GEORGE “BUMPSY ANTHONY” HULME (1901-1989)
“Bumpsy Anthony” was born George Anthony Hulme in Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.A.
Bumpsy Anthony began his career in vaudeville with a breakaway bicycle act and then moved to circuses as a clown. He left home to join the circus at the age of 16. For 62 years worked on various shows including:
- Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey
- Tom Mix
- Sells Floto
- Clyde Beatty
- The Robbins Brothers
- Walter L. Main
- The Keith Brothers
- The Wild West
- The Hagenback-Wallace Show
- Howe’s Great London Shows
- Sparks
- Cole Brothers.
He wore a baggy suit with low cut neckline. He continued the lines of his unique make-up design down his neck to accentuate his long neck. An acrobatic clown, he performed the table rocking routine. One of his trademarks was carrying a long knotted rope which would get tangled on objects causing him to do a pratfall.
Bumpsy Anthony was posthumously inducted into the Clown Hall of Fame in 1994.