Ringling Brothers Circus is Closing.

LizzieMaine · Jan 16, 2017

Clowns have gotten a bad rap over the last half-century or so thanks to a lot of overweight local TV weathermen dressing up in clown suits to host kiddie kartoon shows in the fifties, sixties, and seventies. But there have been some truly great comedians who worked as circus clowns, with Ringling Bros. mainstay Emmett Kelly at the top of that list.

Kelly used to do a bit where he'd pick out some spectator toward the front row and walk over to where that spectator was sitting. He'd stare right at that person, then pull a whole head of lettuce out of his coat pocket, and slowly and methodically eat the whole thing while never once breaking his stare. Some might find that unsettling and scary, but I think it's one of the most brilliant bits of dada comedy I ever saw.

ChiTownScion · Jan 16, 2017

LizzieMaine said:
Clowns have gotten a bad rap over the last half-century or so thanks to a lot of overweight local TV weathermen dressing up in clown suits to host kiddie kartoon shows in the fifties, sixties, and seventies.

MisterCairo · Jan 16, 2017

I was last at a traditional North American circus as a small kid. Freaked me out, and I won't miss them once they're all gone.

Cirque du Soleil out of Montreal produces some cool shows, but they're more like theatrical experiences.

V.C. Brunswick · Jan 16, 2017

Fading Fast said:
I also image Lizzie hit on a good point that CGI movies and life-like video games may have anesthetized a generation to the thrills of real-life "death-defying" acts.

Yeah, who needs real life when you have Call of Duty?

Fading Fast · Jan 16, 2017

V.C. Brunswick said:
Yeah, who needs real life when you have Call of Duty?

There is a lot of truth to this. I recently had jury duty and by God are real trials boring, sloppy and not-well argued versus the incredibly well-written (with all the boring moments cut out) and argued courtroom dramas on TV. My biggest take away form jury duty was how well-done most TV courtroom dramas are versus the real thing.

MisterCairo · Jan 16, 2017

Fading Fast said:
There is a lot of truth to this. I recently had jury duty and by God are real trials boring, sloppy and not-well argued versus the incredibly well-written (with all the boring moments cut out) and argued courtroom dramas on TV. My biggest take away form jury duty was how well-done most TV courtroom dramas are versus the real thing.

One of many reasons I'm thrilled to be a lawyer - where I'm from, we're prohibited from doing jury duty!!! Man, did I enjoy ticking that box on the one notice I've received...

tonyb · Jan 16, 2017

Edward said:
...

I saw this story in the freesheet this morning. It's said in one sense to see it passing - and yet if it really had been such as beloved institution, would it not be flourishing yet? ...

Older people might get a bit misty-eyed over the passing of those dwindling reminders of their early lives -- those psychic moorings that show themselves not to be quite as secure as we might have thought.

There was a local children's TV cartoon show clown in Seattle who went by the name J.P. Patches. He and his sidekick, a fellow who played something like half a dozen other characters, really were a hoot. Much of their shtick was double entendres that of course flew right over the kids' heads. When the long-running (1958-1981) show was cancelled the reaction was loud and sad and angry. But the noise was coming from grownups who were rarely in front of their TV sets when the show aired.

J.P. (Chris Wedes) and his versatile sideman (Bob Newman) are still fondly remembered in the Seattle area. There's a statue of them at 34th and Fremont. (The fellow busing tables at a restaurant here in Denver heard me mention J.P. Patches and he lit right up, being from Seattle himself. He and I attempted to name all the characters Bob Newman played -- the most memorable being Gertrude, a decidedly unladylike woman.)

Messrs Wedes and Newman kept doing public appearances and private parties in character for decades after the TV show went off the air. They'd serve as parade grand marshals and the like.

Wedes died a couple three or four years ago. To the best of my knowledge, Newman is still with us.

LizzieMaine · Jan 16, 2017

The TV clown I'll never forget was "Willie Whistle" out of Boston. His gimmick was some kind of a bird whistle gadget he kept inside his mouth, which let him modulate the tweeting with his lips and create an approximation of speech. He'd be goaded on by the off-screen announcer, usually the magnificent Dana Hersey, and would get into all kinds of trouble. He had a weird Beatle haircut with a tiny little sailor cap on top of it, and a very loud striped shirt and pants, and his appearance, coupled with that relentless whistling, traumatized a whole generation of New England kids.

There's a clip of him floating around on Yoo Toob interviewing the proprietor of a reptile farm, and a big snake gets loose and slithers down his pants. He's screaming in terror -- with the whistle in his mouth. You can imagine the results.

ChiTownScion · Jan 17, 2017

MisterCairo said:
One of many reasons I'm thrilled to be a lawyer - where I'm from, we're prohibited from doing jury duty!!! Man, did I enjoy ticking that box on the one notice I've received...

They changed that rule in my jurisdiction: even sitting judges can get called. Although few are usually chosen: the attitude is that we "know too much," so it's worth a pre-emp to get rid of the problem.

To be honest, although I was called twice (once criminal, once civil) I was never picked. Wish I had: witnessing firsthand the dynamic that transpires in that jury room after instructions have been given would be a priceless continuing legal ed exercise. I was advised by one judge (when I was called the first time) to just sit back, say as little as possible, watch, and learn. Since that guy had literally "written the book" (well, at least one of 'em) on trial practice, I took the advice to heart.

