Kraus, Charles E. 1946-

views updated

Kraus, Charles E. 1946-
(Charles the Clown)

PERSONAL:

Born July 26, 1946, in New York, NY; son of Harold (an inventor) and Florence (in sales) Kraus; married Linda Kirschner (an educator and writer), August 13, 1945; children: Rebecca Dawn, Danielle. Ethnicity: Caucasian. Education: Attended Emerson College, Columbia College, Chicago, IL, and California State University, Los Angeles; University of West Los Angeles, B.A., 1972.

ADDRESSES:

Office—18053 28th Ave. NE, Seattle, WA 98155; fax: 206-361-7017. E-mail—ctmagician@cs. com.

CAREER:

Columbia Broadcasting System, Inc., Hollywood, CA, worked in music clearance for CBS-TV, 1972; KLCS-TV, Los Angeles, CA, coordinator of operations, 1974-78; KLCC-Radio, Eugene, OR, advisor, 1979-80; Los Angeles Home and Entertaining, Los Angeles, articles editor, 1981—; Freelance writer and editor; entertainer, under stage name Charles the Clown. Military service: U.S. Navy, 1966-70.

MEMBER:

American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, Book Publicists of Southern California.

WRITINGS:

(With wife, Linda Kraus) Charles the Clown's Guide to Children's Parties, Jalmar Press Rolling Hills Estates, CA), 1983.

Where's Lilac? (novel), Media-Rite Van Nuys, CA), 1984.

Not Just Clowning Around, Media-Rite (Van Nuys, CA), 1987.

Tall Tales and Tall Tales, Media-Rite (Van Nuys, CA), 2001.

Writer and performer for the videotape Charles the Clown, A&M Records and Video. Contributor to books, including Raising Kids in Seattle. Author of columns in

City Scene, 1978—, and Los Angeles Home and Entertaining, 1981—. Contributor to a wide variety of popular magazines and newspapers.

SIDELIGHTS:

"I broke into the public arena at the tender age of five," Charles E. Kraus once told CA, "when I appeared on the Magic Clown show in New York. This performance was quickly followed with spots on other local television programs, and my first shot at the big time, the Ted Mack Original Amateur Hour! By my thirteenth birthday, I had acquired lots of stage presence, and a considerable number of birthday presents. One of the latter was a typewriter, and thus, the junior magician became a junior author.

"Over the years (many of them), these two very distinct fields of communications began to blend somewhere deep inside my head, leading to my television writing, comic essays, and the funniest clown show ever conceived.

"I have since been syndicated and have been published by a wide range of magazines—parents' magazines, confession magazines, tabloids, airline magazines, and women's publications. As an entertainer, I have appeared in several educational television series, on talk shows, children's programs, and even on the nightly news!

"If Robert Benchley had stayed away from pen and ink, I'd have been a television repairman. When I need to be inspired, I turn to my children. Other influences include Woolcott, Twain, Perlman, Thurber, Bellow, and Kerouac."