Richard Martin "Rick" Hader (March 31, 1958 – November 1, 2017), better known as Myron Noodleman, was an American

clown A clown is a person who performs physical comedy and arts in an Improvisational theatre#Comedy, open-ended fashion, typically while wearing distinct cosmetics, makeup or costume, costuming and reversing social norm, folkway-norms. The art of ...

who performed at

Minor League Baseball Minor League Baseball (MiLB) is a professional baseball organization below Major League Baseball (MLB), constituted of teams affiliated with MLB clubs. It was founded on September 5, 1901, in response to the growing dominance of the National Le ...

games and other public events.Tristen Critchfield
"Myron Noodleman Got His Big Break at Dukes Game"
''

Albuquerque Journal The ''Albuquerque Journal'' is the largest newspaper in the U.S. state of New Mexico. History The ''Golden Gate'' newspaper was founded in June 1880. In the fall of 1880, the owner of the ''Golden Gate'' died and Journal Publishing Company was ...

'', June 10, 2011."Clowning around is this guy's game: Hader offers a little bit of Jerry Lewis, Groucho Marx with baseball laughs."
''

The Virginian-Pilot ''The Virginian-Pilot'' is the daily newspaper for Hampton Roads, Virginia. Commonly known as ''The Pilot'', it is Virginia's largest daily. It serves the five cities of South Hampton Roads as well as several smaller towns across southeast Virgi ...

'', May 2, 1998 (pay site). Since 2004, he was billed as the fifth "Clown Prince of Baseball", following

Arlie Latham Walter Arlington Latham (March 15, 1860 – November 29, 1952) was an American third baseman in Major League Baseball. He played from through for the Buffalo Bisons (NL), Buffalo Bisons, St. Louis Browns (NL), St. Louis Browns, Chicago Pirates ...

Al Schacht Alexander Schacht (November 11, 1892 – July 14, 1984) was an American professional baseball player, coach, clown, and, later, restaurateur. Schacht was a pitcher for the Washington Senators in the American League from 1919 to 1921. Early lif ...

, Jackie Price, and

Max Patkin Max Patkin (January 10, 1920 – October 30, 1999) was an American baseball player and clown, best known as the Clown Prince of Baseball (a play on "Crown Prince"). Patkin was the third "officially" crowned Clown Prince of Baseball, after Al Sch ...

., ''GTR Newspapers'', November 24, 2004. Rick Hader was the brother of screenwriter Matt Hader and the uncle of

Bill Hader William Thomas Hader Jr.''Finding Your Roots'', January 26, 2016, PBS. (born June 7, 1978) is an American actor, comedian, screenwriter, producer, and director. He was a cast member on the NBC sketch comedy series ''Saturday Night Live'' from 20 ...

, a die-hard

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Division. Th ...

fan, and a high school math teacher and football coach at Union High School in

Tulsa, Oklahoma Tulsa ( ) is the List of municipalities in Oklahoma, second-most-populous city in the U.S. state, state of Oklahoma, after Oklahoma City, and the List of United States cities by population, 48th-most-populous city in the United States. The po ...

before he began his career as a clown.

Performances

Hader's performances as Myron Noodleman began when he showed up at a school football game in the late-1980s dressed in full nerd regalia. After a few more trials, he hired an agent, attended the Baseball Winter Meetings in 1994, and honed his act through years of touring. Every summer performed at over 60 to 70 baseball parks across North America. He was the celebrity attraction to numerous Nerd Night promotions. Myron's persona was reminiscent of the nerdy

Jerry Lewis Jerry Lewis (born Joseph Levitch; March 16, 1926 – August 20, 2017) was an American comedian, actor, singer, filmmaker and humanitarian, with a career spanning seven decades in film, stage, television and radio. Famously nicknamed as "Th ...

characters of the 1960s: he could be manic and disruptive one moment, and patiently pantomimic the next. Between innings he performed sketches that involved players, umpires, groundskeepers and sometimes fans. One of his signature skits, titled "Dueling Signals," was performed to music with a player or coach. It started with Myron flashing a baseball coach's signal and was answered by his skit partner. The signals kept coming faster and faster until there was nothing left to do but break into some contemporary dance moves mixed with a little do-as-I-do. When each routine was over, Myron would go into the stands and circulate among the fans, providing impromptu comedy. He would help himself to a spectator's seat, refreshments, and even girlfriend. In November 2004, Myron Noodleman was bestowed the title "Clown Prince of Baseball" by baseball administrator

Roland Hemond Roland A. Hemond (October 26, 1929 – December 12, 2021) was an American professional baseball executive who worked in Major League Baseball. He served as the scouting director of the California Angels, general manager of the Chicago White Sox ...

in a ceremony at the Mike Veeck Promotional Seminar at

Hilton Head Island, South Carolina Hilton Head Island, often referred to as simply Hilton Head, is a South Carolina Lowcountry, Lowcountry resort town and barrier island in Beaufort County, South Carolina, United States. It is northeast of Savannah, Georgia (as the crow flies), a ...

. Hemond, now executive advisor to the general manager of the

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The club plays its ...

, once served as general manager for Mike's father,

Bill Veeck William Louis Veeck Jr. ( ; February 9, 1914 – January 2, 1986), also known as "Sport Shirt Bill" and "Wild Bill" was an American Major League Baseball franchise owner and promoter. Veeck was at various times the owner of the Cleveland Indian ...

. Veeck was the one to place the title on the previous and best-known Clown Prince of Baseball,

. Baseball's

Hall of Fame A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or Wiktionary:fame, fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actu ...

has yet to recognize Noodleman as heir to the Max Patkin legacy, though as of 2006 no rival claimant has disputed the title. Hader died on November 1, 2017, at age 59, due to effects of sinus cancer.

References

External links

*
Baseball's Clown Princes
at the

National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is a history museum and hall of fame in Cooperstown, New York, operated by a private foundation. It serves as the central collection and gathering space for the history of baseball in the United St ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Noodleman, Myron 1958 births 2017 deaths American clowns Minor league baseball Sportspeople from Tulsa, Oklahoma