"He who is born a fool is never cured" - Proverbs.
If you would be so kind on this day that celebrates all things foolish, to take a moment and read our message and if you are so inclined, help us achieve our goal. Clowning has brought so much joy into my life and I hope to continue being a small part in preserving our history. Share this among your friends, family and fools you might know. This old clown thanks you.
Fourteen years ago today a great friend of the ICHOF, Board member and dear personal friend, Sandy Weber designed this wonderful logo as we moved forward to re-opening this little place where clowns are celebrated, stories are remembered and lives dedicated to laughter are shared with old and new generations.
We opened our doors to the public on May 21, 2010 in our new home of Baraboo, Wisconsin. Since that date we have had thousands of guests visit us in person and view the most amazing collection of clown artifacts in the world. We hope they leave with a smile & respect for this art form and share our mission with their family and friends. Our presence on social media has allowed us to bring images and information to potentially millions of people world wide who appreciate clowning as the craft that it is, respect those individuals who's careers have elevated laughter to the most needed medicine for what ails us as a human race, and inspires those who are looking to fufill the calling in their life called clowning.
How perfect the timing that a museum that honors the humor in our lives began on this day known to most of us as April Fools Day.
With that, the Board of Directors of the International Clown Hall of Fame and Research Center is proud to announce a "FOOLISH FUNDRAISER" to begin today April 1, 2024 and conclude on the Anniversary day of our opening in Baraboo, Wi, May 21, 2024.
Our goal is for us to raise $5,000 in the next 51 days.
Our 2024 plans include a very special “Lifetime of Laughter” award presentation during Circus Week here in Baraboo on June 7th, as well as adding substantially to our artifact collections, digitizing our vast photo archives, new display fabrications and continuation of our Oral Histories project. These goals can only be met with your help.
Please click the PayPal Donation link, located at the upper left of this page.
Every day between today and May 21, 2024 the ICHOF will feature, online, a one of a kind, unique artifact, and historical background on it.
Check back on our Facebook page daily for a suprise and a sharing of clowns worldwide!
Please tell you friends, clown fans and people in your life that could use some laughter!
CLOWN ALLEY IS BACK!
A statement from Greg DeSanto, Executive Director of the International Clown Hall of Fame and Research Center:
In a year where negative news seems to the norm, we at the International Clown Hall of Fame and Research Center are very happy to re-introduce “Pat Cashin’s Clown Alley Blogspot”!
Pat’s efforts to create an amazing database of clown history will always remain a testament to his passion and love for the history of clowns worldwide.
Pat served as the ICHOF Board President and was actively engaged with the formation and re-opening of the museum when it moved to its permanent home in Baraboo, Wisconsin over 10 years ago.
With the support of Terry Williams Cashin, the ICHOF has maintained the blog as an internal resource since Pat’s passing, and now have exciting plans to return it to regular postings of clown history, old & new, historical images and film clips to audiences and researchers to share and learn from.
The ICHOF and Terry are excited that board member and noted performing clown, Steve Copeland will be steering this blog with a passion and knowledge that Pat himself saw up close and personal and appreciated deeply.
I, and the entire Board of Director’s of the International Clown Hall of Fame and Research Center welcome our supporters and friends back! We hope you enjoy what we share, we thank you for your continued support and hope you all remember Pat Cashin with a smile.
Sincerely,
Greg DeSanto
Executive Director
And now, my intro.
Hi everyone, I'm Steve Copeland. Some of you may know me as the better looking member of the clown and comedy team, Steve & Ryan. I've loved clowns my whole life, and thanks to my "Dustin Hoffman in a certain movie" abilities, I know a lot about them. But I always love learning more. And that's why this blog is such a valuable resource.
I also love Pat Cashin. And I miss him all the time. This blog is his legacy, and I am honored that I was asked to continue it. I am no Pat Cashin, but I will do my best to regularly post on here and share my love and passion for clowns the same way he did.
Please spread the word on social media that we are back. I look forward to hearing from all of the blog's fans in the comment section where we can share more information and stories about the funny women and men that will be showcased here.
Now in the immortal words of Stephen Sondheim......"Everybody Ought To Have A Maid!"
Oh, and also, somebody "Send In The Clowns"
Steve Copeland
Visit the blog at: http://clownalley.blogspot.com/
A STATEMENT FROM THE ICHOF
As clowns, we provide entertainment and connection to a diverse audience. We do not ask ourselves who is watching us, we connect with all who wish to watch. The beauty of the art of Clown is the universal appeal- anyone of any nationality, race, religion, gender identity, ability, or social status can find a place to perform or be entertained. As we look at the events happening in today's climate and we look back at the historical inequities of our world, we must ask ourselves what we as a community and art form can do to make clowning more inclusive and remain inclusive for our fellow performers and audience members who represent various marginalized communities. One of the best things we can do both in or out of makeup is listen to people from these groups.
