Rocky Ford enterprise., 1894-04-12
THE CLOWNS LIFE.
While Making Others Laugh He Has =
Good Time Himself.

/ Good Time Himself.
For more than twenty years "Old
Budd' Halves has been engaged in
making people laugh, and his travels
have taken him from one end of the
country TO the other.
Very few people know OF the
everyday life OF the clown or his
struggle to give the public new jokes
for the clown must not only be q
droll fellow himself. but he is also
req uired to work out his own funny
sayings.
..Old Budd" was found the other
day by the Chicago Records repre-
: sentative at his home playing with q
bright-eyed baby, his only child. The
marks OF his profession were visible
in the room. A pair OF iong-toed
dancing shoes stood in the corner,
q striped jacket just protruded from
the closet and the fringe OF red
whiskers hobnobbed with bald
head on the table. When asked to
relate some OF his experiences as a
clown he laughed enthusiastically and
remarked that no didn't like to give
/ the secrets OF the profession to the
public.
said. land he must be an acrobat, q
comedian and natural wit all in
one. It's hard place to fill, and
. the right kind Of q man always COM
mands big wages. Why. the best
clowns to-day get as high as $50 a
| week.
Most people suppose it's hard
life and that when we are through
performing we have to go out and
pull stakes and help load the tents.
It's not so. We have just as easy
times as the actors. All my stuff is
packed in a big trunk. which is
placed in the dressing tent by the
property men. 1t is numbered and
: occupies the same position every
time. make up at noon for the
parade, again at o'clock for the
/ regular performance, and at 8 in
the evening for the last performance.
am usually back to my bunk in the
! car at 1850. 1t is very comforta-
BILE life when one is accustomed to it.
| Ny wife always travels with me, an d
enjoys it first rate. OF course. when
! there is big rush ana we are all
late. it sometimes happens that tho
whole crowd of'us has to turn out
, and help the or-backs'--train-
loade rs
There is good deal in making
up funny. The paint pot and baggy
( trousers have great deal to do with
making the people laugh. The
clown also practices getting himself
into odd positions, and he succeeds
/, best in this by being as awkward and
l r. Il o.,s, hi
Usually the jokes are all written
, out and committed to memory, but
we are always getting up new ones.
T; 1t often happens that two clowns in
the ring begin bantering each other
out of pure fun for themselves, and
stumble upon jokes which set the
people in roar OF laughter. re-
member that 1 was once doing the
! old barber trick with another clown
somewhere in Mississippi The lit
tie darkies who come to the circus
down there always crawl close up to
the ring and lie flat on their stoln-
achs in the dirt. with their heads
just peeping over the embankment.
There were fully fifty OF them when
lined up. watching with big eyes.
| my partner was the barber and
was blacked up rs negro clown.
l seated myself in the chair. was
lathered and shaved, the black COM
ing off with the soap to the intense
delight Of the pickaninnies along the
ring. When ! discovered the con
dition of affairs 1 was supposed to
be extremely indignant and in my
scuffie with the barber he threw his
big lather-flled sponge at me. 1t
missed me and hit the little negroes
in the eyes. 1t was entirely uni,l-
territorial, but it created the biggest
laugh OF the day. After that we had
row Of little negroes along the
ring at every performance and one
of them received u soaking from the
big sponge. In this way new at
traction was invented.
"A clown'must be u good acrobat
in order to burlesque the performers
and it takes u considerable time tt
keep'fn practice. Altogether it is g
life full OF enjoyment, and presume
love my profession just as we'll as
any lawyer or doctor in Chicago. In
the winter we lay off, and most OF US
have some city where we make our
home. I have been on the stage 9
l VI tlLloS Us IOW COluCOlau,
and once took a company OF my owr
on the road. just before tho holiday.
spent week in show window or
Madison street making people laugh
at my antics. am not q curbstone
| clown and cannot do my acts very
successfully except in a circus ring
where there is lots Of excitement.
You would suppose that a clowr
would be bruised black and blue ali
over b. the number of hard raps ani
kicks which he receives, but that i.
not the case. In nearly all instance.
there is some arrangement to prevent
injury. His clothes are padded. ant
when he is struck at he claps hi.
hand quick, and the audience think.
the sound is the result OF the blow.
l n~u~.rr..