Silly Shark

Even the somewhat gullible gull soaring in the distance will tell you that this is not your usual or expected shark, flipping gaily from the sea.

Say hello to Sid, the Silly Shark. He is quite probably the very last of these finned piscine predators to ever want to take a chunk out of your seashore escapades. For Sid Sharkstein made the choice while still just a Selachimorphic sprat that he wanted to eventually become known as the Supreme Slapstick Shark of the Seven Seas. Years of studying the early films of such masters as Chaplin, Keaton, and Flipper — and practice, practice, practice — are finally beginning to pay off for Sid.

No nearly submerged prowling about the tourist-infested waters of Amity Island for this cartilaginous comic! Sid would rather leap from the waves to belly-flop in the froth, displaying that goofy trademark grin of his all the while (and, occasionally, a porkpie hat, rubber nose, and polka-dotted bow tie).

Unlike those of many of today’s comics, Sid’s routines never turn dark or blue or too cutting for his audiences. You might say there’s not a mean bone in his body. (In fact, you might rightly say there’s not any kind of bone in his body, for it’s all cartilage, comedy, pratfalls and an intense desire to please.)

So catch Sid the Silly Shark at his next seaside (er . . . pondside) appearance, thrice this weekend at Ward Wombly’s Wide Wild World o’ Waves and Wonders, out on Route 89, past the large fresh-picked tomato stand, across from the gravel pit.