Gators as clowns: After work, Giggles and Astro play for laughs

April 4, 2007

Mary Bennett’s life is all about smiles. As the executive secretary to the senior associate dean of the University of Florida’s College of Dentistry, she spends her days surrounded by people whose job is to fashion and fix smiles. When she leaves the office, her job is to elicit them.

To do so, Bennett dons a red vinyl nose; a big, blue bow; and an even bigger red wig as she transforms herself into a professional clown.

Bennett isn’t the only Gator who turns clown on occasion. Her clowning co-star is Debra Hunter, a grants specialist in astronomy.

Bennett began her double life as “Giggles the Clown” 22 years ago when a boy from her church was hospitalized at Shands. She and a friend visited him, dressed in wild colors with painted smiles on their faces that spread from ear to ear.
As they made their way down the hospital halls, parents would poke their heads out of patient rooms and ask them to visit their children, too.

Bennett’s desire to make people smile in their time of need has continued over the years, but her look has changed dramatically.

“We learned that smiles as big as the ones we were painting were actually pretty scary to little kids,” she said with a laugh.

She now opts for hearts and freckles painted on her cheeks and inchlong, sparkling, red eyelashes. Her costume, too, has evolved into red-and-white polka-dotted petticoats and $250, custom-made shoes that turn her size 61/2 feet into footlong monstrosities.

A curly, purple wig frames Hunter’s painted face. Her skirt is fashioned from the same material as the curtains of her astronomy department office. She added a matching vest and bloomers and the galactic ensemble helped inspire her current alias “Astro the Clown.”

It takes each woman about 90 minutes to create her clown counterpart.

Hunter’s first gig as a clown came at 16 when she was promoting a furniture sale at her father’s store. When her boss at McDonald’s saw her in costume handing out balloons, he offered to pay her to come in on Saturdays as a clown for birthday parties. Her clown persona then was “Bobo McDonald.”

Bennett and Hunter are both members of the Gainesville Sunshine Clowns and the World Clown Association. Hunter is also a member of Clowns of America. Bennett has served as the president of the South East Clown Association in 2001, the World Clown Association in 2005, and the Gainesville Sunshine Clowns in 2007.

While they recognize that being funny is one of the biggest expectations of a clown, they credit compassion and empathy as the most important qualities for the person behind the nose.

“One of the fondest memories of my teenage years was clowning at a Special Olympics event,” Hunter said. “Just getting to interact with those loving and happy kids helped shape me into the person I am today.”

Bennett signs all her autographs with “Love and Laughter,” and wears a charm bracelet every day that reminds her why laughter – and smiles – is her mission.

“Sometimes all people need is a little help to see the lighter side,” Bennett said. “Laughing physically changes people.”