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v.y»PAGE SIX DREW FIELD ECHOES, THURSDAY, JANCLOWN REMOVES PAINT FOR DUTIESwhat was the most memorable performance in his career, Poli-dor—still his favorite name— gave out with a spontaneous grimace so much as part of a clown’s make-up.“Well,” he said, “It isn’t at all difficult to recall -two occasions that I got quite a kick out of. The first was when I worked in front of Abdulha Hamid, the Sultan of Turkey.“Just before going on stage we were told that the Sultan’s harem would be present and that we were at no time to look at the face of any women present. Naturally—I was young then—I had great fun rearranging my act during the performance so that I could get a good look at a harem without paying for it with my neck,” he said. “The other occasion that I shall not forget took place in the Hotel Astor. I was Master of Ceremonies at a huge banquet and to keep the party moving I brought along a suckling pig.“The pig sucked contentedly at his bottle of milk just so long as I held him. When it came my turn to crack a few jokes, I had* to set the pig down on the table and he started squealing like the devil for his bottle.“In order to continue the show I needed someone to feed him his milk while I attempted to amuse the crowd. I presented the porky fellow to Mrs. Eleanor Roosevelt who not only fed the little fellow, but seemed to enjoy the part she played in keeping the banquet rolling.”Edward “Polidor” Guillaume is a showman. As pictured above, he has pried loose the old trunk’s lid and brought out clothes that will never again fill a professional engagement. This he agreed to at the request of the ECHOES staff. He is now in retirement from which he says he will never emerge.Time toBy CPL. H. J. CANNINGEdward Guillaume, whose clowning antics once amused such world famous personages as King George of Greece, Kaiser Wilhelm, and France’s President Loubet, has cast aside the lure of grease paint comedy and glaring tent lights for a job at Drew Field.The former world renowned comedian of the big tent is now employed with the Base Area Engineers as a maintenance supervisor.After creating fun and laughter for countless thousands of people in almost every country in the world, Mr. Guillaume, after 46 years in show business, has accepted the softer rays of 50-watt bulbs in his own home at 2317 North Oregon Street, Tampa. He is married and his only child is the wife of a staff sergeant stationed at Camp Murphy.Born in Corcossonne, a small town in southern France, Mr. , Guillaume is a naturalized American citizen.He has one brother still living in France—from whom no word has been received in more than two years. The brothers both succumbed to the magnetic pull of a circus life— making the fifth generation of Guillaunes to offer their family’s dominant trait to the land of painted ponies. But it was the ambitious Edward, at the age of 14, who decided traveling successfully in countries required learning many languages. He then proceeded to master Greek, Spanish, German, English and Portuguese.Billed and known in circus life •s “Polidor,” Mr. Guillaume has clowned in every country in theworld except China and Japan. Madison Square Garden, like most every large stadium in the U. S., is old stuff to him. He has performed in the old Garden on Fourth St. and the neW one on Eighth Avenue. Of approximately one-half century spent in the land of three rings, 14 years was with Ringling Brothers circus.While trouping with them he was employed for a number of years as head clown. His last professional performance was for Santos Y Artigas in Havana, Cuba, where he emceed a large show each winter.Originator of the prize fight comedy burlesque depicting the long-count Dempsey-Tunney fight, Mr. Guillaume has lived and worked with such notables as Clyde Beatie, Frank lian Litzel and the “Great —whose recent death at a end was a climactic snap to a death-defying stunt. Mr. Guillaume had watched him execute this act daily for many months.He played the Olympic theater in Paris with Charlie Chaplin and often worked with such well-known old-timers as Dorothy Gish, Richard Bartholemew and Tom Mix. As early as 1908, he made six to ten silent comedies each month for Cines Productions in Rome, Italy.When asked by this reporterZippy PartyHeld by 3rdSignal CrewBy CPL. N. R. HOGENSONWell it was some party Signal Headquarters, Third Fighter Command had last Wednesday night. Gals, dancing, food, and beer highlighted the evening’s main events. The party got off to a rip snorting start and when 11 p.m. rolled around, everyone was making merry.Let’s take our hats off to Gal-dino and his boys from the 69th who supplied the music for the evening’s entertainment. Another vote of thanks should go to our swell cooks who worked all evening on the chow line. Three cheers to Kropidlowski, Cranford and Gober.A final word of praise to “Chief” Black Owl and “Motor-man” Cavanaugh for seeing we had enough three point two in our stomachs. The only public kiss of the night went to “Love Shy” Oeltjen.We have never noticed his rosy complexion before, have you? The lads tell us that after the party, ‘Shady” Shaeffer slept under his bed. What’s the matter Shaeffer, bed bugs?Did you know that.Grass grows inside the B-39? We even had a sign to prove it. “Keep Off the Grass.” Wonder where it came from?There is a man in B-39 who has slept so long, cobwebs have formed all around him. You don’t believe me? Well I have a lot of witnesses to prove it.It is a rumor that W. O. Adams is married. I’d like to confirm it. How about, it W. O., do you have a wifey?“Chief” Black Owl is now managing our basketball team. He claims to have a new secret weapon and he calls it “Early Chow.”THINGS TO COMEA visit from Senor Stork to the homes of Sgt. Lynch and Cpl. Thurston. I’ll bet they are both boys. What odds will you give me, fellas?Wedding bells for “Calling on Your Daughter” Shesko. Oh, that captain’s daughter!NOTED CLOWN EDWARD GUILLAUME, top, flasheshisDrew Field workman pass for MPs to prove he's going to work incognito. While dressed in his world-famous regalia, bottom, Mr. Guillaume takes time out to inspect the fowl part of the Air Wac's evening meal while Pfcs. Mary Kucic, Perecillia Inegez, Erma Fredrick and Brucetta Arnold look on.
Newspaper Details
Tampa Drew Field Echoes
Tampa, Florida, US
Thu, Jan 06, 1944
Page 13
Full Page
Clipped by
Anonymous
SC, USA 02 Jun 2022
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