mr.t.ricks: hugs

mr.t.ricks: hugs: "Hugs It’s wondrous what a hug can do, A hug can cheer you when you’re blue. A hug can say, I love you so Or gosh, I hate to see you go. A ..."

hugs

Hugs

It’s wondrous what a hug can do,
A hug can cheer you when you’re blue.
A hug can say, I love you so
Or gosh, I hate to see you go.

A hug is Welcome back again
And it’s very sad when a Clown dies
As great as see you, or Where’ve you been?
A hug can soothe a small child’s pain
And bring a rainbow after rain.

The hug! There is no doubt about it
We scarcely could survive without it,
A hug delights and warms and charms
It must be why God gave us arms.

Hugs are great for fathers and mothers
Sweet for sisters and good for brothers,
and chances are some favorite aunts,
Love them more than potted plants.

Kittens crave them. Puppies love them
Heads of state are not above them.
A hug can break the language barrier
And make the dullest day seem merrier.

No need to fret about the store of ‘em,
The more you give; the more there are of them
So stretch those arms without delay,
And give someone a hug today

mr.t.ricks: short history on clowns

mr.t.ricks: short history on clowns: ".There are three main types of clown whiteface, Auguste and tramp or hobo. In each filed there has been meny famas clowns throu out the year..."

short history on clowns

.There are three main types of clown whiteface, Auguste and tramp or hobo. In each filed there has been meny famas clowns throu out the years starting with grimadi he is regarded as the farther of modern day clowns.

Joseph Grimaldi 1778 - 1837
Joseph Grimaldi was an innovator, his performance as Joey introduced the modern clown to the world, building on the existing role of Clown as a country bumpkin and fool, derived from the Commedia dell'arte; and making the clown the central character in the Harlequinade. His physical comedy was extraordinary, as was his ability to invent visual tricks and buffoonery, and his ability to poke fun at the audience. As Music hall became popular, he introduced the pantomime dame to the theatre and was responsible for the tradition of audience participation.
Then you have Francesco Caroli (1922 - present)
Francesco and his brothers are the legendary Caroli clowns. Shows which played host to their talents included Circus Knie in Switzerland, Cirque d'Hivere in Paris, and Circus Krone in Germany. In America, they performed more than fourteen different clown routines on the Ed Sullivan Show. When the death of one of his brothers put a sudden end to the world famous trio, Francesco took a teaching position at the State Circus School in France. In 1990, the director of Circus Roncalli made Francesco an offer he could not refuse. Francesco made a come-back to clowning at the grand old age of 70. He has been making audiences laugh with the Circus Roncalli in Germany ever since. This year Francesco celebrates his 60th year as a white face clown!
Auguste
NICOLAI "COCO" POLAKOVS (1900-1974)

Nicolai Polakovs was born in Latvia. He ran away from home at the age of eight to travel with an organ grinder, and then became apprenticed to famous Russian clown Lazernko. Eventually he owned his own circus in Russia. He left Russia after the revolution, joining Circus Busch in Berlin. In 1930, he joined England's Bertram Mills Circus, and stayed for nearly 40 years, the rest of the show's existence. After a serious road accident in 1960, he devoted his life to promoting road safety. In 1963, he was awarded the Order of the British Empire for contributions to road safety awareness in children. Polakovs was instrumental in the formation of the Circus Clown Club, which evolved into the current Clowns International organization

MICHAEL POLAKOV (1923- )

Coco is a third generation Russian circus clown, who achieved his fame in England where the family came while he was a youth. He was associated with the Bertram Mills and Billy Smart Circuses in England, which later included tours of Europe. He came to the U.S. in 1953 to work for a limited time with the Mills Bros. Circus, before returning to England. Coco later joined Ringling Brothers, working eight years as advance man and goodwill ambassador. He developed several classic clown routines, including "Busy Bee". He later became an independent working clown, sometimes acting as an advance performer in small shows.
LOU JACOBS (1903-1992)

