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SHOWTIME!!!
Jack "Diamond Jim" Owens and Kristina "Kissy Face" Uptegrove perform rope tricks for Thelma Riley in Anderson. Through the Indianapolis-based Never Too Late organization, Riley's wish for a personal clown performance was granted. Thelma Riley’s wish to see a clown performance was arranged through Bethany Christian Church in Anderson and the group Never Too Late.
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'93-year-old Thelma wanted to 'Clown Around!'
From the Herald Bulletin
Online
Monday, January 31, 2011
By Scott Miley
ANDERSON, Ind. — Not even a trained clown can pull a fast one on Thelma Riley.
The clown, named “Diamond Jim” with a distracting rainbow wig and white tux, tried to divert Riley’s attention while he held a nylon rope.
He cut the rope only to have it reappear in one piece.
But Riley, 93, kept a close watch on his hands.
She looked at Jim and said, “I think we used to do that one.”
“Diamond Jim,” laughed, knowing that Riley had been a member of Clowns & Company.
“Jim” and his true life daughter, Kristina “Kissy Face” Uptegrove, of Whiteland, performed a 10-minute personal show for Riley this week.
She lives at Community Northview Care Center, 1235 W. Cross St. After the private performance, Jim and Kissy put on a show for all the center residents.
“They were very professional,” Riley told her granddaughter, Andrea Knotts, of Frankton.
Also on hand was Riley’s daughter, Gloria Norrod, 74, of Alexandria, and great-granddaughter, Hannah Knotts, 15.
Riley had worked for years for Guide Lamp. She had been married nearly 50 to James Whitcomb Riley. (Though certainly not the poet, his parents sent a note to the Hoosier bard when he was born. In turn, they received a note that read, “From the poet to the baby.”)
When Thelma Riley retired and after her husband passed away, two friends talked her into joining the Anderson-based Clowns & Company. At the time, she was in her 80s.
“I couldn’t picture it myself,” recalled her daughter. “She had always worked in my growing-up years. She was a good housekeeper and worked at Guide, too, which I couldn’t get over. She was busy and had a lot more energy than I ever had.”
A certificate confirming Riley’s graduation in 1994 from Clowns & Company is in her room at Community Northview. Also nearby is an autographed photo of Riley with Hoosier comedian and clown Red Skelton.
She performed as “Teet,” a nickname given to her as an infant when her brother couldn’t pronounce Thelma.
She would often join clowns in parades, typically riding on a float due to her years.
“She looked at it as kind of a ministry of making people feel better even if they were going to be in there for a short time. Just to have something to laugh about and get their minds off their problems,” said Norrod.
She mastered making animals with balloons and had some rope tricks of her own. Riley also cheered up residents at health care centers.
“She went to nursing homes and places like this when she was a clown, so we’re thinking this comes full circle,” said Marcia McKowen, who helped organize “Diamond Jim’s” appearance.
McKowen arranged the show through Never Too Late, an Indianapolis not-for-profit agency that grants wishes to seniors. Riley’s wish was for a show by the type of clown she admires.
McKowen recalled the request from Riley, saying, “We don’t have clowns out here who do anything. They just look around,” McKowen said.
Diamond Jim never stopped to look around. In fact, he had to keep moving so Riley wouldn’t see through his tricks.
After the performance, Riley also told her granddaughter, “You could tell he was professional and has been doing it for a long time.”
Contact Scott L. Miley, 648-4230, scott.miley@heraldbulletin.com