James M. “Happy the Clown” Williams
Time period/Baraboo: 1960 – 2015
Submitted by: Angela Zimmerly, daughter
Born in Milwaukee, WI in 1943, my dad wet to Bay Tech and was a cabinet maker. He applied for a job a Mayfair Shopping Center where he roller skated as a llama around the mall!
In the late 1950’s, Circus World Museum was getting ready for a parade in the mall parking lot. My dad befriended Ernest Zimmerly who introduced my dad to Chappie Fox, the director of Circus World Museum. My dad then moved to Baraboo in 1960 and worked for Circus World Museum.
From 1961 – 1962 he joined the Army as a medic. He then traveled with a few other circuses and finally re-joined Circus World Museum in the mid 1960’s. He stayed with Circus World for 30 years! In the 1970’s he was proud to be the director of the museum.
Dad has been honored with several Happy the Clown Days in Baraboo. In 1995 he was inducted into the Clown Hall of Fame. And in 2015, Mayor Mike Palm presented by dad with the Baraboo Gem Award. He was the headmaster for our local Music Temple for many years, and he was also the local locksmith in town.
As the saying goes “See ya down the road.” For a self-taught clown, Dad was an icon to Circus World Museum and the Baraboo community. His whistle, named Yoo-Hoo, could be heard on a daily basis around the circus.
My dad, James, Williams (Happy the Clown) was an icon and a legend