Bruce Johnson

Charlie The Juggling Clown

Creating Happy Memories that Last a Lifetime

 

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Ice Skating Clowns

By Bruce “Charlie” Johnson, WCA Historian

The International Figure Skating competition is under way leading up to the Winter Olympics which will be held in Sochi, Russia February 7-23, 2014.  Figure skating is another skill used by clowns to entertain audiences. 

When I was growing up I saw a few live performances of circuses, but I saw many live performances of ice shows.  My standard for outstanding clowning was strongly influenced by watching ice skating clowns.  I have learned many things from ice skating clowns that I incorporated into my own performances. 

Shipstad and Johnson

In 1926, Edie Shipstad and Oscar Johnson began performing clown routines on ice at skating carnivals and between periods of ice hockey games.  (Edie’s brother, Roy, was a solo skater who performed straight acts contrasting with their comedy.)  They were among the first to believe that in entertaining an audience showmanship came first and skating technique came second. The trio was given an eight-week contract to appear at Chicago’s Hotel Sherman in 1935.  Their sold out show was extended for eighteen months.  It inspired them to create a more elaborate touring show which they named the Ice Follies in tribute to Florenz Ziegfield’s famous Follies.  Their spectacular new show debuted in Tulsa, OK on November 7, 1936.  The show was a new a variety arts genre which inspired the Ice Capades and other ice spectaculars.  Edie and Oscer originally performed their clown acts with the show, which throughout its history always featured outstanding clowns. 

Frick and Frack

Werner Groebli (April 21, 1915 – April 14, 2008) appeared in over 15,000 performances of the Ice Follies as Mr. Frick.  For many years he performed with his childhood friend, Hans Mauch (May 4, 1919 – June 4, 1979), who played Mr. Frack.  They two became one of the most famous entertainment or sports duos.  The names of their clown characters became part of the American slang meaning “two of a kind” or “very close friends.” The term was used in scripts for Cheers, The Odd Couple, and Golden Girls. In stage appearances with Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra would say, "we're just like Frick and Frack."

Groebli, the reigning Swiss Junior Figure Skating Champion, was considered a favorite to win the men’s gold medal in figure skating at the 1936 Winter Olympics.  However he dropped out because he did not have the time or money to continue pursuing amateur competition.  Instead he enrolled in college to study architecture.  Mauch was studying to be a banker.  When they had a chance to perform a comedy act in a Swiss Ice Extravaganza they dressed in Swiss hillbilly Sunday outfits with Frock coats.  They adopted Frick and Frack as stage names to prevent their families from learning they were not in school.

In 1937, they were a big hit in an ice show in Brighton, England. That same year they appeared in a command performance in Marina, London, and in Symphony on Ice at the Royal Opera House.

They came to the United States in 1938 as part of the St. Moritz Express ice revue, which performed in the open-air Tropical Ice Gardens in the Westwood neighborhood of Los Angeles, and on the road.  In 1939 they joined the Ice Follies where they remained for the rest of their career.  As a duo they performed eight- to ten-minute routines in over 11,000 shows.

Frick and Frack, both virtuoso skaters, did not use smooth, graceful, flowing movements like other skaters.  Instead they performed more difficult angular moves with sharp turns. This was particularly evident in Frick’s toy soldier routine.  They would skate backwards towards each other at high speed, and then avoid a collision by suddenly veering away at the last moment.  The two would skate by each other, missing a handshake, hook their legs, recoil and turn back face to face.  (When I began clowning in 1974 as an amateur with the Klassic Klowns of Southern California, I performed in parades with a roller skating clown named Bill “Pinky” Greene.  The two of us performed Frick and Frack’s handshake gag.  We would hold out our hands while approaching each other.  As Pinky glided past me, I stopped and bent my knee raising my foot behind me.  Pinky would hook his skate on my ankle stopping and then pulling himself backwards.  Then we would shake hands.)

Frack would toss Frick an invisible rope and then pull Frick towards him.  Seemingly without moving a muscle, Frick would slowly glide forward towards his partner.  The propulsion came from alternately pushing the edge of the skate blades out and in.  The move required outstanding physical skill and strength.

