Circus clown
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Clowns have always been an integral part of the American circus.
[edit] Introduction
- John Bill Ricketts, an Englishman who brought the first modern circus to the United States, began his theatrical career with Hughes Royal Circus in London in the 1780s coming over from England in 1792 to establish his first circus in Philadelphia.
- He built a circus building in Philadelphia in the fall of 1792 in which he conducted a riding school. After training a group of Pennsylvania horses, he began on April 3, 1793, a series of exhibitions two and three times a week.
- His advertisements referred to the equestrian exhibition as Ricketts Circus. Probably because of his interest in horses, George Washington attended several performances of Ricketts's circus. Performances included not only equestrian exhibitions, but clowns and music and later rope walkers were added.
- See also: John Bill Ricketts
- Matthew Sully, a prominent English Harlequin, tumbler and singer at Sadler's Wells Theatre in London, joined Ricketts' company in the summer of 1795. He became particularly well-known for his hit song, "Four and Twenty Periwigs." Later that fall, they were joined by the man recognized as the first "American-born" circus clown and professional dancer, John Durang. Much of what we know about Ricketts's enterprises we owe to Durang's detailed memoirs. The new clown was an accomplished actor and acrobat, and his variations on the classic comedy riding act "Tailor's Ride to Brentford" were extremely popular.
- Jean Baptiste Casmiere Breschard, Circus of Pepin and Breschard, reintroduced the circus clown to America in 1807 after a number of years in which no circuses are documented as performing in the United States.
- Joe Pentland was another popular early singing clown and one of the first to get top billing. He worked with Aron Turner's Circus, and then with Sands & Lent. He is one of those often credited with creating still another variation on the tailor's ride, called "The Drunken Sailor." Posing as a drunken sailor, Pentland emerged from the stands offering to ride an ornery horse, and was greeted with various hoots and cheers. After several hilariously unsuccessful attempts, he stripped down to his leotards and rode with consummate skill.
- A later version of the act was wonderfully described by Mark Twain in Huckleberry Finn, and other variations on it survive today in several contemporary equestrian routines, particularly those of the Hanneford family.
- Tony Pastor, often called the "Father of Vaudeville", also began his career in the circus as a singing clown and acrobat before he opened his variety theatre in New York in 1881. Finally, circus pioneer Dan Castello, W. C. Coup's first partner, was not only a courageous owner and frontiersman, but also a renowned singing and riding clown.
- However, the first American clown to achieve genuine star status was a jockey, gambler and strong man who used to catch canon balls on the back of his neck. He was born as Daniel McClaren, but he is better known by his mother's maiden name of Rice.
[edit] Dan Rice
Born in New York City, Dan Rice gained 19th century fame with many talents, most of which involved him clowning in circuses. In addition to his 'clowning' talents, he was an animal trainer, song writer, commentator, political humorist, strong man, actor, director, producer, dancer, and politician. He ran for Senate, Congress, and President of the United States - dropping out of each race.
He changed the circus into what it is today by mixing animals, acrobats and clowns. His first break came in 1841 when he got a job of presenting a pig named Sybil who could do many tricks including the ability to tell time. From there he moved on to singing and dancing and got caught up in the popularity of the 'negro song', singing in blackface. He was said to sometimes go too far and make the song coarse. Gaining fame and popularity he changed styles once again he starred in various parodies of works by William Shakespeare, including that of "Dan Rice's Version of Othello" and "Dan Rice's Multifarious Account of Shakespeare's Hamlet" He would perform these with various songs and dialects showing just how versatile he was.
Expanding his horizons he went into producing his own shows and often had more than one tour going on at the same time. He wanted to move on from his circus clowning and reinvented himself as a gentleman. He started to take up politics and would often have Democratic undertones in his shows. He was then regarded as not only a multi-talented performer, but a smart and noble man who was to be looked up to. He won the affection of many newspapers and publicists including that of a then unknown Mark Twain and Walt Whitman. Mark Twain paid him homage in his description of a circus in Huckleberry Finn, and it is likely a boyhood Twain actually saw Rice perform when his circus came to Hannibal for a show.
