted," said Jim Mathis, president of the association, which doles out scholarships to Lake George students and graduates each year.
Earl, who is also on the association board, said families will sometimes donate money to honor someone. A $1,000 gift is a common amount, and she originally thought Gracie Hanneford's donation would be around $1,000.
"I thought it was wonderful," Earl said, of the bequest. "It's going to be there, really, forever. If we give away the interest of that money, the principle will always be there."
Hanneford put stipulations on the money.
Known as the Poodles Hanneford Scholarship for the Performing Arts, awards will be given to qualifying students who intend to study subjects such as theater, film, television, radio, music, literature, screenwriting, journalism and circus arts.
Lake George graduates now enrolled at a college can apply, too. Students can continue receiving the scholarship if they show they are still studying the written or performing arts.
Gracie Hanneford never attended Lake George schools. She came to the area with her family in 1956, after a career as a horseback rider in her family's circus act, an act that was part of several top circus shows in the early to mid-1900s.
After moving to a home on the east side of Lake George, her family set up a dog act at Frontier Town, the former theme park in North Hudson.
Later, Hanneford moved to California for a time but eventually returned to Lake George.
She served on the altar guild and was a vestry member at St. James Episcopal Church, and she was part of the Glens Falls Hospital ladies auxiliary, according to her Dec. 20, 2006 obituary.
Her father, Poodles, was born in a circus wagon in England in 1891. He began performing at 5 as a bareback rider, turning his skills into a career that took him across England and to Ireland before bringing his act to circuses in the U.S.
He was known as Poodles the Riding Fool, a clown who set a world record by making 26 consecutive running leaps on and off a horse, according to a press release from the association.
Poodles was inducted into the Clown Hall of Fame in 1965. He died two years later.
Now his name will carry on for years as the scholarship helps students pay for college.
The association received a portion of the endowment from Gracie Hanneford last year and used it to give two scholarships of at least $1,000 each, Mathis said.
Mathis said the association could give out as much as $20,000 from the Hanneford fund this year. Students have until next week to apply.
The Hanneford fund is the largest at Lake George High School. The association raises money each year for scholarships and hands out other awards through other bequests.
The Hanneford endowment is among the largest recent bequests to local schools for scholarships.
At the Hadley-Luzerne High School, officials two years ago were shocked to receive $1 million from the late Alice Harris, a former student who later owned a grocery store in Lake Luzerne and often loaned money to students so they could pay for college.
The Harris fund provides scholarships to students who cannot afford college.
Other local high schools have numerous scholarships created by area groups or businesses, along with those made in memory of others.
Some scholarships are given to students who study a particular subject.
Queensbury High School once received $50,000 from Sarah McEchron, a Queensbury teacher when the district was made up of one-room schoolhouses.
Only the interest from the McEchron bequest can be used, with the money going to students who pursue teaching careers, said Kathy Fisch, Queensbury's director of guidance.
High schools like Granville, Hudson Falls and Saratoga Springs have similar scholarships, but none from bequests as large as the Hanneford fund.
Peg Earl, the mother-in-law of Rosemarie Earl and a friend of Gracie Hanneford, knew Gracie was interested in the performing arts and wanted to honor her father's legacy. But Peg never imagined her endowment would approach $1 million.
"She wanted to keep her father's image alive as long as she could. To tell you the truth, I couldn't believe the amount myself," she said.
While Peg Earl said she could only assume that most of the endowment came from the sale of Gracie Hanneford's home, Gracie was a frugal person.
"She was one of those people who never bought a new car. She always bought a used car," Peg Earl said.
THE DAILY LAMA
"Indulgence in resentment and vengeance will only further increase miseries to oneself and others in this life and the lives to come."
CLOWN COLLEGE: Audition Reports
Another piece from last week's audition in New York.
A piece from the Chicago auditions at the end of 2008.
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
GLEN "KINKO" SUNBERRY: Animal Walk (1968)
Photo courtesy of Stephen Sullivan
Glen "Kinko" Sunberry talking with James E. White who had clowned with Barnum & Bailey in 1917, outside the train in Boston, MA in 1968.
Glen "Kinko" Sunberry talking with James E. White who had clowned with Barnum & Bailey in 1917, outside the train in Boston, MA in 1968.BILLY MCCABE: Circus Vargas (1984)
Billy McCabe, one of the last of the great whiteface picture clowns
DICK "ROCKO" LEWIS: Circus World (Early 60s)
Dick "Rocko" Lewis on the footbridge of the Circus World Museum in Baraboo, WI.
SPADER JOHNSON: Very Early Undated Photo
A photo of Spader accompanying a biography by his wife Millie that appeared in Circus Review.DIAMOND JIM PARKER: In the Navy (1959)
Before he was Assistant to the Dean of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Clown College he was yeoman third class James Parker in the United States Navy's 14th Naval District Passenger Transportation Office at Pearl Harbor.
CLOWNALLEY.NET: Hiatus
Clownalley.net will be going on hiatus as of May 2, 2009.
This does NOT mean that the site is coming down. This does NOT mean that the site will never be updated again.
It does mean that I need a break. With another baby coming I need to focus 100% of my attention on generating as much revenue around here as I can before I spend another year or two as a stay-at-home dad.
It may mean a few days. It may mean a few weeks. It may come back daily. It may come back weekly or monthly. That all depends on fate.
But right now what I need is a great big Visa Check Card commercial-sized pile of money.
This does NOT mean that clownalley.net is going away and it does not mean that I am accepting the offer to sell the domain name.
THE DAILY LAMA
"If you help others with sincere motivation and sincere concern, that will bring you more fortune, more friends, more smiles, and more success.
If you forget about others' rights and neglect others' welfare, ultimately you will be very lonely."
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