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The Seafair Clowns: Magnolian Roots in Clowning Around Seattle…For Good Causes!

By Monica Wooton

When Magnolian George Mockly Anderson had his memorial of a life well-lived for 96 years on February 6, 2025, at Our Lady of Fatima, big, bright red clown noses were passed out by the family to the attendees. During the service, the reason was revealed to those who did not know the story behind such frivolity on a solemn occasion: the Seattle Seafair Clowns.

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The notice on the Seafair Clowns Facebook page states: “Yet, as we are saddened, ‘we’—being the hundreds of our members over the decades who have painted a smile on their face for the Seafair cause—are filled with immense gratitude for George and the other founders having started this amazing, fun, quirky, laughter-filled, community oriented, Seattle institution called the Seattle Seafair Clowns” (1).

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George was part of a small group of male Seattle University graduates who formed an alumni club in the early 1950s called the Graduates Club of Seattle University to promote the school and do good. At the time, the University of Washington had long been active with its alumni work. This small fraternity set out to build a similar network for the much smaller and less well-known Jesuit university they loved. It was slow going. Soon, eight of the members came up with the idea that would begin a now ongoing seventy-year tradition, bring them fame, and uniquely practice the charity and social justice work they had learned to value as students at Seattle U (2). And, in the process, they would make practically the whole city of Seattle smile.

From graduates to clowns

On June 10, 1955, an ad ran in The Seattle Times headlined: “Seattle Seeks Clown Teacher.” Some of the Seattle U Graduates Club members were advertising for “a former professional clown” to instruct them (3). In an article in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, “It’s No Gag! Seafair Clowns Seek Advice,” a similar plea was made; the article announced that the graduates had purchased equipment from the recently disbanded “famed Shelton clown club,” which had “motorized and mechanical gags…funny faces and traditional routines...practiced to a point of perfection and were highly regarded” (4). The new club intended to follow in the Shelton club’s footsteps by making visits to hospitals, attending special events, and being in Seafair parades. George Anderson was among the eight graduates who thus formed the Seafair Clown Club, the others being Ralph Conner, chair; Timothy Harn, Jr., Norman E. Willis, Richard E. Lyons, Willard Fenton, Charles Lonergen, and Dr. Edward J. Sharman (5).

Fig. 1. One iteration of the famous Seafair Clowns famous pins passed out over the years to hundreds of thousands of Seafair parade-goers.

Courtesy of the Seafair Clowns Facebook page administrators.

Fig. 2. Vintage buttons from the collection of George Anderson, Sr.
Courtesy of the Anderson family.

Indeed, clown professionals came to Seattle to give the club members seminars, spend a season clowning alongside them, and instruct them on effective clown makeup and outfits. Clown company representatives sold them foot-long shoes, clown bits, and the latest in greasepaint (6).

Tom Stockley, writer for The Seattle Times, posed this question about the growing group in 1968:​

What does a bunch of Seattle men see in dressing up in bizarre outfits and clowning away the Seattle Seafair celebration? The question is even more interesting when one considers those behind the greasepaint and false hair. Out-of-work actors? Rejects from Barnum & Bailey? On the contrary, the Seattle Seafair Clowns, some 65 members strong, may be the only clown group in the world where you must have a college degree or two to qualify…When not outfitted in nutty clothes and balancing atop their 1918 fire engine, they are earning a living as doctors, lawyers, dentists, engineers, teachers….(7)​

Some were also successful businessmen. Thanks to these men’s dedication, “fun, laughter and community service” have been a part of the Seattle scene for over seventy years (8).

Fig. 3. George Mockly Anderson, face painted orange and in costume, was still clowning around in his nineties. He never missed a season!
Photo by Susie Anderson Vaughan. Circa 2020.

