By Bruce “Charlie” Johnson
Leon McBryde passed away on June 18, 2024. He played an important role in the early development of Clown Camp and was a much-loved and respected Staff member.
A graduate of the Ringling Bros and Barnum & Bailey Clown College, he had toured with the circus before becoming one of the show’s advance clowns. Leon considered Mark Anthony and Michael “Coco” Polokov to be his mentors. He said that he learned the heart of the clown from Mark and the craft of the clown from Michael. After leaving the circus, Leon created a shopping center show called Buttons Clown Alley. Mark Anthony and Jim Howle toured as part of the Buttons Clown Alley cast.
Leon joined the Clown Camp staff in June 1984, which was 40 years ago this week.
Leon played a key role in establishing the Clown Camp on the Road weekend programs. In 1986, he was on the staff of the first two programs in San Diego, CA, and Chicago, Illinois. He was on staff for the majority of the early Clown Camp on the Road programs.
Due to his friendship with these clowns, Leon was instrumental in helping Richard Snowberg add Mark Anthony to the Clown Camp staff in 1986 and Michael Polokov, Lou Jacobs, and Jim Howle to the staff in 1987.
Leon McBryde and Barry DeChant were hired as Clown Camp Assistant Directors in 1987. They were the first to serve in those positions. Barry’s assignment was working with the instructors. Leon became the “Dean of Students,” assisting participants in solving problems they encountered.
Family was important to Leon. He was worried that if something happened to him, his wife Linda would be unable to support their two sons. He wanted to start a business for her that would provide family income. Linda was an artist. Leon had heard about a British collection of goose eggs depicting clown makeup designs. So, he started the Department of Clown Registry in the United States. Linda would preserve a clown’s makeup design on a goose egg. The person registering their design could purchase a duplicate egg that Linda would create for them. In 1987, Linda displayed her entire egg collection at Clown Camp. Her collection was displayed at Clown Camp several more times. Linda also designed a limited-edition set of children’s furniture. The round table was painted like a sunburst circus wagon. The chairs had box seats and a solid back and depicted Leon McBryde, Don Burda, and Richard Snowberg.
Leon tried to find a need and meet it. He knew that clowns needed a nose, so he began ProNose. Clowns could purchase premade noses, or Leon would create a custom nose that fit their actual nose exactly. When the number of people with latex allergies increased, Leon developed a latex-free nose. He taught clown nose-making classes at Clown Camp. He knew that many people wanted large clown shoes, so he began selling them.
Leon felt that makeup companies did not pay enough attention to the needs of clowns. He worked with a makeup company to develop his own line of products known as ProFace. He realized that different colors of makeup provide varying degrees of sunblock. Flesh colors provided the least protection from the sun, so he developed an Auguste base that contained sunblock. That was particularly useful for clowns who performed outside for many hours at fairs, festivals, and amusement parks. He developed a greaseless makeup remover that was better for your skin.
Leon eventually developed a full-size mannequin head with realistic plastic skin for face painters to use while practicing their art.
After retiring from clowning and becoming a Santa with a real beard, Leon began producing accessories for the top-of-the-line Santa wardrobe.
At Clown Camp, Leon excelled at being on the panel for Video Review sessions that were offered during the early years. Three staff members observed a participant’s performance, and then the participant watched the recording while the staff members critiqued the act. Leon was able to gently suggest improvements that greatly improved the participant’s act.
Leon served several times on panels of staff members discussing their circus experience. Instead of bragging about what he had accomplished, he would tell stories about clowns that he had appeared with. For example, he said that Otto Griebling had lost his voice due to throat cancer before Leon joined the circus. When they arrived in a new arena, Otto would take Leon off to the side and point at the ceiling. Not sure what he was supposed to be looking for, Leon would look up and say, “That’s nice, Otto.” Then, in one arena, Otto pointed upwards and shook his head no. He took off his putty nose and threw it up so that it stuck to the ceiling. What Otto had been pointing to in the other arenas was a glob of nose putty stuck to the ceiling, proving that he had performed there previously.
Special Clown Camp memories were always made when Leon and Earl Chaney performed the “Busy Bee” sketch for Clown Campers over the years. The audience was always filled with laughter and tears of joy.
Leon told one story every time he talked about Mark Anthony. He would say, “Everyone was in a hurry to get out of makeup and costume because we had been invited to a party after the show. A little boy was standing next to the bandstand. As I was going through the performer’s curtain, I looked back. Everyone had ignored the boy except for Mark Anthony. Mark was kneeling, talking to the boy. I learned about the heart of the clown from Mark.”
