Mike Heidtman just got back from clowning around in China.
Literally.
As “The Original” Presto, International Man of Magic, Heidtman recently returned from a two-week engagement in China, performing for the AEMI (American Event Management Institute) World Clown Festival in Bengbu, a mid-sized city of about a million residents.
Presto is a clown character and primarily a magician, but Heidtman said that the act can be tailored to the needs of his clients. He is also a consummate juggler.
He has been to China twice before as Alfresco, one half of the variety, comedy and juggling duo The Fettucini Brothers [www.fettucinibrothers.com].
And if he didn’t decide to run away with the circus, none of this would have happened.
Indeed, Heidtman is a former Ringling Brothers clown and a graduate of the organization’s Clown College, following a brother and sister who took the plunge before him. He is also a past president of the International Brotherhood of Magicians Ring (or chapter) 322 in Myrtle Beach and a life member of the International Juggler’s Association.
Also known as Captain Mike, The Seaside Showman, Heidtman relocated to Myrtle Beach more than 12 years ago.
“I came here out of Charlotte, NC, where I was doing the song and dance for the McDonald’s Corporation,” he said, adding that he wore the big red shoes for them as their corporate icon for eight years.
“I am in therapy, so I am able to talk about it more now,” he laughed.
Myrtle Beach came into the picture when friend and fellow Ringling Brothers alumnus Jay Stewart called him about a possible gig at the now-defunct Myrtle Beach Pavilion.
“Jay knew I was living in Charlotte, and at that time I was in the business of show,” he said, adding that Stewart was rallying a small group of entertainers to put together a clown show as a de facto audition for Burroughs Chapin Company, Inc., the owners of the Pavilion.
The audition took place at the also-defunct Myrtle Square Mall.
“I am in therapy, so I am able to talk about it more now.” Mike Heidtman on being Ronald McDonald for eight years
“It was at a kind of trade show for tourism. Burroughs Chapin brought us down and said, ‘OK, here’s the stage and here is some sound equipment. Go up and be funny,’” he said.
Whatever they did worked, and in short order Heidtman and his daughter moved down to the beach. At that time his daughter was 11 and Heidtman was a single parent.
“We made pretty good money to perform, and when the park closed, the idea was that we would continue to be available at their beck-and-call.”
But when the Pavilion closed, the writing was on the wall.
“I had already settled in, and by that time Hali [Heidtman] was well embedded in the school system. I had opportunities to go to other places, but I liked the beach. Hali had friends here, and there was other work here – even though it wasn’t full time showman work.”
He was a singing gondolier with Gondola Adventures, at one an attraction at Broadway at the Beach. He also worked at the Discovery Channel Store at Broadway until just before the company ceased retail operations nationwide.
But as fate would have it, Dave Tanner, owner of Broadway Magic, was a regular customer at the Discovery Channel Store.
“Dave loved gizmos, and he would come in and buy stuff off me,” he said. “One day Tanner came in and asked me if I wanted to come work for him. I gave Discovery Channel a week’s notice before they locked the doors for good and went down to the magic shop.”
It was at Broadway Magic that another sort of magic happened. It was there that he met longtime girlfriend Michelle Householder.
“I fell for Mike because he sang to me in Italian at the magic shop,” said Householder. “We shared a shift, and I asked him if he really sang in Italian and if he really did row gondolas. He said yes and I was like, ‘Well sing to me then.’ That night as we were closing up, he locked the doors and started walking to me at the cash register, belting out ‘O Sole Mio.’”
Heidtman said he was channeling Pavarotti.
Through Broadway Magic, he was also involved with Champions of Magic and Magic at the Beach – a show and convention that ran once every year for five years. The event brought top-notch magicians and performers to the Grand Strand, first at the Palace Theatre and later at the Carolina Opry. Heidtman was an event coordinator.
“The caliber of magic performers that we brought to the beach for the first time ever was just incredible,” he said. “We put acts on stage that had never worked together before for the most part – and we had a stellar lineup of world class magic acts that we brought to Myrtle Beach to share with the people here.”
Every year for the week the event was active, Myrtle Beach City Council proclaimed it Magic Week.
“It was really cool to go to a City Council meeting once a year. They had a nice little plaque for us, and I would accept on behalf of the group – and would end up doing some magic in council chambers.”
But all that time he had continued to do gigs with the Fettucini Brothers, founded by Steve Langley in 1987. Heidtman came on board in 2000, performing his first show with Langley at a festival called Speed Street in Charlotte.
“My first partner decided that he did not want to go back on the road performing,” said Langley, adding that he knew Heidtman’s contract with McDonald’s had just ended.
Langley had known him since the mid 80’s from juggling conventions.
Every moment we had, we were underneath the circus tent.” Mike Heidtman
“I knew that he had some juggling and performing skills, so I asked him to join the act. Mike was a good fit. He also knew our act well, and was able to adapt to being a Fettucini Brother and also bring some new skills to the table.”
As mentioned, Heidtman had been to China twice with the Fettucini Brothers. This time, Alfredo and Alfresco split up in order to work.
“This time the producer was looking for different things, so Mike ended up selling his magic act and I ended up selling them my bubble act,” said Langley. “We did have some great advance appearances at some schools prior to the festival. There were amazing experiences for thousands of schoolchildren who had most likely never seen a Westerner in person – much less some of the things that we were doing for them.”
