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Aclown is a person who performsphysical comedy andarts in anopen-ended fashion, typically while wearing distinctmakeup orcostuming and reversingfolkway-norms. The art of performing as a clown is known asclowning orbuffoonery, and the term "clown" may be used synonymously with predecessors likejester,joker,buffoon,fool, orharlequin. Clowns have a diverse tradition with significant variations in costume and performance. The most recognizable clowns are those that commonly perform in the circus, characterized by colorful wigs, red noses, and oversized shoes. However, clowns have also played roles in theater and folklore, like thecourt jesters of theMiddle Ages and the jesters and ritual clowns of variousindigenous cultures.
Clown performances can elicit a range of emotions, from humor and laughter to fear and discomfort, reflecting complex societal and psychological dimensions. Through the centuries, clowns have continued to play significant roles in society, evolving alongside changing cultural norms and artistic expressions.[1][2][3][4]
History
The most ancient clowns have been found in theFifth Dynasty of Egypt, around 2400 BC.[5] Unlikecourt jesters,[dubious –discuss] clowns have traditionally served a socio-religious and psychological role, and traditionally[when?] the roles ofpriest and clown have been held by the same persons.[5]Peter Berger writes, "It seems plausible that folly and fools, like religion and magic, meet some deeply rooted needs in human society."[6] For this reason, clowning is often considered an important part of training as aphysical performance discipline, partly because tricky subject matter can be dealt with, but also because it requires a high level of risk and play in the performer.[7]
In anthropology, the termclown has been extended to comparable jester or fool characters in non-Western cultures. A society in which such clowns have an important position are termedclown societies, and a clown character involved in a religious or ritual capacity is known as aritual clown.[8][9][10]
Manyindigenous peoples have a history of clowning, such as thePueblo clown of theKachina culture. AHeyoka is an individual inLakota andDakota cultures who lives outside the constraints of normal cultural roles, playing the role of a backwards clown by doing everything in reverse. The Heyoka role is sometimes best filled by aWinkte.Canadian First Nations also feature jester-like ritual performers, translated by one Anishinaabe activist as "Harlequins", though the exact nature of their role is kept secret from non-members of the tribe into the present day.[11]
TheCanadian clowning method developed byRichard Pochinko and furthered by his former apprentice, Sue Morrison, combines European and Native American clowning techniques. In this tradition, masks are made of clay while the creator's eyes are closed. A mask is made for each direction of themedicine wheel. During this process, the clown creates a personal mythology that explores their personal experiences.
"Grimaldi was the first recognizable ancestor of the modern clown, sort of theHomo erectus of clown evolution. Before him, a clown may have worn make-up, but it was usually just a bit of rouge on the cheeks to heighten the sense of them being florid, funny drunks or rustic yokels. Grimaldi, however, suited up in bizarre, colorful costumes, stark white face paint punctuated by spots of bright red on his cheeks and topped with a blue mohawk. He was a master of physical comedy—he leapt in the air, stood on his head, fought himself in hilarious fisticuffs that had audiences rolling in the aisles—as well as of satire lampooning the absurd fashions of the day, comic impressions, and ribald songs."
—The History and Psychology of Clowns Being Scary,Smithsonian.[12]
Thecircus clown tradition developed out of earlier comedic roles in theatre orVarieté shows during the 19th to mid 20th centuries. This recognizable character features outlandish costumes, distinctive makeup, colorful wigs, exaggerated footwear, and colorful clothing, with the style generally being designed to entertain large audiences.[12]
The first mainstream clown role was portrayed byJoseph Grimaldi, who also created the traditional whiteface make-up design of modern Western clowns. In the early 1800s, he expanded the role of Clown in theharlequinade that formed part of Britishpantomimes, notably at theTheatre Royal, Drury Lane and theSadler's Wells andCovent Garden theatres. He became so dominant on the London comic stage that harlequinade Clowns became known as "Josey", and both the nickname and Grimaldi's whiteface make-up design are still used by other clowns.[12]
Thecomedy that clowns perform is usually in the role of a fool whose everyday actions and tasks become extraordinary—and for whom the ridiculous, for a short while, becomes ordinary. This style of comedy has a long history in many countries and cultures across the world. Some writers have argued that due to the widespread use of such comedy and its long history it is a need that is part of the human condition.[13]
Themodern clowning school of comedy in the 21st century diverged from white-face clown tradition, with more of an emphasis on personal vulnerability[14] and heightened sexuality.[15]
Origin
Theclown character developed out of thezannirustic fool characters of the early moderncommedia dell'arte, which were themselves directly based on therustic fool characters of ancientGreek andRoman theatre. Rustic buffoon characters in Classical Greek theater were known assklêro-paiktês (frompaizein:to play (like a child)) ordeikeliktas, besides other generic terms forrustic orpeasant. In Roman theater, a term for clown wasfossor, literallydigger; laborer.