Groebli’s trademark move was the Frick Spread-eagle Cantilever in which he turned his skates sideways and bent over backwards until his back was horizontal just a few inches above the ice. In this position he would glide sideways in a straight line or a long graceful curve. He would rise by attaching his bamboo cane to an invisible hook in the air to hoist himself up, hand over hand.  Skating clowns Mike Course and Al Surrette copied the move in their acts. A few other skaters have attempted the move in competition. None were able to do it as well as Groebli.

Groebli described himself as an "athlete of the theater."  His recovery process following a performance included cold showers on his leg muscles, and a half hour laying on his back. He was able to perform his demanding act daily, sometimes for three shows a day.

When health problems forced Mauch to retire in 1955, Groebli continued performing another 4,000 shows as Mr. Frick working with unbilled assistants.  David Thomas assisted him from 1973-1978.  In a newspaper obituary, Thomas said Groebli “brought a quirky spontaneity to his performances, especially when something went awry.  If the spotlight was off the mark, he would do a silly little dance to find it.  If he fell, he would jump up and look around to see who tripped him.  Or, if the orchestra was off beat — it was on a platform by the ice — he would go over, lift the drape, march into the orchestra and start using his bamboo cane like a baton.”

An accident forced Groebli to retire in 1980.  He lived part of the year in Switzerland, and part of the year in Palm Springs, CA.  He remained active attending figure skating competitions where his advice was eagerly sought by younger skaters.  In her autobiography Peggy Flemming states she learned a lot about entertainment from him during the time they toured together on the Ice Follies.

His television appearances included Snoopy On Ice (1973), Snoopy's Musical on Ice (1978), Sportsworld, NBC-TV (1978), Donnie and Marie Osmond Show (1978), Mike Douglas Show (1978), and the Dinah Shore Show (1978).  He appeared in the films Silver Skates (1942), Lady Let's Dance (1943), and Jinxed (1981).

He was inducted into the Madison Square Garden Hall of Fame in 1967 and the U.S. Figure Skating Association World Hall of Fame in 1984.

Ice Capades

Ice Capades 

Impressed by the ticket sales for the Ice Follies and Sonja Henie’s Hollywood Ice Review, members of the Arena Manager’s Association met in Hershey, PA in 1940 to form their own touring show which they titled the Ice Capades.  The original 1940 Ice Capades production featured three skating tramp clowns, Joe Jackson Jr., Al Surette, and Freddie Trenkler.

 Joe Jackson Jr.

 Joe Jackson Jr. perpetuated his father’s break away bike routine performed on the ice.  I have not found any descriptions of other clown routines in his ice show appearances, which does not mean he did not perform them.  He did not remain with the show continuously, but also performed in other venues.  For example, in 1963 he performed his bike act in the Soviet Union in an American circus produced by John Ringling North.  However, Jackson appeared in many different editions of the Ice Capades over the years.  Eventually several different units of the show were on tour simultaneously.  The latest reference I have found to Joe Jackson Jr. touring with the show is in the 1966 East Coast unit.

 Al Surette

 Al Surette appeared as a tramp clown with the Ice Capades for many seasons, sometimes working with Leo Loeb as his partner.  His repertoire included the Frick Spread-eagle Cantilever. In addition to being a tramp clown, Surette specializing in performing Jargo (two-man animal) acts.  (See the article on Jargo’s in the January 2012 issue of Clowning Around.)

 Freddie Trenkler

 After appearing in the original 1940 edition of the Ice Capades, Freddie Trenkler toured with Sonja Henie for 15 years.  He returned to the Ice Capades in 1956 where he appeared until his retirement in 1984.  The premise of his act was that a group of cops were chasing a tramp.  One of his innovations was a pack bench with a seat made out of rollers.  When he dove onto the bench, he slid all the way across and off the other end.  The finish of his act was for a long line of cops to grab him and play Crack the Whip sending him careening towards the edge of the ice.  He would grab a rope and swing up over the heads of the audience.  His ending has never been successfully duplicated.

 Hans Leiter

 Hans Leiter (1913 - ) was born in Vienna, Austria.  At the age of six he began learning figure skating.  He was also interested in gymnastics and took top honors in Vienna’s Junior Gymnastics Championships.  At the age of ten, he became a Vienna Boys Choir soloist.  However, he did not plan on making entertainment a career.  Instead he entered dental school.