MisterCairo · Jan 17, 2017

ChiTownScion said:
we "know too much

Precisely why we're excluded.

As a JAG officer, I'm also precluded from sitting as a panel member at a general court martial.

Edward · Jan 17, 2017

tonyb said:
There was a local children's TV cartoon show clown in Seattle who went by the name J.P. Patches. He and his sidekick, a fellow who played something like half a dozen other characters, really were a hoot. Much of their shtick was double entendres that of course flew right over the kids' heads. When the long-running (1958-1981) show was cancelled the reaction was loud and sad and angry. But the noise was coming from grownups who were rarely in front of their TV sets when the show aired.

Same thing happened in the UK when The Dandy, DC Thompson's oldest comic (and the third-longest running comic in the world), which had been in print since 1937, announced that its 75th anniversay issue was to be its last, and that it would be a digital-=only publication from then on. Outcry from generations of adults who'd grown up with it, but far from the 2 million copies a week it sold in the fifties, by 2012 it was selling only 8,000 copies a week. Most of the outcry was coming from adults who hadn't bought it in years, and who didn't buy it for their children either. I found it a shame, but figured I can't really complain if I hadn't been prepapred to support it when it was running.... There is, of course, an undeniable sentimental moment when anything that was a constant in childhood passes.

ChiTownScion said:
They changed that rule in my jurisdiction: even sitting judges can get called. Although few are usually chosen: the attitude is that we "know too much," so it's worth a pre-emp to get rid of the problem.

To be honest, although I was called twice (once criminal, once civil) I was never picked. Wish I had: witnessing firsthand the dynamic that transpires in that jury room after instructions have been given would be a priceless continuing legal ed exercise. I was advised by one judge (when I was called the first time) to just sit back, say as little as possible, watch, and learn. Since that guy had literally "written the book" (well, at least one of 'em) on trial practice, I took the advice to heart.

When I was in law school in the ninties, the UK rules were very strict - got a law degree, worked in law, and you were exempted, the theory being we'd have an undue influence on the rest of a jury. They changed the rules in recent years so we're all elligible - I guess they realised we're the only ones as value the process, and tned to be more reliable abouyt following instructions, like "Don't contact the defendant on facebook"....

Hercule · Jan 17, 2017

tonyb said:
Good book on that tragedy: "The Circus Fire," by Stewart O'Nan. My wife and I read it aloud to each other shortly after it was published, in 2000. It's a view of a world few of us knew firsthand.

That's a fantastic book! One of the few books I've read multiple times. It really puts you there. At least anybody who grew up in Connecticut will understand, his descriptions of the hot summer really took me back to another time. I remember growing up, every once in a while the "little miss" would make it in the news, less so after several claims to have identified her. And of course it seems that everybody knew somebody who was there that day. My dad told of how he was working in tobacco at the time and could see the smoke from Vernon. I find it a bit unnerving to think that as a kid we used to go to Christmas circuses at the Hartford Armory sponsored by my dad's employer (Hamilton Standard), which is where they set up the morgue after the fire. Yikes, just the thought of it!

ChiTownScion · Jan 17, 2017

LizzieMaine said:
The TV clown I'll never forget was "Willie Whistle" out of Boston. His gimmick was some kind of a bird whistle gadget he kept inside his mouth, which let him modulate the tweeting with his lips and create an approximation of speech. He'd be goaded on by the off-screen announcer, usually the magnificent Dana Hersey, and would get into all kinds of trouble. He had a weird Beatle haircut with a tiny little sailor cap on top of it, and a very loud striped shirt and pants, and his appearance, coupled with that relentless whistling, traumatized a whole generation of New England kids.

There's a clip of him floating around on Yoo Toob interviewing the proprietor of a reptile farm, and a big snake gets loose and slithers down his pants. He's screaming in terror -- with the whistle in his mouth. You can imagine the results.

Having seen this other clip of him, I'm thankful for two things:

1. I didn't grow up in the Boston telecast area; and

2. My parents did not allow me to have access to firearms when I was a preschooler.

emigran · Jan 17, 2017

I am saddened by this dissolution but know all too well the reality of today's culture norms... Nothing from my youth seems to exist ...
Now I really sound like an old geezer.
I remember one Rodeo at Madison Square Garden when I actually got to shake hands with Roy Rogers...

totallyfrozen · Jul 28, 2017

V.C. Brunswick said:
The Ringling Brothers, Barnum & Bailey Circus, probably the oldest and most famous circus in the United States will be closing after 146 years. This iconic piece of Americana will be striking their tent for the last time, at least figuratively speaking, when they give their final performance on May 21. Feld Entertainment, the parent company of Ringling Brothers, cited rising costs and declining ticket sales and attendance.

I went to the circus as a little boy and enjoyed it. Even though I still like clowns and always have, as an adult, I know better. Circuses are notorious for animal cruelty. So I'm OK with it shutting down. I'd rather take my daughter to a wildlife preserve, a zoo, or even a rodeo. At least the rodeo cowboys pamper their animals before and after the show.

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Ringling Brothers Circus is Closing.

LizzieMaine

ChiTownScion

Call Me a Cab

MisterCairo

I'll Lock Up

V.C. Brunswick

Fading Fast

MisterCairo

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tonyb

LizzieMaine

ChiTownScion

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MisterCairo

I'll Lock Up

Edward

Hercule

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