BIRDIE MCCLAINE

World traveler, works mainly out of Fort Myers Beach.

Left home at 18 and joined Ringling Bros Clown College, graduate 1975.

Toured Ringling Bros blue unit 4 yrs. as clown and stilt walker.

While in the circus, Birdie had often watched and admired street performers and when he left the circus decided this is what he was going to do.

Birdie Mcclaine has never had a “real job” and this alone could make every busker in the world look up to him.

Ventriloquist, mime, juggling, clown, magician, acrobat, painter, musician of any instrument, spray paint artist, comedian…..and the list goes on.

He does these things at levels that the masters of each of these art forms converse with him in respect.

In Magic I can say, Gazzo, Cellini, and Sonny Holliday all have called him a good friend and been impressed with his work and even an inspiration.

Infact many of the masters in the magic field around the world know and respect him.

And that’s just magic, this is not to mention all the other various forms of artists and performance artists who have gone out of their way to surround him hoping some of his genius will rub off on them.

I myself, am now writing about him because of his ability to work sidewalks and because of his help in my own work.

He has helped me to develop more material for my act and has taken my student Chanz under his wing and has made him an incredible silent performer.

Birdie is probably most famous amongst street performers and venues that hire live performers for his silent juggling act……a master piece.

I silent juggling act is very common in Europe and in many other countries, but I would urge the reader to look for an American street juggler doing a silent act in the states, I doubt you will find many if any at all.

The reason for this of course is that, it is extremely difficult to do a silent act of any kind in the states and still make a living on the streets…..but Birdie can.

Birdie is a perfect example that a quality performance instead of hounding the audience with ego and money lines will get the audience to appreciate and pay for the value.

Don’t get me wrong, even in his silent shows he has hat routines to get the money, but the difference is that the audience absolutely loves the hat routines….it’s all part of the fun.

What we are dealing with here is a master, a legend, and a busking icon.

So why don’t we hear more about him?

Simple, he has spent his life perfecting his craft as a street entertainer and has picked up gigs purely on the quality of his show. Birdie is the real thing, he is not an internet celebrity.

This blog was set up to try and give credit to sidewalk and street performers who have not gotten the credit that they deserve. You will hear about a lot of other performers because they are master marketers and that is where they have focused their all of their creative energies, but birdies spent his life focusing on his work.

This is not to say that he has not worked huge high paying and famous venues, because he has worked thousands of these.

He has worked festivals, cruise ships, and huge theme parks… Disney loved him.

I could go on and on about him, but what I would suggest is to ask around about him the next time you’re out workin the street some one’s always got a funny story about this wild man, because he has lived his life much like his show…by the seat of his pants.

I am putting up a video of his recent show this show of his many is spoken. I have put it up so you can see what kind of caliber of performer he is.

It’s a short circle show but please watch it till the end and see if you can feel the atmosphere at the end.

Also notice that the hat routine strategy it’s brilliant watch close how the audience pays in the beginning then comes after the finale……brilliant.

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