 As a child, Leiter had been coached in skating by Karl Shafer.  Shafer began producing touring operettas on ice, and in 1952 he cast Leiter for a production touring South America. Two days before the show left for Brazil, the featured comedian broke his leg.  Leiter took his place, was a success, and his career as a clown launched. After eight months in South America he returned to Austria and performed for five years with the Vienna Ice Show.

 In 1958, Leiter received a contract to join the Ice Capades. When he arrived in America, he spent six months performing his comedy on an ice rink at Chicago’s Statler Hilton Hotel before going on the road. He toured with the Ice Capades for fourteen years, and then spent twelve years with the Ice Follies. In 1980, the Ice Follies and Holiday on Ice shows were purchased by Feld Productions and transformed into Disney On Ice ™ shows, Hans continued with the Disney's Great Ice Odyssey unit.

Disney on Ice

 A superb athlete, his acts were based on outstanding skating skill combined with well thought out use of props.  Leiter was known for two acts each ten minutes in length.  One had a military theme and the other was in drag. The setting for the acts would change from year to year. In 1981 he played Romeo in his military act. Two years later he played the inept Silly Knight of the Forest in Disney's Great Ice Odyssey. In his drag act he portrayed characters ranging from Cleopatra to Dolly Parton to Drizella, Cinderella's step-sister.  It is a clown tradition that in Pantomime productions of Cinderella, Drizella is played by a man.  (See “Christmas Through the Ages” in the Nov./Dec. 2009 issue of Clowning Around for a description of Pantomime productions.)

 His drag act so popular that it usually was placed in closing position just before the finale. It was risque and hilarious without becoming vulgar. The humor was firmly grounded in a likable character. Leiter said, "the hardest part is getting the character right." The act included things the female audience members could identify with. When the front clasp of his corset's shoulder strap comes undone he tries vainly to reach the strap hanging down in the back. He finally asks a male audience member to help with it.

 Leiter was particularly adept at topping his gags. Just when you think a gag is over one more punchline comes. For example, his drag characters would slip and stumble across the ice finally coming safely to rest on the edge of a couch. Just as the audience starts to applaud, he reclines to relax, and the seat breaks away sending him crashing to the ice.

 Most clowns performing a drag number use balloon breasts which they fall upon and break. When Leiter falls, he breaks one balloon. He stands up and centers the remaining balloon which is helium-filled so it floats up out of his low cut neckline. He sadly waves good-bye to the balloon as it drifts away.

 Leiter improved upon any standard clown gag he used.  In his military act he performed his version of the "Bucket Chase." He had a sump pump mounted on a water trough, so the audience can see his assistant fill a bucket of water which he throws on Leiter. Leiter grabs another bucket which the audience sees him pump water into. What they don't realize is that the bucket has a screen bottom so that the water flows through the bucket back into the trough.  (I created a simpler version of this that I used in my stage shows when I performed at Raging Waters.  Instructions for building my version of the “Bottomless Bucket Chase” were published in the October 1991 issue of Clowning Around.)  When Hans chases his assistant towards the audience and throws the contents of the bucket, the spectators duck, but nothing comes out. When they straighten back up, Hans reacts with an "I-fooled-you" gesture. Then spring snakes fly out of the bucket, causing the audience to duck a second time.

 I believe that Leiter helped pave the way for David Larible's appearance with the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus. While circus fans debated the possibility of a solo clown being able to hold the attention of an arena full of people, Kenneth Feld observed Leiter successfully entertaining ice show audiences in the same arenas the circus played.

Following a heart attack in 1984, Leiter retired from performances.

Rastellis

Although I think they are most famous for their circus performances, the Rastellis also performed their musical clown act on ice.  An internet article by Dario Duranti and Kenneth Severinsen describes them alternating between appearing in circuses and appearing in ice reviews.  It is possible that they worked in ice shows between circus seasons.  (Charlie Cairoli, the famous Blackpool Tower Circus resident clown, sometimes performed in ice shows between circus seasons.)  According to Duranti and Severinsen, the Rastellis appeared in many ice reviews during the 1950’s and 1960’s.  They toured with Aladdin on Ice, and in 1960 they toured with Holiday on Ice.  They returned to the European version of Holliday on Ice for the 1985-1987 seasons.  During the winter of 2001-2002 they produced their own circus on ice using a portable rink that they owned.  In addition to their musical clown act, Vittorio Rasetelli performed a juggling act.  The show included the story of Pinocchio on ice.

