Ron "Toto" Johnson
... began clowning in his hometown of
Naugatuck, Connecticut during the summer of
1977 at the age of 10.
... formed his own clown troupe, "The Colossal
Clowns", in 1981 with 4 other teens.
... started performing at the Circus World theme
park near Orlando, Florida the day after
graduating from high school in 1985.
... graduated from the Ringling Brothers and
Barnum and Bailey Circus Clown College class
of 1985 at age 18.
... clowned on the Red unit of Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey
Circus from 1986 through 1989.
...taught stiltwalking, makeup, and clowning at the Clown College in
1988.
... was the Boss Clown for Cirkus Olympia in Sweden for 1990 and
1991.
... performed for several months in late 1990/early 1991 at the Carnival
Plaza in Tokyo, Japan.
... produced and starred in "The Circus Of Clowns" at Riverside
Amusement Park (Massachusetts) during the 1992 and 1993 seasons.
... won a Bronze medal for his clowning at the Sarasota International
Circus Festival and Parade in 1993/1994.
... had the lead role of "Zed" in the 1994 production of "The Police
Academy Live Action Stunt Show" at Six Flags Over Georgia.
... was one of only 5 performers featured at the Circus Circus casino
near Tunica, Mississippi from 1994 until 1996.
... performed aboard the Silja Scandinavia cruise ship in 1996, touring
between Finland and Sweden.
... became a 13 1/2 inch tall, limited edition sculpture in 1999, created
by artist/sculptor Ron Lee.
... taught a workshop on physical comedy and represented the USA in
the international gala show during the Bolton International Clowns
Festival (England) in September 2001.
... represented the USA at the international clown festival held in the
town of Praia da Vito'ria on the island of Terceira in the Azores of
Portugal in August of 2002, 2004, and 2008.
... joined 4 other American clowns in presenting stage shows,
workshops, and strolling entertainment at the National Cultural Festival
of Japan held throughout Fukuoka Prefecture in November of 2004.
... received both the "Clown Bluey" award for "Best Parade Performance
2004/2005" and the "Silly Willy" award for "Best Auguste 2004/2005"
from the world's oldest clown organization, "Clowns International".
... spent September 2005 performing and holding workshops at
international clown festivals in Ulft, Holland and Weston-Super-Mare,
England.
...traveled to Monaco in April 2006 to perform in the Princess Grace
Theater as an honored guest of Princess Stephanie of Monaco and the
3rd "Festiclown de Monte-Carlo", becoming the first American to receive
this honor.
...brought a bit of his "world" through the magic of the red nose to a
Masai village on the rim of the Ngorongoro Crater in Tanzania (Africa) in
September 2006.
...made history in May 2007 by performing at the "Happy Liuzhou
International Clown Festival", the very first international clown festival
ever to be held in China.
...returned to China in September 2007 to do a promotional tour for and
then perform at the "Happy Tiandu AEMI World Clown Festival" in
Tiandu City, Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province.
...was the opening act on stage at the "Happy Huangguoshu 2008
International Circus Carnival" held in Huangguoshu, Guizhou Province,
China in May 2008.
... has acted as an "advance clown" for both the Red and Blue units of
Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus since 1991.
... continues to perform around the USA and the World for circuses,
cruise ships, amusement parks, and much more.
Copyright 2006 Ron "Toto" Johnson
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