THE BALLOON MAN

Barry Lubin, Grandma in the Big Apple Circus, talks about clowing around in PBS' 'CIRCUS'

By Jacob E. Osterhout
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER
Thursday, October 28th 2010
Barry Lubin, 58, a clown who plays "Grandma" in the Big Apple Circus, stars in PBS' 'CIRCUS' documentary.
Barry Lubin is as famous as a clown gets. Since 1982, the 58-year-old New Jersey native has played the role of Grandma in the Big Apple Circus. He's been inducted into the International Clown Hall of Fame and has appeared four times on the "Late Show With David Letterman."

With the premiere of the PBS documentary "CIRCUS" on Wednesday, Lubin will again take center stage as cameras go behind the scenes for a year with the Big Apple Circus.

Not that filming was always easy. The documentary includes Lubin's battle with thyroid cancer, which forces him to temporarily drop out of the show. But Grandma's back, and New Yorkers can catch him at Lincoln Center through Jan. 9.

First, how is your cancer prognosis?

I am doing fantastic. I have a surgeon friend who is actually a New Yorker. When I told her the diagnosis, I was scared to death. She says, "Oh, that's great. If you are going to have cancer, have that cancer." It made me feel a whole lot better. I have one more followup exam and if I'm clean, I will be considered good to go. I am extremely fortunate.

What's the biggest misconception about clowns?

That we are depressed. It's like any other community of people. We're up and down and everything in between. We have our emotions, problems and joys. We just happen to have the best job in the entire world, which is making people laugh.

So what's it take to be a great clown?

Maybe the most important ability is to develop a thick skin and not take it personally when the idea that you think is funny is not at all funny to an audience. You have to want to make people laugh but not feel bad when they don't.

I constantly have ideas that don't go over very well. Just this year, we tried a few things in rehearsal that died in front of the audience. They got up and went and got popcorn. That's never a good sign.

Tickets to the Big Apple Circus are available at BigAppleCircus.org for $15-$92.

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/arts/2010/10/28/2010-10-28_barry_lubin_grandma_in_the_big_apple_circus_talks_about_clowing_around_in_pbs_ci.html?r=entertainment#ixzz13eJiJCv3