The members making up the act have changed over the years.  It was founded by Oreste Rastelli Senior in the 1930’s.  The other members of the act included his wife, Lena, his son, Alfredo, and Aristide Ferreira.  When Oreste passed away, Alfredo’s son, Oreste, joined the act.  Eventually Alfredo’s other son, Vittorio, also joined the act.  They worked with a variety of Whiteface clowns over the years, and in the 1980’s Francesca, Oreste’s wife, played the role.  However, as the act developed the role of Whiteface clown decreased in importance.  Often Alfredo, Oreste, and Vittorio appeared as an Auguste trio.  A distinction of their act is that two of the Augustes appeared as twins, wearing identical make up and costumes.

The Rastellis are virtuoso musicians.  Alfredo Rastelli plays two trumpets at the same time.  They were also known for their exploding instruments.  One Auguste tosses a stick of dynamite into a brass instrument similar to a tuba being played by their twin.  The Auguste retreats across the ring.  The dynamite explodes.  The bell of the horn pops off, flies through the air, and lands upside down like a coolie hat covering the head of the protagonist. 

In another gag, one of the Augustes is seated at a piano playing the instrument.  His twin enters with a cannon, aims at the piano, and fires.  The piano explodes.  The pianist jumps up and jerks off his jacket revealing a projectile passing through his midsection.  He tries to pull the projectile several times.  Then he removes his cummerbund revealing that he really was not injured.  The projectile is cut in half with one part attached to the front of his costume and the other part attached to the back, ala the Arrow through the Head gimmick.

Biddy and Baddy

George “Gigi” Percelly and Steve Pedley performed for twenty years as Biddy and Baddy.  They toured with Holiday on Ice, the Ice Follies, and the Ice Capades.  They performed two separate and distinct acts in each ice show. 

Except for those who performed as Tramp clowns, ice skating clowns tended to use the naturalistic make up style that we currently call Auguste Lite.  (While many people consider this a “new” make up style it is actually the older of the two versions of Auguste make up and has been used for over 100 years.)  Percelly and Pedley wore Auguste Lite for one of their acts.  In this act there was a distinction between their individual characters.  For example, while touring with Holiday on Ice in 1979 they performed a duck hunting routine.  I saw this act in person, and it is currently available on YouTube.  One of the clowns was inept and had trouble standing on the ice.  He kept slipping and fell repeatedly until his partner picked him up and placed a square of carpet beneath his skates.

In their second act they appeared as identical twins with the heavy grease style of Auguste make up associated with Alfred Fratellini and Lou Jacobs.  They wore matching plaid suits in the Rastelli tradition.  Some of their humor was based on their skating skill, in particular eccentric dance moves performed in unison.  They performed some of the skating moves that had been used by Frick and Frack. 

However, they also performed circus style routines on the ice rink instead of in a ring. They perpetuated some of the acts originated by other clowns.  For example, with the 1979 edition of Holiday on Ice they performed the Rastelli piano routine.  In another production Biddy and Baddy performed their version of Sweeping Up the Spotlight.  At its conclusion the light was reduced to a small pool of light.  One of the clowns dropped his hat on top of the light and the spotlight went out.  However, light could be seen leaking out between the ice and hat brim.  He slipped his hand under the hat and carefully picked it up.  He turned it over and started to skate off.  Then he stopped, peeked inside his hat so the light was shinning up onto his face.  Then he sighed and blissfully completed his exit.  I incorporated the hat idea in my own version of the spotlight routine.

In 1991 I saw a second generation of the Biddy and Baddy act performed on the Ice Capades by Dave Pedley and Joey Porcelly.

Mike Course

I enjoyed watching Mike Course many times over the years.  His physical appearance reminds me of Don Knotts.  I don’t remember which show I saw him with when I was a youngster.  I saw him perform several times with the Ice Capades in the 1970’s and 1980’s, and I saw him one summer during the mid 1980s’s skating in the Snoopy On Ice show at Knott’s Berry Farm.  In many ways he has been an important influence upon me.

Mike is from England and began his career as a circus acrobat.  His physical skill is evident in many of his routines.  He performed the Frick Spread-eagle Cantilever, although I don’t remember him pulling himself up out of the maneuver.  My memory is that he would get into the position and then glide off the stage.  I have seen him do a hand stand on the ice, scratch the back of his left calf with his right skate, lower his legs slightly, and then kick up to return to his feet by doing a back handspring.

