Jack LeClaire, Wife Edna, Son Jackie                                  Jack LeClaire, Emmett Kelly         
                                                                                                                             Dukie Anderson   

A brief look at the life of circus clown Jack LeClaire (LeClercq)

John Baptist LeClaire (Jack LeClaire) started performing in 1912 in a Vaudeville act called the LeClaire Trio. It was a comedy acrobatic, head and hand-balancing act with two partners, Al Stern and Tad Tosky. Al became a barber but Tad Tosky went on in clowning for most of the rest of his life and was a wonderful prop builder having performed on many shows.

Jack was with the Rentz Bros., Campbell Brothers and several others tent shows of the day, finally joining Ringling Brothers before it combined with Barnum & Bailey Circus in 1917. He was with the show for 31 years except for a stint in the U.S. Marine Corp. He remained with the show consecutively with his last season being 1950.

On June 22, 1921 the circus was playing in New Bedford Massachusetts. While there Jack met Edna Vertefeuille. Felix Adler was with him at the time. The next day, June 23, 1921 while the show was playing in Fall River Massachusetts Jack asked Edna to marry him. Edna and her sister, Peggy, had gone there, traveling about 12 miles to catch the evening performance.

Ringling closed the 1921 season in Richmond Virginia on October 18th and Jack traveled back to New Bedford to marry Edna. Winter quarters were in Bridgeport Connecticut at the time, so he probably rode the train there and then on to New Bedford. Jack and Edna were married on January 22, 1922 in New Bedford. 1922 was Edna's first season with Ringling.

She stayed home in 1927 and their son John Edmond LeClaire (Jackie LeClaire) was born on May 11, 1927. The Ringling show was playing Brooklyn New York at the time under canvas.

Jackie's first visit to the circus, Ringling, was when Edna brought him there on June 22, 1927 when the circus played Providence, Rhode Island, about 20 miles from Fall River. Edna had been with Ringling, 1922, 23, 24, 25, and the 1926 season. It's not clear as to whether she returned to Ringling in 1928. She and Jackie did however join them on the show in the 1929 season, Jackie still at one year old at the time the show opened.

After several seasons more, Edna developed Multiple Sclerosis (MS) and had to leave the show as she became physically handicapped. Her last appearance in the Ringling tent was on June 17, l936, in Fall River, MA. Edna sat in her wheel chair in front of the Merle Evan's bandstand where everyone greeted her from the entire show. It was a moment she remembered with great love till her death in November of that same year.

Jack's son Jackie was on the show with him as a child and officially was paid for clowning at age 16 in 1944.

Jack would never let Jackie wear clown pants that had a zipper front fly opening. It had to either have a side opening, or be pulled up in one piece and held with suspenders. Any supposedly exposed parts of the body had to be covered in flesh colored tights with wads of newspaper stuck in to create a funny leg, or arm etc. Flesh dyed long underwear was best comedy for this effect.

In 1949 his father changed places with him, teaching Jackie the principal parts and Jack assisting him. Jackie went out on his own with his first engagement beginning with Havana Cuba with Ringling the winter of 1949. From there he worked everything he could independently including Orrin Davenport's indoor dates and Tom Pack's. He returned to Havana the following winter, also worked in corporate work in the late fifty's.

The majority of Jack's walk around ideas came from comic strips. He was constantly cutting them out and saving them. His bend over horse, which he originated in the late 20's early 30's, and performed with his good friend Felix Adler. Jack and Felix did an act together in Vaudeville called "Adler and LeClaire, The Odd Pair." The bend over horse came from the comic strip "Barney Google" and he named the horse "Spark Plug" the same as the horse in the strip. A few years ago when the U.S. Post Office honored comic strips Barney Google with Spark Plug was one of the stamps. It was natural that the horse had a blanket that went way down to the ground, and that was perfect to cover the man underneath on his hands and knees emulating the character. He much later built a bend over that turned into an elephant. He made it out of wire so it would be lighter in weight. The horse head was paper mache, the eyes rolled, the ears wiggled and the nose snorted powder.

One of Jack's well-known gags was the Fat Suit. He got the idea of creating a "human umbrella". He used the body as the shaft of the umbrella and built a framework of ribs to cover the body from beach umbrella ribs. A metal ring around the neck had to be held down firm when the ring that circled the body was pulled up by both hands just like the pushing up of the ring that holds the umbrella ribs.

The entire framework was then covered to look like an overcoat and padding (in those times "horse hair" was used) and false arms. Slits were placed so that before you did the gag you could slip your own arms through them into the phony arms sleeves and manipulate them. Then at the right moment he would bring them back through and place them on the ring around the body. When he pulled the ring up and held the ring under your chin tight, the ribs opened up spreading out, giving the illusion of the
Coat being inflated with air.

At the finish, some one, (Jack did this gag with Felix Adler so many years) would take out a sword and in a cut in the front of the suit, in the chest area pierce the body, inserting the sword as far in as possible (without sticking it into Jack's body) and upon removing the sword, he would let the waist ring down, the ribs would close up like an umbrella, and because there was no air pressure involved in the raising and lowering of the suit, it was possible to repeat this gag several times during one clown "stop" number.

