INDIAN RIVER COUNTY — Anyone who has attended the Indian River County Firefighters’ fair in the last 15 years likely crossed paths with a grungy looking character who calls himself “Durty Dingus Magee.”
The rodeo clown has endeared himself to locals with his eccentric costumes, live animal companions, and his myriad of custom made vehicles including his well-known miniature monster truck “Swamp Thang.”
Fellsmere native Tom Hall is the kind face behind all the dirt and grime. This week, he agreed to a tell-all session with VeroNews.com, where he gave all the details about his career as a rodeo clown, how he got his name, and what the future of “Durty Dingus Magee” looks like now.
How did Durty Dingus Magee get his start?
“At the Fellsmere Frogleg Festival years ago. I did a thing on stage as a world famous Frog Caller and the crowds just loved it and it took off from there,” Hall said. One of the former governors of Florida even granted an official State of Florida proclamation declaring Hall Florida’s official “Frog Caller.” MESA Park, a Florida Motocross and special events venue, quickly recruited Hall to appear at their events. “They made me their poster child. I did every show at MESA Park. Other promoters saw me and hired me to go farther and farther,” Hall said.
What or who inspires your outfits?
“They fall into place. My wife is very creative. She makes all my costumes and outfits,” Hall said. “I kind of like to have new outfits so when I come back to the same arenas, same venues, same fairs, I keep things new, but there are a few main costumes that everyone looks forward to. Everyone wants to see me with my Swamp Thang Truck. The newest costume is Poop Dawg the Rapper on the Crapper, and that’s been big hit at this year’s fair,” Hall said.
Where did the name “Durty Dingus” come from?
“My father-in-law came up with the name, and I had to do a lot of research to find out where he came up with it. But years later, I found out the name is from a Frank Sinatra movie,” Hall said. The movie, Dirty Dingus Magee, released in 1970, featured Sinatra as a comedic villain in the Wild West.
What is one of your best memories as Durty Dingus?
“While I was on the National Monster Truck Show circuit, I had the chance to take a crippled child and actually lift him up and put him in the driver’s seat of a monster truck. He was so excited he was shaking. I had to make sure I had my sunglasses on because there were definitely some tears in my eyes.”
How much time each year do you spend in character?
“It depends on the year, but I’ve spent as long as eight weeks on the road at a time. A lot of times it’s only on the weekends, but I’ve done as many as 25 weekends on the road in years past.”
What’s the craziest, most daring thing you’ve ever done as a rodeo clown?
“It would probably be when I rode on skis through a mud pit being pulled by a Cannon 750, racing four-wheeler. It was so fast, and the mud was so deep, when I fell, they had to drag me out of the mud because I was stuck in it. They had to throw a chain in to pull me out. It was so deep I lost my watch and I guess that watch is probably still buried in that mud today.”
What is your favorite prop or vehicle?
“Definitely the Swamp Thang Monster truck. When I go to monster truck shows, I get to put it in the center of the pit party. We encourage kids to get to sit inside and get their picture taken in it. All the kids love it, but I think the parents probably love it even more.”
How long do you expect to keep this up?
“I don’t know. Until something tells me that I can’t put my hat on any more or it hurts to do this or hurts to do that. Most people’s hobbies cost a lot of money. My hobby puts a little money in my pocket and I love what I do. For now all I can say is, I don’t think it will be any time soon.”
If you left the job tomorrow, what would you miss the most?
“I would miss the kids, especially the local kids. I’ve been Durty Dingus at the Indian River County Firefighters’ Fair for 12 of the last 15 years. I’ve gotten to see so many of the kids in 4-H grow up and some of them now have kids of their own, and they’re bringing them to the fair. I would miss those young kids the most.”
When you were growing up, what did you think you wanted to do for a living?
“I don’t know, but a rodeo clown never crossed my mind. In my family I had a lot of people that were comical people and did a lot of crazy things, I guess some of that must have rubbed off on me.”
When you’re not busy being a rodeo clown, what do you like to do?
“Well, I’m a work-a-holic. If I’m not clowning around, I’m probably working somewhere,” Hall said. “I’m the owner of a local machine shop and work full-time at Piper, the contractor.” Hall also said he spends time with his family, including his two grand kids, one 18-month-old grand-daughter and 9-month-old grandson. “At the fair this year, I actually got the chance to hold both of my grand kids in my arms and my daughter got a picture. That will be a really cool picture to look back on in 10 or 15 years,” Hall said.
Even though Hall touts the firefighters’ fair as one of his all-time favorite events, he still travels, taking Durty Dingus to all kinds of fairs, venues, and events.
For more information on what Hall is up to, check out his Facebook under “Durty Dingus Magee.”