{"id":1466,"date":"2015-02-28T18:39:57","date_gmt":"2015-03-01T01:39:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nilesritter.com\/wp\/?p=1466"},"modified":"2015-02-28T18:41:26","modified_gmt":"2015-03-01T01:41:26","slug":"a-thousand-clowns","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nilesritter.com\/wp\/?p=1466","title":{"rendered":"A Thousand Clowns"},"content":{"rendered":"

I would like to submit for your approval this little tribute to my all-time favorite movie, A Thousand Clown<\/a>s<\/strong><\/em>, starring Jason Robards, Barbara Harris, and Barry Gordon (with Oscar-winning performance by Martin Balsam). This movie is an example of what distinguishes Humor<\/strong> from broad comedy — which is that a truly\u00a0humorous piece will of course make you laugh, but with a small but essential tear in your eye, and your laughter slightly choked by the realization of some deep human truth that snuck up on you in the course of the story.<\/p>\n

\"2013-09-26-AThousandClowns\"<\/a>A Thousand Clowns<\/strong><\/em> is the story of Murray Burns (Jason Robards), a former kid-show comedy writer, and his 12-year old\u00a0nephew Nick, a brilliant little guy whom Murray loves, but who may be taken away by the welfare board because they are concerned about the “unwholesome” environment he has provided for “the child”. Murray has been rebelling against the world for some time, but will soon have to choose between being true to his non-conformist soul, and going back to the rat race to keep his nephew Nick. I have always liked Nick, perhaps because he reminded me of my best friend when I was a little kid, a creative fellow whose name was Robbie Meyberg.<\/p>\n

In a pivotal scene in the movie, Murray explains to his brother Arnie (Martin Balsam), why he quit the nine-to-five rat race, in a soliloquy that remains to this day my personal anthem:<\/p>\n

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I’ve gotta know what day it is. I gotta know what’s the name of the game and what the rules are without anyone else telling me. You gotta own your own days and name ’em, each one of ’em, every one of ’em, or else the years go right by and none of them belong to you. And that ain’t just for weekends, kiddo.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

There is not much more I can tell you. All I can suggest is that you see the old 1965 black-and-white movie.<\/p>\n

I have always been haunted by the opening song, titled “A Thousand Clowns”. It was sung by Herb Gardner’s then-wife Rita Gardner (fantastic singer, from the original cast of The Fantasticks), with lyrics by Judy Holliday. \u00a0Only the first stanza ever made it into\u00a0the final movie, and with the slight change of the lyric to “If I can<\/strong> make you laugh” added\u00a0a poignant\u00a0yearning that wasn’t in the original words, but fitting to the mood of the film. It was only this past week that I learned that Judy Holliday passed away before the film was released, so those ten seconds of music turned out to be her last words heard by the world.<\/p>\n

Now that’s what I call Humor<\/strong>. Here is Holliday’s\u00a0complete song, along with the clip at the beginning of the movie where Rita Gardner sings. I dare you not to cry.<\/p>\n

A Thousand Clowns<\/span> Lyrics by Judy Holliday<\/a><\/p>\n

A thousand clowns I’ll bring you
\nJust to<\/del>If I can make you laugh
\nA blue baboon
\nAnd a red raccoon
\nA lavender giraffe<\/p>\n

A thousand stars I’ll string you
\nTo weave into a crown
\nAnd pale perfume
\nFrom a rose’s bloom
\nAnd a peacock-feather coat<\/p>\n

A thousand songs I’ll sing you
\nTo help you with your dreams
\nOf rainbow’s ends
\nAnd loving friends
\nAnd sparkling silver streams<\/p>\n

A thousand years I’ll love you
\nOur love will never die
\nAnd when a thousand years from now
\nThey’re looking at the sky<\/p>\n

They’ll see two stars together
\nAs close as they could be
\nOne star will be you my love
\nThe other will be me<\/p>\n