90-year-old clown considers retirement

SANTA ANA, Calif., June 25 (UPI) -- The world's oldest clown, after 50 years of Southern California birthday parties, is thinking of hanging up his umbrella hat and parking his merry-go-round.

Andy Beyer of Santa Ana, now 90, became Bumber the Clown half a century ago, The Orange County Register reported. He created his own costume and face paint and bought a small second-hand merry-go-round in Boston, paying for the cross-country trip by selling rides on the way back to California.

A former vacuum cleaner salesman and school custodian, Beyer at first became Bumbo only on weekends. Now he does birthday parties on weekends and travels through poor neighborhoods during the week.

He has been at it so long that he recently played a 50th birthday party for a man he entertained on his 5th birthday.

A recent bout with pneumonia forced him to take a break after he came home from a party and told his wife, "I'm exhausted."

Now, he is thinking of making the break a permanent one -- something his family would like.

But Beyer is still unsure.

"You take life as it comes, I guess," he said. "While I'm here on Earth, I made a lot of people happy."