Dan Rice: The Most Famous Man You've Never Heard Of

Circus clown and presidential candidate: A 21st century punch line, that conjunction made perfect sense to the mid-19th century, in the person of Dan Rice. A runaway at 13, Rice was a pig presenter, strongman, lecturer, comic singer, blackface clown, before joining the dazzling world of circus. Creating Dan Rice's Great Show, and labeling himself the Great American Humorist, he spoke out on issues of the day until he become one of the most famous men in America.

So what happened? Why did Dan Rice disappear? Why have so few people ever heard of him? Propelled by a vague urge of "refinement"-which mostly meant quiet audiences-American amusements began to stratify in the mid-19th century. The raucous antebellum jumble of performers and audiences and forms split along a new performance hierarchy of high and low. Circus, though still vastly popular, became seen as essentially lowbrow, good only for children, simple jokes, and nostalgia. In that changed world, Rice's aggressive humor became an embarrassment, and his robust connection with a noisy, participatory audience became seen as a civic threat.

David Carlyon weaves a remarkably rich portrait of turbulent times that raised one ambitious, creative man to glorious heights and then, embarrassed by its enthusiasm, buried him in sentimentality and finally oblivion.