Joe, 4-Feet-4, Casts Long Shadow : Clown, Author, Actor Now Works for Senior Citizens

Joe White is no stranger to adversity. At 4 feet, 4 inches tall, the 74-year-old Massachusetts native has had to deal with many obstacles. But rather than back down from challenges, White thrives on them.

“The reason why I don’t play the lottery is because even if I win a million dollars, I’d still be short,” laughed White.

He rattles off one-liners with ease, the result of a lifetime of making people laugh.

At 18, White quit Harvard University to join the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus as a clown. He landed a job in 1950 representing the Oscar Mayer hot dog company by traveling across the country as Little Oscar. And in the late ‘80s he performed as little Merlin at the Excalibur Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas.

Between jobs White has written five books on magic, acted in one opera and appeared on the big screen in “Under the Rainbow,” a spoof of the classic “Wizard of Oz.”

White retired in 1992 and moved to Cypress to take care of his ailing ex-wife, Dorothy, but the ever-energetic White still wanted to be in the spotlight.

“When people look at me and see I’m still able to do most of what I used to do in my early days, they say to me, ‘No way you could be 74,’ ” White said.

Today he spends most of his time volunteering at the Cypress Senior Center, where he’s been a member and officer of the senior citizens commission for the past four years. He has also served as president and vice-president of the Sunshine Club, a senior’s activity club at the center, since 1992. And every January he resumes his love affair with show business by hosting the annual Senior Center talent show.

White, who turns 75 on New Year’s Day, will preside as master of ceremonies on Jan. 22 of a two-hour talent show for the fourth year in a row. Senior Center staff welcome his help.

“He’s just an overall nice guy who is always ready to help out when he can,” said Marie Crawford, a secretary at the center. Crawford said she can’t remember a time when White hasn’t been involved with the center.

Next year White will again be vice-president of the senior citizens commission and hopes to create a senior day care center and develop a transportation service that would help make seniors more independent.

It’s just one more challenge to White. “We know we have a lot of work to do, and realistically these programs are a ways off,” said White. “But you have to start somewhere.”

Andre Briscoe can be reached at (714) 966-5848.