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 "As long as we remember those who have gone              (Display portrait of Bo Dino)

before us, and share stories about them, they will still   "He studied clowning on his own and began
be connected to us. As entertainers, we have another      performing during his free time. Then one day he was
way to keep the memory of those who came before           called into the bank office by a member of the board.
us alive. We can let their performances inspire what      They explained to Dean that being a clown did not fit
we perform today and in the future. As long as we         the dignified professional image that they expected
remember and honor those who have gone before us,         their vice-presidents to maintain. They gave Dean an
they will always remain a part of the thread of life."    ultimatum. Stop appearing as a clown or resign from
                                                          the bank. After a long conversation with his family,
  After that I performed this tribute to Dean Weiss.      Dean decided that the need to make people laugh
Here is that script.                                      was too strong to ignore. He resigned from the bank.
                                                          He got a lot of publicity because the local media was
The Routine                                               intrigued by a man who thought being a clown was
                                                          more important than being a banker. The bank was
  In 1980, there was very little information published    criticized for making him leave to pursue his dream.
on how to be a clown. In 1981, Richard Snowberg           He began a very successful career as a professional
published Just Clowning Around with Magic which           clown. He built a trailer that opened to form a stage
was a set of lecture notes for a presentation the he      when he appeared at county fairs. He was hired by
gave at the Clowns of America convention. In 1982, he     the Brunswick corporation to travel the country
published his first book which was titled Clowning        appearing at bowling alleys to promote that as a
For Children.                                             family activity.

  Another book on becoming a clown was published           Here are two routines from Dean’s book.
in 1982. The title was Follow the Rainbow. It was
written by Dean Weiss. He had been a Vice-President        (Put on oversized clown nose held by elastic to
at a bank. As a hobby, he began developing a tramp        portray Bo Dino.)
clown character that he named Bo-Dino.

28 MAGAZINE
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