Saturday, January 01, 2011

A VERY HAPPY NEW YEAR!


Matthew Pauli and I backstage last night at the Schwartz Center for the Arts in Dover, DE with the legendary Kohl & Co. (past recipients of the International Clown Hall of Fame's "Lifetime of Laughter" award) as part of First Night Dover.

Matthew and I had four amazing shows and were even responsible for introducing the mayor of Dover at the kickoff of the event!

From Mr. Kohl himself:

Hey Pat, it was great seeing you guys at the show. Thanks so much for posting this photo. I don't know about being legendary, but we do our best to make people laugh and I guess that's what it's all about. Take care and Happy New Year to all our Clown and Magic friends. 

Check out the Kohl & Co. website here.

HAPPY NEW YEAR from clownalley.net!


Friday, December 31, 2010

FIRST NIGHT DOVER, DE!

Just a reminder that Zirkers Matthew Pauli, Michael Rosman, Moira Lee and myself will be performing in Dover, DE this evening. The legendary Kohl & Co as well as many talented jugglers, facepainters, stilt walkers, balloon twisters magicians, musicians and others will be in town as well, all for one low price. If you are in the area, come on out!


CLOWN ALLEY: Circus Sarasota's Laughter Unlimited



Thursday, December 30, 2010

WOW


I believe that I may have discovered the single greatest contemporary American clown.

To view his work, click here.



RENALDO: Acrobats

CLOWN ALLEY: Clyde Beatty-Cole Bros. Circus (1978)

Photos of the Clyde Beatty-Cole Bros. Circus Clown Alley in Miami, FL December 1978 courtesy of Laura Levine

Jimmy James Plott preparing to take the ring under the World's Largest Big Top




Jimmy James, Sandy Kozik and Jim Marple in the Alley



Sandy Kozik: Portrait of the Artist as a Baby Clown

More to come

Wednesday, December 29, 2010

ICHOF: RE: American Pickers

To help alleviate some of the phone calls to the International Clown Hall of Fame inquiring as to the price of various displays seen on American Pickers the other night: NOTHING IS FOR SALE!!!

I think that we've said it in every conceivable way but still there seems to be a misunderstanding that everything seen in the episode has a sale price. It does NOT. 

The items that were sold were part of the International Clown Hall of Fame's collection that has NOTHING to do with the Hall's stated mission of preserving and honoring the great clowns of the past. Often when someone donates a pair of shoes, a trunk or any other item of historical importance it comes to us along with several other pieces that have nothing to do with clowns or clowning. The Hall has acquired a sizable collection of things that have little or nothing to do with the ICHOF's mission. These things have not been discarded, ever, and take up a great amount of space and cost money to insure and store.

It is these items were made available to American Pickers as a way to raise awareness of the ICHOF's move to Baraboo, WI as well as to raise sorely needed funds for the Hall's continued operation.

The items that were sold were:

A carnival game
Some widely available reproduction circus posters (none with a clown image)
A toy elephant

The Dom DeLuise painting, the clown bike, the shoes and everything else featured in the segment are STILL on display at the Hall of Fame in Baraboo, WI. No clown items were ever for sale to the show and they are not for sale to anyone else. They are NOT for sale.

The ICHOF website will have a gift shop open soon with books, videos, t shirts and posters. These will be the only items that the International Clown Hall of Fame offers for sale to anyone. At any price.

If you are calling the Hall to purchase ANYTHING that you saw on TV the other night you can stop calling now.

Thank you ; )

FIRST NIGHT DOVER!


Anyone in or near Dover, DE come on out New Year's Eve and catch Zirkers Matthew Pauli and myself performing our new material, Michael Rosman performing with his daughter Sophia and son Ethan and, last but not least, International Clown Hall of Fame "Lifetime of Laughter" recipients KOHL & CO!

That in addition to various magicians, musicians, balloon twisters, facepainters, games, rides... etc.

So come on out and ring in the New Year with more clowning than you can shake a slapstick at...

NOUVEAU CLOWN INSTITUTE: Feb and May Intensives




Tuesday, December 28, 2010

FROM THE ICHOF: Re: American Pickers

From the desk of International Clown Hall of Fame and Research Center Director, Mr. Greg DeSanto...



We were VERY happy with American Pickers! Frank & Mike were great to work with and the segment gives a peek into the museum and all the treasures it holds. For more info check out our website at www.theclownmuseum.com and if you'd like to help continue our mission to preserve this great history of clowns. We accept PayPal and all gifts are very welcomed and greatly needed as we enter 2011.

THE COLLINS BROTHERS: Comedy Trapeze




NY GOOFS: NY and Dallas Intensive Workshops

These are the very best intensive courses in the country with some of the very best instructors in the world. Seriously, these are NOT to be missed...



new york: january 14th-16th          dallas: january 21st-23rd



New York welcomes special guest: THE ACROBUFFOS, Seth Bloom & Christina Gelsone They have trained with Ringling Bros., Dell 'Arte, London International School of Performing Arts, and Princeton University.They have performed and taught in Kabul, Afghanistan, Serbia, Kosova, China, Singapore, France, Venezuela, Japan and Holland to name a few. They were most recently named "one of the top acts" at the World Busker Festival in New Zealand. These two performers bring a whole new definition to performing with masks. They have taken this work beyond the classroom and into the world.


