User:Tom 'Slapstick' Sandow

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My professional name is Tom Sandow but as I have been a circus clown for over 40 years I am including the word 'slapstick' so that I may not be confused with any other 'Tom Sandow' registering on Wikipedia. My full life history may be seen and hopefully enjoyed via the reading of my Life Diary currently posted on the American Circus Historical Society web pages. Let us all make this world a place to enjoy and create more happiness for young and old.

I am mostly proud of my time spent in Show-Business with much adversity and also with much pleasure - as I hope that my diary will show. Slapstick clowning for me has been a joy (most of the time!) to see and hear children laugh. The most honest of audiences for they do not take prisoners! When I first started clowning the title and understanding of the title seemed clear enough - good clean fun as a child would understand it. I started in my fathers circus of course and this message was also clear to him. He always toured the best of clowns with the criteria; 'if the person makes me laugh then the person is engaged' (or sacked as the case might be).

I now find that the title is to be mis-used and insulted. I must admit that the area of clowning, even in the years past, might have been open to persons of sometimes questionable motives and strange humour but these were looked out for and stamped on. It would seem now that the area of clowning is open to the same kind of persons with no real check about suitability to the art of clowning and I find this terrible. Let us assume then that the title I mean is Circus Clown, meaning skills to entertain a large audience within a central ring. I would not mean Mix and Mingles or any other form of close proximity humour that a person of the audience may not want. I see so many Internet sites listed to attack 'clowns' and 'clowning' most against constumes they might wear and make up. Neither of these should be in the least 'Scary' and should just be visually funny - that is it!

I see one input where a child was dragged from the circus seating to appear in some stunt within the ring. This is totally wrong. A child is a small adult and should be treated with the same respect as one should treat an adult with a free choice to take part or not. Where is the joy in such behaviour? Only a very poor artiste would need to drag someone from an audience. In our shows we have no problem finding children to take part because we threat them as young adults with thinking minds.

Just as depressing I now see that certain ventures are touring with insult to the word 'circus' and the word 'clown'. These are horror shows that trade off of these very proud titles or trade marks. I strongly feel aggrieved with this modern unwholesome trend for circus must mean the reverse to this rather nasty logic, it should be good clean wholesome entertainment and these ventures should find some other titles because the two most famous (and in my youth) loved words were created by the very best of old showmen who would not feel too pleased about this misuse of their much fought for words.