Listen without being dismissive or defensive. Absorb what you hear and learn about others, and learn about oneself by reflecting and owning moments where there may be stains of injustice or bias in your past. Clowns are representative of the people as a collective- we put ourselves in situations as we perform to gain empathy from our audience. The connections we make allow our audience to experience situations in a new way. Audiences laugh with us, get frustrated with us, and sometimes cry with us. Through actively listening, learning, and speaking out against injustice we as clowns can build these connections.
As historians, we of the International Clown Hall of Fame frequently browse the pages of history. When we happen upon a stain on those pages we must do what we can to ensure that stain doesn't grow or appear again in the future.
Among the pages is the story of Gordon Bunch. Gordon was famous for performing at the 1906 World's fair, and he was also hired by department stores as a 'living mannequin' for displays. In 1910 he was a clown and pantomime on the American vaudeville circuit. He was performing in a small town when a fire broke out at the theater. He rushed in and carried a woman to safety. When she came to and wished to thank her hero, she discovered him nearby wiping the sweat and makeup off his brow, revealing his brown skin. Instead of thanking him, she cried out a racial slur and fainted. Gordon spent the night in jail for making a white woman faint. This story isn't the first in the books, and it certainly wasn't the last.
We at the ICHOF stand with our fellow performers and audience members of the Black, Indigenous, and LGBTQ+ communities, people with disabilities, and other communities who have experienced injustice for far too long. The ICHOF will be listening, absorbing, reflecting, and shaping our future actions. We can and will do better, and we call upon everyone reading this message to do the same.
We can each encourage awareness and positive change by displaying it ourselves.
The Board of Directors of the International Clown Hall of Fame and Research Center.
SUMMER HOURS
Monday Through Saturday 10:00am to 5:00pm
Sunday by appointment only.
Come visit! We can't wait to show you around!
Admission: $10.00/adult, $5.00/child under 10
DVD RELEASES!
Each of these DVDs are on sale for only $24.95 + shipping. They can be ordered via check, money order and the handy-dandy PayPal buttons below. Checks & Postal Money Orders can be made out to ICHOF.
Originally aired in 1977 and 1978 on European television, La Piste des Clowns celebrates some of the world's greatest clowns performing their classic, hilarious routines.
Filmed before a live audience at the Royal Circus in Stockholm, this video features over a dozen headliner clown acts
PLUS Interviews with many of these brilliant comics.
Now you have the rare opportunity to watch, laugh and enjoy these outstanding clowns presented all together on this seldom seen video.
Only 24.95 + shipping
In Spanish and English
Region 0, NTSC
Available only thru the International Clown Hall of Fame and Research Center, THE GREAT CLOWNS OF VAUDEVILLE features an eclectic selection of incredibly rare footage of classic vaudeville comedy & variety acts.
From the slapstick knockabout of Willie, West & McGinty, to the clowinsh insanity of the Gentlemaniacs to the abstract tomfoolery of Chaz Chase this DVD presents some of the greatest baggy pants, slapshoe wearing, prattfalling clowns ever to play the Palace.
Only 24.95 + shipping
Region 0, NTSC
FEATURING:
• Chaz Chase
• Herb Williams
• Jimmy Conlin & Myrtle Glass
• The Foy Family
• Val & Ernie Stanton
• O'Donnell & Blair
• Willie, West & McGinty
• W.C. Fields
• Jack Pepper and his "Society Pets"
• Wilbur Hall
• Runaway Four
• Laurel & Hardy
• The Gentlemaniacs
• Ted Healy with Howard, Fine & Howard
• Shaw & Lee
• Johnny Puleo & The Harmonica Gang
• Milton Berle
• George Carl
The 25th Annual CIRCUS RING OF FAME INDUCTIONS
Enjoy this video program highlighting the 25th anniversary induction ceremony of the Sarasota Circus Ring of Fame at St. Armands Circle, January 2012.
See all the speeches and fanfare leading up to unveiling the plaques for the honorees: circus impresario and swaypole performer, Joseph Bauer; director of The Greatest Show on Earth—the most spectacular circus movie ever made, Cecil B. DeMille; everyone's favorite clown and Clown Hall of Fame inductee, Barry "Grandma" Lubin; and thrill act producer, Hans Winn.
Only 24.95 + shipping
Region 0, NTSC
100% of the proceeds of these DVDs benefit the outreach programs and display developments of the ICHOF. The ICHOF is a 501 (c) 3 organization.
