Bello Nock

Currently America's most famous clown from the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Traveling Circus and performs 500 shows in 11 months, while carefully maintaining an eight inch spiked strawberry-blond do which is part of his trademark that makes him instantly recognizable to kids and adults everywhere. Declared "America's Best Clown" by Time Magazine and "greatest athlete to perform in Madison Square Garden" by the New York Times. This hard working superbly skilled gymnast manages to keep his tresses neatly in place through a series of physically demanding and daring feats such as being tossed up in the air by an elephant and then scrambling up a scary looking 60 foot Sway-pole that is a mere 2 inches in diameter. Once Bello is at the top of the pole that he climbs with his bare hands, he perches on top and swings the pole in a series of death defying wild arcs, which elicits oohs and aahhs from the mesmerized crowds below. This act, created by his father Eugene, is both thrilling and scary to observe. Bello the clown is a seventh generation circus performer. He is a natural-born American of Swiss and Italian ancestry. A descendant of the family that founded Switzerland's Circus Nock in the 18th century, Nock began performing at age 3, playing the baby on the burning house in a "Dumbo" clown routine. At 6, Nock played Michael Darling in the touring version of "Peter Pan" with Cathy Rigby; he also performed at the age of 15 when he began performing in the Nock family's sway poles act. He later performed with his father and three brothers around the United States in an acrobatic troupe known as the Nerveless Nocks; he was a featured clown in Mexico's Circo Atayde before joining New York's Big Apple Circus, where he became the star attraction in 2000. Nock joined Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus in 2001 as the star clown. The Sarasota native slowly progressed from clown to daredevil, learning all he could along the way. His dad, Eugen, invented the act Bello now does -- the sway pole. This contraption goes up to 90 feet and is flexible, adding more suspense as Bello climbs to the top and does his routine. His father came to America from Switzerland in 1954 to work for Ringling Bros., and his mother, Aurelia, was hired that same year. The two were married in 1955 and headlined the three-ring circus. It is said that life comes full circle -- and for the Nock family, that seems to be true as Bello headlines the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus.