Of
Cousin Otto
Relatively Speaking
By Gene Lee
63 Years in Greasepaint and counting
Relatively Speaking
By Gene Lee
63 Years in Greasepaint and counting
* Member of
the Clown Hall of Fame * Member
of the Midwest Clown Hall of Fame
* Master Clown
* International
Entertainer
* Seminar
And Class Instructor
* Clown
Editor
* Stage Vaudeville
* Fair
And Circuses His Career
In my lifetime, from
the heart, I have become the richest man in the world through my
role as a clowm. I believe it is a gift from God. He has given me
the tools of laughter that I use every day.
I can really say every day was Circus Day at
home. I was born to a family rich in Circus and entertainment heritage.
My grandfather owned a mud Circus out of Rockford, Illinois. He traveled
with a unit until World War I and then sold it. My father ran away from
the Lee Bros. Circus at the age of 14 and joined a Cowboy and Indian Circus.
He told the owner he was 19 and became their press agent. He talked my
three uncles into Circus life. Father toured America for 60 years. He was
know as " Dean of Press Agents," representing Circuses and theatricals
from coast to coast. Although I was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on February
22, 1920, most of my life I found me
living three months here and three months there.
There was always a variety of entertainers, vaudeville stars and showgirls.
Educated performances. It was built in 1905, boasting several stages
of Roman style motif with 400,000 electric lights. It was torn down
in 1939 and the site became the home of Madison Square Garden. Dad was
plugging Singer's Midgets, a talented group of little people who invited
the audience to tour their living quarters under the stage of the theater.
I knew many of the midgets and often was mistaken for one of the performers
being ther height. We lived in the Bronx. My dad, of course,
always contracted for the better job. On the road with Thurston the
Magican, I was a "Shill" in the audience. When the magician would
produce a rabbit I would be called to the stage and receive the bunny,
leave the theater and cage the animal until the next show.
The same routine was used traveling with another
magician, Blackstone Sr. Mixing with top stars was a joy to me. It
gave me stage experience and a chance to meet people. When in the Milwaukee
area it was nothing for my dad to call home on a Sunday morning and tell
my mother he was bringing home a bevy of showgirls, a picture star
or a headline act appearing in Milwaukee. Relatives envied me because
he could get them passes for the shows. My life was not all indoor
show business. Each spring when circuses traveled again, my father
would hit the sawdust trail, representing top circuses with press coverage,
bill posting and radio interviews. I would travel along. At
times I would return home for school assignments. Form time to time I would
join my dad when in the area. Dad was the Press Agent for Ringlings's,
Cole Bros. Clyde Beatty, Cole Bros. and several small Circuses. The
Bill posting car would work 12 days ahead of the Ringling Bros. unit scheduled
to play a city. Dad would lay out the coverage of the community and
visit the newspaper and radio stations. A mouth full of tacks and
a pail of paste were a daily task for me. Every now and then I would drop
back and meet the Ringling Clown Alley and meet greasepaint stars Lou Jacobs,
Paul Jung, Paul Jerome and others. Dad would do press features on the clowns,
especially if the clown was from the community or area the Circus played.
This gave him a look at what clowns do. However, the Alley was very mysterious
of what the outsider could look and ask about. The clown performances gave
me the basic clown background. On April 9, 1935, in Erie, Pennsylvania,
I met clowns on the Cole Bros. Circus. My dad volunteered his services
as an emergency clown. Several clown were sick, and others called home
for family matters clowns like Otto Griebling, Freddie Freeman, Mark Anthony
and others. At 15 years of age, Big Top life began. I didn't like
the greasepaint made of lard, Zinc oxide and oil. Being tall and thin I
became a whiteface Olive funster and Griebling highlighted my facial features.
I have kept the same face throughout the years. Until 1930 I clowned with
Cole Bros. In 1940-41, father joined the Ringling family. I left Cole Bros.
for Ringling's clowning with Lou Jacobs, Felix Adler, Paul Jung, Emmett
Kelly,Sr., Harry Dann and others. In 1942 I toured one season with Clyde
Beatty-Cole Bros. Circus. Because of the friendship with Otto Griebling,
I took the name of "Cousin Otto" America's Favorite Relative, considering
I'm a relative.
With World War II on the scene, circus folks
were joining the military to serve. I signed up for the Air Corp
and spent three years with B17 bombers. After the war I did independent
clown gigs, even The Red Dot Potato Chip Clown for nine years. A marriage
in 1948 brought me to Whitewater, Wisconsin. I became the Advertising
Manager for two weekly newspapers for 30 years. With my clowning
background I had the ability to meet the public in a business way.
The weekly assignments gave me the opportunity to still clown at schools,
fairs, hospitals and for shut-ins. The Whitewater community and area knew
of my talents. I became a Boy Scout leader for 33 years, enrolling
my two sons in the program. My daughter had other young projects.
Being a veteran I published a monthly bulletin for my American Legion
Post. In 1967 I became the president of the National American Legion Press
Association, traveling again to promote Post Publications.
Communicating with clowns, especially in the Midwest, was a goal.
I became the editor of The 3 Ring News and have been mailing the tabloid
for the past 23 years. When the Clown Hall of Fame was launched,
I became the display director. I displayed clown artifacts of the
greats of the past. I also served as director for the Hall.
When the World Clown Association began, I was asked to edit the monthly
magazine and have done so for the past 16 years. I have been honored with
many clown awards for dedication to the world of clowning, the most treasured
being inducted into the Clown Hall of Fame in 1992. I've worked and traveled
with 24 of the present inductees. "Cousin Otto's" Alley is celebrating
27 years. I've dedicated my life to making people happy, especially
children. I believe I've done so. Yes, I believe my role as a clown has
led me to become the richest man in the world.
Yearly chores find me in make-up as a stand-in
clown for the Circus World Museum clowns. As part of the Great Circus
Parade and a smile-giver at three area county fairs, along with seminars,
it gives me a chance to inform and teach clowns of all ages what clowning
means and what it has to offer.
To Be Continued