Wheeler the Clown Wheeler the Clown                      Presents . . .

  Novice Clown Clown Quiz

(Medium Difficulty) The Answers


  1. The circus  clown's wardrobe and makeup area is called the. . .?
b. Clown alley
   2. Clowns are often referred to as Joeys (at least amongst ourselves). This term honors a specific clown. Who was he?
d. Clowns are called joeys in honor of the great Joseph Grimaldi.
  3. The original auguste clown wore very little or no makeup. What clown created the colorful face that we associate with the auguste clown today?
c. Albert FratelliniAlbert Fratellini created today's Auguste face
  4. Which real life circus clown did not appear in the 1952 movie, The Greatest Show on Earth?
d. Michael "Coco" Poliakov, who never performed for the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus (as did all the circus acts used in the movie), was not in the film.
  5. Felix Adler was famous for using trained piglets in his act. Although he used over one hundred piglets in his career, he gave nearly all of them the same name. What was it?
e. After his marriage, Felix always named his piglets Amelia; his wife's first name.

  6.

Where did Emmett Kelly first perform as Weary Willie the tramp clown?
b. In 1932, during the winter, Emmett Kelly Sr. performed at night clubs dressed as a tramp clown and giving what he called "chalk talks." It was 1933 before he was able to convince circus management into letting him perform as Weary Willie.
  7. "The Day the Clowns Cried" refers to what day and event in circus history?
c. July 6,1944 - A Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus big top fire in Hartford Connecticut (thus it is also referred to as the Hartford Fire). 168 people, all spectators, died, and many more were injured. The name comes from a photo taken of tramp clown Emmett "Weary Willie" Kelly, Sr. carrying a water bucket, which appeared in many newspapers nationwide.
 8. Who was the first clown to appear in a television program? 
a. Felix Adler, the King of ClownsFelix Adler (in 1932)
  9. Who was the clown who is often called "America's answer to Joseph Grimaldi?
c. George Fox
 10. "Yankee Dan" RiceClown "Yankee Dan" Rice, at the height of his career, was making around $200 a week more than which of his contemporaries?
e. U.S. President Abraham Lincoln
11. Who originally created Bozo the Clown?
c. Alan Livingston and BozoAlan Livingston created Bozo the Clown in 1946, to help sell a series of children's records and books. The others have all portrayed Bozo at one time or another, and Larry Harmon currently owns the rights to Bozo and Bozo merchandise.
12. Which of the following men has not portrayed Bozo the Clown?
e. Roy Brown as Cooky CookRoy Brown was a regular in Chicago's Bozo show, but he portrayed Cooky Cook the Clown , not Bozo.
13. In what year did the Clown Hall of Fame select its first inductees?
c. 1989
14. What was the first year in which all of the inductees in the Clown Hall of fame were circus Clowns?
c. 1991. In 1989 and 1990, at least one inductee was a theatrical or television clown.
15. Yankee Dan Rice was both clown and accomplished animal trainer. Which of the following did he not do?
b. Dan did not train lions to do various tricks
16. How many times did the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus offer Emmett "Weary Willie" Kelly a contract before Emmett finally accepted the offer?
b. Emmett Sr. was offered a contract 3 times before signing it; Like a lot of circus Clowns, Emmett Sr. wanted to work for "Big Bertha," but other commitments kept him from accepting the first two offers. 
17. Which of the following circus / clown families were not actually related to one another?
a. The Sherman Brothers weren't reallyThe Sherman Brothers (Chester Sherman and Joe Vani) were actually unrelated partners.
18. What was the original name of the oldest clown club in the world?
b. International Circus Clowns Club; later the name was changed to Clowns International (to reflect the fact that the circus was no longer the only venue for clowns).
19. Who played the wise circus Clown in the 1959 Disney classic, Toby Tyler?
b. Gene Sheldon, a veteran of many Disney films and series (notably Zorro, where he played the mute Bernardo).
20. What is a first season circus clown called?
c. First of May, which is a term applied to all new circus performers
21. Besides being clowns and Clown Hall of Fame inductees, what do Emmett Kelly Sr., Red Skelton, and Al Ross all have in common?
d. They were all Masons and Shriners
22. Who was the first Soviet clown to be seen in a live performance in Western Europe? 
b. Oleg Popov was the 1st Soviet Clown seen in the free worldOleg Popov in 1955
23. TThe tramp character was actually first performed in vaudville; typically as a juggler. What famous movie actor recieved his first fame for excellence as a tramp juggler?
e. W.C. Fields
24. Which circus did Emmett "Weary Willie" Kelly Sr. not perform for during his career?
d. Emmett never performed for the Pickle Family Circus
25. What was Frankie Saluto's first clown character?
c. Frankie was one of the "little people" and gave performance of a miniature Charlie Chaplin lookalike that the audience loved.
26. Which clown was not a firsthand witness of the tragic Hartford Fire of 1944 
d. Otto GrieblingOtto Griebling, who didn't join the big one until 1951, seven years after the tragic big top fire. 


How did you do?
   0- 5pts. Can you even spell clown? You need to get out more.
 6-10pts. You must have seen a clown in a circus coloring book.
11-15pts. You may have slept through a circus or two.
16-20pts.  Okay, you probably attend the circus regularly, but spend too much time at the refreshment stand
21-26pts. Apparently, you really know your clowns. Are you ready for the expert quiz?                                  click here  or

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