Leon’s last year on Clown Camp staff was in 1991. He then began his own clown education program, Advanced Studies, and was involved in conventions and other training opportunities for clowns. After he began portraying Santa, he taught at Santa conventions.
He was often referred to as a gentle giant. He spent a lot of time encouraging other clowns to strive for their potential. His great joy while he was performing spread to other entertainers and his audience.
Leon McBryde was inducted into the International Clown Hall of Fame and into the Santa Hall of Fame.
We are grateful to Leon for his many contributions to Clown Camp and to the Campers. RIP Leon.
(This article was originally posted on the Clown Camp Facebook page on June 19, 2024.)
(Here is another article about Leon that appeared as Leon McBryde: A Giant of the Circus and Clowning, in the Fall 2024 issue of The White Tops, published by the Circus Fans Association of America)
Leon McBryde (September 23, 1943 – June 18, 2024) had a tremendous impact upon the world of clowning and the circus.
In 1969, Leon was part of the second group of students to study at the Ringling Bros and Barnum & Bailey Clown College. In Clown Alley, Bill Ballantine wrote, “Leon McBryde, twenty-eight, a native of Fayetteville, North Carolina and a graduate of Southern Methodist Unversity, was a gentel giant of 260 pounds, our tallest registrant, six-five. He could recall wanted to be a clown since he had been three-nine. Leon quit a job promotining miniature golf courses to try his luck with us; he wanted to work as a clown publicist out ahead of the show. His wife, Linda, stayed in Fayetteville where she was a legal secretary.
“I judged Leon had enough energy and determination, and nobody could miss seeing him on the hippodrome track. McBryde wanted to add to his height as a clown by rigging a high-dome head, ala Lou Jacobs.”
Although Leon was tall, he never was satisfied with that. When the articulated Big Foot Stilts first became popular among clowns, Leon told me that he had ordered a pair. When I asked him why he thought he needed stilts, he responded, “They look like they are fun. I don’t see why others should be the only ones to have fun.”
When the RBB&B Clown College concluded, Leon was hired to tour with the Ringling Bros and Barnum & Bailey Circus Blue Unit. He toured with the show in order to continue his education by gaining practical experience as a clown. Loen loved to tell stories about his time with the show.
Otto Greibling had lost his vocal cords to cancer by the time Leon toured with him. According to Leon, “Otto would pull me aside in each arena. He would point at the ceiling. I would look up. I wasn’t sure what I was supposed to be seeing, so I would just say, ‘that’s nice Otto.’ Then one day, Otto pointed up and then shook his head no. He took off his putty nose and threw it up so that it stuck to the ceiling. What Otto had been pointing to in the other arenas was his nose stuck to the ceiling proving that he had performed there before.”
While touring with the show, Leon learend an important lesson from Mark Anthony. I heard him tell this story many times. He said, “At the end of a show everyone was rushing to get out of makeup and costume because we had been invited to a party. A small boy was standing next to the bandstand. As I was going through the curtain, I looked back. Everyone had ignored the boy except for Mark Anthony who was kneeling down and talking with him. I learned about the heart of the clown from Mark.”
Leon met another inportant friend and mentor during his time with the RBB&B Circus. He said, “I learned the heart of the clown from Mark and the cratt of clowning from Coco.” That is Michael Polakovs, the son of Nicolai, the famous clown who appeared with the Bertram Mills Circus.
Leon said that one time when he left the stage, Michael told him, “I never want to see that again.” When Leon asked him what he meant, Michael said, “Fear. You should be so well prepared that you aren’t afraid. You have to have fun while you are performing.”
One way Leon developed to prevent fear was to have a clue for when he needed help. If he mentioned “elephant” during a performance that meant that a prop had failed or he forgot what came next. Then his partners in that show would help him out.
Leon did have fun while performing. That fun was infectious for his partners and his audience. When it was time for a show to begin, Leon would sometimes announce, “It is time to play.”
Leon had fun performing, and he invited his audience to join in the fun. An example is his human bowling routine. He invited ten people on stage. He had then stand across the stage in a line of four with a line of there in front of them, then a line of two, and finally one person centered in front. He announced that they were bowling pins. He had another audience member roll a beach ball towards them. When the ball hit a person, the group reacted. They decided which of the pins would fall over, and how many others they would bump into.
In another routine, Leon recruited audience members for his bell choir. He distributed tuned bells to them. The bells were colored. Leon held up flash cards with colored squares. When a member of the choir saw a square that matched the color of their bell they would ring it. That way he directed his inexperienced choir in successfully playing a song.
