The Valley Virginian. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1865-1895, 1882-05-11
A Clown on Clowns.
THE CIRCUS PERFORMER WHO IS EXPECTED TO
SET HIS AUDIENCES IN A ROAR.

SET HIS AUDIENCES In A ROAh.
1--WE heard ii said that great actors are born
not made. 1t ISM that way with the clowns.
They make clowns, and never knew one that
was born that way" said little Billy An
drews the aesthetic jester Billy had been
in a reflective mood and the burden OF
his thoughts was evidently the profession OF
which he is a distinguished member.
How do they make 'em, Billy ?" the writer
asked.
THAT depends upon what kind of clown
he is. A Johnny Newcomer of clown, as we
cal. some of the fresh fellows, just hops into
the ring and gets everything down fine in a
minute-in his mind. O But clown that is a
clown serves an apprenticeship. Generally it
is just as it happens whether boy is devel-
oped into a clown or not. Tobecome circus
performer one must begin young. Now to be
thorough clown man must be good gem
eral performer He must understand and be
able to perform properly all the tricks that ne
makes funny failures of before an audience
If he didn't, sometimes when he attempted to
be funny he'd just leave his situation vacant
and fit himself to do statue act in hospital.
That's the reason 1t is necessary for clown to
begin his training early in life
at is customary then to take eleWn ap-
prentices in circuses 7"
NO. that is just as it happens as I've said.
boy is never taken as an apprentice clown.
Every show has several boys in training for
performers. Whenever it happens that any OF
these boys displays any ability as mimic,
they put him down for a clown, and then
clown is made, whether he wants to be or
not"
"There is a popular suspicion that the profes-
sion have some means of preserving through
all ages the good old stories, and the bearded
;oEo Of bo how 10 thai p"
Now, maybe you imagine that is great
gag, but it isn't The jokes and stories of the
clowns are not kept on ice, whatever smart
newspaper people may think. A good many
of the funny stories in the papers are OLD
enough tG wear whiskers, and many OF them
were coined in the ring. What the methods
OF other clowns are don't know, but as for
myself. whenever | see good story, or OBJ
serve a trait of human character that suggests
gag, Immediately make place for it IN my
memory, and when l have to use 1t give 1t
all the originality l can. q, And after all don't
think it is fair to demand that clown shall
invent every good story he tells"
HAS the system of consolidating shows un-
der acres OF canvas made any changes in the
business ofthe Clown"
cit has changed it great deal. In old times
talking clown" was the monarch of his
profession. While this style was the rage Nat
Austin was a great success, but the big shows
killed him, and no one ever ears of him now.
There is no use in trying to talk from ring
to 10 900 people, and the managers have found
that out. In the big shows now, if the clown
wants to make hit in talk, he has to talk to
his audience in sections | do 1t frequently.
| begin on one side of the ring toss gag at
them, and when they begin to laugh, skip over
to the other side to give the people there a
show for their money. But nowadays the
knock about" clown is most in demand. l
mean by that, the clown who tumbles through
the tricks and falls all over himself and every
body else in clever make-belief that he can't
possibly do the feats performed by the leapers
and gymnasts. Talk won't win any more.
The clown must act to catch an audience in
the big tents. And it is harder work to talk
or act in ring than it is upon the stage. You
don't feel as if you were removed from the
people at all. There they are all around you,
and fellow actually seems to feel the weight
of the crowd when he runs into the ring, and
finds the people stretching right down on to
him from the highest seat to the edge of the
circle. Now, while we are talking about the
audience, am going to tell you something
that you may not be ready to believe I've al
ways found it easier to catch an audience in
the cities than in the country towns. The
cities are the field for talking clowns. You
can hit them with q little conumdrum, and
they'll laugh and applaud You've got Fem,
and your work is easy. But in the country,
conundrums don't go. There they want to
see the clown do something" and they never
let up on him until he does A story that
would go in the city slick as grease you
couldn't shoot into country audience, so as
to catch laugh, with fifteen-inch cannon"
"How do clowns rank on the salary list in
the profession ?"
1.-The clowns and riders receive the largest
salaries. | have known clowns to be paid as
much as $500 week and as little as $25 a
week for the seasons, which always lasts
twenty six weeks, if the sheriff doesn't get the
show in the meantime. Performers of any
note have little reason to fear a loss of their
salaries il these times, however. The big
shows all have too much property to let the
bottom fall out, and about the only sufferers
ale the Jim Grow performers who have to 60
with six-by-nine shows or leave the business
The average salary of the clowns who are
worthy of the name will run from S75 to 800
per week; yet, few of them save any money
They are high livers when in prosperity, but
as class they do not drink to excess. The
money goes through"
"And then what becomes of the clown when
he grows old?"
f. "Well, clown lives about as long as any
body, and. as rule he manages to get enough
together to get little farm to retire to when
he is too old for the ring. Clowns have great
fondness for farms to die on. That's about
what happens when clown buys farm
About as soon as you hear he has got it you
hear of his death. am not quite ready to
get farm yet, myself" Chica0o Neaos.