Dan Rice (January 23, 1823 – February 22, 1900) was an American entertainer of many talents, most famously as a

clown A clown is a person who performs comedy and arts in a state of open-mindedness using physical comedy, typically while wearing distinct makeup or costuming and reversing folkway-norms. History The most ancient clowns have been found in ...

, who was active before the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

. At the height of his career, Rice was a

household name Household name may refer to: * Household Name (album), ''Household Name'' (album), a studio album by Momma (band), Momma * a popular brand, see brand awareness * a popular person, see celebrity * a term misused to exaggerate a product, see promoti ...

. Dan Rice also coined the terms "One Horse Show" and "Greatest Show" while popularizing the barrel-style "French" cuff. He was a figure in the new American mass culture brought on by the technological changes of the

Industrial Revolution The Industrial Revolution was the transition to new manufacturing processes in Great Britain, continental Europe, and the United States, that occurred during the period from around 1760 to about 1820–1840. This transition included going f ...

.David Carlyon. ''Dan Rice: The Most Famous Man You've Never Heard Of'' Rice ran for

President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United Stat ...

in 1868. With changes in circus venues and popular culture after the Civil War, his fame has gradually slipped into such historical obscurity that in 2001 biographer David Carlyon called him "the most famous man you've never heard of".

Biography

Born Daniel McLaren in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, Rice became a circus clown, animal trainer, songwriter, commentator, circus strong man, actor, director, producer, dancer, and politician. He ran for

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

House A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air condi ...

, and

, dropping out of each race. Rice's uncle was a ringmaster for the Howes & Turner circus, organized in

Salem, New York Salem is a town in eastern Washington County, New York, United States. It is part of the Glens Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area. The town population was 2,702 at the 2000 census. The town of Salem contains a hamlet also named Salem, formerly ...

, in 1826. According to Rice himself, this was the first American circus to feature the canvas top that became so iconic. He traveled with this circus for 'several years' as a youngster. Rice innovatively combined animals, acrobats and clowns in a circus. He began performing in 1841, when he got a job of presenting a pig named Sybil whose tricks included a supposed ability tell time. He moved on to singing and dancing, and briefly sang in

blackface Blackface is a form of theatrical makeup used predominantly by non-Black people to portray a caricature of a Black person. In the United States, the practice became common during the 19th century and contributed to the spread of racial stereo ...

. Gaining fame and popularity, he changed styles once again; he starred in various

parodies A parody, also known as a spoof, a satire, a send-up, a take-off, a lampoon, a play on (something), or a caricature, is a creative work designed to imitate, comment on, and/or mock its subject by means of satiric or ironic imitation. Often its sub ...

of works by

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

, including that of "''Dan Rice's Version of

Othello ''Othello'' (full title: ''The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice'') is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare, probably in 1603, set in the contemporary Ottoman–Venetian War (1570–1573) fought for the control of the Island of Cypru ...

''" and "''Dan Rice's Multifarious Account of Shakespeare's

Hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...

''". He would perform these with various songs and dialects. "Rice was not simply funnier than other clowns; he was different, mingling jokes, solemn thoughts, civic observations, and songs." During the 1847–48 season he was working with the circus of

Gilbert R. Spalding "Dr." Gilbert Reynolds Spalding, sometimes spelled Spaulding, (14 January 1812 – 6 April 1880) was an American showman, circus owner and innovator, being the first to own his own showboat, constructed the first showboat to contain an entire ...

.William L. Slout
''Olympians of the Sawdust Circle: A Biographical Dictionary of the 19th-Century American Circus''
The Borgo Press (1998) via – Google Books p. 281 He began producing his own shows, and often had more than one tour going on at the same time. He then reinvented himself into a gentleman. He became involved in politics and would often have Democratic undertones in his shows. He won the affection of many newspapers and publicists, including those of a then unknown

Mark Twain Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910), known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, entrepreneur, publisher, and lecturer. He was praised as the "greatest humorist the United States has p ...

and

Walt Whitman Walter Whitman (; May 31, 1819 – March 26, 1892) was an American poet, essayist and journalist. A humanist, he was a part of the transition between transcendentalism and realism, incorporating both views in his works. Whitman is among t ...

. Mark Twain paid him homage in his description of a circus in ''

Adventures of Huckleberry Finn ''Adventures of Huckleberry Finn'' or as it is known in more recent editions, ''The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn'', is a novel by American author Mark Twain, which was first published in the United Kingdom in December 1884 and in the United St ...

'', and it is likely a boyhood Twain actually saw Rice perform when his circus came to Hannibal for a show. His shows became more famous than any of the other shows touring at the time, including that of rival,

Phineas Taylor Barnum Phineas Taylor Barnum (; July 5, 1810 – April 7, 1891) was an American showman, businessman, and politician, remembered for promoting celebrated hoaxes and founding the Barnum & Bailey Circus (1871–2017) with James Anthony Bailey. He was ...

. He pioneered a vaudevillian style before there was

vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment born in France at the end of the 19th century. A vaudeville was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a dramatic composition ...

. He was very patriotic, later influencing the likes of

George M. Cohan George Michael Cohan (July 3, 1878November 5, 1942) was an American entertainer, playwright, composer, lyricist, actor, singer, dancer and theatrical producer. Cohan began his career as a child, performing with his parents and sister in a vaudev ...

. He was also one of the main models for "

Uncle Sam Uncle Sam (which has the same initials as ''United States'') is a common national personification of the federal government of the United States or the country in general. Since the early 19th century, Uncle Sam has been a popular symbol of ...

". He died almost penniless in 1900 and is buried in the Old First Methodist Church cemetery in West Long Branch, New Jersey. The small town of Girard, Pennsylvania, where Rice had a home and lived there for many years, has a three-day festival dedicated to Dan Rice called "Dan Rice Days".

Expressions

A number of popular expressions came into being around Dan Rice. * Rice campaigned for

Zachary Taylor Zachary Taylor (November 24, 1784 – July 9, 1850) was an American military leader who served as the 12th president of the United States from 1849 until his death in 1850. Taylor was a career officer in the United States Army, rising to th ...

as president, inviting him to campaign on the circus bandwagon, whence the expression "to jump on the bandwagon". * Early in his career, Rice was down on his luck and only had one horse (in early circuses the core show was a horse show). His competitors mocked him, saying it was a " one horse show" as a derogatory. Rice was able to turn the expression around by putting on a good show, and it became famously attached to him for the rest of his life. * The rallying cry of "

Hey, Rube! "Hey, Rube!" is a slang phrase most commonly used in the United States by circus and traveling carnival workers ("carny, carnies"), with origins in the middle 19th century. It is a rallying call, or a cry for help, used by carnies in a fight wi ...

" – later transformed into a noun – originated in New Orleans in 1848 when a member of Rice's troupe was attacked by a mob and he yelled to his friend Reuben, "Hey, Rube!". The phrase is most commonly known today in the circus world as a "Hey, Rube" meaning "come help in this fight". * Decades before other circuses used the phrase, an Arkansas paper praised Rice's as " The Greatest Show on Earth."

Biography

Expressions

See also

Footnotes

Further reading