—
B—1
Eric .\[
Ties in the pocket this year
Staff photo by Becky Swanson
Elmo the Clown informs Ted Hoef that ties
are to be worn in the shirt pocket this year
and corrects Hoefs “mistake.” Elmo —
Elmo Gibb — is a promoter for the Clyde
Beattv-Cole Brothers combined circus.
Hoef is a program adviser for the MSC
committees. Elmo was visiting The Batta
lion office and Hoef was there at the office
on business.
Elmo clowns around
before circus opens
By NANCY WEATHERLEY
Battalion Staff
I come from a showbiz family;
ny grandmother was a stripper
nd sailed on the Titanic. She al
ways was a little dingy. ’’ So begins
llmo the Clown in his interview.
I Elmo is a clown with the Clyde
leatty, Cole Bros. Circus appear-
ng Friday through Sunday in the
ocalarea. His typical dress for the
lay includes a huge red nose, pre-
)py yellow overalls (they have an
Izod alligator on them), a blue
checked shirt, huge yellow shoes,
lastic two-feet long scissors and
in oversized yellow foam-rubber
lammer.
Elmo is making appearances in
. town before the circus raises its
Big Top Townshire Shopping
-enter.
He really does come from a
howbiz family; his mother wrote
ind produced a children’s show
or a theatre in South Jersey,
Penn.
Every time she did a show the
ivhole family got drafted to do bit-
parts,” Elmo said. “I took lan
guage and gymnastics in school
and got used to amateur per
forming.”
Elmo toured with a Russian and
then Polish troupe, learning how
to perform in front of audiences
ind eventually found the circus. “I
took my family to see Ringling
Bros, and Barnum & Bailey Circus
and I auditioned for their clown
school,” he said.
Elmo went to clown college,
which he describes as an eight-
week crash course in fundamen-
stop!
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tals, and worked with Ringling
Bros, for two seasons.
“You really learn what it’s like to
be a clown after you start perform
ing before audiences,” Elmo said.
“It takes time to assimilate the
basics and then suddenly, literally
overnight, you realize you’re
funny.”
Elmo said beginners tend to go
overboard and perform even dan
gerous stunts. “After you’ve been
at it a while, you learn to tone your
routine down and simplify every
thing. An example might be car
rying simpler props. ”
The clown said that sometimes
the funniest moments are when
something goes wrong. “We were
doing a skit in the main ring where
we laid a clown on three swords
and when we tried to get him off,
the swords stuck.
“We tugged and finally he had
to walk off with a sword sticking to
his head.”
Elmo works a 40-week season
with the circus which usually be
gins in Florida with the Gator
Bowl and ends in December.
Generally during the off-season,
Elmo said he works small circuses
like the Shriners’, but this year he
plans to stay in Florida and build a
clown car to use in his act.
He said he has about 25 minutes
of corny jokes in his repertoire and
gets a lot of them from Groucho
Marx books and old George Bums
and Gracie Allen shows.
“When you get home from the
season, your family can’t stand
you,” Elmo said. “Corny jokes go
over well. “I like to spend time in
Nebraska or Kansas as much as I
But seriously, Elmo said he
likes to get material from other
people. “Morning disc-jockeys al
ways offer good material; they ha
ven’t been up long enough to
think about what they’re saying.
As in any profession, there are
always personal risks involved.
“Chimpanzees hate clowns,” he
said. “You sort of look humanoid,
but not quite human, so the
chimps try to tear you apart.”
Elmo said a lot of the animals,
such as lions and bears, are afraid
of the clowns.
“The heart of clowning is to take
something natural and make it so
artificial that it appears natural,”
he said. The unusual appearance
of clowns can make small children
afraid, just like the monkeys, he
said.
“One of the hardest things is to
try and be funny in a different lan
guage. I played at a south Texas
elementary school where the chil
dren predominantly spoke Span
ish and the children just couldn’t
comprehend what I was doing.”
Circus shows are scheduled as
follows: Friday at 4:30 p.m. and 8
p.m.; Saturday at 1 p.m., 4:30
p.m. and 8 p.m.; and Sunday at 2
p.m.
Ticket prices are $4.50 in adv
ance for adults and $5.50 on show-
days. Children under 12 and
seniors, 65 and over, are $3. Texas
A&M students with an ID can get
in for $3.
International group sponsors
World Food Day Saturday
The United Nations has desig
nated Saturday as a day of realiza
tion of hunger and food issues
■ pji worldwide.
In observance of the first
annual World Food Day, a noon
program Friday at Rudder Foun
tain will focus on hunger issues,
farmers’ problems, food produc
tion and food distribution, Shirley
Isbell, a program organizer said.
The World Food Day event is
sponsored by International Prog
rams at Texas A&M University.
Master of Ceremonies will be
Student Body President Ken
Johnson. Scheduled speakers in-
Gil
110 ii
t wed'
jin h
-ess.
Colic?
in the
t
m
elude: Randy Green, a senior agri- economics student; and Gerry
cultural journalism student; Lon- Alzes Do O, a graduate student in
ny Bauscher, a junior agricultural agricultural economics.
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