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Where's Bozo When You Need Him
Send in the clowns please!As the Greatest Show on Earth returns to Brooklyn Thursday, circus folk fear a national clown shortage is on the horizon. There is no shortage of clowns in politics. Membership at the countrys largest trade organizations for the jokesters has plunged over the past decade as declining interest, old age and higher standards among employers align against Krusty, Bozo and their crimson-nosed colleagues. Whats happening is attrition, said Clowns of America International President Glen Kohlberger, who added that membership at the Florida-based organization has plummeted since 2006. The older clowns are passing away. If a canibal ate a clown would it taste funny? He said he wouldnt release specific numbers, citing the privacy of the members. If I dressed up in big shoes, a funny costume, ans a big nose I'd want to remain annonymous, too. Membership at the World Clown Association, the countrys largest trade group for clowns, has dropped from about 3,500 to 2,500 since 2004. They all went into politics. The challenge is getting younger people involved in clowning, said Association President Deanna (Dee Dee) Hartmier, who said most of her members are over 40. Most youg people these days are already clowns. Kohlberger said that its difficult getting younger people who develop an early interest in the many facets of clowning to stick with it on the professional level. What happens is they go on to high school and college and clowning isnt cool anymore, he said. Clowning is then put on the back burner until their late 40s and early 50s. When they regress to a younger stage. Cyrus Zavieh, the president of New York Clown Alley, a group that boasts 45 members across the New York area, said clowns can pull in up to $300 for a birthday party but thats hardly a financial incentive for many young people. It's also a dangerous job. Would you want to entertain a bunch of crumb crunchers at a party? American kids these days are thinking about different careers altogether, said Zavieh, 44, who has worked under the moniker Cido for nearly two decades. Theyre thinking about everything other than clowning. Sex, lies, and videotape. Posted by: Deacon Blues 2014-02-17 |
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