"Bingo" - A Tribute To Michael O-Shaughnessy
by Randy Christensen
I began clowning in 1980. For the next couple of years I knew just enough about clowning to be truley dangerous. I was told of the International Fellowship of Christian Magicians’ Annual Convention. Though I was newly wed and also a college student, I managed to convince my wife to spend the week (and the money) with me at this unique convention. On the Thursday of the convention, a former R.B. & B.B. circus clown drove on site. He had clowned with the Big Show for six years with many of the greats. The clown ministry director, Marilyn “Calico” Whitmer, told me I needed to make sure to make it to this guy’s class.
The other classes were sparsely attended. This clown’s was jammed. He presented himself with the confidence and clarity that only comes from years of experience. At that time I had a moustache, so he asked me if I’d be a volunteer for the clown make-up demonstration. He gave bits of business, insight and history throughout his demonstration. He loaded a powder puff and told me to close my eyes. He told me to get ready by taking a big breath. At the moment I took the big breath he hit me with the powder. I inhaled, gagged, coughed and sputtered. The entire class roared. Yep, Michael O’Shaughnessy was a prankster. After the class he apologized to me. I hung around and asked questioned and listened. I got his card. He had a shop in Minneapolis called “The Circus Clowns.”
That Autumn, when I arrived back in Minneapolis for college, I pulled out the map and located Michael’s shop. At this point in time I had never seen anything better than a plastic fifty cent nose or goodwill costumes. I stepped into his shop and was mesmerized. He was busy working, creating and answering the telephone. I went to the back room and looked through his racks. I noted the color combinations, the attention to detail, the cartoon-like patterns. This was all new to me. Michael stepped in and asked if I was looking for anything in particular. I told him I was just looking. He made a couple comments to me about the clown stuff I was looking at and moved back to his other tasks.
I found myself back there time after time, rummaging through bins, looking through books on his end tables, listening in on his telephone conversations, gleaning everything I could. I hoped that he didn’t mind having me hang around. Sometimes I would enter or exit with barely more than a “hi” from him. But, I’d listen....I was learning. I just hoped that he didn’t kick me right out of his shop someday because I rarely bought anything. I simply “camped out.”
I remember one day at the shop a short middle-aged man came in and told Michael that he wanted to be a good clown. I’ll never forget Mike’s reply. Michael looked at him with those fiery eyes and said, “You want to be a good clown? Okay. I’ll tell you how to become a good clown. You do what Randy is doing here. He comes in and listens and gleans and learns. You want to be a good clown? You have to hang around the business, because it doesn’t just come overnight. It doesn’t come from just having a nose and a nice pair of shoes. You have to be serious about it.”
As a boy, Michael spent summers on the road traveling with his uncle who was a circus performer. After military service in the Korean War, Michael did stateside shows for Army troops. He continued to perform spot dates with circuses, birthday parties, carnivals, and store openings and charity events for two reasons. First, he loved being in front of the crowd. He loved to make people laugh. Secondly, he always felt it was important to feel the pulse of the crowd. He didn’t just want to make stuff for clowns without really knowing if it was going to connect with an audience.
Michael O’Shaughnessy was a pioneer in the clown world. He was one of the few high quality clown shops in the world about twenty years ago. His costumes and noses were always the finest. I’ll say it again...ALWAYS the finest. His costumes were award winning costumes at conventions year after year. But the thing Michael “Bingo” O’Shaughnessy took pride in was that these costumes were designed for the working clown, not merely the competition clown. These things looked sharp, yet took an incredible beating. Whenever he showed a costume he always opened it up and showed the double stitching and the multitude of additional little extras that he put into them. He actually silk screened his own cloth designs and materials so that each was totally unique. No one else could ever match his cloth designs because they were hand done by him.
The small “hard” hat which is commonly sold was originally designed and developed by him. The “bingo” nose was used exclusively by RB&BB circus year after year. Michael was continually expirementing with new foams, vinyls, and processes to create new and better clown props. His favorite part of the business was being in his back room creating new gags and props.
Michael was a UW-LaCrosse Clown Camp Instructor in the early years. Many of the make-up techniques now taught as standard quality application procedures were first innovated by him. He was a master at make-up. Ask anyone who ever saw him work. I dare say that every quality clown in the U.S. owes a debt of gratitude to “Bingo” because many of the methods they use were originally created by Michael.
I understand that Michael certainly had his rough edges and at some point in time actually offended every major clown organization in the United States. At times I witnessed Michael’s tirades and poor attitudes. There were times he certainly didn’t act like a saint. But I, for one, was changed by the investment this man made in me. I am the clown I am today, largely due to the influence and friendship of “Bingo.” I am eternally grateful.
A number of years ago, I was flying through Minneapolis and had a one hour lay over. I called and left a message on Bingo’s answering machine to let him know in advance. I mentioned that it’d be great to see him if he had the time. I never heard back from him, so I assumed that he wasn’t able to come to the airport. It’d be quite a bother to him fighting the traffic, and finding parking, and walking through the terminals anyway. After I arrived at the airport, I went and found some food to snack on. About fifteen minutes before my next plane was to leave, through the door walked Michael. He had barely missed my deboarding and had scoured the entire airport for almost an hour. He hadn’t given up. This was my friend, Michael.
In early December, 1999 Michael “Bingo” O’Shaughnessy apparently died of a heart attack while he was in his home in a Minneapolis suburb at the age of 66.