Initially, Heidtman was slated to do some appearances at the Shanghai International Comedy Festival, but he said it was realized that they needed somebody on the ground for advance work and a bit of public relationsfor the International Clown Festival.
“Three of us jumped on a bullet train from Shanghai to Bengbu – first class – and we arrived several days prior to the rest of the group to do not only public relations – but it was kind of an outreach thing,” he said. “They took us to places where a lot of these people, I felt, didn’t have the means to come to this beautiful botanical garden experience our festival. We went out and did these shows, and a lot of them were in schools. Some were at parks.”
He said he would definitely go back again.
“The people of China love magic and enjoyed what I had to bring them. They are, for the most part, a curious and friendly people always anxious to try out their English on you and share and assist with anything you needed.”
A love of circus was instilled in Heidtman since he was a child, in large part because his family vacationed for many years at Callaway Gardens in Pine Mountain, Ga. – also the summer home of Florida State University’s Flying High Circus. The student circus performers would serve as recreation directors, which meant that Heidtman and his siblings got a chance to learn all manner of circus-related skills.
“We would make a big top, learn how to walk on the tight wire, swing on trapeze – ride on the bicycle built for five or the unicycle,” he said. “For two weeks out of every summer, we didn’t care what the planned activities were. Every moment we had, we were underneath the circus tent.”
When they were home in Columbus, Ohio, this would continue. Heidtman loved the tight wire – but his father would not allow him to set up a rig in their backyard. He was, however, allowed to juggle to his heart’s content. By an interesting twist of fate, two former FSU circus students also lived in Columbus.
One day, these friends got together at a local park to juggle, and this became a group called Jest Jugglers, which became an affiliate of the International Juggler’s Association.
“That was in 1984, and I am proud to say that the group is still going strong today,” he said.
His brother Joel Heidtman set the tone by attending Ringling Brothers Clown College after getting a taste of the circus life with the Royal Hanneford Circus as a juggler. He was followed by their sister Laura Smith the next year. Of note is the fact that Heidtman is 10 years older than his sister and was already on an upward trajectory in the corporate world as a computer systems analyst and a telecommunications networking specialist for major companies like J.C. Penney, The Limited and Bank One, which later merged with JPMorgan Chase Co.
This all changed when his brother Joel became an instructor and invited him down to Venice, Fla., to hang out at a shared condo with a group of clowns. But there was more. His brother told college director Steve Smith all about Heidtman’s juggling skills. The upshot was that Heidtman presented a series of workshops at the college as a guest performer.
This was all he needed – and in true carpe diem fashion wound up submitting an application. He was accepted for the class of 1991, and when he told his corporate colleagues at J.C. Penney, they were very supportive.
“They said, ‘Look, Mike – we know who you are. You have juggled for us at the company picnics and we know how important this is to you,’” Heidtman recalled.
They granted him a leave of absence with the stipulation that he come right back to work if he was not given a contract with Ringling Brothers after graduation.
He graduated, snagged a contract, and toured with the Greatest Show on Earth in 1991 and 1992.
“I continue to do advance work when the shows come to the southeast. A highlight for me was being selected as Assistant Singing Ringmaster while touring with the show. It’s a huge honor,” he said.
Sister Laura Smith went to China as well, and was thrilled to reconnect with her brother.
“The fact that my brother Mike and I – who are 10 years apart in age – got to share the same experience makes me feel like I am six months younger,” she said. “Being on the road with Ringling Brothers and sharing that circle of friends – and the experiences we had in China were amazing.”
Smith was also in China with her husband, Mike Smith, another former Ringling Brothers Clown.
“We were with 40 performers and out of those performers, Mike was always ready to go with a trick or a gag – something to make you laugh,” Laura Smith said. “He was always in a great mood, in and out of character.”
Smith said that people have called her family the Kennedys of clowning.
“It was interesting to hear my brother talk about why he waited. He waited because he thought mom and dad had expectations of him being a normal person.” Laura Smith on her brother Mike Heidtman becoming a clown
“All four of us were on the road at different times, which is unusual,” she said.
One more brother, Chad Heidtman, went on to a career in the Army National Guard, but Heidtman said he did juggling and rode the unicycle too.
People ask them how it worked out that Heidtman went to clown college in his late 20s.
“It was interesting to hear my brother talk about why he waited,” she said. “He waited because he thought mom and dad had expectations of him being a normal person.”
Daughter Hali Heidtman brought things full circle last year by going on tour with Ringling Brothers as a props intern and performer.
“It was pretty interesting to grow up surrounded by something a bit different to most people,” she said, adding that what she considered normal was way different for anyone. “I got to travel with him for shows, I got to help out in them by levitating or spinning a ball on my finger or whatever.”
When she was younger, she always wanted to follow in the family’s big footsteps and be a clown – but she actually got into the circus because of her aunt.
“She knew someone that was in the show currently and thought I would enjoy the travel,” she said. “I’m not currently touring though.”
But how has her dad guided her as a performer?
“He’s influenced my interests in juggling, magic and other various creative outlets,” she said. “I enjoy practicing poi and dance hooping and I don’t think I would have come across them as early as I did if I hadn’t gone to juggling conventions with him at an early age.”
Her father, of course, is happy about this as he considers the future.
“I’m proud of the time that she spent with the show, carrying on the family tradition. And I’ll continue to do what I do best, taking my silliness very seriously and making it nice for the people all around the world.”
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