George Anderson was the last of the original founders to pass away. Several other Magnolians were Seafair Clowns: Norrie Suder, now 99 years old, was a clown extraordinaire, had a well-known and iconic clown face, and commandeered the group. Al Small was a clown band member who played the trombone. Eddie Allenbach usually strolled in the parades playing his accordion. One year, he and John LaRussa did a bit in which John dressed as a woman in clown makeup and pushed a huge baby buggy. He would steer the buggy over to the crowd at the parade and ask if they wanted to look at his beautiful baby. He would then pull down the hood of the carriage, and up popped Eddie wearing a clown costume and a gorilla mask. The crowd members (and children in these clown families) had mixed feelings about the humor in it all. The kids of these Magnolia clown fathers got to pal around with clowns, including J. P. Patches, up close and personal; many even marched as clowns alongside their dads in Seafair parades. George Anderson II carries on the tradition of his dad as a Seafair Clown today. Mark LaRussa has not really gotten over his fear of gorillas!

J. P. Patches

Magnolian Chris Wedes began his popular kids show, the J. P. Patches Show, in February of 1958 (9). That May, he served as the Prince of Mirth for the Seafair Clowns. He was about to become Seattle’s most famous clown, with his TV show running for twenty-three years (1958–1981) alongside Wunda Wunda, the harlequin-dressed and sometimes red-tip-of-the-nose clown played by Magnolia’s Ruth Prins (10). Wunda, who launched her show before J. P. and remained on-air for nineteen years (1953–1972), dealt with educational themes in a genteel way (11). J. P. relied on silly statements, slapstick humor, and garnering out loud guffaws.

Fig. 4. J. P. Patches circa 1965.

Courtesy of MOHAI, 2003.35.1.16.1.

The J. P. Patches Show launched with two shows a day, before and after school, for six days a week. Seattle children tuned in to watch the resident of the city dump, J. P., and sometimes learned that their birthday present was hidden somewhere in the house. J. P. would peer through his so-called “ICU2TV” screen and make the announcement that Jimmy had turned eleven today, and he should look behind the couch. Parents would call in to tip J. P. off, unbeknownst to probably thousands of surprised and tickled kids who just thought he was all-seeing!

 

His show included characters like Gertrude, his masculine girlfriend played by Bob Newman, who portrayed more than seventeen different characters on the show; Ketchikan the Animal Man; P. J. Scratches, and the Swami of Pastrami. Both J. P. and Gertrude are immortalized by a life-size statue locked arm-in-arm in movement in Seattle’s Fremont neighborhood (12). Wedes did charity work in his clown getup well into his eighties, through his cancer diagnosis, and up until his death (13).

 

For me, his visit to my childhood home (we lived just one block up from his house) to consult with my Seafair Clown dad was a thrill I still remember fondly. And it brought big bragging rights: “J. P. Patches came to my house today!”

 

I will never forget wearing clown makeup and dressing up as a clown to walk the downtown Seafair parade route with my dad—with the grand finale of entering to a cheering crowd at Memorial Stadium.

Spreading joy and laughter

The Seafair Clowns have worked to perfect their bits, like offering a candy kiss before stealing a real one on the cheek of a surprised grandmother sitting with her grandkids at a parade. They have a clown band, ride around in an iconic clown-mobile or vintage fire truck, and are serious about their makeup and outfits. They hang out with the Seafair Pirates and have been helicoptered into events. The Seafair Clowns elect a chair, a Head Jester, and the Prince of Mirth every year. Their parade-season headquarters have been located at the Vance Hotel, the Sorrento Hotel, and the Edgewater Inn for many years (14).

Fig. 5. Seafair clowns and band.
Courtesy of Mark LaRussa. Circa 1960.

According to Don Duncan in his Seattle Times newspaper column of August 2, 1965, the Seafair Clowns “performed in seven parades, walked 30 miles, handed out…5,000 balloons, 5,000 clown buttons, 600 pounds of candy kisses.” And the sixty men serving as clowns that year spent a fun-filled week doing it (15).

 

One memorable event for the children of Seafair Clowns was getting in full clown makeup and outfits and walking in the Kiddie Parade together. Beforehand was the annual family picnic day at Woodland Park. Because these were mostly large Catholic families—the dads mostly being Seattle University alumni—there were oodles of kids clowning around, painting on their faces, gobbling down hot dogs, and getting prepared to pass out Seafair pins at the parade (16).

