In Los Angeles, Colvig continued working in animation and secured a job offer from Mack Sennett and the Keystone Film Co. Looking to advance in the business, he and his family moved to Los Angeles, where his fifth son was born. In doing so, he also created one of the first animated silent color films, called Pinto’s Prizma Comedy Revue (1919). Colvig viewed cartoons as another means through which he could continue clowning.Īs Colvig worked for the newspaper by day, he began experimenting with animation by night and set up his own studio, Pinto Cartoon Comedies Co.
He returned to newspaper work as a full-time cartoonist and writer for The Bulletin. His cartoon series, “Life on the Radio Wave” depicted how radio was affecting people’s lives. The couple moved to San Francisco, where four out of their five boys were born. During his time working for a Portland newspaper, he met and married Margaret Bourke Slavin, ending his time on the road. Barnes’ Circus came to Carson City, Colvig joined the troupe and found himself clowning and playing the clarinet for a circus band yet again.ĭue to the fact that circuses would close each winter, Colvig returned to cartooning wherever he could secure a role. He would travel all over the country but would struggle financially.īy 1914, he secured a position as a newspaper cartoonist for the Nevada Rockroller in Reno, followed by Carson City News. Though his cartoonist work was earning him a paycheck, he continued to be drawn to the circus. His travels in the circuit ended in Seattle, Washington, after which he joined a circus band. His college career came to an end when he accepted an offer to perform his chalk talks for the revered Pantages vaudeville circuit in 1913. During his performance, he would improvise a monologue while sketching humorous cartoons in the process. At the same time, he gained a reputation for his cartoons and his “chalk talk” routine. He studied art at Oregon Agricultural College and played with the college band. With this, Colvig developed a deep appreciation for circuses and carnivals.ĭuring the winters, he continued to attend school, followed by work in the circus and in vaudeville during the spring. His act consisted of him playing clarinet while contorting his face and crossing his eyes as the notes got higher. The man who hired him said, “Now, you look like a real bozo,” referring to the tramp or hobo style of clowning that was in vogue during the period. He donned oversized, worn out clothes and a derby hat, accompanied with white makeup and a clown face. He ran back to the hotel to get the instrument and was hired on the spot to join a fun house act. While attending Portland’s Lewis and Clark Centennial Exposition with his father, Colvig told one of the performers that he played clarinet.
Thanks to the clarinet, Colvig entered show business at age 12. Colvig and his brother Don would put on minstrel shows for local functions, during which Colvig developed an interest in clarinet and later joined the town band. He was also a gifted mimic and would work to reproduce the sounds around him, whether they be the squeaks and clanks of everyday objects or the noises of people and animals. He was the youngest of seven children and would strive for attention by eliciting laughter, making faces, and playing pranks. His childhood homes on Oregon Street in Jacksonville, Oregon, 295 14th Street in Portland, Oregon, and at 8 Laurel Street in Medford City, Oregon, were filled with music and laughter. While attending school, young Vance was nicknamed after a spotted horse named “Pinto,” largely due to his freckled face.Ĭolvig enjoyed clowning from an early age. was born on September 11, 1892, in Jacksonville, Oregon, to Judge William Mason Colvig and Adelaide Birdseye Colvig.
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