Some Newspaper Ballyhoo from Clown Alley

When Steve Smith and I teamed up to do the advance clowning for the Ringling Blue Unit in 1974 we made a pact. Smith would drive our motorhome and I would do all the cooking. We also agreed that when it came to sharing personal information about our private lives with the media Smith would remain an enigma -- he disliked talking about himself. I, on the other hand, would be wide open with everything about my background, from my ancestor Ole Stuhlsted from Trondheim Norway who immigrated to America to buy a farm in South Dakota, to my newly-found LDS faith. I was full of myself, and glad to talk about it to anyone at anytime.

The result was a very peaceful relationship between the two of us. It also resulted in some unique newspaper articles, such as the one pictured below. It’s from the Arizona Daily Star, June 29th. 1974. Their religion editor (yes, all newspapers had religion editors back then) interviewed me about my religious beliefs, and Smith obligingly came along for the photo op, although he refused to say one word about his own religious beliefs.

For the sake of posterity (and to prove that sainthood has not made me immune to peddling that good old circus blarney) I hereby transcribe the entire article verbatim for your delectation:

A young man from Minnesota who -- almost literally -- ran away from home to join the circus, not only found a life as a clown but also discovered the Mormon religion.

Torkildson said that he had never heard of the Mormon church until he left home for the circus. He was converted and now has his membership in Minneapolis.

“Part of my mission is to entertain” he explained in discussing the relation of his religion to his work. “So many people think of religion in terms of ‘don’ts.’ I think of the positive aspects.”

“Clowning is a gift. As I give of myself, I take falls and get pies in the face. It’s not very often that I have a somber face.”

Torkildson’s contract with the show allows him to have Sundays off. Sundays when the show isn’t traveling, he attends services at a Mormon church wherever he is. Often he has a chance to speak to youth groups. “It is depressing to see how many people think of religion as repressive” he said.

He estimates that two thirds of the circus company takes an active part in some religious activity. “It’s like a miniature city,” he said, “With the same sort of variety of personalities that you would expect in any city.”

A large number of the clown that he works with are Baptist, Torkildson said. “I am respected for my beliefs and I respect theirs. We live so close together that there is no room for intolerance.”

Although he didn’t exactly run away to join the circus in the traditional storybook manner, Torkildson did run into a little bit of pressure from his family. He grew up in a family of circus fans. While he was in high school, he secretly applied to the Ringling clown school in Florida.

“When I was accepted, I asked my parents if I could go and they said no,” he said. “So I told them I was going anyway, and I did!”