His shows became more famous than any of the other shows touring at the time including that of rival, Phineas Taylor. During the 19th century, his name was synonymous with theater. At a time, Dan Rice was more of a household name than Abraham Lincoln. He reinvented the theater into a vaudevillian style before there was vaudeville. He was a very patriotic person later influencing the likes of George M. Cohan. He was also one of the main models for "Uncle Sam".
With changes in circus and popular culture after the Civil War, his legendary talents under the big top have gradually slipped in to almost total historical obscurity; biographer David Carlyon (2001) called him "the most famous man you've never heard of".
But while Rice's talking and singing clown were taking America by storm, a new type of clown was emerging on the British pantomime stage, one that would have a more lasting influence on contemporary American circus clowning.
[edit] Joseph Grimaldi
Joseph Grimaldi was among the greatest English pantomime clowns. His father was Giuseppi Grimaldi (died 1788), an Italian dancing master and pantomimist. Joseph's stage debut was at 3 years old in a dance at Sadler's Wells, London's famous variety theater. Grimaldi never performed in a circus ring, but spent most of his life performing in full-length pantomimes.
He had the most to do with the development of the pantomime character of Clown. Grimaldi used a substantial amount of color to his mouth, cheeks, and eyebrows over his painted white face. The most striking aspect of his make up were the large red triangles. His image was followed closely for the next 50 years by most British clowns.
Grimaldi is known for being a master in the use of expressions of the body and face, unique sense of comic timing, imaginative byplay, and his overall comic abilities. He was famous and influential enough in his time to have had Charles Dickens write his biography.
Today clowns are often called Joeys in honor of Joseph Grimaldi (see below in "Circus Clown Lingo").
[edit] George L. Fox
George Layfette Fox was America's first great whiteface clown. Known as the "American Grimaldi", Fox introduced Joseph Grimaldi's violent slapstick and topical satire to the American stage. He transformed it into a distinctly American style of humor reflecting the events of his day and influenced circus clown well into the 20th century.
In 1867, he created his masterpiece, Humpty Dumpty, giving over 1,000 performances on Broadway. His character in this production was a distinctive American anti-hero and helped Humpty Dumpty become the most popular pantomime productions of the time.
The slapstick form known as pantomime had been a Broadway staple since before the Civil War, but it reached a peak of popularity during the 1860s and 70's. These shows placed figures from Mother Goose stories in wildly varied settings, always finding an excuse to transform them into the clown characters of traditional commedia dell’arte (Harlequin, Columbina, etc.). Popular songs were loosely inserted whenever the audience needed a breather. Lavish sets and athletic clowning were expected, along with elaborate ballets. By far the most popular of these pantomimes was Fox's Humpty Dumpty.
The plot had young Humpty and his playmates turn into harlequinade characters and romp through a candy store, an enchanted garden and Manhattan's costly new City Hall. Fox's mute passivity set him apart from the raucous clamor surrounding him, and audiences took the little man to their hearts. Humpty Dumpty was revived several times. Fox eventually gave 1,128 performances in the title role, becoming the most highly paid actor of his time. He initiated the tradition of Wednesday matinee's to take advantage of the show's appeal to children.
He is considered by many to be the funniest man of his time. His white face character became an important part of popular American imagery, being used in advertisements and children's books long after his death. He is considered an influence on early film comedians including Laurel and Hardy, Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton, and the Marx Brothers.
Sadly, he was removed from the stage during his last performance, and taken to an insane asylum where he died three years later possibly as a result of poisoning from his lead based white make up.
[edit] Frank "Slivers" Oakley
Frank Oakley, also known as Slivers (1871-1916) was the most popular circus clown of his generation. Born in Sweden, both of Oakley's parents were concert singers. At the age of 14 he began to practice as a contortionist and at 16 he joined his first circus. His parents convinced him to enroll at the University of Michigan but two years later Oakley was back under the big top.