Later on, in the 1950's Jack and his son Jackie built a new suite using several umbrellas to have more ribs so the suit would have a smoother look. A new somewhat heavier fabric was used, which Jackie sewed. They also added a water pressure tank held inside so that when the sword was removed, water would squirt out from the chest. And I mean, lots of high full water pressure.

It needs to be said that Jack detested "toilet humor" and went out of his way to avoid it at all costs. The water came out from the chest to be sure it could in no way look like a person urinating.

Jack used the fat suit gag as a stop number. Jack, Felix and another clown would enter the hippodrome as a singing trio. They would stop and begin singing the song "Sweet Adeline." While they were singing Jack would struggle and try to reach a high note at a certain part of the song. Felix and the other clown would figure that he needs more air to be able to reach the note. Felix would get a bellows pump and place the hose in Jack's mouth. As he would pump the bellows Jack would slide the ring inside the
Costume allowing the ribs of the umbrella to spread open. When the costume was fully expanded the other clown would grab a sword and stick it deep into a slot made into the costume as if to release the air. Jack would let the ring return to its starting position and the gag was over and ready to start again.

Jackie used this gag after his father retired, (being inside the costume) and made it into a clown production number using 4 other clowns. Jackie performed this gag in Russia with Mark Anthony, Kinko, Marcus Drougette and Billy Ward all as New York policeman in the same color outfits. Jackie also did it on the European tour in 1963-64 and the completion of the 1964 season with Ringling.

Jack clowned every year he was in New York City at McCreery's Department Store on 34th St. across from the Empire State Building. Inside the store was a restaurant especially designed for children called "Big Top Circus Restaurant". Not only did they have a clown at Christmas time, Jack LeClaire, but during the New York engagement of Ringling Bros. They used to bring clowns to the restaurant for the noon lunch hour, Felix Adler, Paul Jerome, Lou Jacobs and Jack LeClaire. This being about the mid 40's they would transport them back and fourth, give them lunch and even a salary of $50 each time they went. That was pretty good money at that time. Wages were not much more then that each week with the RBB&B circus. After the strike in 1938, John Ringling North would not pay a clown more than $35 for the 39 seasons when the show went out. Jack held out, but finally gave in and opened with the Madison Square Garden engagement, not even making rehearsals in Sarasota.

After Jack's retirement, he and his son Jackie both worked the Boston Store at Christmas time in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Every major department store had a clown at Christmas besides Santa Clause. McCreeys used to hire an actor from Broadway for Santa Clause and Jackie LeClaire even remembers them having two other actors do a "Jargo" show that his father worked several times during the day.

Around 1936 Jack had fantail pigeons one winter at home trying to train them to fly on a rifle barrel for a clown gag. He had them on an old wood clothes dryer wrack that was mounted on the wall and opened up like a fan. He had newspapers underneath them. Jack said they did nothing but eat and @$&* and he never ever did get them trained. Jack soon found out that the fantail breed was not for this type of training.

Jack had a turn over gag that was called the "Little Turk." The costume has been redone and made new many times. The head, paper mache, built on a strong wire frame that hangs with a strap from the chest is very old now. Jack always told his son that is was made by Al Miacco whom he also bought it from. Jackie is still presenting this gag today as a skit and has it rebuilt in good shape.

The hair-growing machine was a gag of Jack's. A clown would come in with a bald skullcap on. The other clowns offered to grow hair on him for a price. He would agree and proceed to place his head in a box. Ratchets would wind and a shot would go off and out of the box he would come with an outlandish wig on and chase the other clowns out. It was a stop number, not a walk around. It was quick, but visual.

Jack remarried in 1945. That was the reason he left the circus. He went to work in Milwaukee for the Johnson Service Company and worked there until his retirement. In Milwaukee he continued to do clown appearances at shopping centers, etc. He was Schuster's Dept. Store's official Santa Clause to the schools during the Christmas season. They had a huge float with sleigh and snow and Christmas theme. They would go around to the schools, park outside where the children could see them, and play Christmas songs and Jack, as Santa Clause would give them a Christmas greeting and wish them Merry Christmas. He did this for several years.

Chappie Fox flew him to the opening of the Circus World Museum in Baraboo. He helped make up some of the celebrities and visited with the performers. Chappie took him in a little two-seater plane. He loved it.

Jack was also in the first Milwaukee Circus Parade for the Schlitz Brewing Company.

He was always an honored guest when the Ringling Bros. and Barnum and Bailey played Milwaukee. Bobby Kay, their advance clown, hosted him one year and there was much newspaper coverage.

Jack never lost his love of clowning. He followed Jackie's career with all the newspaper photos and clippings that he would send him. Until his death, he was always coming up with some new clown idea for Jackie. He was very proud of Jackie and lived vicariously through Jackie's career that continued in his footsteps. He was a very a happy man and never ever regretted one moment of his life as a clown.

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