International Clown Hall of Fame - panoramio

The International Clown Hall of Fame and Research Center (ICHOF), located in

Baraboo Baraboo is a city in the Midwest and the county seat of Sauk County, Wisconsin, United States. The largest city in the county, Baraboo is the principal city of the Baraboo Micropolitan Statistical Area. Its 2020 population was 12,556. It is situ ...

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

, United States, is dedicated to the preservation and advancement of clown art and achievement. Represented by professional and amateur clown associations, it pays tribute to outstanding clown performers, operates a

museum A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical, or scientific importance. Many public museums make thes ...

of clowning with resident clown performers, conducts special events, and maintains a national archive of clown artifacts and history.

History

The ICHOF was founded in

Delavan, Wisconsin Delavan is a city in Walworth County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 8,505 at the 2020 census. It is located southwest of Milwaukee. The city is located partially within the Town of Delavan, but the two entities are politically i ...

, the birthplace of the

Barnum and Bailey The Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus (also known as the Ringling Bros. Circus, Ringling Bros., the Barnum & Bailey Circus, Barnum & Bailey, or simply Ringling) is an American traveling circus company billed as The Greatest Show on Ear ...

Circus A circus is a company of performers who put on diverse entertainment shows that may include clowns, acrobats, trained animals, trapeze acts, musicians, dancers, hoopers, tightrope walkers, jugglers, magicians, ventriloquists, and unicyclis ...

, in 1987. It was created as community development project by Gareth Thomas Betts of the

University of Wisconsin–Extension The University of Wisconsin–Extension (UW–Extension) was the outreach arm of the University of Wisconsin System. It provides statewide access to university system's resources and research to Wisconsin residents of all ages. Fulfilling the promi ...

and Jennie Schilz Thompson, director of the Delavan Chamber of Commerce to build on the city's circus history. The induction process began in 1988, and was headed by Richard Snowberg, the founder and director of Clown Camp during his tenure as a professor at University of Wisconsin-La Crosse. The first event followed the affiliation of the four major clown organizations with the museum. The affiliated clown organizations were given the role of selecting the first nominees. Balloting by the members of the ICHOF resulted in the election of

Red Skelton Richard Red Skelton (July 18, 1913September 17, 1997) was an American entertainer best known for his national radio and television shows between 1937 and 1971, especially as host of the television program '' The Red Skelton Show''. He has stars ...

Lou Jacobs Johann Ludwig Jacob (January 1, 1903 – September 13, 1992), professionally known as Lou Jacobs, was a German-born American Clown#Auguste, auguste clown who performed for Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus for more than 60 years. ...

Emmett Kelly Emmett Leo Kelly (December 9, 1898March 28, 1979) was an American circus performer, who created the clown figure "Weary Willie," based on the hobos of the Great Depression in the 1930s. According to Charles W. Carey, Jr.: :Kelly’s creation of ...

, Mark Anthony, Felix Adler, and

Otto Griebling Otto Griebling (April 28, 1896 – April 19, 1972) was a German-born circus clown who performed for many years with the Cole Brothers and Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circuses. He was one of four clowns given the title Master Clown by ...

. The first inductees were enshrined April 23, 1989. Since then, 61 additional clowns have been inducted into the International Clown Hall of Fame. The ensemble has included living and historical American clowns and clowns from Europe, South America, and Africa. The ICHOF also annually bestows a "Lifetime of Laughter Achievement Award". This has gone to

Willard Scott Willard Herman Scott Jr. (March 7, 1934 – September 4, 2021) was an American weather presenter, radio and television personality, actor, narrator, clown, comedian, and author, whose broadcast career spanned 68 years, 65 years with the NBC br ...

, who at one time played both

Ronald McDonald Ronald McDonald is a clown character used as the primary mascot of the McDonald's fast-food restaurant chain. He inhabits the fictional world of McDonaldland, with his friends Mayor McCheese, the Hamburglar, Grimace, Birdie the Early Bird and ...

and

Bozo Bozo or bozo may refer to: People *Bozo people, a fishing people of the central Niger delta in Mali ** Bozo language, languages of the Bozo people * Frédéric Bozo, history Professor at the University of Paris III: Sorbonne Nouvelle * Bozo Mille ...

on TV before becoming known as

The Today Show ''Today'' (also called ''The Today Show'' or informally, ''NBC News Today'') is an American news and talk morning television show that airs weekdays from 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. on NBC. The program debuted on January 14, 1952. It ...

weather man,

Max Patkin Max Patkin (January 10, 1920 – October 30, 1999) was an American baseball player and clown, best known as the Clown Prince of Baseball (a play on "Crown Prince"). Patkin was the third "officially" crowned Clown Prince of Baseball, after Al Scha ...

– the "Clown Prince of Baseball",

Ben Barkin Ben is frequently used as a shortened version of the given names Benjamin, Benedict, Bennett or Benson, and is also a given name in its own right. Ben (in he, בֶּן, ''son of'') forms part of Hebrew surnames, e.g. Abraham ben Abraham ( he ...

of the

Great Circus Parade The Great Circus Parade is a parade of marching bands, circus wagons, clowns, performers, and animals. Between 1963 and 2009, it has been held 30 times in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and a few times in Chicago and Baraboo, Wisconsin. A fundraiser for the ...

and

Meadowlark Lemon Meadow Lemon III (April 25, 1932 – December 27, 2015),"Meadowlark Lemo ...

– the "Clown Prince of Basketball." In 2004,

ABC News ABC News is the news division of the American broadcast network ABC. Its flagship program is the daily evening newscast ''ABC World News Tonight, ABC World News Tonight with David Muir''; other programs include Breakfast television, morning ...

columnist

Buck Wolf Buck Wolf is the managing editor of trends at The Huffington Post, and a former member of the Us Weekly Fashion Police. Wolf writes on film, music and TV, but specializes in offbeat features. His writing has appeared in the Village Voice, the M ...

settled a long-running clown controversy by inducting

Pinto Colvig Vance DeBar Colvig Sr. (September 11, 1892 – October 3, 1967), professionally Pinto Colvig, was an American voice actor, newspaper cartoonist, and circus and vaudeville performer whose schtick was playing the clarinet off-key while mugging. C ...

as the original

. A series of investigative pieces he wrote proved that show business promoter

Larry Harmon Lawrence Weiss (January 2, 1925 – July 3, 2008), better known by the stage name Larry Harmon and as his alter ego Bozo the Clown, was an American entertainer.Dennis McLellanLarry Harmon, 83; entrepreneur made Bozo the Clown a star ''Los ...

had a pattern of taking credit for inventing TV's most famous clown.

References

{{reflist

External links

International Clown Hall of Fame
Clowning Clown Circus museums in the United States Biographical museums in Wisconsin Museums in Sauk County, Wisconsin 1987 establishments in Wisconsin Museums established in 1987 Baraboo, Wisconsin

History

See also

References

External links