Los Angeles herald., 1910-07-31
Wyatt, will be manager, it is under

Wyatt, will be manager, it is under
stood
Dick Ford. the veteran circus clown,
recently had the following to say
about how he makes people laugh:
IT have been a clown for forty-fve
years" he said. land you might think
that there is nothing new in clowning
for me, that there are no new tricks
for me to learn. But you are mis-
taken. While in my long career with
the peaked hat and the slap-stick,
clowning for nearly every circus of any
account in Europe and America, I
have come pretty near learning all the
tricks of the trade still one never
knows when by chance he may STUN
BILE onto a clever trick. Some of the
most successful clown tricks are mere
accidents. Oftentimes, as 1 start out
to do an act 1 stub my toe and slip up
and 1 get a lot of laughs. The spec
tators think it is part of the show.
There was something naturally funny
about the way I tripped up. 1 try to
study out the way 1 must have looked
when 1 fell, and at every performance
thereafter 1 cause myself to stub my
toe and slip up the same way. That
is one way clown builds up his busi-
ness. 1t is usually the best way.
But a successful clown must do some
thing also besides stub his toe and
slip up!
ITO be a successful clown you must
also be a good pantomimist. Every
clown act must tell story. 1t is really
a small comedy or slight drama.
We must not only have action, but
something to suggest an incident or
series of incidents. If, for example,
group of clowns wear soldier uni
forms their act must give a hint of a
camp, a battlefield or some other def
mite martial picture. 1T may be huge
ly grotesque-and has to be under the
big canvas top in order to get over,
as they say on the theatrical stage
but it must be concrete picture Just
the same. Take my present act, or, to
be exact. my beat Aside from my
many 'asides-again 1 must borrow
from the theatrical stage-I follow in
the footsteps of any number of every
day policemen. Take, for instance, |
when 1 bust up the mimic saloon run
by some of the other clowns. Am 1
not following in the footsteps of two |
New YORK pOncemen VINO recently nB- |
ured very much in some excise raids? |
Only mine are rather exercise than eX-
else raids! So, you see, to produce |
laughs clown must make a serious
effort"
William Harris was a member of the !
black-face song and dance team of |
Harris and Carroll.
Frank Mckee began as lithograph-
er with circuses.,
Daniel Frohman held a clerical po-
sition in the office of the New York |
Tribune in the early SOS. The brothers,
GustaVe and Charles, were in the min
strel field at the outset of their the
atrical careers. All three came from
Sandusky, o.
William A. Brady was callboy in
San Francisco.
Charles Dillingham; used to be dra-
matte editor of the New York Evening
Sun.
Henry w. Savage was-and still is
a real estate operator In Boston.
Henry B. Harris was an advance
agent.
The late Sam S. Shubert less than
fifteen years ago was doing odd jobs
around the theaters of Syracuse, N. Y.
B. f. Keith began in the circus field.
Martin Beck used to be a German
actor. He also was a writer.
William Morris came to New York
from Germany eighteen years ago and