Otto Griebling
(1896 - 1972)

          Otto Griebling was German born, and came to this country at the age of 14. Otto started his circus career in Baraboo, Wisconsin, with the Hodgini Riding act. He was an excellent bareback comedy rider. He worked for Sells Floto Circus. He toyed with his audiences emotions, sometimes being sassy, crazy and quite eccentric. Routines for which he was famous were juggling metal pie plates and attempts to deliver a block of ice, or a plant, or a package throughout the show. He always performed a silent act. Not only was Otto a featured performer with Ringling Bros. & Barnum and Bailey Circus, but also other shows, including Cole Bros. When in 1970 his larynx was removed, pantomime became a way of life both in and out of make-up. He remained with Ringling Bros. until his death in 1972.

Red Skelton
(July 18, 1913 - September 17, 1997)

          Richard "Red" Skelton was born in Vincennes, Indiana. His father, who died two months before his birth was a clown with the Hagenbeck & Wallace Circus. Before "Red" was sixteen, he had also clowned in this same show, and acted, sang,or did stand up comedy in medicine shows, minstrel shows, and on board a river showboat. He entered vaudeville, and made it to Broadway in 1936. This limber legged, rubber faced award winning comedian starred in at least 23 movies, and had his own radio and television shows. During his television career, millions of people saw his clown character "Freddy the Freeloader" on a weekly basis. His artistry is still seen as a performer, a composer, and a painter. His most endearing paintings are of clowns.

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.

Felix Adler
(1895 - 1960)

          Felix Adler grew up on a small farm outside of Clinton, Iowa, where he left home and went to join Ringling Brothers Circus at the age of ten or thirteen (accounts differ). John Ringling refused to allow him to begin clowning until he had received basic training in other fields, such as working with a Chinese acrobatic team. His clumsiness and blunders turned him into a clown in a very short time. He drifted in and out of the circus, completing work at Iowa State College, serving in World War I, and entering the construction business with his father. The circus was in his veins, so he returned to Ringling Bros. for the duration of his career. Adler's costume, frequently white, had padded hips and rear end. He had a jewel in his nose, wore tiny hats and carried a tiny umbrella and a baby pig.

Mark Anthony
(1915 - 1990)

          Mark Anthony was born Mark Galkowski in Norwich, Connecticut. During the depression, he joined the circus. Except for a stint in the Merchant Marines, he spent most of his life working with various circuses: Sells-Floto, Harris Show, Dan Rice Circus, Clyde-Beaty-Cole Bros., and Ringling Bros. & Barnum and Bailey. Although in early years he was seen as a whiteface, throughout his last decades he had been a unique tramp clown. He was a master sculpture and prop maker. He loved to carve and created hundreds of different clowns from wood, foam, paper mache, and other products. His carved animal props tended to be very realistic.

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.

Mail to: ceoorg@charter.net