After Leon expanded his clown skills by touring with the circus, he was promoted to Advance clown. He travelled ahead of the show with his family in a motor home. In each town he would make personal appearances, do newspaper interviews, and visit radio and TV stations. In one town, a newspaper reporter asked him his clown name. He had not decided on one. He looked down and noticed that his costume had some oversized buttons. So, he replied that his name was Buttons. He did not intend to use that name again. Leon’s newspaper interviews were usually published after he left town so he often did not see them. However, they were in print when the show arrived so the entertainers touring with the show could read them. The next time he visited his friends touring with the show, they began teasing him about being Buttons the Clown. The name stuck and he was known by it for several decades.
While Leon was the Advance Clown, Michu, billed as the world’s smallest man, joined the show. Because of the difference in their sizes, Leon and Michu posed together for publicity photos. One of them was turned into a popular post card in 1973.
With two units on the road, there was more work than could be done by a single advance clown. The other advance clown working during that period was Steve “T. J. Tatters” Smith.
While working for Feld Entertainment, Leon made another important friendship. Jim Howle had attended the Ringling School of Art, founded by John Ringling. Jim became interested in the circus when the art students went to the Ringling Bros and Barnum & Bailey Circus Winterquarters to sketch and paint. After graduating from the art school, Jim became one of the first group of students at the RBB&B Clown College. He received a contract to tour with the Red Unit. Jim set aside his art for two years while he concentrated on learning to be a clown. Then he began doing paintings of the other circus personnel.
In 1975, Jim was named the official Ringling Bros and Barnum & Bailey Artist. For a year he traveled with the show in a 32’ trailer. His art was displayed in malls and department stores. He conducted other on-site publicity for the show. Norman Rockwell was one of Jim’s inspirations. When Jim saw a touring exhibit of Rockwell prints at a shopping center, he decided mall shows might be a good way to display his prints and get his art career started. He decided to leave the circus at the end of the 1975 season.
Leon “Buttons” McBryde also left Feld Productions employment at the end of the 1975 season. Leon and Jim decided to team up. Leon produced Button’s Clown Alley, a live clown stage show for malls. In addition to Leon and Jim, the cast included Mark Anthony, Little Bobby Baxter, and Mickey Rouse.
During a brief intense period in February of 1976, Jim painted his Contemporary American Clown series. The series featured nine circus clowns: Otto Griebling, Emmett Kelly, Lou Jacobs, Mark Anthony, Little Bobby Baxter, Leon “Buttons” McBryde, Mickey Rouse, Glen “Frosty” Little, and Bobby Kaye. The tenth print in the series was a picture of a pair of red shoes that Jim had worn. Jim’s 16 x 20 prints were hung on the front of the stage. After each show, the public could purchase the prints and get the ones depicting cast members autographed.
After serving as the RBB&B Circus Advance Clown, Leon knew the importance of public relations. Magicians and other entertainers performing at malls during that period would sit backstage between shows. However, the clowns with Button’s Clown Alley would stroll throughout the mall entertaining the customers and inviting them to the next performance. They also introduced themselves to the shop owners so they saw what they were paying for. Button’s Clown Alley eventually became a feature of the Beeker Kanter chain of malls and the CBL mall chain.
Eventually Jim and Loen’s partnership ended. Leon continued performing as a freelance entertainer. He had an important connection with a corporation.
There is a lot of publicity about Willard Scott being the first Ronald McDonald. Scott had appeared as Bozo on the local Washington D.C. television franchise from 1959 through 1962. He began making personal appearances as Bozo at three McDonald’s locations in the area. When the station did not renew their franchise agreement with Larry Harmon in 1963, Scott could no longer appear as Bozo at the fast- food outlets. The managers asked Scott if he could come up with a new character to use in appearances at their locations. He created a character that he named Ronald McDonald. However, if you look at photos of Willard Scott as Ronald McDonald, it is obvious that it is not the same character that became the company’s national advertising logo.
In 1966, the McDonald’s Corporation hired Michael Polakovs to create a new Ronald McDonald character. He designed the appearance that became world famous. There had been many product placements in clown performances with the RBB&B Circus. For example, Felix Adler wore a hat designed to look like a Jello mold for a walkaround as the Jello Clown. Ronald McDonald appeared in the RBB&B Circus for at least one season.
Leon’s friendship with Michael brought him into contact with the McDonald’s Corporation. When they began hiring clowns to portray Ronald in each region, Leon was hired to create some shows for them to perform in their personal appearances. Leon was also involved in training the new restaurant representatives. Many clowns who had experience performing with the RBB&B Circus, became Ronald McDonald after they left the show. It turned out to be a lucrative long-term booking for some of them.
