Jango Edwards
BORN April 15, 1950
PLACE Detroit, Michigan, U.S.A

The Man

Jango Edwards was officially named Stanley Ted Edwards at birth; the third child of the family. His older sister was born in the thirties, his older brother in the forties and he was later joined by another sister, born in 1960.
Jango's father, Harold Senior, was the son of English and Irish immigrants. Unable to afford school after the fourth grade, Bud, as his friends called him, continued to study in-between odd jobs and eventually became a self
made millionaire. He started by selling led to supplying lawns and eventually landscaping homes, highways and golf courses.


Jango's mother, Deloris, was the daughter of Russian and Polish immigrants. Between raising the children and caring for a home, she became one of America's top professional bowlers. Jango was raised for most of his youth on a sod farm and was expected to help in the family business by mowing the grass - all 200 acres of it!
After 27 years of marriage, his parents divorced in 1966 and Jango stayed with his father while his younger sister remained with his mother. With his father away from home so often, he became independent and began to search
for some value or purpose to his being.


At 17, he and his brother became partners and started an independent landscaping company, competing with his father. During college he was immersed in the politics of the sixties, a student radical and published
poet, studying philosophy and religion and yet, a successful capitalist at home. In 1970, during his third European quest in search of remarkable men, he studied one, of may books written, concerning the esoteric sciences. It was
titled ?The Fourth Way", written by O.P. Ouspensky. When he returned from Europe something had changed. He sold his share of the business to his brother, abandoned all worldly belongings and returned to Europe to study
the art of the clown.

The Profession

Since that change, he has dedicated his life to the study of comedy and devoted himself to the art of clown; not a job but a life style, a comic religion which he calls the Church of Grin. He first settled in London where he began to study independently and work the streets as a busker. With Nola Rae he formed his first troupe, "The
London Mime Company". Later they merged with ?The London Black Theatre Company" and a trio of students from the Central School of Art and Design to create ?The Friends Roadshow" that exploded into a theatrical community with bases in London, Amsterdam and Detroit. Over 400 members from around the world have actively participated. Eventually his vision gave birth to the internationally renowned. "Festival Of Fools" which, from 1975 until 1984, became the world's first comedy convention of the Nouveau Clowns. It set the foundation and form for a new trend in comic festivals; an annual gathering of the clown tribe, where all performed, taught and exchanged the secrets to a new direction and rebirth of an all but lost tradition. His diverse talent and skills continue to expand; mime, dance, juggling, stunts, composer, playwright, author, magician, professor, producer, actor, husband, father, lover, choreographer, producer and director. His audience is unbounded. The Queen of Holland, the Chancellor of Germany, Salvador Dali, Catherine Denueve, Fedrico Fellini, Francis Ford Coppella, Xavier Hollander and The Rolling Stones, to name but a few, have been his devout fans. Venues as diverse as the Sahara desert, the Ronald McDonald Comedy Awards, the International Banking Conference of Switzerland, a nudist beach, half-time at a football match, Notre Dam Cathedral and a bathroom at the Majestic Hotel in Cannes have hosted his personal appearances. Jango has released four albums, two video compilations with Sony, published two books, and, as well as numerous appearances in other people's films has co-produced and starred in his own. He has scripted, directed and performed in different live productions including musicals, plays, TV shows and street animations. He directed the Netherlands National Ballet for a royal performance and is often employed as a comedy consultant, You name it; if he hasn?t done it, he will!