David and Shirley Vick sure know how to have fun with life. They have been clowning around for the majority of their marriage — literally.
The Vicks were professional clowns.
But, they didn’t start out with aspirations to face paint and twist balloons. In fact, it all started out with an interest in puppets.
A Durant native, Shirley wanted to start a children’s ministry in 1979, at her Pawnee, Ill., church. She crafted the puppets herself, listening to audio programs to capture the characters’ personalities.
“It all started and was built around her talents and puppetry,” David says.
“But, it wouldn’t have been anything without your clowning,” Shirley says.
True, Shirley’s puppetry did kickstart their clowning careers, but David was the first to pull on the oversized shoes.
The ministry was popular, but the couple needed a real-life character, not a puppet, that could relay the Christian message to children and accompany the show.
The couple tried several different characters, including a cowboy. But,it just didn’t fit with David’s personality.
That’s when David went to the local Salvation Army and bought the most colorful, wacky clothes he could find. He painted his face and called himself “Zacchaeus.”
“I didn’t know a thing about makeup, costumes, stage presence,” David says.
But the kids loved his outrageous antics.
It wasn’t long before David enticed Shirley to put on some makeup and join him on stage.
In 1982, the Vicks learned to tie their first balloon dogs during classes at a Christian college. They then became serious about clowning, signing up for clown college in 1987, in Wisconsin. They studied under Frosty Little, a circus clown who served for more than 20 years with the Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus. He was one of only four clowns to earn the title of “Master Clown” from the Ringling organization.
Together, the couple became the act, “Elmo Twist and Peaches.”
David’s character was inspired by his own family. At a family get-together, he told his brother to dress up in a crazy outfit and tell distant relatives he was Uncle Elmo. For years, the family laughed at the persona that had them fooled. So, David adopted the name, “Elmo,” and added “Twist” for his ballooning skills.
Shirley ended up as “Peaches,” simply because it fit well with Elmo Twist.
The couple kept up their clowning and puppetry ministry, traveling throughout the United States and even to South America and Mexico. They also performed at other events, such as festivals and birthdays — all while keeping their day jobs in professional careers.
Now, that the couple is back in Plant City, they have since retired from clowning. But, they haven’t given up the trade completely. David serves as the Plant City Lions Club’s Tail Twister — the person responsible for bringing the fun at the club’s weekly meetings. The couple also leads the Leos Club clowning troupes at Durant, Plant City and Strawberry Crest high schools.
Lions Club member Al Berry was the first to propose the idea. His sister was a clown, and when he found out the Vicks also had practiced the art, he knew they’d be perfect clowns for the job.
The Vicks have been training about 200 student clowns for three years. This season, they will recruit local clown Mr. BG and face-painter extraordinaire Dianne Birkhead to help with the task.
“Once the training starts, the house is maxed out with students wall to wall,” Shirley says.
David says he enjoys sharing his passion and doing his part to keep the art of clowning alive.
“I’ve always been a clown at heart,” he says. “You’ve got to be a clown within.”
Contact Amber Jurgensen at ajurgensen@plantcityobserver.com.