Family was important to Leon. He was worried that if something happened to him, his wife Linda would not be able to support their two sons. He wanted to start a business for her that would provide family income. Linda was an artist. Leon had heard about a British collection of goose eggs depicting clown makeup designs. So, he started the Department of Clown Registry in the United States. Linda would preserve a clown’s makeup design on a goose egg. The person registering their design could purchase a duplicate egg that Linda would create for them. Many circus clowns registered their appearance with Linda. Her eggs were accepted as evidence in a couple of court cases.
Leon tried to find a need and meet it. He knew that clowns needed a nose. At the time unless you learned to make your own latex nose or used nose putty, there were very few options for clown noses. So, Leon began ProNose. Leon would create a custom nose that fit the clown’s actual nose exactly. Leon started by casting their nose with Albumen to create a mold. (Albumen is the material that dentists use to cast teeth.) Albumen shrinks as it dries out so you need to use the mold immediately. He poured plaster into the mold to create a positive that was an exact match to their nose. Then Leon used clay to sculpt the shape of their false nose. Leon made a negative mold of that shape. He cleaned the clay off the positive. I believe that the next step was applying the finished coating to the inside of the negative mold. Then he put the two molds together and filled the space between them with a foam rubber. The result was a perfectly fitting false nose that could be duplicated an unlimited number of times. The nose than could be held in place with glue eliminating the need for a string in rubber ball noses.
When Leon appeared at a clown convention, he would sign the nose that he had been wearing and donate it to the group’s charity auction.
Leon gave customers a discount on their custom nose if they gave him permission to sell duplicates to other customers. Sometimes a design was identified by two letters which were the initials of the original purchaser. For example, the RS nose was one that Leon designed for Richard Snowberg. He quickly built up a wide assortment of nose designs available to clowns. ProNose quickly became the most popular source for clown noses. Many circus clowns wore one of his noses.
When the number of people with latex allergies increased, Leon developed a latex free nose.
Leon referred to Mark Anthony as the Eccentric Genius of Clowning. Mark pioneered carving props from foam rubber and invented many other unique props.
Leon followed Mark’s example and was a very creative person. A principle of creativity is taking something used by somebody else and applying it to your project. Leon and I were on the staff of a weekend educational event in San Diego, CA. When we traveled, we liked to explore the local culture. We went with a small group of students to Seaport Village. We passed a store with a mannequin in the window. The mannequin was wearing a three-piece swimsuit. The suit’s bra cups were not connected to anything else. Leon announced that he had to go inside the store. As the door was closing, I heard him ask the employees, “How does somebody keep those on?” Soon after that he began selling double sided tape for use in keeping on clown noses.
Leon knew that many clowns wanted large shoes, so he began selling a line of clown shoes.
Leon felt that makeup companies did not pay enough attention to the needs of clowns. He worked with a makeup company to develop his own line of products known as ProFace. He realized that different colors of makeup provide varying degrees of sun block. Flesh colors provide the least protection from the sun so he developed an Auguste base that contained sun block. That was particularly useful for clowns who performed outside for many hours at fairs, festivals, and amusement parks. He developed a greaseless makeup remover that was better for your skin.
Leon eventually developed a full-size mannequin head with a realistic plastic skin for face painters to use while practicing their art. Face painting has been offered by clowns at the Circus World amusement park in Florida, on the Carson & Barnes Circus, on the Ringling Bros and Barnum Bailey Circus, at the Circus World Museum, and other circus venues.
Richard Snowberg started Clown Camp, a one-week educational clown program, in 1981. Clown Camp was held each year on the University of Wisconsin – La Crosse campus. Over the years more than five thousand participants have studied clowning through that program. Several of them went on to careers as circus clowns.
Leon joined the Clown Camp staff in 1984. In 1986, Leon helped Richard schedule Mark Anthony to be on the Clown Camp staff. Mark was a Clown Camp instructor through 1989. He taught participants how to carve foam rubber props.
In 1987, Leon helped Richard add Michael Polakovs, Lou Jacobs, and Jim Howle to the staff. Richard felt the 1987 staff was the best in the history of the program. It was the first time that regular clowns could study from instructors with that much circus experience and who had been teachers at the RBB&B Clown College. Richard said that was possible only because of Leon’s friendship with those men. Michael taught at Clown Camp just that one year. Lou taught there for two more years. Jim was part of the Clown Camp staff until 2019.
Magician David Ginn was also one of Leon’s friends. While at Clown Camp, Leon helped David get into clown makeup and wardrobe for the first time. Leon encouraged David to write a book titled Clown Magic and helped him with its contents.
