Chapter 28
I was on the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, promoting one of my films. For the record, there has never been a TV interviewer better than Johnny. He had no problem letting the guest have the spotlight, but if you got into trouble, couldn’t think of anything to say, he was there with a question or quip to help you. Yet as outgoing as he was on camera, he was really quiet, even shy, backstage. I liked him an awful lot, though, and always enjoyed going on his show.
This night he said, “Ernie, you’ve done just about everything there is to do as an actor. What’s left?”
After thinking a bit, I said, “Well, let’s see. I’ve never been a clown.”
He said, “Boy, you’re going to get letters.”
Sure enough, the very next day a fellow by the name of Ben Barkin called me from Milwaukee and said, “You want to be a clown? We’ll make you the head clown in our circus parade. It’s going to be the greatest circus parade in the world. We go on July the 14th.”
Well, how do you say no to something like that?
I flew to Milwaukee. Ben Barkin brought in a clown from Ringling Brothers. He put makeup on me, just enough to show that I was a clown, yet left enough of Ernie showing so that people would still know I was the guy from McHale’s Navy.
Ben had some vintage circus wagons brought in on a big train through Chicago. It was quite an event. They set up the whole circus spectacle and all those beautiful wagons were on display. On Sunday, when we put on the parade, it was just the most colorful, epic, exciting thing you could imagine. There was just one problem: crowd-wise, it was pretty much of a bust. I don’t think we had more than 15,000 people on the streets. We’d see one person and wave like crazy.
I’d say from the side of my mouth, “Oh boy, there’s a fan.”
But Ben was undeterred. He said, “We’re going to do better next year,” and he did. I appeared in the parade from 1972 until 2002. That last year I did it, we had over 2 million people watching along the route. And it got me thinking. I think it would be great if politicians put on a clown outfit every now and then and really got to know the people. You would be surprised what you can see in people’s eyes when you’re a clown. They look upon you as a person who is bringing a little joy into their lives. That’s what I felt, and I treasured it. I remembered it every time I made a film. If a president or senator or governor could remember that look, that sense of responsibility, whenever they made a decision, the world would be a better place. In fact, if politicians wore clown makeup on the job, maybe they’d fight a little less among themselves.
Just a thought, humbly submitted for your consideration.