WHAT'S IT LIKE TO BE A CLOWN?
Reporter Dons Grease Paint and
Finds Out at Big Circus in Salem
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Capital Journal Reporter Chris Kowitz, Jr., pictured here
is he appears from day to day as a Capital Journal reporter,
stops in front of the colorful bell wagon of Ringling Brothers
and Barnum Sc Bailey circus Thursday. Kowitz, who delights
in doing the unusual, was sent to the circus by the Capital
Journal to gather material for a story.
By CHRIS KOWITZ, JR. j
I was a clown under the "Big Top" Thursday.
Everybody wonders what's behind the smile on a circus clown's
face. I wondered, too, so I got Ringling Brothers and Barnum
& Bailey to let me join their show at the state fair grounds for
the afternoon performance. -
ft 'hi
Petty, the Artist,
Picks '10 Best'
Hollywood, Sept. 18
George Petty, who draws the
Petty girls, came up with his
"10 best" nominations today.
It's probably no surprise thai
he nominated for the "10 best
undressed women." In his own
words:
"True feminine beauty is not
a combination of a dressmaker,
a beauty operator, furs and jew
els. When a girl is born beauti
ful in body and face, it's no use
trying to improve upon nature."
The list:
Ljuba Welitsch. Polish singer
who danced in "Salome" with
the Metropolitan opera last sea
son. Barbara Ann Scott, Canadian
Olympic skating champion.
Joan Caulfield, actress.
Gertrude ( G u s s i e ) Moran,
lace-pantied tennis star.
Vickl Draves, Olympic diving
champ.
Gypsy Rose Lee, stripteaser.
Josephine Baker, American
star of the Folies Bergere.
Esther Williams, actress.
Paulette Goddard, actress.
Zoe Ann Olsen, women's div
ing champ.
Italian Aviators Take
Long Route Homeward
Lagens, The Azores, Sept. 16
lP) Italian Aviators John M.
Brondello and Camillio Bariog
lio are taking the long way
home.
The weather from here to
Lisbon (780 miles) is bad so the
men decided to fly instead to
New York (2000 miles) and re-.
turn to Lisbon (2780 miles) by
boat.
They took off this morning at
1013 a.m.
The two flyers abandoned an
attempt to make a non-stop single-engine
Atlantic flight last
week when a fuel pipe clogged.
The flyers' New York repre
sentative reported that three
Capital Journal. Salem, Oreenn, Friday, Sept. 16, 1949 3
hours and 32 minutes after the
take-off they radioed that they
had flown 340 miles.
Auto and Engine Crah
Portland, Sept. 16 A
of heavy homs-bound traffic last
evening. In the tangle, one mar
went to a hospital. Traffic was
snarled for several blocks and
backed up on two Willamette
river bridges. Police said Ches-
railroad switch engine and anjter Lee suffered severe head
automobile collided in the midst! cuts. He was driving the car
Salem's City-Wide -vf
writ im Mill
The
Greatest
in All
the City's
History!
TOES
DA Y
September 20th at 7:30 P.M.
Free Treasure Hunt
New Fall Window Displays
Automobile Show
. Bands on the Streets
Treasure Hunt tickets will be distributed by all participating stores all
day Friday, Saturday, Monday and Tuesday. Match your ticket numbers
with the numbers on prizes in the store windows Tuesday night!
Ringling Brothers Clown Believe it or not, it's the same
guy. He may not look like Van Johnson, who wore the same
costume last month, but Journal reporter Kowitz is shown
here as a typically-dressed clown. He appeared in Thursday
afternoon's performance to see what it was like to be a circus
clown. Kowitz is the only newsman to serve as a guest clown
A clown is not all smiles and
fun, as he looks to the peanut
and cotton-candy crowd at the
performance.
This is what I found out:
...
Thursday's circus crowd had
waded through mud to get to the
ticket lines, then waited in line
through a chilly drizzle and a
nippy wind. They had been
pushed around by a mob of peo
ple, had been bothered with
hundreds of questions from curi
ous kids in tow.