Lou Jacobs was born as Jacob Ludwig in Bremerhaven, Germany. He began his performing career as a tumbler and contortionist. Upon his arrival in the United States in 1923, he became a partner in a vaudeville tumbling act. In 1924 he joined Ringling Bros. and never left the big show. He became the most famous example of the flamboyant American auguste with his favorite small automobile, and acts with his irrepressible dogs Knucklehead and Peewee. His face has appeared on a 1966 U.S. postage stamp as well as millions of circus posters, t-shirts, and other memorabilia. Currently Lou is semi retired, although he teaches each day Ringling Bros. Clown College is in session.
tramp or hobo.
EMMETT KELLY, SR. (1898-1979)

Emmett Kelly Sr. was born in Sedan, Kansas. His first career was in cartooning. His circus career, which spanned 55 years, began as a trapeze performer with the Howes Great London Circus. He went into clowning (portraying a cartoon character he had in earlier years drawn). He worked with Hagenbeck & Wallace, Sells-Floto, Cole Brothers and the Mill Circus in London. In 1942 he joined Ringling Brothers Barnum and Bailey Circus where he appeared until 1956. While with RBB&B he appeared in the movie, "The Greatest Show on Earth". Following the departure from the circus, he worked in night clubs, indoor circuses, trade shows and resorts. He was a Masonic Lodge member, and belonged to the Scottish Rite and Egypt Shrine temple of Tampa, Florida. He was buried in LaFayette, Indiana in a site near his mother.

mr.t.ricks: punch & judy

mr.t.ricks: punch & judy: "The Punch and Judy show can trace its roots to the 16th-century The figure of Punch derives from the Neapolitan stock character of Pulcinell..."

punch & judy

The Punch and Judy show
can trace its roots to the 16th-century
The figure of Punch derives from the Neapolitan stock character of Pulcinella, which was Anglicized to Punchinello. He is a manifestation of the Lord of Misrule and Trickster figures of deep-rooted mythologies. Punch's wife was originally "Joan".
May 9 1662 - the date on which the figure who later became Mr Punch made his first recorded appearance in England - is traditionally reckoned by "professors" as Punch's UK birthday. The diarist Samuel Pepys observed a marionette show featuring an early version of the Punch character in Covent Garden in London.
The mobile booth of the late 18th- and early 19th-century Punch and Judy glove-puppet show was originally covered in whatever inexpensive cloth might come to hand. Later Victorian booths, particularly those used for Christmas parties and other indoor performances, were gaudier affairs. In the 20th century, however, red-and-white striped puppet booths became iconic features on the beaches of many English seaside resorts; such striped cloth is the most common covering today, wherever the show might be performed.


A more substantial change came over time to the show's target audience. Originally intended for adults, the show evolved into primarily a children's entertainment in the late Victorian era. Ancient members of the show's cast, like the devil and Punch's mistress Pretty Polly, ceased to be included when they came to be seen as inappropriate for young audiences.
Modern British performances of Punch and Judy are no longer exclusively the traditional seaside children's entertainments they became in summer holiday resorts. They can now be seen at carnivals, festivals, birthday parties, and other celebratory occasions. With Punch and Judy, the characters usually include their baby, a hungry crocodile, Joey the Clown (a friend of Mr Punch), an officious policeman, and a prop string of sausages. The devil and the generic hangman Jack Ketch may still make their appearances but, if so, Punch will always get the better of them. The story changes, but some phrases remain the same for decades or even centuries: for example, Punch, after dispatching his foes each in turn, still squeaks his famous catchphrase "That's the way to do it!!"