Clown education was important to Leon. Since many people could not take a week off and travel to La Crosse, WI to study, the weekend Clown Camp on the Road weekend educational events programs were introduced in 1986. Leon played a key role in their establishment. In 1986, Leon was on the staff of the first two programs in San Diego, CA, and Chicago IL. He was on staff for the majority of the early Clown Camp on the Road programs.
I met Leon McBryde at Clown Camp in 1986. That began our long friendship. I greatly appreciated his support and encouragement. He was especially interested in my efforts to study the history of clowning. He told many stories of the clowns that he had worked with.
Leon McBryde and Barry DeChant were hired as Clown Camp Assistant Directors in 1987. They were the first to serve in those positions. Barry’s assignment was working with the instructors. Leon became the “Dean of Students” assisting participants in solving problems they encountered. The heart of the clown that Leon had learned from Mark Anthony was evident in his interactions with participants.
At Clown Camp, Leon excelled at being on the panel for Video Review sessions that were offered during the early years. A performance by a participant would be recorded while three staff members observed. Then the participant would watch the recording while the staff members critiqued the act. Leon was able to gently make suggested improvements that greatly improved their act.
Leon served several times on panels of Clown Camp staff members discussing their circus experience. Instead of bragging about what he had accomplished, he would tell stories about clowns that he had appeared with.
Leon was an early supporter of the International Clown Hall of Fame. Otto Griebling, Emmett Kelly, Mark Anthony, Red Skelton, Felix Adler, and Lou Jacobs were inducted in 1989. The 1990 inductees were Joseph Grimaldi, Bob Keeshan, and Leon McBryde.
Leon told me that when he accepted the nomination many of his peers criticized him for being bold enough to think he deserved to be inducted. He said that he had done it to try to inspire other clowns. The first six inductees were very famous with long careers. Most clowns could never dream of matching their accomplishments. Leon said that he wanted to be an example of somebody without that long legacy. He hoped that others looking at him would dream that maybe they too could someday be inducted. He felt that would motivate them to be a better clown. He also felt that being inducted was a great responsibility. Now he had to live up to the qualities expected of inductees.
Leon’s last year on Clown Camp staff was in 1991. He left to start his own educational program called The Advanced Studies in the Performing Art of Clowning. Hundreds of students studied there over the decades. Again, several of them went on to circus careers.
That was not the limit of Leon’s educational efforts. He met Don Burda at Clown Camp in 1986. The two became great friends and performed together at corporate events. Starting in 1992 the two of them conducted weekend educational programs called Clown Encounters.
In the mid-1990’s, Leon went on a national tour doing clown workshops with Tony Jones and Marcella “Mama Clown” Murad.
One of his classes was performing a Slosh Act. He taught the participants how to throw and receive a bucket of water. He demonstrated how to prepare pies by grating shaving soap into a bucket, adding water, and whipping it up with a paint mixing attachment on a power drill. He said that whipped cream should never be used for pies because it can stain clothing and possibly turn rancid causing a health risk. The sudsy foam was piled on paper plates. After he demonstrated the safe way to hit somebody with a pie so you did not injure them, he let the participates have a free for all pie fight. It was a popular class because participants felt that being hit by a pie was something that a circus clown would experience. However, circus clowns do not indulge in a free for all fight. Circus clowns carefully choreograph their pie fights and motivate the actions.
Don Burda and Leon McBryde were among the headliners at the 2000 Clowns of America International convention in San Francisco, CA. In addition to teaching classes, the duo performed a demonstration show.
Wherever Leon taught or appeared in variety shows, younger clowns would flock around him. They were fascinated by his stories about touring with a circus and about the clowns he had known. He passed on his love of the circus and his love of the art of clowning.
I am not sure when the last Advanced Studies in the Performance Art of Clowning was held. Leon had a retirement ceremony for his Buttons character. He took his costume off and hung it up for the last time. Then he revealed his new character named Oz. It was a character with a less exaggerated appearance.
Oz was not Leon’s last entertainment character. He made the transition to being a real beard Santa. His character was known as Santa Noel. Just as he had done with clowning, he became very active in teaching Santa classes. Many clowns appear as Santa during the holiday season. Leon loved appearing as Santa Noel. He was inducted into the Santa Claus Hal of Fame in 2017.
Leon’s Christian faith was important to him. He mentored many people involved in Gospel Clown Ministry.
Leon’s impact upon the world of clowning, the circus, and individual lives was obvious on Facebook when he passed away. I wrote a tribute to Leon that was posted on the Clown Camp Facebook page. That short article reached over seven thousand people. Hundreds of people posted their own Facebook tributes to Leon describing how he had impacted them personally.
Leon was a large man. His impact on clowning and the circus was even larger.
His memorial service was shared on YouTube. You can view it at https://youtube/BQveNyzZdMs