Talk About Clowning Around--Women Dominate Profession : Entertainment: The industry is no longer the male preserve it once was, and children seem to like it that way.

August 08, 1993|JOHN CURRAN | ASSOCIATED PRESS

Clowns typically work birthday parties, company picnics, street fairs, parades, Christmas parties, office parties and even nursing homes. Their fees often range from $50 per 45-minute appearance to several hundred dollars, depending on where they live, what they offer and the competition in their community.

Barbara Porath, 41, of Lincoln Park, Mich., is a computer analyst who clowns on weekends.

"It's a different personality," Porath said. "When I was younger, I was quiet and shy. And I go to work all day and dress for this management job in a suit and have to pretend I'm an adult.

"Then I can be a clown and be a little silly, be a different personality, be hyper and let myself be more childlike."

Clowns say they're not goofing around for the money.

Pat Frank of Huntington Beach, Calif., quit her job as an accountant 10 years ago to go into business with her clown husband as Potsy and Blimpo. She's Potsy.

"You have to have the heart of a clown," she said. "A lot of people have the heart of a clown and don't realize it. It's a caring person who loves people and wants to make them happy.

"If you're going in to make money, you've got two strikes against you. You have to be happy at it, because that's really the pay."

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