Retrospect: Shy clown visited Jay

Jim Perry, also known as Dee Jay the clown, visited Jay County High School as part of a The Circus Galaxy of Stars performance on July 14, 1987.

As part of the circus, Perry traveled six to eight months per year while performing.

“The job is kind of a commitment,” he said. “It’s really a way of life.”

Perry, 24, a native of Rockford, Michigan, described himself as a shy guy who was not popular or athletic growing up.

He became interested in clowning through a 4-H project.

He was attending Grand Rapids Junior College, not really sure what he wanted to do with his life, when he received a letter from his sister informing him of auditions for clowns for Ringling Bros. and Barnum and Bailey Circus.

Perry got an application, sent it in and was surprised when he was accepted to Ringling Bros. Clown College.

“When I’m in makeup, Dee Jay is a complete different guy than I am,” he said.

However, the circus did not hire him after he graduated. That was disappointing, but worked out in the long run as he got his first clowning job with a small, one-ring circus.

He later worked at Circus World in Orlando, Fla., before returning home to Rockford.

It was then that he answered an ad for a clown with The Circus of Galaxy Stars, another one-ring operation that brought him to Jay County. That tour was slated to be his last before heading home to his fiancé.