comedy icon. When other offers had dried up he tried to return to Ringling where he was offered only $75.00 a week to perform walkarounds. He committed suicide, dying by gas asphyxiation, on March 8, 1916 in his room in New York City. Oakley had fallen for Viola Stoll, a young vaudeville actress, and remained infatuated even after she was arrested and incarcerated for stealing his late wife's jewelry. When he tried to have her paroled from Bedford Reformatory by proposing marriage, she rejected him. Other famous American circus clowns George Carl - American clown who found great success in Europe. Performed "Royal Command Performance" for the Queen at the Palladium in London. He also received the coveted Golden Clown award from Princess Grace (Grace Kelly) at the International Circus Festival of Monte-Carlo. Otto Griebling - Prolific and influential Master Clown with the Cole Bros. and Ringling circuses Joe Jackson Sr & Jr. - famous tramp clown entree with a breakaway bicycle Lou Jacobs - an original founder and teacher in the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Clown College Emmett Kelly, Sr. - performer who created the tramp clown character "Weary Willie". His son, Emmett Kelly Jr., performed a similar character. Glen "Frosty" Little - master clown and longtime "boss clown" with the Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus Famous international circus clowns Thomas Barry - British clown Charlie Cairoli - longtime performer with the Blackpool Tower Circus Coco the Clown (Nicolai Poliakoff) - longtime star clown of the Bertram Mills Circus, after making a name for himself in his native Soviet Union as a master clown Grock Yuri Nikulin - Russian clown and actor Oleg Popov - clown from the Soviet Union Remi - clown from Puerto Rico Charlie Rivel - Spanish Catalan circus clown Zig and Zag (Australian performers) Contemporary American circus and circus-style clowns Barry Lubin - "Grandma", star clown of the Big Apple Circus Jeff "Gordoon" Gordon - "Le Clown Gordoon", star clown with the Big Apple Circus David Shiner - Tony Award-winning, American-born mime and circus clown and theater director who has appeared on Broadway and with several prominent circuses including Cirque du Soleil Benedikt Negro - Cirque du Soleil clown Steve "TJ Tatters" Smith - longtime director of Ringling Clown College, guest director with Big Apple Circus Greg and Karen DeSanto - husband and wife clown/comedy team John Gilkey - American clown