His first show was Andrew MacDonald's Circus but he soon joined the Ringling Bros. Circus in 1897. Before the turn of the century Oakley performed with the Barnum & Bailey Circus followed by three seasons with the Adam Forepaugh & Sells Bros. Circus (1900-02). Oakley returned to the Barnum & Bailey Circus for four seasons(1903-07) where he reportedly earned up to $1,000 a week.
Slivers was famous for working solo in the ring. His featured gag was a one-man baseball game in which he played all the positions of both teams. Among his classic walkarounds was a gag in which he rode around the hippodrome track atop two giant lobsters.
He went on to perform in other circuses, in vaudeville and was featured (sometimes partnered with Marceline Orbes) in the massive shows at the New York Hippodrome.
He married vaudeville singer Nellie Dunbar in 1902 and they had one daughter, Ruth.
With the coming of motion pictures and the superstardom of Charlie Chaplin Slivers was supplanted as an American comedy icon. When other offers had dried up he tried to return to Ringling where he was offered only $75.00 a week to perform walkarounds.
He committed suicide, dying by gas asphyxiation, on March 8, 1916 in his room at 308 West 71st Street in New York City. Oakley had fallen for Viola Stoll, a young vaudeville actress, and remained infatuated even after she was arrested and incarcerated for stealing his late wife's jewelry. When he tried to have her paroled from Bedford Reformatory by proposing marriage, she rejected him.
[edit] Contemporary circus clown types
There are three basic traditional types of circus clowns, The whiteface, the auguste and the character. In circus, each of these types can wear a makeup that is either neat (slightly exaggerated) or grotesque (wildly exaggerated). Actually a fourth is widely recognized now. The tramp or hobo clown serves as its own category, even though technically it could be considered a character clown.
There is no single absolute definition of what constitutes each clown type, with international performers encompassing an extremely wide range of styles, not to mention the classical and modern variants of each type.
[edit] The whiteface clown
The whiteface (or white clown) is the highest status in the clown hierarchy and the oldest of modern clown archetypes. When whitefaces perform with other clowns, they usually function as the straight man, "Top Banana", or the leader of the group.
Whiteface clowns uses "clown white" makeup to cover their entire face and neck with none of the underlying flesh color showing. Features are then usually painted on in either red or black.
The whiteface clown is traditionally costumed far more extravagantly than the other two clown types. They often wear the ruffled collar and pointed hat which typify the average person's idea of a "clown suit".
Some non-circus examples of a white clown include:
- Moe Howard of the Three Stooges
- Oliver Hardy of Laurel & Hardy
- Bud Abbott of Abbott & Costello
- Ralph Kramden on The Honeymooners
- Dean Martin of Martin & Lewis
- Ricky Ricardo on I Love Lucy
- Dick Smothers of The Smothers Brothers
- Jerry Seinfeld on Seinfeld
- Ren on Ren & Stimpy
- Bert of Sesame Street's Ernie & Bert
- Squidward on SpongeBob SquarePants
- Looney Tunes Bugs Bunny
Some circus examples include Pipo Sossman, Francios Fratellini, Felix Adler, Paul Jung, Harry Dann, Chuck Burnes, Albert White, Ernie Burch, Bobby Kaye, Jack and Jackie LeClaire, Joe and Chester Sherman, Keith Crary, Charlie Bell, Mike Snyder, Tim Tegge, Jimmy James, Kenny Dodd, Frankie Saluto, Tammy Parrish, and Prince Paul Albert.
[edit] The auguste
Accompanying the white clown there is often another clown character known as an auguste or "red clown" but the auguste's role is different from the white clown. In classical European circus the augustes weren't even considered clowns because, technically, their role was different. The Augustes are the ones who gets the pie in the face, squirted with water, knocked down on their backside, sit in wet paint, or have their pants ripped off.
The base color for the auguste makeup is red or flesh tone. The eyes and the mouth are encircled in white and the features are highlighted, again, traditionally in red and black .
The auguste is usually costumed in baggy plaids accented with colorful polka dots or loud stripes with wide collared shirts, long neck ties, wild wigs and oversized noses and shoes.
Some non-circus examples of red clowns include:
- Curly Howard of the Three Stooges
- Harpo Marx of the Marx Brothers
- Stan Laurel of Laurel & Hardy
- Lou Costello of Abbott & Costello
- Ed Norton on the Honeymooners
- Jerry Lewis of Martin & Lewis
- Lucy Ricardo on I Love Lucy
- Tommy Smothers of the Smothers Brothers
- Cosmo Kramer on Seinfeld
- Stimpy on Ren & Stimpy
- Ernie of Sesame Street's Ernie & Bert
- SpongeBob on SpongeBob SquarePants
- Looney Tunes' Daffy Duck
Some circus examples include Albert Fratellini, Lou Jacobs, Jeff Gordon, Greg and Karen DeSanto, Tom Parrish, Billy Vaughn, Chesty Mortimer, Gijon Polidor, Nicolai and Michael "Coco" Polikov, Charlie Rivel, Alfredo Rastelli, Chuck Sidlow, Toto Johnson and Mitch Freddes.
[edit] The character clown
The character clown adopts an eccentric character of some type, such as a butcher, a baker, a policeman, a housewife or hobo. Prime examples of this type of clown are the circus tramps Otto Griebling and Emmett Kelly. Red Skelton, Harold Lloyd, Buster Keaton and Charlie Chaplin would all fit the definition of a character clown. (Note: Now days, the hobo or tramp clown is often considered a separate class and is treated as such in competitions at clown conventions.)
The character clown makeup is a comic slant on the standard human face. Their makeup starts with a flesh tone base and may make use of anything from glasses, mustaches and beards to freckles, warts, big ears or strange haircuts. The most prevalent character clown in the American circus is the tramp or hobo clown.
When working in traditional trio situation the character will play "contre-auguste" (2nd, less wild auguste) and can side with either the white or red clown.
Some non-circus examples of character clowns include:
- W.C. Fields
- Joe Penner
- Pinky Lee
- Paul Reubens' Pee-Wee Herman
- Ed Wynn
- Bob Einstein's Super Dave Osborne
- Jim Varney's Ernest P. Worrell
- Don Novello's Fr. Guido Sarducci
- Lily Tomlin's Ernestine the Telephone Operator
- Andrew Silverstein's Andrew Dice Clay
- George Costanza on Seinfeld
- Patrick Starfish on SpongeBob SquarePants
- Bill Irwin's Mr. Noodle on Elmo's World
Some circus examples include Barry Lubin, Tom Dougherty, Bill Irwin, David Shiner, Geoff Hoyle, John Gilkey, Peter Shub, Poodles Hanneford, Bluch Landolf, Larry Pisoni, John Lepiarz, Bobo Barnett, Happy Kellams, Fumagalli, Charlie Cairoli, Bebe, Jojo Lewis, Abe Goldstein, Rhum, David Larible, Oleg Popov, Rik Gern and Bello Nock.
Some examples of the contre-auguste character in non-circus trios:
[edit] The Straight Guy
The straight guy is usually not even classed as a clown, but is always part of a duo with a clown that may be the Auguste or white faced clown. The Straight Guy's job is to generally try to be mature and normal but the other clown will keep getting in their way and messing things up which generates a sense of hilarity.
[edit] Circus clown gags
This is the proper American circus term for a clown's act. Europeans refer to this as an “entrée”. Amateur clowns refer to these as a "skit" or "sketch". These are the clown's written and rehearsed performances. They can take place in the ring (a ring gag or production gag), on the track (a track gag or a walkaround) or in the seats. They can be done solo, with the ringmaster, with other clowns or with audience volunteers. They have a beginning, middle and end and finish with a "blow off". Gag can also refer to the specialized or gimmicked props clowns may use.