They paid their way Into the
"Big Top," perhaps complaining
of the prices, then had to fight
mob of people again in find
ing their seats. After stumbling
ever rough ground, having their
toes stepped ' on, their hats
crushed and their popcorn
dampened, they finally found
their seats.
It was up to the circus clown
to yank laughs out of that sea
of faces; to somehow make them
forget the discomforts they
might have thought they were
experiencing and turn them In
to a group of laughing, carefree
circus-goers.
That's why the some 100
clowns who perform with Ring
ling Brothers and Barnum and
Bailey circus take their jobs
seriously. That's why there Is
an art to being a circus clown.
As long as circuses have been
part of American life, people
have laughed at the antics of
the fellow behind the heavy
makeup and wondered what it
would be like to be a circus
clown.
t I had so wondered, too. What
Ind of people are clowns In
private life? Do clowns enjoy
making others laugh? What do
they think when confronted
with i "cold," unresponsive audience?
The best way to answer these
questions. I thought, would be
to become a clown myself for
one day. So, with cooperation
from circus advance man Frank
Braden, and famous clown Fe
lix Adler, I was dolled up in
typical clown costume and
turned loose in Thursday after
noon's circus performance.
Before entering the arena,
clowns, of course, attire them
selves in various costumes and
makeups of weird variety. This
may sound simple. - However,
each and every clown is a make
up artist in his own right, and
takes pride in his ability to
transfer cold ingredients of bot
tles into a warm, smiling, com
ical face.
My stage experience having
been confined to a recitation of
"Under the Spreading Chest
nut Tree" In a third-grade Sun
day school program. I did not
qualify is an expert make-up
man.
So Adler adopted the chore
of slapping grease paint on my
face. Owl That eyebrow pen
cil hurt.
Odd thing ... all the other
Clowns In the dressing area were
equipping themselves with big.
red, false noses. But not me.
Adler left my nose just like I
wear it all the time, except for
a couple of layers of gooey red
paint. Guess he figured my
schnozzola couldn't be Improved
upon as far as comical appear
ance was concerned.
Crawling Into the clown uni
form was fine, until it came
time to put on those huge shoes.
They were as big around as a
pre-war flapjack and just about
as comfortable to wear.
Adler told me that Van John
son had worn that same costume
about a month ago, and that the
movie idol fell flat on his face
when he tried to walk while
wearing those shoes. But after
few precarious steps I learned
to maneuver the huge foot-pieces.
Once In the arena, everything
moves with haste. The secret
of being a successful clown lies
in the ability to perform a
comical surprise, then quickly
move on to another part of the
arena. I was told by veterans of
the clowning profession. The
only surprise the spectators got
from me was the fact that I did
no tricks when they expected me
to.
I did amble around the arena,
however, tagging after Adler
and a companion funny-man
who appeared to turn into
small elephant then turn back
to a man again. It took all my
balancing ability to Just turn.
Those shoes were too heavy.
.
Back In the dressing room,
some of the clowns did a quick
change Into other costumes for
other acts. I did a quick change
into street clothes, using a cup
of baby oil and a half bar of
Lifebuoy soap to get the paint
off my face.
I had learned, from the In
side out, that clowning is a pro
fession that requires a lot more
skill than the circus fan credits
the gaily-dressed men of hav
ing. A clown doesn't have time to
just walk about the arena and
look for opportunities to clown.
A circus is geared to speed, and
the clown, like every other cir
cus performer, must "hit and
run" with his act. He must act
without the aid of dialogue or
plot, so vital to the movie or
radio comedian. He must rely
entirely upon his looks and ac
tions to entertain customers. And
he has only a few seconds in
which to do it.
Such men as Felix Adler, Em
mett Kelley, Charlie Bell, Paul
Jung, aul Wenzel, Lou Jacobs,
Jack LeClair and Paul Jerome
are truly great performers.
These distinguished and well
mannered gentlemen have mas
tered an art which has payed
off in making a nation laugh.
Each one of them is a great
actor and a grand person.
Keep 'em laughing, boys.
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