Irvin Feld



A Tribute to Irvin Feld


The clown thrives today in The Greatest Show on Earth because of the wisdom and vision of one man - the late Irvin Feld. When he founded Ringling Bros. Barnum & Bailey Clown College in 1968, Irvin Feld ensured that the smile of the clown would never vanish from the face of the earth.

When Irvin Feld purchased Ringling Bros. in 1967, he strolled into Clown Alley and found only fourteen clowns, with an average age of 58. "The classic clowns had many years of success and wisdom to pass down to future generations, but there weren't any young faces to carry on the age-old art of clowning," he explained. "I was facing an endangered art form, and I knew it."

The following year Irvin Feld founded Ringling Bros. Barnum & Bailey Clown College in Venice, Florida, at Winter Quarters, as a training ground for clowns. He called on masters of merriment, including Lou Jacobs, Otto Griebling, and Bobby Kaye, to pass on their clowning skills to the young clowns in training. The first class of 1968 boasted a handful of fledgling students who were willing to break new ground and learn from the masters.

Before Irvin Feld bought Ringling Bros. Barnum & Bailey, the only way for a talented youngster to become a clown was to be born into a circus family. But Irvin Feld changed all that. He believed that clowning skills could be molded from raw talent, if only young people were given the chance to learn from the masters.

From 1968-1997, more than 1,400 students passed through the doors of Clown College.