photo courtesy of Helene Udy

Hi there! Bet you didn't recognize me. Yep it's me, Helene- or as I'm known in my 'other life' - 'Sweet Pea, the clown'. As you can see I've gone back to 'entertainin,' Can you picture Myra working in 'this outfit!?? I suppose you'd like to know how all this came about- Well it's simple really, it all started before Dr. Quinn...

I came by clowning in my early twenties. I come from the city of Montreal where the Cirque Du Soleil was born and clowning seems a pefectly natural art form, so when I saw an ad in the paper for clowns for children's parties in Los Angeles, I didn't think twice. I was very broke and I was happy to find a job. I didn't take to clowning immediately though...mostly because the companies I worked for had me doing other characters as well. You wouldn't believe some of the things that happened to me!


I had to wear a "Big Bird" outfit once- all five foot two of me, and the eyes were so far up in the neck that I literally couldn't see a thing. I spent the whole party yelling"Careful now! Big Bird can't see!Big Bird can't see!!!" Needless to say, it was very disturbing for the children. And there was the night I left a Mickey Mouse head in my car and two very naughty friends of mine, broke into my car , stole my head, put it on and then rang my doorbell at about 3 in the morning. I almost had a heart attack!

photo courtesy of Helene Udy

And I'll never forget the time some mom ordered a Mickey Mouse and well..... let's just say she was very unhappy that I showed with Mickey's head on but "not the right anatomy at all!". She sent me to the bathroom with an ace bandage. I don't know how the girl managed in the movie Boys Don't Cry but honestly, I had a very hard time. When I finally came out I was so nervous I shook the little boys hand way too vigorously and as I leaned down towards him my Mickey head FELL OFF and just about knocked him out! There I was now, with the appearance of the right anatomy finally, but most definitely the wrong head!

It started to become obvious to me that I wasn't fond of playing "ready made" characters and so I started developing my own. And slowly but surely "Sweet Pea" came into being. Sweet Pea is my attempt at manifesting everything I thought was great about an adult as a child.

I remember as a kid the adults that would talk to me with real interest about my life. I remember the adults that were  really amused by me. and those that really enjoyed getting down on the floor with me and rolling around and being ridiculous. I was fascinated by my Uncle Herbert who taught me German songs and whom I suspected might not really just be Santa Claus on a secret vacation. And there was my neighbor Mrs Prince,who would get down under the kitchen table and have long barking conversations with the family dog. My father also loved to 'entertain' he would make up songs that all started with the words "yuckadee, yuckadoo!" while he danced around the room like a chicken. On second thought, this is probably more than my father wants you to know but the whold point is -these were the people that as a child brought love and laughter into my day, a true sense of the beauty of the ridiculous. So you see, 'Sweet Pea' had a lot to draw from.

Although I was a perfect 'tom boy' growing up, I secretly admired all the pretty little girls in their big taffetta dresses. I've always felt a little elf-like due to my size...So Sweet pea has hearts on her cheeks for love, a big pink frilly taffetta slip (because what little girl wouldn't want one of those!?) and a beautiful lime green overdress. Oh...And her hair is very very pink! of course. There's nothing Sweet Pea won't do. She'll always be "it" in tag, and climb trees, and do somersaults and cartwheels in the bouncer. And she's great at jousting in a toy sword fight because there's still just that little bit of boy in her. She's ridiculous and sweet and energetic and really really 'fair' in games.

Fairess is a quality it seems most children really secretly admire in an adult because it builds trust for them. Children are amazing creatures. if they feel they're being loved they are capable of the most wonderful things and even in a single hour, I get to share great moments with them. It's an undescribably cathartic experience for me. There's nothing better.

I'm trying to develop a 'tom boy' alter ego to Sweet Pea. "The Mighty Bosco Bumple Bop"..She wears a train conductors hat and I don't think she really knows she's "just so small". Yeah. she's trouble, she's just at the beginning of her life...We'll see how it goes."

Anyway, if you'd like ' Sweet Pea' to come and entertain your children, I now have my own clown business, as you might have guessed by now (in between my acting, producing and writing) It's called createakidsparty and I or any of my other 'clowns' would love to come to your next party. You can check out my website at createakidsparty.com.

I promise not to show up with a 'Mickey' head!

Helene (aka, Myra Bing, Sweet Pea....)