Some popular circus gags include:
- Soap Gags - A production ring gag where whipped shaving soap is substituted for pies, cakes, paint or glue.
- Dead or Alive - a classic European gag
- The Baseball Gag - created by Paul Jung from the inspiration of Slivers Oakley.
- The Boxing Gag - made famous by Otto Griebling and Freddie Freeman
- The Clown Car - brought to the circus by Otto Griebling. A common example of such a routine involves numerous clowns emerging from a very small car, to humorous effect. The first performance of this routine was in the Cole Brothers Circus during the 1950s.[1]
- Blowing Up the Fat Man - created by Jack LeClair
- The Adam Smasher - created by Paul Jung
- The Midget Car - made famous by Lou Jacobs but also performed by Toto, Bobo Barnett, Kinko Sunburry, Mark Anthony and Billy Vaughn.
- The Washerwomen - created by Johhny Trippe and Bobby Kellogg in 1944
- The Reducing Machine -
- Sweeping Up the Spotlight - signature gag of Emmett Kelly
- The Firehouse - THE classic production gag of the American circus
- The Dentist -
- The Barber Shop - Created on the Barnum & Bailey Circus by Spader Johnson. A version of this gag appears in Chaplin's film THE CIRCUS
- The Army Gag - created by Paul Jung
- The Levitation -
- The Busy Bee - Along with his Painters Gag this is the longtime signature gag of Michael "Coco" Polikov
Gags can use many different endings (blow-offs) but some of the most popular are the confetti bucket, the long shirt, a pants drop or the time-honored "all clowns exit running" although contemporary indoor shows may end a clown gag with a simple blackout.
[edit] Circus clown lingo
- Basket Animal — An costume made with a basket in the middle, looking as if the performer were riding a horse or other animal. Suspenders hold the costume around the performer's waist.
- Blow Off — The visual "punchline" of a clown gag.
- Boss Clown — The clown responsible for coordinating both the clowns and the various gags in a show.
- "Bump a Nose" — Some people cite this as the "good luck" phrase clowns use to each other before a performance, rather like actors' "break a leg." In reality, it's not likely it was ever used by circus professionals.
- Caring Clown — Non circus term used to refer to clowns who specialize in hospital visits.
- Carpet Clown — A clown who works among the audience.
- Charivari — A raucous acrobatic clown routine, typically done by a large group of clowns, consisting of a series of fast-paced acrobatic maneuvers and comedy jumps off of a mini trampoline, over a vaulting horse and into a mat.
- Circus Report — Name of a bi-weekly circus trade magazine.
- Chase — a quick run around the hippodrome track, usually with one clown literally chasing another.
- Clown Alley — The clowns' dressing and prop area.
- Come In — The period an hour before showtime when the public is entering the arena before the circus begins. Elephant and camel rides are offered for a fee during come in; butchers are selling their wares, and clowns are on the arena floor and in the seats. Some clowns specialized and only performed during come in.
- First of May — A term also used in the carnival, meaning a novice performer in his first season on a show. Shows used to leave winter quarters for their opening spot on the first of May, and there are always some new workers hired on the first of May who have never worked shows before.
- Hippodrome Track — The oval area between the rings and audience.
- Joey — A clown (derived from Joseph Grimaldi, a famous clown in 18th-century England.) Some sources say it only refers to an acrobatic clown, others say it is a non-circus term and was never used by professionals.
- Knockabout Act — Comedy act involving physical humor and exaggerated mock violence.
- Producing Clown — The clown who writes, directs and procures props and costumes for a gag.
- Production Gag — A large scale ring gag.
- Shows — The overall production that a clown is a part of, it may or may not include elements other than clowning, such as in a circus show. In a circus context, clown shows are typically made up of some combination of Ring Gags, Track Gags, Walkarounds and Chases.
