Clowning Around

When people refer to their neighbor as a clown, it's usually not a good sign. But when the folks on Acadia say it, they're just talking about "Mr. Rainbow", AKA David Bartlett. "It's definitely cool having Mr. Rainbow as a neighbor," says Dino Mangano, who lives across the street. When I was eleven, he came over and made balloon sculptures of all the characters from "The Wizard of Oz".

The funny thing is, David Bartlett never wanted to be a clown. Though he would eventually become Education Director for the World Clown Association, he has no childhood memory of ever meeting or being entertained by a clown. After a stint in the Navy he settled in Cary with his wife and two children and began a teaching career.

"Actually, it didn't go that smoothly. There was a period of time after the Navy but before teaching, when both of us were looking for jobs, that was very stressful. That's when Kathy signed me up for the ballooning class."

"He needed to get out of the apartment," Kathy recalls.

It turned out to be a life-altering experience; something about balloon sculpting just clicked for him. But more about that later.

Meanwhile he got a job teaching Social Studies at Neal Jr. HS. A year later he went to Githens. He had done some acting in the Navy and started moonlighting at the now defunct Triangle Dinner Theater. That led to roles at Raleigh's Little Theater. Two of his RLT roles won 'Canty' awards. Not only did he like walking around in some else's shoes—he was good at it. Still, it never occurred to him to slip on a pair of 32 triple E's.

All the while, however, he had continued with the ballooning. "My kids were both young at that point, and they loved it, so that just spurred me on. I started getting creative and making my own sculptures."

He also started showing them. When he brought them to "The Magic Corner", a magic supply shop in Raleigh, people started buying them. Next thing he knew, people were asking him to come to the birthday party or bar mitzvah and make his balloon art on the spot. "I created Mr. Rainbow as a way to do the ballooning."

This was in 1981, long before rainbows had political connotations.  Mr. Rainbow wasn't a reaction to Jesse Jackson's 'Rainbow Coalition', or the gay rights movement. "To me it was just a happy, positive image."

By 1987, Mr. Rainbow was doing so well, Mr. Barlett decided to leave teaching, although he continued to work with school-aged children through the Creative Arts in Public Schools (CAPS) program for another six years.  Did he make the right choice? "How often does someone hand you your paycheck, pat you on the back and tell you you're great?"  Not often enough, most of us would admit. "It happens to me all the time."

These days Mr. Rainbow has his own website (www.MrRainbowTheClown.com) as well as a whole line of videos, CDs and books. He works regularly at Duke and UNC hospitals, and does corporate parties and trade shows as well.

 How does he relax after a hard day of clowning around?  He and Kathy enjoy going to live events—sports, theater, concerts—they were looking forward to the Durham Blues Festival the day we spoke. Mr. Rainbow digs The Blues.