In the 1977 edition of the Ice Capades he performed in the Flintstone Frolics production number.  All of the Ice Capettes (chorus girls) skated onto the ice dressed as Little Bo Peep wearing hoop skirts.  They each carried garlands attached to pipes arched over their heads.  Suddenly one of them let go of the right end of her garland.  The garland straightened out slightly. She could have easily grasped it again by lowering her left hand.  Instead she left her left arm extended kept swiping her right hand at the end that was overhead just out of her reach.  She jumped up trying to catch it, but since she still had her left hand extended over head she couldn’t reach the end.  She climbed up onto a chair trying to reach it, and then climbed onto a pedestal table trying to reach higher.  The table collapsed spilling her onto the ice.  Her hoop skirt kept getting in the way as she tried to stand, so Bob Young skated over to help her up.  She ended up knocking him down, and collapsing on top so they were both covered by the hoops.  She was actually Mike Course performing in drag.  (This was the inspiration for my routine where I flip my spinning plate up to my extended left hand and can’t reach it with my right.)

I have seen Mike work with a variety of partners including Bob Young, Titch Stock, and David Sadler.

Mike is a clarinetist.  In one of his routines his partner becomes annoyed by his clarinet playing and shoots him in the calf.  Mike plays whimpering noises on his clarinet as he limps off the ice.  He returns wearing a full length cast on that leg and carrying a golf club and ball.  He prepares to tee off, but he can’t bend his leg so on his back swing he loses his balance and falls backwards onto the ice.  He quickly removes the cast prop and gets to his knees.  Suddenly the Jaws music theme begins playing.  Mike acts like he is swimming and becoming increasingly panicked.  When the music stops playing, he yells, “Jaws,” and bites his partner on the calf.

This stream of consciousness is part of many of his comedy routines.  When he hears the sound of birds singing, he begins to flap his arms and prances around the ice.  He looks up and a descending note on a slide whistle is heard.  He reacts as if something has just hit him in the eye.  He looks out at the audience and starts to wipe his eye.  Then he hears a cow moo.  He looks up, screams, ducks, and pulls the collar of his coat up over his head.  He folds his hands in front and begins to imitate a monk.

Mike interacts with sound effects throughout his act.  In one routine a honk from an old fashioned auto bulb horn is heard when this partner pushes him on the shoulder.  His partner pushes his shoulder again, and the sound is repeated.  Mike moves his shoulder without being pushed, and the horn sounds a third time.  Now Mike experiments with touching different parts of his body which creates a different sounding honk.  His partner tries touching his own body and nothing happens.  He tries again and nothing happens.  Mike reaches over and pinches his partner’s rear end creating a high pitched honk from a bicycle horn.

Mike uses the rule of three to set up many of his gags.  For example, Mike will move in front of his partner, open his arms wide in a position known as the circus as a “style for applause”, and shout, “Ta-Dah!”  His partner gives him the bums rush by grabbing him by the back of the collar, lifting until Mike is on his toes, and swinging Mike around behind him.  Mike returns, styles in front of his partner again, and yells “Ta-Dah!”  His partner grabs him by the back of the collar and gives him the bums rush a second time.  Mike returns one more time to style and shout.  Then before his partner can react, Mike reaches over his head, grabs the back of his own collar, lifts until he is on tip toe, and then makes an exit.  (Carole and I use this gag both in and out of clown character.)

Kirk Wyse

Kirk Wyse is another accomplished ice clown.  He was a quadruple medalist in U.S. Figure Skating Championships, placing in pairs, dance, singles, and free style.  He is known for a Charlie Chaplin routine with a dog named Scrapette.  I saw him perform his charming routine in the Ice Capades in 1990 and 1992.  He has performed it in other ice shows around the world.  In 1990 he also performed a burlesque wrestling act with Mark Lang.

Estaban “Little Lito’ Haliana

Little Lito is another well known ice skating clown.  I saw him just once with one of the Disney on Ice productions.  Unfortunately I don’t remember much of his routine at this point but my recollection is that he was a Chaplin style character.

Additional Clown acts

This is in no way an exhaustive list of clowns who appeared in ice shows.  There are many other skating clowns that I saw one time, or that I did not see at all.  Some of them appeared in ice shows for a short time.

