The Sunday morning news. [volume] (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1886-1891, 1890-11-16
THE POOR CLOWN.
His Dignity and His Pay Are a
Waning-Abo the Stage.


"There are only few OF us left. . he
said, with patronlzing air that took off
the touch of egotism-s'only a few of Us
left. Time was when it took wise man
to be clown; now it takes-weil. an
average fool, | don't say much, but /
bleed inwardly."
Frank Reynolds, the clown, says the
| Chicago Times, was in a reminiscent
mood as he stood in the dressing tent pre-
\ pairing for the afternoon performance.
| The appointments of the room were not
sumptuous, nor was Reynolds toilet
| elaborate. Bows of battered, weather.
! stained trunks encountered the space.
Heaps of gaudy trapplngs, the disjecta
membra o. many an assumed character,
| were scattered on every side. It was one
| of those ill-eguipped apartments In
| which modesty finds its sole screen in
vacant stare. The clowns costume was q
mixture of the antique and the modern.
/ 1t consisted OF pair OF shoes and pair
! of trousers. Preparatory to a bath the
star was shaving before an inch or two
| of glass tackled to the centre pole. A
! water pail served as shaving mug, and
| the till Of the trunk as a table.
| Convenient. isn't itS' continued the
clown, holding cake of soap in one hand
and lathering his fece with the other
| 'sAh, well, such Is circus life. Clowns?
/ There are none nowadays. As a class
we're like the mastodon pler1osaurus-an
extinct race There used to be clowns,
! though-the genuine article w. F.
\ Wallet. Harry Brown, Jim Seal, Jim
| Veal, Joe Portland, Sam Long, Bob
| Williams and Dan Rice were giants.
They were the chief attractions Of the
| show, the features that most advertised.
They played in small ring where they
made grimlaces The people could see. anu
INDUCED In sharp repartee that the peu+
| pie could hear They cracked jokes at
everything and everybody. and the ring
master cracked his whip ut them. Great
| days, those Great pay, tool The clowns
then were artists, and, as rule, as con-
| ceited as adored.p
''And now?"
well. we've nothing left but our ego
tisIn, and that, owing to our constant
| suubs, is pretty well dwarfed. Big rings
and multiple performances gagged our
mouths years ago. We're not allowed to
say anything; we could not be heard If
we were. Glowing now is an extrava-
| CANT pantomime, nothing more. The fell
1 low who can fall --LATEST or most awk-
| wardly, make the most wretched apology
for silent laugh get in the way and be
kicked aside most frequently-in short,
| the fellow who has had the hardwood to
| go before a multitude of people and
make an ass of himself for pittance
4 when he has the assurance that not one
in thousand is paying the slightest at
| tention to him, is the best clown.
Don't see where their hardwood comes
| imp calculated the clown, vigorously
/ scraping the razor over his face without
| looking in the glass--an art acquired by
/ fifteen years of practice on the road
Just imagine being the least con-
| spicuous character In q host of per-
formers-people to be looked at chiefly on
account of the tinsel and the way In
which they are grouped for spectacular
! effectl There 1s scarcely clown in the
| ring today who does not claim public re-
| cognitiou on account of some trick animal
some measly cur that has the faculty of
| turning somersaults. monkey that can
keep its equilibrium on donkey's back.
or an ambitious hog--Lord. how full the
world is of themi--that can smoke pipe.
\ The Glow now is an adjunct of his pets.
and bofrows glory from their inbelli-
| gence. Glorious position to be rinQmaster
for apes. ours and jackasses isn't ita
Grand old Dan Ricel He doesn't blush to
90 out temperance lecturing and get
drunk after the performance, but he
would outblush clowns rouge brush
were he compelled to enter the rings
under the circumstances we do now. And
the worst OF it is that our pay has been
/ cut down proportionately with our dig
nifty"
"And the outlookf'
''rhere is no outlook, and there will be
none SO long as showmen persist in
cr0wding small sized programme into
| the ring at one time aud making provis-
ions tor entertaining all creation under
single tent. The mere intent of the un-
dertaking necessitates making up in the
number of so-called clowns what is lacked
in legitimate artists. Barnum, for in
stance has little army of novices-cal-
low youths who have borrowed gag
here and gag there, a posture from this
| artist and a grotesque tumble from that.
They attudinize year in and year ont TO
the tune Of IS a week. There's one of
them now" pointing to a beardless boy
who was making love to pet monkey.
"They originate nothing. They could
not say a bright thing If their future de
pended upon 1t. Yet they are the clowns,
but Of the fool type that are content to
brook their own niediocrity for the sake
OF their bare bread and butter and inn
munity from harder work.
Reynolds, oblivious of the glass.
scratched viciously at his face, the
antique part OF his garb becolni OF
greater extent as the exertion caused the
modern articles of apparel 70 gravitate.
Yes, there are only few-but pshawi
| it isn't our fault When American show
men profit by European examples there
will be some hope for us It the old
country they have small rings The
shows are conducted about as our
theatres are. Instead Of tents they have
elegant permanent buildings. The
clowns study new roles and go from
place to place. They make hit and
profit by It, There is some incentive in
continuous persistent study. But here,
alasl big tents, big programmes, the
biggest show on EARTH and iittest
clowns, Now. please, wear your far
Call again and I'll tell you some more
about the woes Of the profession
Gone Error at the Academy,