Never too old to clown around

FLOYD "Creeky" Creekmore is one of the quieter acts in the circus, his clown shoes shuffling as he works the crowd, igniting giggles from kids.

At 95, the former Montana rancher recently dubbed the "oldest performing clown in the world" has fewer magic tricks up his oversized sleeves than he once did. He gave up juggling several years ago after a stroke and has long since parked the home-made bicycle he once incorporated into his acts. 

But when the Shrine Circus comes through Billings, Montana, where he lives with wife Betty, 96, Creeky the Clown returns to life.

Others have laid claim to the title of world's oldest clown, including an 81-year-old member of the Moscow Circus, Oleg "The Sun Clown" Popov, and Andy "Bumbo" Beyer of California, publicised as the oldest until his retirement three years ago at 91.

But it turns out that Creekmore had a 20-month advantage all along, clowning away in his low-key style in eastern Montana. He now carries the imprimatur of Guinness World Records, which declared him the world's oldest performing clown in February after friends applied on his behalf.

Creekmore's introduction to clowning came in the 1930s when the Barnum and Bailey Circus passed through Great Falls. At 15, he had moved out of his family's house to work on a string of central Montana ranches while he put himself through high school.

At a local parade he pulled together a costume from old clothes and lipstick - and became hooked on the laughter he drew.

After retiring from ranch work in 1981, he joined the Shriners, a group that holds circus performances to raise money for hospitals.

"Creeky understands that to make a child laugh, to make a child smile, that's what life's about," his grandson McCraw, 39, said.