In addition to those clowns who used skating skill in their acts, other clowns and variety acts appeared in the ice reviews.  Dennis Lacombe became famous for a music conductor routine that he performed in one of the Cirque du Soleil productions.  I saw him perform the same routine, on a platform set up at the edge of the ice, in one of the Ice Capades productions.  I saw Peluzza perform a chivari routine with men from the ice chorus on mats covering a portion of the ice in another ice show.  I saw Don Dunfleld perform his “Diving Fool” comedy diving and trampoline act in the 1983 Ice Capades production.  I saw some outstanding circus variety acts, like the juggling of Albert Lucas, in ice shows.

Stars on Ice

Stars on Ice 

The large ice reviews utilized chorus lines, spectacular sets, and costumed characters like the Smurfs.  After winning the Gold Medal at the 1984 Winter Olympics, Scott Hamilton began his professional career with the Ice Capades.  He became frustrated with the elaborate production values which he felt detracted from the skating.  In 1986 he was instrumental in creating a new show called Stars on Ice which used minimal sets and a cast of national and world champions.  The show did not include any variety acts.  Stars on Ice competed with the large established ice revues and now only the former Ice Follies, renamed Disney on Ice , remain in the United States.  However, there are some smaller reviews in production in the United States.  Large spectacular ice reviews still exist in Europe and South America.

In one way Stars on Ice reduced the number of opportunities for skating clowns in the United States.  However, it has also preserved and perpetuated the art of clowning on ice.  Hamilton is known for his sense of humor which he incorporated into many of his own routines.  The Stars on Ice productions frequently include comedy acts, only performed by champion skaters instead of by skaters specializing in clowning.  The 1998-1999 season of the American Discover Stars on Ice production featured a lot of clowning, including one routine performed by the entire cast.  (Stars on Ice has separate American and Canadian editions.)  For a description of that routine go to Stars on Ice Routine

Kurt Browning in particular is a Stars on Ice cast member who perpetuates the art of clowning on ice.  Browning was the first person to perform a quadruple jump in competition.  He has studied the history and art of clowning to create a character named Raggidin.  His performances are amazing.  They appear simple, but are technically complex.  His first Raggidin routine was created for the 1998 Professional Figure Skating competitions where he was the first person to receive a perfect score.  A description of that routine, which also was originally published in The Clown In Times, is available at Kurt Browning

Browning has performed other clown routines in Stars on Ice productions.  I remember one in which a breakaway pair of pants instantly turned into a tuxedo coat with tails.  He doesn’t wear traditional clown make up.  He uses a red nose to indicate that he is in character.  He continually surprises the audience.  I remember in one routine he took off his nose, threw it high in the air, caught it in his mouth, and ate it.  (I suspect that his nose had been formed out of salt water taffy.)

Conclusion

Ice reviews are an important venue for clowning.  Clowns combined technical skill with strong entertainment.  Their clowning was not based upon their appearance, but upon the character they portrayed, their interaction with the audience, and their humor.  I have been inspired by them and have learned things that I have incorporated into my own performances as a clown.

Fortunately many ice show performances were filmed so they have been preserved for our study.  Many of the ice shows produced highlight television productions to help promote their appearances.  The Great Circuses of the World 1989 television series, hosted by Mary Hart, included ice shows as a type of circus.  Variety shows like Ed Sullivan and the Donnie and Marie Osmond show sometimes featured ice clowns.

As you watch the skating competitions this winter, including those at the Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, keep in mind that Olympic caliber athletes have used skating skill to entertain audiences as clowns.  In fact at least two men expected to compete in Sochi perform the Frick Spread-eagle Cantilever move as part of their acts because that earns high points for technical difficulty.  I take great pride in knowing that such talented athletes are part of the art of clowning.   Although I can’t match their technical skill I have been inspired by them to take my clowning seriously and be technically as strong as possible.

 I wrote an article on clown acts based on Summer Olympic Sports that was published in the July 2012 issue of Clowning Around.  That article, plus a follow up article that appeared in White Tops, published by the Circus Fans Association of America, is available at Summer Olympic Clowns

Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus and Disney on Ice are trademarks of Feld Entertainment, Inc.

This article originally appeared in the December 2013 issue of Clowning Around published by the World Clown Association. 

Copyright 2013 by Bruce "Charlie" Johnson.  All rights reserved.

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