What a Clown She Married--and He as Well

A year after their formal wedding ceremony, Kelley and Rick De Lung recently renewed their vows, this time in front of 350 clowns.

The ceremony for Kelley and Rick, who live in Anaheim and are known professionally as Kritters and Pretzels, was before a convention in Laughlin, Nev.

“It kind of cemented our relationship as clowns, and husband and wife,” said Kelley, 26, who wore a mauve wedding gown with a choo-choo as its train. She also painted her face white and wore a red nose.

Rick, 31, wore tails and a top hat sprouting propellers. Each wore large red clown shoes.

Noted Kelley: “Now us and the clowns are both married.”

They left on their “honeymoon” in a 7-foot-long elephant they made out of pink fur fabric, with hula hoops for framing and with four holes cut for their legs.

Both fell into clowning after attending college.

“I was a business major and then studied early childhood development, but decided that wasn’t for me and dropped out” of Chapman College, said Kelley, who took a job as an executive secretary. “I hated that too.”

She later took a clown class given by the Anaheim Parks and Recreation Department.

“When I became a clown and started working, I liked it better than anything else in my whole life. I can’t explain the joy in having a job you love,” she said.

Rick attended Cal State Fullerton and earned money at private parties by performing magic, a skill he learned as a child. While at college he also attended a clown school.

“I loved it,” Rick said. “I was always interested in comedy and was considered the class clown in high school.”

They met by chance at a stationery store.

“Rick offered to teach me how to do picnic clowning and I accepted,” Kelley said. “A friendship developed and he thought I had potential as a clown.”

They sometimes work together, but many of their jobs are at separate parties or shows.

The lackluster economy has slowed demand for their services, “but we are surviving,” she said. “If you have a good reputation, you get the calls.”

Kelley adopted her clown name of Kritters from her love for animals. Pretzels was the name of Rick’s first teddy bear.

“Each of us believes in our clown characters and we understand each other’s schedule and workload,” she noted. “I always wanted to own my own business and sell a product. I found the product. Myself.”

Rick also publishes Play Clown magazine, a parody of Playboy. “It’s really a family magazine that has a centerfold of a clown,” he said.