 

The Seafair Clowns Foundation is a nonprofit group that “exists to support the Seattle Seafair Clowns community service projects including events at Ronald McDonald House, children’s hospitals, local senior centers, special person’s holiday cruise[s], and more” (17).

Fig. 6. The official 2024 Seafair Clown photo. George Anderson, Sr, in front in green with red nose,

George Anderson, Jr., end on left, first row.
Courtesy of Seafair Clowns and George Anderson, Jr.

They host a pasta feed fundraiser and “take the spirit of Seafair to those who cannot attend by visiting nursing homes, hospitals, and care centers throughout the Puget Sound region” (18).

As the Seafair festival’s year-round ambassadors, the Seattle Seafair Clowns entertain thousands of people at neighborhood parades and festivals. Our support of charitable organizations is not limited to the Seattle area. The Seafair Clowns do what we can to help those in need of a little laughter throughout Washington, Oregon, British Columbia and Mexico as well.

 

The mission of the Seafair Clowns is to serve the community by spreading joy and laughter through charitable visits and participation in local events. During the Seafair season, they dedicate over 125 hours to appearing at local events and visiting nursing homes, hospitals, and care centers. The 65 members continue spreading happiness year-round, supporting a variety of charitable organizations throughout the Puget Sound region and beyond. (19)

Monica LaRussa Wooton was among those given a big red clown nose at George Anderson’s funeral. The information revealed at the memorial sent her on a search for more information on the Seafair Clowns. She was well aware of the Magnolia contingent of Seafair Clowns. And, though a kid clown in many Seafair parades with her dad, she did not know of the Magnolia roots of the organization. She thoroughly enjoyed writing this story and gives thanks to her childhood pals the Anderson kids, Susie Anderson Vaughan, and JoJo (George) Anderson for the help they gave to enable her to learn all this fun stuff and take a trip down this zany, foot-long-shoes, water-squirting-from-a-lapel piece of her childhood memories!

Notes

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  1. Seattle Seafair Clowns, “We are saddened this week.” Facebook, 1 Feb. 2025, https://www.facebook.com/SeattleSeafairClowns/posts/we-are-saddened-this-week-at-the-passing-of-our-longest-tenured-member-george-an/1057757166394814/.

  2. George Anderson, Jr. Interview with the author, 6 Feb. 2025.

  3. “Seattle Seeks Clown Teacher,” The Seattle Daily Times, 10 Jun. 1955, p. 6.

  4. “It’s No Gag! Seafair Clowns Seek Advice,” Seattle Post-Intelligencer, 10 Jun. 1955, p. 14.

  5. George Anderson, Jr. Interview.

  6. George Anderson, Jr. Interview.

  7. Tom Stockley. “Seafair Clowns - Behind the Makeup, The Executive Look,” The Seattle Daily Times, 28 Jul. 1968, p. 198.

  8. Seattle Seafair Clowns, Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/SeattleSeafairClowns.

  9. “J. P. Patches,” Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. 31 Mar. 2025, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J._P._Patches.

  10. “Wunda Wunda,” Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. 7 Mar. 2025, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wunda_Wunda.

  11. Sherrie Quinton. “Wunda Wunda,” Magnolia: More Memories and Milestones, 2024.

  12. “J. P. Patches.”

  13. KOMO Staff. “Beloved local celebrity clown J.P. Patches dies,” Sinclair, KOMO News, 22 Jul. 2012, updated 2 Aug. 2016, https://komonews.com/news/local/beloved-local-celebrity-clown-jp-patches-dies.

  14. George Anderson Jr. Interview with the author, 3 Mar. 2025.

  15. Don Duncan, “Seafair Clowns Don’t Mind Tired Feet, Long Hours,” The Seattle Daily Times, 2 Aug. 1965, p. 9.

  16. Susie Anderson Vaughan. Interview with the author, 1 Mar. 2025.

  17. “Donate,” The Seattle Seafair Clowns, 2015, https://www.seafairclowns.org/donate.

  18. The Seattle Seafair Clowns, https://seafairclowns.org.

  19. The Seattle Seafair Clowns.

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