Joseph Grimaldi

Grimaldi was born in Clare Market, London, the son of an Italian, Signor Joseph 'Iron Legs' Grimaldi ballet-master at the Drury Lane and Rebecca Brooker, a dancer in the theatre's corps de ballet. Grimaldi's father died when he was nine, and plunged the family into debt. When less than two years old, he was introduced to the stage at Drury Lane; at the age of three, he began to appear at the Sadler's Wells theatre. As a young man, Grimaldi fell in love and married the daughter of the principal proprietor of Sadler's Wells. Maria Grimaldi died in childbirth 18 months after their marriage. He found solace in performance, and eventually married again, to Mary. A son, Joseph Samuel Grimaldi was born and entered the profession, but drank himself to death, by the age of thirty.
As a pantomime clown Grimaldi was considered without equal, his greatest success occurring in Harlequin and Mother Goose; or the Golden Egg at the Theatre Royal, Covent Garden (1806 and often revived).
Joseph Grimaldi was an innovator, his performance as Joey introduced the modern clown to the world, building on the existing role of Clown as a country bumpkin and fool, derived from the Commedia dell'arte; and making the clown the central character in the Harlequinade[2]. His physical comedy was extraordinary, as was his ability to invent visual tricks and buffoonery, and his ability to poke fun at the audience. As Music hall became popular, he introduced the pantomime dame to the theatre and was responsible for the tradition of audience participation.


His most famous song was Hot Codlins - literally, Toffee Apples. :A little old woman,
her living she got by selling hot codlins,
hot, hot, hot.
And this little old woman,
who codlins sold,
tho' her codlins were hot,
she felt herself cold.
So to keep herself warm she thought it no sin to fetch for herself a quartern of ........
The audience would shout Gin, with some glee, and Grimaldi would fix them with a stare and say Oh! For shame!, in mock disappointment.
A famous 'sad clown' anecdote was first told of Grimaldi (later also told of Grock): A young man goes to see his doctor. He is overcome by a terrible sadness and doesn't think anything will make him feel better. The doctor says, "Why not do something happy, like going to see Grimaldi the clown?". The young man answers, with a knowing look, "Ah, but Doctor," he says, "I am Grimaldi."
Comedy performer Tony Allen said of Grimaldi's performance:
Any description of Joey Grimaldi's varied talents always includes his unusual skill of lampooning popular figures of the day by apparently re-arranging fruit, vegetables and cooking utensils and other every day items on a barrow. It wasn't a one-off joke, he was known for it and he rang the changes. For example: upper class dandies, the Prince Regent included, had made the Hussar uniform high fashion. Now just how Grimaldi arranged a coal scuttle, a muff and a full-length coat into a primitive cartoon sculpture that had a Covent Garden audience of 2,500 rolling in the isles night after night was beyond me. I assumed that an allusion to royalty was dangerous and his comic genius must have been in the execution, leaving the joke therefore lost to us[3].
Suffering from ill health, Grimaldi retired from the stage. In his farewell speech he told his audience Like vaulting audition, I have overleaped myself and pay the penalty in advanced old age. It is four years since I jumped my last jump, filched my last oyster, boiled my last sausage and set in for retirement. By 1828, he was broke, and benefit performances were held at both Sadlers Wells (March 17) and Covent Garden (June 28). A pension of £100 per annum was instituted by the Drury Lane Theatrical Fund. He could barely walk, but spent his last years at the Cornwallis Tavern, in Pentonville, the landlord, George Cook carrying him back to his nearby lodgings at the end of the evening. On the night of May 31st, 1837, he died. He had become a physical wreck, owing to the years of extreme physical exertion his clowning had involved. The London Illustrated News wrote Grimaldi is dead and hath left no peer. We fear with him the spirit of pantomime has disappeared.
Joseph Grimaldi's grave is in Joseph Grimaldi Park (formerly, the courtyard of St. James's Chapel), Pentonville Road in Islington.
To this day, on every first Sunday in February, a memorial service is held for Grimaldi at All Saints' Church, Haggerston, Hackney. At this service, hundreds of clowns flock from all over the world in full 'garb', and the service is followed by a show for the children. The church hall had been the home of the Clowns' Gallery, but after a fire they relocated to a nearby community centre.