[2][5] His nickname "Frosty" was given to him as a boy by his grandfather, who compared him to Jack Frost due to his love of playing in the snow.

He learned juggling from a fellow patient while convalescing, a skill that would later help him land his first clowning jobs.

[4] Prior to joining the Ringling outfit, Little worked as a postal employee and land surveyor in Colorado.

From 1954 to 1956, he performed as a clown at a local amusement park on weekends, wearing a rented costume.

[2] In 1956, he went into clowning full-time after he was hired by the Joe King Circus, with which he toured the Rocky Mountain States for half of the year.

[2][11] In 1988, Little also helped establish the Ringling circus' first overseas touring unit (based in Japan), choreographing gags and training members of their clown staff.

[2] Among the dignitaries he entertained were US Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor and US President Richard Nixon.