- "Stars and Stripes Forever" — The band reserved this Sousa march as a signal that an emergency had come up calling for the clowns to come running out from the Alley directing public attention away from the emergency or for the audience to be evacuated.
- Suitcase Gag — A visual pun that is carried inside of a suitcase and used during walkarounds. The set-up is written on the front and the suitcase is opened to reveal the punchline.
- Trouper — A person who has spent at least one full season with the circus, and whose response to the demands of life and work on the road are those of a seasoned veteran. Also used in vaudeville (and in theatre in general) to mean a veteran performer.
- Walkarounds — A clown feature in which they stroll the hippodrome track performing very brief visual gags that can be easily picked up, moved and performed again for another section of the audience.
[edit] Famous American circus clowns
- George Carl - American clown who found great success in Europe. Performed "Royal Command Performance" for the Queen at the Palladium in London. He also received the coveted "Golden Clown" award from Princess Grace, (Grace Kelly) at the Circus Festival of Monte Carlo.
- Otto Griebling - Prolific and influential Master Clown with the Cole Bros. and Ringling circuses. The single most admired and respected American circus clown of the 20th century.
- Joe Jackson Sr & Jr. - famous tramp clown entree with a breakaway bicycle.
- Lou Jacobs - During his 60 years in the American circus Master Clown Lou Jacobs came to be known as one of the most famous clowns in the world through his innovative comic routines, compassion for others and strong dedication to his work. He was an original founder and teacher in the Ringling Brothers' clown college from its inception until his retirement due to ill health.
- Paul Jerome
- Paul Jung - Producing clown
- Emmett Kelly Sr. and Jr. - Extremely well-known American tramp clown, as the character Weary Willie. Emmett Sr. is one of the few clowns allowed to actively interact with such famous circus acts as the Great Wallendas, and performed as Weary Willie and in nightclubs, movies (where he also portrayed a whiteface), Broadway, and as the Brooklyn Dodgers Mascot.
- Glen "Frosty" Little, America's only living Master Clown and longtime "Boss Clown" with the Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus.
- Frank "Slivers" Oakley - America' first great solo circus clown.
- Dan Rice - America's first great circus clown.
[edit] Famous international circus clowns
- Charlie Cairoli Longtime start of the Blackpool Tower Circus
- Francesco Caroli.
- The Chickys, classic European clown act.
- Coco the Clown (Nicolai Poliakoff), Longtime star clown of the Bertram Mills Circus, after making a name for himself in his native Soviet Union as a master clown.
- The Fratellinis The quintessential clown trio (see youtube external link below).
- Grock (Adrian Wettach).
- David Konyot, 4 times winner best clown (U K) Hungarian circus festival, Polish circus Festival.
- Yuri Nikulin, Russian clown and actor.
- Oleg Popov, Greatly admired clown from the Soviet Union.
- The Rastellis - European clown act
- Remi, "Puerto Rico's Greatest Clown".
- Charlie Rivel - Other than Grock perhaps the most beloved and respected of all European clowns.
- Zig and Zag (Australian performers)
[edit] Contemporary American circus and circus-style clowns
- Barry Lubin - "Grandma", star clown of the Big Apple Circus
- Jeff "Gordoon" Gordon - "Le Clown Gordoon", star clown with the Big Apple Circus
- David Shiner - Tony Award-winning American born mime and circus clown who has appeared on Broadway and with several prominent European circuses.
- Steve "TJ Tatters" Smith - longtime director of Ringling Clown College, currently Guest Director, Big Apple Circus.
- Greg and Karen DeSanto - Husband and wife clown/comedy team.
- John Gilkey, American clown and comic juggler who has appeared with the New Pickle Circus and Cirque du Soleil.
- Denis Lacombe - Star clown with Cirque du Soleil and Big Apple best known for his comedy conductor gag.
- Pat Cashin - American clown and "Comedy Ringmaster" with the Shrine Circuses.
- Rik Gern - Bonzo Crunch: Fool at Large; a popular circus and event clown from Austin, Tx.
