Ringling Brothers and Barum and Bailey Advance Clown

Advance Clown Rob Ringling

Reading Jamie MacVicar's enthralling memoir, The Advance Man, it was particularly interesting to read about the adventures of the advance clown, who visits towns ahead of the circus to drum up publicity.

The Advance Man covers a period in the early 70s, but the advance clown is still out there in the form of Rob Lok, alias Rob Ringling.

Rob trained at the Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus at the age of 17 and 20 years later is still out on the road, promoting the Greatest Show on Earth.

Click here to read my review of The Advance Man.

For more on clowns, including an interview with Britain's funniest clowns, Clive Webb and Danny Adams of Cirque du Hilarious, read Circus Mania - The Ultimate Book For Anyone Who Dreamed of Running Away with the Circus. Click here to read the 5-star reviews on Amazon.