Longtime circus clown Mike Snider fresh out of the Ringling Clown College class of 1978. After a brief stint on the Ringling Blue Unit, Mike went to the Clyde Beatty Cole Bros. Circus, where he toured for many seasons.
Mike also appeared with the Circus Vargas Alley for a season and as a solo clown on the Cole All Star Circus and Vidbel's Old Tyme Circus before teaming up with Billy Vaughn and becoming a highly respected clown duo.
Thank you to Beth Grimes and Gregory Parks for sending me this video. A rare, full recording of Bozo's Circus from October 30, 1979 featuring longtime Ringling employee and ICHOF inductee Peggy Williams, who would have been in the Chicago area with the circus at that time.
The International Clown Hall of Fame and Research Center is proud to unveil our new website.
Having a dedicated presence on the internet as well as all the social media platforms allows the museum to reach a worldwide audience.
It will allow us to share images, information, updates and notifications that will be current in real time.
This has been a longtime goal of the ICHOF and with the full support of the Board of Directors we present a forever “work in process”. Let it serve as an introduction to the museum, the artifacts we have been entrusted with, and to share the rich history of clowns that bring joy to all audiences, past, present & future.
We must thank Joshua Lancaster for his dedicated work in making this web site possible. Every so often the ICHOF meets an individual that connects with everything we are trying to accomplish. For the last 2 months we’ve had a daily positive, creative & fruitful collaboration with Joshua, and we believe you will agree that his work illuminates our mission perfectly.
We welcome feedback, we hope you enjoy taking the tour of this one of a kind museum and remain grateful for your ongoing support, donations and encouragement.
With laughter-
Greg DeSanto
The Board of Directors of the International Clown Hall of Fame and Research Center.
On July 14th, 2001 the final episode of the Bozo Show aired on WGN. I grew up in the era of Cooky and Wizzo, but also watched religiously as a teen during the Rusty era.
While touring with the Kelly Miller Circus, Ryan and I were able to visit with Marshall Brodien, aka Wizzo, at his home, and tour his collection of magic and Bozo show props, costumes, and other ephemera.
At multiple Ringling reunions I was able to talk with Robin Eurich, aka Rusty the Handyman, who just passed away two years ago, and I was also able to meet Joey D'Auria, who played Bozo from 1984 until the end of the series, and tell him how much he and the show meant to me.
Enough making this about me! Enjoy the final episode of the Bozo Show!
Pat Cashin left us way too soon, eight years ago today. I was reading articles about him today and was shocked that he was only 48 years old when he passed away, which is especially sobering since I am now 40.
Pat was one of the funniest people I knew, and I still laugh thinking about the many outrageous and hilarious things he said every time I talked to him.
There are so many things going on in the world that I would love to hear his unique take on. I always admired what a great father he was, and I wish that was something I could pick his brain about now that I'm a single dad.
Please enjoy Pat's promo reel from awhile back featuring his work on several different circuses.
Veteran Culpepper & Merriweather clown Leo Acton compares the differences of performing with The Greatest Show on Earth to a small circus that stays within small-town America.
Circus History Spotlight! is a video series by the Circus Historical Society, a tax exempt not for profit educational organization dedicated to preserving the rich history of circus. Learn more and join today at https://circushistory.org.
Before he took the international circus world by storm, Rob Torres was one of the students of the Ringling Clown College class of 1991 vying for a job with The Greatest Show on Earth.
Instead he accomplished so much more before he left us way too soon six years ago on June 26th, 2018. Please forgive my tardy posting, and rest in peace, Rob.
Ringmaster Eric Michael Gillett, Boss Clown Dave DeDera as the old lady, and cyclists Darren Cooper, Max Richardson, Ray LeClair, David Frank, and Zac Whinnem performing the big bike routine on the Ringling Red Unit in 1993.
This was during David Larible's tenure as headliner on the Red Unit, so this was the Alley's one big ring spot for the tour.
As a kid I remember being disappointed that there wasn't more of the Alley clowns in the show, although between Come In gags, track gags, and walkarounds, they were doing more that the clowns got to do in the final decade or so of the show's run before the "closing" in 2017.
This act was on the Blue and Red Units in 2000-2001 and 2011-2012 respectively, but done by Eastern European acrobats.
It is my understanding that the clowns in this act suffered many injuries from the apparatus, which is not surprising. That thing is a beast!
Leon McBryde passed away today. Many people know him best as Buttons, a clown who got his start in the business by graduating from the Ringling Clown College in 1969.
After spending a year on the Blue Unit, he toured ahead of the Greatest Show on Earth as a Goodwill Ambassador.
His true legacy to clowns will be his work in clown education as a founder of the program Advanced Studies, of which he is a founding member, and also as a top clown nose maker. Leon and his wife Linda created the company Proknows, which sold all kind of clown supplies, most notably a fantastic array of clown noses that the majority of clowns in America have worn.
Throughout his career Leon performed as Santa, which became his main source of performing in his later years.
He is an inductee of both the International Clown Hall of Fame and the International Santa Claus Hall of Fame, and was a loved and respected practitioner in both fields.
Above is a video of Leon and Michael "Coco" Polakovs taken at Advanced Studies in the 1990s.
What I have written is just a brief glimpse into Leon's long, full life. Please feel free to add more information, stories, or thoughts in the comments below.
Here is Jan Damm, who just finished touring with the new Ringling show, performing in the 2023 Circus Flora production, 'Undercover'.
From the New England Center for Circus Arts website:
"Jan Damm began performing juggling shows for kids in central Maine when he was 12 years old. Since then he has toured nationally and around the world as a professional clown and circus artist. Highlights include headlining the production show on Celebrity Cruises ‘Silhouette’, Montreal’s ‘Festival Completement Cirque’ with ‘Midnight Circus’, playing Broadway with ‘Cirque Mechanics’, ‘Big Apple Circus’ 40th Anniversary Tour, and performance intervention work in Haiti and Lebanon with ‘Clowns Without Borders’. He’s also appeared on David Letterman, and with Circus Bella, Circus Zoppe, Flynn Creek Circus, and Circus Flora among others. Jan has a passion for coaching and creation, and has worked as an instructor throughout the country, including coaching featured acts on Smirkus Big Top Tour. He lives with his wife and circus partner Ariele, and their children Timo and Ilsa."
Here are some of the students of the Ringling Clown College class of 1983 painting their faces in makeup class.
Note the photos of previous graduates on the wall that the new students could study for inspiration in coming up with their unique clown face.
This photo was taken by Steve Marshall, who was a graduate of the class of 1983, and toured with the show's Red and Gold Units. He currently performs as a magician in Japan.