- Jason T. and Kristen Stewart - Husband & wife team formerly with RBB&B. They are the founders of the Seaside Clowns (which also includes Aaron Tucker, Darren Burrell, Bryan Fulton, and Andrew Scharff, all Ringling alumni and all excellent clowns in their own right) clowning at resorts in Myrtle Beach, SC.
- Bob "Doodles" Kelmer - Appearing daily 2006 at the Circus World Museum, Baraboo, WI.
- Timothy Noel Tegge - American whiteface clown and ringmaster with the Shrine Circus.
- Dean "Elmo Gibb" Chambers -Former Ringling Blue Unit clown and longtime producing clown for the Clyde Beatty-Cole Bros. Circus
- Fumagalli, European star clown soon to appear with the Big Apple Circus
- Chris and Gina Allison - "Bucky and Gigi"; Husband and wife clown team and founders of Cirque du Jour
- Aaron Rider - "Melvino", currently clowning with the Carson & Barnes Circus
- Bill Machtel - Mr. Bill, longtime clown at the Circus World Museum in Baraboo, WI
- Giovanni Zoppe - Youngest performer ever to be inducted into the International Clown Hall of Fame.
- VeeKay the Zoot Suit Clown - Circus clown and official greeter at the Orange County Fair in Orange County, California.
- Red Bastard - American clown and premiere Bouffon.
[edit] Famous former circus clowns
- Tod Browning - Film director, whose work includes the film Freaks.
- Pinto Colvig - Writer, animator and voice-over artist. The original Bozo the Clown.
- Federico Fellini - One-time clown turned film director. Used clowns and circus themes in many of his films.
- Markus Innocenti - Director and Sound Editor.
- Alejandro Jodorowsky - Worked as both a circus clown and puppeteer before finding his calling as a cult film-maker. Like Federico Fellini, he uses clowns and circus themes in some of his films.
- Emmett Kelly - Actor. Often appeared in his classic "hobo clown" costume and make-up. Once, when called upon to be a villain in a film "The Fat Man" (1951), he refused to appear in his Weary Willie hobo personal, opting instead to portray a whiteface clown.
[edit] Sources
- Clowns by John H. Towsen. ISBN 0-8015-3962-5. Publisher: E P Dutton - 1976-11.
- Clown Alley by Bill Ballantine. ISBN 0-316-07958-8. Publisher: Little Brown & Co (T) - April, 1982.
- Clown for Circus and Stage by Mark Stolzenberg. ISBN 0-8069-7034-0. Publisher: Sterling Pub Co Inc - May, 1981.
- The Physical Comedy Handbook by Davis Rider Robinson. ISBN 0-325-00114-6. Publisher: Reed Elsevier Incorporated - May 1999.
- The Pickle Clowns: New American Circus Comedy by Joel Schechter. ISBN 0-8093-2356-7. Publisher: Southern Illinois Univ Pr (Tx) - August, 2001.
- Here Come the Clowns: A Cavalcade of Comedy from Antiquity To the Present by Lowell Swortzell ISBN 0-670-36874-1 Publisher: Viking Press; 1st ed edition (1978)
- Clowning Through by Frank Foster and Willan G. Bosworth Publisher: Heath Cranston LTD London - 1937
- Step Right Up!: The Adventure of Circus in America by LaVahn G Hoh. ISBN 1-55870-140-0. Publisher: Betterway Publications - 1990.
- Two Hundred Years of the American Circus: From ABA-Daba to the Zoppe-Zavatta Troupe by Tom Ogden Albert F. House. ISBN 0-8160-2611-4. Publisher: Facts on File, Incorporated - January 1993
- Circus Report Format: Magazine. Publisher: Graphics 2000. ASIN: B00006K8X5
- Spectacle Format: Magazine. Publisher: Circus Plus Publications. ASIN: B00006KXUX
[edit] References
- ^ Feiler, Bruce (2003). Under the Big Top. HarperCollins, 71. ISBN 0-06-052702-1.
