CLARION, Pa. (EYT) – The decision to ban clowns from this year’s Autumn Leaf Festival by the Clarion Chamber upset Fleebus the Clown, from New Bethlehem, and his imaginary dog, Killer.
(Photo by Pam Bedison Huffman)
“I was told I wasn’t allowed to be in it,” said 80-year old Fred Anderson of New Bethlehem. “They said they weren’t going to have any clowns this year with all the clown controversy. I looked at her and said, ‘I have been in the parade for about the last 30 years, and I WILL be in the parade.’”
Anderson parked his car elsewhere and walked into the parade, traveling back and forth on the Main Street parade route and greeting children. Unlike the “frightening” clowns that have gained a considerable amount of media attention lately, Fleebus is a friendly clown complete with a dog harness that keeps his invisible dog.
“The kids all know who I am, and they all pet the dog,” said Anderson. “I’ve never run into anything like all of the controversy. The parade was in broad daylight, and all of these people around. It’s a different story. I stopped and talked to every one of the cops along the parade and told them my story. They said, ‘no problem.’”
There are two sides to the story, and Tracy Becker, executive director of the Clarion Chamber, offered two reasons why Anderson was told he wasn’t allowed in the parade.
“We took a more proactive approach to the festival, and we have nothing against clowns at all,” said Becker. “We want to have clowns be part of the parade, but this year – in light of what’s recently happened involving that clown that was on the media and stuff like that – we just felt that we wanted to protect everybody.”
Anybody that wants to be part of the parade must register in advance, and since Anderson had not registered, he technically wasn’t allowed to be in the parade, according to Becker.
“In light of what has happened recently with the clowns, we even contacted Silly Willy out of New York State who comes here year after year and always registers for the parade, and he’s been coming forever,” continued Becker. “We made him aware of in light of the recent incidents involving clowns, we thought for his safety, we didn’t want to have clowns in the parade this year. He was really appreciative that we were concerned about his safety.”
“We have to look at the liability. Back years ago, we had a group march in the parade, and they were not registered. They dropped a muzzle loader and went off near a lady, and she had permanent hearing loss. We ended up getting sued. From a liability end, the units that are registering sign up on the liability clause, and it’s protecting all parties involved.”
Becker said if Fleebus officially wants to be part of the parade next year, all he has to do is register online by the deadline.
A number of other groups (non-clowns) were turned away because they had not registered. Registrations were required by September 19.
The Fleebus Story
Fred Anderson is known in New Bethlehem as a community leader and a retired manager of plants like the St. Charles Brick Factory and the Allegheny River Terminal in Schenley, but he also lived a secret life.
Anderson is a clown.
For the last four decades, he has volunteered at various area parades and other events, refining his character to bring the joy that only a clown can bring.
It all started in the 70s
Anderson, AKA Fleebus, first stepped into a clown suit in the early 1970s when the local Jaycees decided to be part of the New Bethlehem Christmas Parade.
“We wanted to pass out candy baskets at the parade, and there were about six or eight of us that had our wives make us clown outfits, and we got wigs and put makeup on,” said Anderson. “We did that for a couple of years, and I laid off until I decided to be in the Fireman’s Parade.”
Fred never took any lessons on being a clown, but he did get some help with the makeup.
“I started out with the cheap stuff, and that didn’t hold up very good. I went to the university and got some good makeup, and I just designed my own face. Every clown has his own face, and that’s your trademark.”
“It takes a good hour to get ready by the time you put the makeup on and your get it the way you want it,” explained Anderson. “And then you have to get your hair fixed right and put on all of your gear.”
Anderson puts his makeup on before events and drives to his destination. People are surprised to see a real clown out driving on the highway.
Over the years, Fleebus has appeared in various New Bethlehem parades and ones in Clearfield, Punxsutawney, and Clarion.
Fleebus? What kind of clown name is that?
Fleebus is the name of Anderson’s clown.
“That goes way back,” said Anderson. “This was before I was married and got out of the service and lived in Clearfield. A bunch of us went to the movie once, and they had the cartoons. They had this cartoon about Fleebus, and it had to be the dumbest cartoon you ever saw. All this guy would do is walk down the street and wave and say ‘Hi Gang,’ and they would wave back and say ‘Hi Fleebus.’ So, when I would walk down the street after this or go to the gas station, the guys would be in front of the gas station and go, “Hi Fleebus,” and I would say, “Hi Gang” to them. This went on for years.”
