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Saturday, October 07, 2006
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12 comments:
This is the best clown gag I have ever watched. Mr Jacobs and Mr Barnett were the funniest clowns on any show. A child could understand what was going on.and enjoy the act. This is the way it is supposed to be.
When I first saw this Act I thought I had left the human world & entered into a childs dream , a Fairytale Reality of some kind .
I did ;
It was the clowning tallents of Lou Jacobs - ( & Knuckle Head )
Anyone who ever saw there Acts new of the BOLD & SUBTLE CHARM , CLEVER WHIT , STYLE & the FINNESSE Mr. Jacobs brought into the Circus Ring & captured ones attention & mind , into his powerful - but gentle overpowering control !
What a gifted tallent !
This photo alone can stimulate the finest of Great Circus Memories -
From Eric:
For you circus music trivia buffs, Bill Pruyn used the introduction to "A Hunting We Will Go" and then "The Whistler and his Dog" to accompany this routine.
77... I think Lou was going through his 'hunter in a muu-muu' phase.
I always liked Knuck as an elephant during spec.
When Lou came up with the knucklehead thing it was first used as part of the come-in and when Irvin and others saw how it was such a big hit it became a major act in the show. I doubt if Lou got paid much more for it. He was a great clown and a performance directors dream. I am so proud to have worked with Lou.
The Feld's never appreciated the talents of Lou and Otto either in a monetary way or otherwise. Lou and Otto got press on their own merits. Then they turn to a guy who got his biggest laugh doing a risque suggestive knife throwing gag at a town guy. Throwing the knife between his legs that is done by every clown in South America and Mexico, and gave him grat PR and money at the same time slapping in the face the young kids from clown college that worked so hard to build and identity, especially Barry Lubin. I guess that knife gag was the beginning of their publicized inter acting with the audience. Years ago when beach balls were first invented on Bernam and Howe and on Mudd Bros. the clowns threw beach balls and alot of shows even had ponies or mules kick them up in the seats. No wonder it is no longer the Greatest Show On Earth.
HALLELUJAH!!!
Can I get an AMEN for Brother Herriott?!?
Preach the truth, Brother!
Keep preaching the truth!
~P
By the time I first saw the Ringling show, in 1949, Lou Jacobs photo was in the paper under the caption "matchless mugger". I still have that shot, and consider it among the most representative makeups of them all. The Felds' clown school developed makeups so picture perfect that they lost track of character and the professional ambience of the real masters like Lou, Otto, the great Pauls--Jung, Wenzel, Horompo, and Jerome--not forgetting Felix Adler, Charlie Bell, and Ernie "Blinko" Burch. These school kids may have worked very hard, but they were sadly misdirected, and lost the crowning element the old clowns understood--creative characterization that fit their faces...and worked.
Clown College 1974. Bill Ballantine insisted that the old time gags were taught as a matter of our clown heritage. We were warned that these gags would NEVER be seen on the GSOE, but it was important to know them and to acknowledge them.
We're doing the DENTIST GAG, Lou is observing from outside the ring curb. After the lousy rehearsal Lou saunters into the ring and motions all the students to sit on the ring curb.
He announces, "This is the doctor." and proceeds in pantomine the entire doctor's role. Then he announces, "This is the patient." and then "This is the nurse."
No make-up, no wardrobe, no lighting, nothing but a dentist chair. Each character had its own personality, its own walk, its own "character". It was brilliant. And it was FUNNY, laugh-out-loud funny. Full of little bits and nuances that enhanced the gag.
In that Class of 1974 were: Barry Lubin (doing a dutch boy character), Bill Irwin, Ruthie Chaddock, Mitch Freddes, Dale Longmire, Steve LaPorte (Oscar winner for Beetlejeuce), Dick Monday (Mulholland), Mark Stolzenberg, Bruce Gutilla, Rick Davis and yours truly. I hope I didn't leave anybody out.
Bill Pruyn did spot dates for Bill Kay's Shrine dates.
I build a safe cracking gag, with me (6'3") inside the safe. I contact Bill to do the "charts" for the gag, Pink Panther theme till the explosion and then a chase. We open the little tour in Albany, New York, first show 9:00 am Saturday, I've never heard the music.
I'm crammed inside the box for an entire act BEFORE the clown gag and now its gag time. Pink Panther plays, gee it sounds terrific with a full band, but it seems like forever. I hear the other clown outside giving me the play-by-play because I have to hit the switch for the explosion and big bang. OK, dynamite, BANG, I pop up out of the safe but my legs are so stiff I'm frozen for a few seconds, music changes to a fantastic gallop "Prestissimo" (I'm not sure of the spelling). For a moment I pause and look at the band and thinking, "Wow that's a great piece of music". Partner shouts to me, "Stop listening to the music and CHASE ME!"
I miss Bill Pruyn.
I worked with Lou from '74 to '80. He was a true gentleman. He was also my mentor. He also has the most beautiful family. Mr. Herriot summed it all up. I really miss those days . Lou will always hold a special place in my life. and the millions of others who ever had the opputunity to see him.
Mitch Freddes
We've all found agreement that Lou and Knucklehead were great. Let us never forget his giant cigar, the end of which was held up by a midget clown as Lou puffed away on the walkaround. Or the two big dachschunds he led in outrageous drag. And the motorized bathtub that other clowns imitated. And no one can forget the midget auto he created over a long time of trial and error, and of course perfected into a perennial classic Center Ring solo that DeMille used in its entirety. And many of us remember the Reader's Digest article, "Unforgettable Lou Jacobs". Boy hidy, that's for sure.
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