George Carl

George Carl (7 May, 1916 – 1 January, 2000) was a "vaudevillian" style comic & clown. Carl was born in Ohio, and started his comedy career traveling with a variety of circuses during his teenage years. In time, Carl would become internationally famous as a clown and visual comedian. In his sixties, Johnny Carson, a fan of Carl's invited him to appear on The Tonight Show. His appearance was so well received that he was asked back within weeks for a second appearance which also received raves from viewers.

With hardly any props, except for a microphone and a mic stand, Carl would 'accidentally' become tangled up in the mic cord, get his thumb stuck in the microphone stand and, through a flurry of silent bits, wind up accomplishing nothing at all in the time spent onstage.

At the age of 79, George Carl made his screen debut in the 1995 film "Funny Bones" also starring Jerry Lewis (it was also the last film Lewis appeared in). He played an old music-hall comedian who never spoke until a scene in which his character explains the reason why performers perform.

Comedians using similar material include Bill Irwin, Geoff Hoyle, Barry Lubin, Chipper Lowell, and Avner The Eccentric. Several clips of George Carl on stage have been posted on You Tube eg harmonica disintegrating, chewing gum sketch.