 
Dallas is proud to bring the incomparable Jay Stewart. Jay has made his career clowning in a variety venues. He started at Ringling Bros., became one of the stars of the Three Stooges Show in Vegas, and then went on to create his own comedy troupe called "The Seaside Clowns" in Myrtle Beach. Jay recently added hospitals to his roster, and is a member of the Big Apple Circus Clown Care at Boston Childrens and in Providence. His teaching for this workshop will be based on his recently developed curriculum, using Classic Warner Bros. Cartoon Characters as Role Models for Clowns.


 
These great instructors will be joined by NY Goofs' founders Dick Monday and Tiffany Riley, who will also be teaching in both Dallas and New York. Space is limited, so be sure to reserve your spot soon.

To reserve a spot in either workshop, please call or email us.
You can also reserve your spot with a $50 deposit via Pay Pal on our website.

New York Workshop $300   Dallas Workshop $225
(January 14 - 16)                    (January 21 - 23)

www.nygoofs.com
212.591.0028 or 972-513-0669
There are a few partial scholarships available


T-SHIRT:


Dukie Andersen knew it, so did Harold Lloyd.

There was a time, not too long ago when circus clowning was built on a firm foundation of gunpowder, electric matches, and moxie not whistles, duck calls and audience volunteers.


Order this shirt here.


Monday, December 27, 2010

QUOTE: Mike Wolfe



"When we walked into the International Clown Hall of Fame I had no idea I was going to have so much fun!"

- Mike Wolfe, American Pickers

INTERNATIONAL CLOWN HALL OF FAME ON "AMERICAN PICKERS" TONIGHT ON THE HISTORY CHANNEL!!!


Big show under the Big Top: 'American Pickers' to highlight Baraboo on History Channel Monday

 



Brian D. Bridgeford, News Republic | Posted: Wednesday, December 22, 2010 10:30 pm |

Baraboo's clown museum, and unique objects from its storerooms, will be featured on national television at 8 p.m. Monday.

The local flavor will be part of the newest episode of the popular antiques and artifacts show "American Pickers," televised on the History Channel - Channel 44 for those receiving Charter cable television.

Monday's "American Pickers" episode will feature an "amazing miniature automated carnival" from the International Clown Hall of Fame and Research Center, according to a press release from the History Channel's Heather DiRubba.

"American Pickers" follows hosts Mike Wolfe and Frank Fritz as they travel the country rummaging through attics, basements and junk piles looking for unique and unusual objects.

The episode stems from a June visit by Wolfe, Fritz and their television crew to Baraboo.

Greg DeSanto, a Baraboo clown and executive director of the museum, said the Hall of Fame was one of the highlights of the hosts' visit.

The TV hosts interviewed DeSanto, his wife and fellow clown Karen DeSanto, while looking over the exhibits and rummaging through the museum's storerooms of artifacts.

"They were looking for unique and interesting places and they found one here in Baraboo," DeSanto said. "They really thought a clown museum would be an interesting dig for them."

Exploring the Hall of Fame and searching for an artifact in Baraboo was fairly easy and comfortable for the show hosts, he added.

"They're used to climbing under theater stages and dusty, musty barns," DeSanto said. "They're archeologists of interesting objects."

In each episode, the pickers also explore small towns and introduce viewers to "quirky characters" they find during their search for interesting objects.

DeSanto said he and Karen dressed in clown make-up and costume while leading Wolfe and Fritz around the museum and conducting their interviews.

He expects that after being featured on a popular national show, the Hall of Fame and Baraboo will gain some attention, resulting in an increase in appeal for tourists.

"That's what's so great about having a national program that's so highly rated and seen by so many people," DeSanto said. "Not only will (the audience) get to see some fun stuff they got to pick, you'll get a sense of the International Clown Hall of Fame and Research Center (and) you'll get a sense of the town of Baraboo. Really, they fell in love with this little town and this circus lineage that goes with it."

The Clown Hall of Fame is a non-profit, tax-exempt organization, and as such DeSanto said they were not free to sell off objects directly connected to their mission of preserving the history of clowning. However, he said, the museum has collected interesting and historic objects over the years that are not directly connected to clowning.

"People, when they donate a collection, they give us everything," he said. "Some things in the collection are not clown-related; they might be circus-related or carnival-related."

It was from among those items that Wolfe and Fritz picked a variety of things to buy, including the miniature carnival that will be featured Monday evening.

"We took them through our basement, our storage, our museum, our backrooms," DeSanto said. "They were fascinated by this stuff that is really different from anything they've encountered on a farm or in some storage locker."

Information about Baraboo's International Clown Hall of Fame can be found online at www.theclownmuseum.com, while the "American Pickers" website, including video of episodes, can be found at www.history.com/shows/american-pickers.



LES MANGEURS DE LAPIN