Connie Clausen (born Constance Clausen on June 11, 1923, in

Menasha, Wisconsin Menasha () is a city in Calumet and Winnebago counties in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The population was 18,268 at the 2020 census. Of this, 15,144 were in Winnebago County, and 2,209 were in Calumet County. The city is located mostly in Winne ...

, and died September 7, 1997, in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...

) was an American actress, author, and

literary agent A literary agent is an agent who represents writers and their written works to publishers, theatrical producers, film producers, and film studios, and assists in sale and deal negotiation. Literary agents most often represent novelists, screenwrit ...

Career

Connie Clausen's career began in 1942 at the age of 19 when she was approached by

John Ringling North John Ringling North (August 14, 1903 – June 4, 1985) was the president and director of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus from 1937 to 1943 and again from 1947 to 1967. Life and career North was born on August 14, 1903 in Baraboo ...

on Main Street in

Sarasota, Florida Sarasota () is a city in Sarasota County on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The area is renowned for its cultural and environmental amenities, beaches, resorts, and the Sarasota School of Architecture. The city is located in the sou ...

(then the winter quarters for Ringling Brothers Circus), who told her that her long hair would make her a perfect

Alice Alice may refer to: * Alice (name), most often a feminine given name, but also used as a surname Literature * Alice (''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland''), a character in books by Lewis Carroll * ''Alice'' series, children's and teen books by ...

in the following season's "fairy tale"-themed grand finale. She joined the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus and performed as an acrobat in an elephant act. Her experiences in the circus later provided material for her memoir ''I Love You Honey, but the Season's Over'' (Holt, Rinehart & Winston, 1961), in which she discussed, among other issues, the "significant gap" between what women did within the circus ring and their treatment outside of it. After leaving the circus, she worked as a magazine and television writer and started with MGM studios in Hollywood as director of special promotions. Encouraged by an MGM studio photographer, she moved to

to begin a career as a Conover Model and as a successful Broadway and television actress. She appeared on Broadway in ''The Gambler'' with Alfred Drake and appeared in hundreds of television shows and commercials in the 1950s and 1960s. She was a television spokeswoman for Beech-Nut and

Westinghouse Electric Corporation The Westinghouse Electric Corporation was an American manufacturing company founded in 1886 by George Westinghouse. It was originally named "Westinghouse Electric & Manufacturing Company" and was renamed "Westinghouse Electric Corporation" i ...

. In 1971 Connie Clausen began a new career in publishing. As an assistant Vice President of Macmillan, she helped launch two of the company's best sellers, ''

Watership Down ''Watership Down'' is an adventure novel by English author Richard Adams, published by Rex Collings Ltd of London in 1972. Set in Berkshire in southern England, the story features a small group of rabbits. Although they live in their natural w ...

'' and '' Jonathan Livingston Seagull''. In 1978 she started her own literary agency, Connie Clausen & Associates, which had a series of best sellers, including the beauty books by the photographer Francesco Scavullo, the Pulitzer Prize-winning '' Jackson Pollock: An American Saga'' by

Steven Naifeh Steven Naifeh (born June 19, 1952) is a Pulitzer Prize-winning American biographer of both Jackson Pollock and Vincent van Gogh. In addition to writing 18 books with Gregory White Smith, Naifeh is a businessman who founded several companies, incl ...

and

Gregory White Smith Gregory White Smith (October 4, 1951 – April 10, 2014) was an American biographer of both Jackson Pollock and Vincent van Gogh. In addition to writing 18 books with Steven Naifeh, Smith was an accomplished musician, historic preservationist, ...

, "Eat to Win", "The Rules" and many others. She was also the long-time American agent for the British author Quentin Crisp. Clausen was portrayed by Swoosie Kurtz in the ITV film production of ''An Englishman in New York'', a sequel to ''The Naked Civil Servant''.

Filmography

Television

References

External links

*
Photos of Connie ClausenI Love You Honey, but the Seasons's Over
* ttp://www.crisperanto.org/news/AnEnglishmanInNYmovie.html Connie Clausen portrayed in "An Englishman in New York"br>Connie Clausen on "Watership Down"video clips from Connie Clausen's television career
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Clausen, Connie 1923 births 1997 deaths Actresses from Wisconsin Writers from Wisconsin People from Menasha, Wisconsin 20th-century American actresses