Good bye, my mentor and friend.
I began clowning in 1980. For the next couple of years I knew just enough about clowning to be truley dangerous. I was told of the International Fellowship of Christian Magicians’ Annual Convention. Though I was newly wed and also a college student, I managed to convince my wife to spend the week (and the money) with me at this unique convention. On the Thursday of the convention, a former R.B. & B.B. circus clown drove on site. He had clowned with the Big Show for six years with many of the greats. The clown ministry director, Marilyn “Calico” Whitmer, told me I needed to make sure to make it to this guy’s class.
The other classes were sparsely attended. This clown’s was jammed. He presented himself with the confidence and clarity that only comes from years of experience. At that time I had a moustache, so he asked me if I’d be a volunteer for the clown make-up demonstration. He gave bits of business, insight and history throughout his demonstration. He loaded a powder puff and told me to close my eyes. He told me to get ready by taking a big breath. At the moment I took the big breath he hit me with the powder. I inhaled, gagged, coughed and sputtered. The entire class roared. Yep, Michael O’Shaughnessy was a prankster. After the class he apologized to me. I hung around and asked questioned and listened. I got his card. He had a shop in Minneapolis called “The Circus Clowns.”
That Autumn, when I arrived back in Minneapolis for college, I pulled out the map and located Michael’s shop. At this point in time I had never seen anything better than a plastic fifty cent nose or goodwill costumes. I stepped into his shop and was mesmerized. He was busy working, creating and answering the telephone. I went to the back room and looked through his racks. I noted the color combinations, the attention to detail, the cartoon-like patterns. This was all new to me. Michael stepped in and asked if I was looking for anything in particular. I told him I was just looking. He made a couple comments to me about the clown stuff I was looking at and moved back to his other tasks.
I found myself back there time after time, rummaging through bins, looking through books on his end tables, listening in on his telephone conversations, gleaning everything I could. I hoped that he didn’t mind having me hang around. Sometimes I would enter or exit with barely more than a “hi” from him. But, I’d listen....I was learning. I just hoped that he didn’t kick me right out of his shop someday because I rarely bought anything. I simply “camped out.”
I remember one day at the shop a short middle-aged man came in and told Michael that he wanted to be a good clown. I’ll never forget Mike’s reply. Michael looked at him with those fiery eyes and said, “You want to be a good clown? Okay. I’ll tell you how to become a good clown. You do what Randy is doing here. He comes in and listens and gleans and learns. You want to be a good clown? You have to hang around the business, because it doesn’t just come overnight. It doesn’t come from just having a nose and a nice pair of shoes. You have to be serious about it.”
As a boy, Michael spent summers on the road traveling with his uncle who was a circus performer. After military service in the Korean War, Michael did stateside shows for Army troops. He continued to perform spot dates with circuses, birthday parties, carnivals, and store openings and charity events for two reasons. First, he loved being in front of the crowd. He loved to make people laugh. Secondly, he always felt it was important to feel the pulse of the crowd. He didn’t just want to make stuff for clowns without really knowing if it was going to connect with an audience.
Michael O’Shaughnessy was a pioneer in the clown world. He was one of the few high quality clown shops in the world about twenty years ago. His costumes and noses were always the finest. I’ll say it again...ALWAYS the finest. His costumes were award winning costumes at conventions year after year. But the thing Michael “Bingo” O’Shaughnessy took pride in was that these costumes were designed for the working clown, not merely the competition clown. These things looked sharp, yet took an incredible beating. Whenever he showed a costume he always opened it up and showed the double stitching and the multitude of additional little extras that he put into them. He actually silk screened his own cloth designs and materials so that each was totally unique. No one else could ever match his cloth designs because they were hand done by him.
The small “hard” hat which is commonly sold was originally designed and developed by him. The “bingo” nose was used exclusively by RB&BB circus year after year. Michael was continually expirementing with new foams, vinyls, and processes to create new and better clown props. His favorite part of the business was being in his back room creating new gags and props.
Michael was a UW-LaCrosse Clown Camp Instructor in the early years. Many of the make-up techniques now taught as standard quality application procedures were first innovated by him. He was a master at make-up. Ask anyone who ever saw him work. I dare say that every quality clown in the U.S. owes a debt of gratitude to “Bingo” because many of the methods they use were originally created by Michael.
I understand that Michael certainly had his rough edges and at some point in time actually offended every major clown organization in the United States. At times I witnessed Michael’s tirades and poor attitudes. There were times he certainly didn’t act like a saint. But I, for one, was changed by the investment this man made in me. I am the clown I am today, largely due to the influence and friendship of “Bingo.” I am eternally grateful.
A number of years ago, I was flying through Minneapolis and had a one hour lay over. I called and left a message on Bingo’s answering machine to let him know in advance. I mentioned that it’d be great to see him if he had the time. I never heard back from him, so I assumed that he wasn’t able to come to the airport. It’d be quite a bother to him fighting the traffic, and finding parking, and walking through the terminals anyway. After I arrived at the airport, I went and found some food to snack on. About fifteen minutes before my next plane was to leave, through the door walked Michael. He had barely missed my deboarding and had scoured the entire airport for almost an hour. He hadn’t given up. This was my friend, Michael.
In early December, 1999 Michael “Bingo” O’Shaughnessy apparently died of a heart attack while he was in his home in a Minneapolis suburb at the age of 66.
Good bye, my mentor and friend.
posted by Randy | 7:25 AM
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