Editing Circus clown (section)

===Historical===
====[[Joseph Grimaldi]]====
Joseph Grimaldi was one of the greatest English [[pantomime]] clowns. His father, Giuseppe Grimaldi (died 1788), was an [[Italian people|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 theatre. 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 colour to his mouth, cheeks, and eyebrows over his painted white face. The most striking aspect of his make-up were large red triangles. His image was followed closely for the next 50 years by most British clowns.

Grimaldi was known as 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 honour of Joseph Grimaldi. (See above in "Circus clown lingo".)

====[[John Bill Ricketts]]====
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.

====Matthew Sully====
Matthew Sully, a prominent English [[Harlequin]], [[Acrobatics|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 [[acrobatics|acrobat]], and his variations on the classic comedy riding act "Tailor's Ride to Brentford" were extremely popular.

====[[Jean Baptiste Casmiere Breschard]]====
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====
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 [[leotard]]s and rode with consummate skill.

:A later version of the act was wonderfully described by [[Mark Twain]] in ''[[Adventures of Huckleberry Finn]]'', and other variations on it survive today in several contemporary equestrian routines, particularly those of the [[Hanneford]] family.

====[[Tony Pastor]]====
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 City|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.

====[[Dan Rice]]====
[[File:Portrait of Dan Rice c. 1840.jpg|thumb|Daguerreotype Portrait of Dan Rice]]
However, the first American clown to achieve genuine star status was a jockey, gambler and strong man who used to catch cannonballs 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.

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, songwriter, commentator, political humorist, strong man, actor, director, producer, dancer, and politician. He ran for [[United States Senate|Senate]], [[United States Congress|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 ''[[Adventures of Huckleberry Finn|Huckleberry Finn]]'', and it is likely a boyhood Twain actually saw Rice perform when his circus came to [[Hannibal, Missouri|Hannibal]] for a show.

His shows became more famous than any of the other shows touring at the time including that of rival, [[P. T. Barnum|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 [[American Civil War|Civil War]], his legendary talents under the [[Circus|big top]] have gradually slipped into almost total historical obscurity; biographer David Carlyon (2001) called him "the most famous man you've never heard of".

While Dan Rice's talking and singing clown was 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.

====[[George Lafayette Fox|George L. Fox]]====
George Lafayette 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 theatre|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 [[American Civil War|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]].

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.

====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 (circus owner)|Andrew MacDonald]]'s Circus, but in 1897 he joined the Ringling Bros. Circus. 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 [[lobster]]s.

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 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.