THE BALLOON MAN

Just clownin' around - daughter of Big Apple Circus clown says dad just wants people to laugh

BY Christina Merrill DAILY NEWS WRITER
Sunday, October 24th 2010,
Danielle Lubin's father has always been the family clown, and she couldn't be happier.
"I think my dad is hilarious," she said.
Lubin, 25, grew up watching her dad pull on wigs and costumes and lots of makeup. Barry Lubin has been clowning around the circus for three decades.
While he may play the fool with long yellow socks, a red dress, a curly wig and fake pearls as "Grandma" in the Big Apple Circus, Lubin is just dad at home.
"He really is the same person, no matter what he's wearing," said Danielle, who lives in Cranford, N.J.
Some clowns can be loud and obnoxious, but Lubin takes a more relaxed approach in the tent. "He's very laid-back as a person - and as a clown," Danielle said.
The 58-year-old funnyman came to clowning when he auditioned "on a lark" for the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Clown College while he was taking a break from Emerson College in Boston.
"I absolutely fell in love with the art form," said the 5-foot-2 jester.
Being a clown didn't come easy. He bombed in his first performance.
"When I teach, I talk about failure being the best possible thing that could happen to an artist," he said. "If you risk wildly, the chances are you'll fail wildly. But eventually you'll give yourself the opportunity to succeed wildly."
Having a clown as a father wasn't all fun and games for Danielle, especially when her family moved into a new neighborhood in New Jersey when she was 7.
"It was hard to be the new kid who came from the circus," she said. "You're that much weirder because you come from a place that no one would expect."
Still, Danielle's circus life has been normal. It is where she and her younger sister, Emily, grew up. During summers, they traveled all over with their dad.
The circus, she said, is like a tiny community. Everyone has meals together at the circus cookhouse, and the shows are only about four hours long, which leaves plenty of time for family. And everyone knows everyone.
"There's always somebody there," she said.
These days, instead of getting teased by peers, Danielle gets text messages from her friends when they see her dad's posters.
"I think he just wants everyone to laugh," she said.
The Big Apple Circus, which kicked off its 33rd season at Lincoln Center on Thursday night, will also be featured in a PBS documentary premiering Nov. 3.Share 1diggdigg .
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