Autumn Leaf Festival Parade
Anderson has been part of the Autumn Leaf Festival Parade since 1990, but he has still managed to march to his own beat.
“One of the funniest things I encountered after I was in the Clarion parade for a couple of years was that different people would be in charge,” said Anderson. “I would wander around, and I asked what time was it going to start. They asked me for my number because numbers were required. She told me ‘You can’t be in the parade if you don’t have a number.'”
“I said, ‘You mean you’re going to throw a clown out of a parade if he doesn’t have a number?’ I said I’d wait and see what happens. And then, they said you have to stay right in line, but I wander. I start at the beginning of the parade and go back and forth, and by the time I’m finished, the parade is over. It takes that long to go over and shake hands with the kids with my imaginary dog.”
One year it rained throughout the parade and a photo of Fleebus and his dripping makeup made it on to the front page of The Derrick.
Fleebus goes to the circus
“I’ve done the circus a couple of times,” said Anderson about when Roberts Brother Circus appeared at Alcola Park. “I went up and talked to them in the daytime and told them I’m a clown and they said, ‘Oh, do you want to be in the circus?’ I knew the people and was one of Jaycees that brought them to town. That was a lot of fun. They let me in their act and gave me something to do, but it wasn’t too big. I just had to be there and act excited.”
His circus experience provided no circus secrets, but he did get some makeup tips.
“They showed me a lot about putting on makeup and the powder over the makeup to set it. Before that, my makeup used to get smeary.”
Anderson’s clown and circus knowledge also helped him win some tickets one day when a KDKA disc jockey asked if anyone listening to the radio could identify the only living person who was also a clown to be featured on a postage stamp. He knew that Lou Jacobs was that person, so he called KDKA and won 10 tickets to the circus in Pittsburgh.
“I took our kids and the neighbor kids, and we all went to the circus in Pittsburgh. I didn’t get to be in that one, though.”
Killer is his sidekick
Anderson’s clown sidekick is his dog, Killer. He points out that Killer is an imaginary dog and not invisible.
“Invisible is one you can’t see, but imaginary is all in your head. The kids all remember him. When I go out now, Killer is famous. The kids all want to pet the dog along the parade route, and I go back and forth. And, the grandfathers are even hollering bring your dog over here. And, the story behind that is he’s a killer, but he doesn’t have any teeth. He left them home in the jar.”
Killer may be imaginary, but some people have their doubts.
“You get the people at the parade who are…I don’t know what else you would call them but idiots. One time a woman grabbed the leash of the dog and held it up and put her hand up through the harness on the dog and said in front of everyone, ‘There’s no dog here.’ I just looked at her and said you’ve made a complete ass out of yourself in front of all these people.”
Fear of clowns
“At one Autumn Leaf weekend a couple of years ago, I encountered five people that were afraid of clowns,” said Anderson “Five adults. A lot of kids are afraid because clowns can be scary. After the parade, at the Loomis a lot of people come up to me and to get my autograph and have their picture with stuff and me like that.”
“A husband came up and said, ‘My wife’s afraid of clowns, but she said she would come over and meet you.’ There were five of them in the group, and one or two of them would shake hands, but the other ones kept their distance. One woman sat in the booth, and when I went by she said, ‘I’m afraid of clowns, please don’t come by here again.'”
Anderson says that every year there’s someone who tries to trick him into scaring someone.
“They’ll say, ‘Oh, she’s afraid of clowns, sneak up behind her and tap her on the shoulder.’ I won’t do that, that’s a real fear. That’s the strangest thing I’ve run into that people think it’s funny to scare someone that is really, really scared of clowns.”
Clowning still in the future
Anderson is a spry 80 and says he will keep up being a clown for as long as he can.
Any advice for future clowns? …“It’s a lot of fun,” laughs Anderson. “You encounter a lot of different people and see their reactions. People will also react differently when you’re in the parade as opposed to if you’re walking down the sidewalk.”
“Men especially will avoid eye contact on the street. If you’re walking down the sidewalk, they will look away in the other direction. The kids come up to you and want a hug, or they want to pet the dog, blow your horn, or squeeze your nose. You can’t let them squeeze your nose, or they might pull it off. The glue will only hold so much.”
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