The English wordclown was first recorded c. 1560 (asclowne, cloyne) in the generic meaningrustic, boor, peasant. The origin of the word is uncertain, perhaps from a Scandinavian word cognate withclumsy.[a] It is in this sense thatClown is used as the name offool characters in Shakespeare'sOthello andThe Winter's Tale. The sense ofclown as referring to a professional or habitual fool or jester developed soon after 1600, based onElizabethanrustic fool characters such as Shakespeare's.
Theharlequinade developed in England in the 17th century, inspired byArlecchino and the commedia dell'arte. It was here thatClown came into use as the given name of a stock character. Originally a foil for Harlequin's slyness and adroit nature, Clown was a buffoon or bumpkin fool who resembled less a jester than a comical idiot. He was a lower class character dressed in tattered servants' garb.
The now-classical features of the clown character were developed in the early 1800s byJoseph Grimaldi, who played Clown inCharles Dibdin's 1800 pantomimePeter Wilkins: or Harlequin in the Flying World atSadler's Wells Theatre, where Grimaldi built the character up into the central figure of the harlequinade.[17][18]
Thecircus clown developed in the 19th century. The modern circus derives fromPhilip Astley's London riding school, which opened in 1768. Astley added a clown to his shows to amuse the spectators between equestrian sequences. AmericancomedianGeorge L. Fox became known for his clown role, directly inspired by Grimaldi, in the 1860s.Tom Belling senior (1843–1900) developed thered clown orAuguste (Dummer August) character c. 1870, acting as a foil for the more sophisticatedwhite clown. Belling worked forCircus Renz in Vienna. Belling's costume became the template for the modern stock character of circus or children's clown, based on a lower class orhobo character, with red nose, white makeup around the eyes and mouth, and oversized clothes and shoes. The clown character as developed by the late 19th century is reflected inRuggero Leoncavallo's 1892 operaPagliacci (Clowns).Belling'sAuguste character was further popularized byNicolai Poliakoff'sCoco in the 1920s to 1930s.
The English wordclown was borrowed, along with the circus clown act, by many other languages, such as Frenchclown, GermanClown, Russian (and other Slavic languages) кло́ун, Greek κλόουν, Danish/Norwegianklovn, Romanianclovn etc.
Italian retainsPagliaccio, a Commedia dell'artezanni character,[b] and derivations of the Italian term are found in FrenchPaillasse, Spanishpayaso, Catalan/Galicianpallasso, Portuguesepalhaço, Greek παλιάτσος, Turkishpalyaço, GermanBajass[19] orBajazzo, Yiddish פּאַיאַץ (payats), Russian пая́ц, Romanianpaiață.
20th-century North America
In the early 20th century, with the disappearance of the rustic simpleton or village idiot character of everyday experience, North American circuses developed characters such as thetramp orhobo. Examples includeMarceline Orbes, who performed at theHippodrome Theater (1905),Charlie Chaplin'sThe Tramp (1914), andEmmett Kelly'sWeary Willie based on hobos of the Depression era. Another influential tramp character was played byOtto Griebling during the 1930s to 1950s.Red Skelton's Dodo the Clown inThe Clown (1953), depicts the circus clown as a tragicomic stock character, "a funny man with a drinking problem".[citation needed]
In the United States,Bozo the Clown was an influentialAuguste character since the late 1950s.The Bozo Show premiered in 1960 and appeared nationally on cable television in 1978.McDonald's derived its mascot clown,Ronald McDonald, from theBozo character in the 1960s.Willard Scott, who had playedBozo during 1959–1962, performed as the mascot in 1963 television spots. The McDonald's trademark application for the character dates to 1967.
Based on theBozo template, the US custom of birthday clown, private contractors who offer to perform as clowns at children's parties, developed in the 1960s to 1970s. The strong association of the (Bozo-derived) clown character with children's entertainment as it has developed since the 1960s also gave rise toClown Care orhospital clowning in children's hospitals by the mid-1980s.Clowns of America International (established 1984) andWorld Clown Association (established 1987) are associations of semi-professionals and professional performers.
The shift of theAuguste orred clown character from his role as a foil for the white in circus or pantomime shows to aBozo-derived standalone character in children's entertainment by the 1980s also gave rise to theevil clown character, with the attraction of clowns for small children being based in their fundamentally threatening or frightening nature.[c] The fear of clowns, particularly circus clowns, has become known by the term "coulrophobia."[24]
The classical pairing of the White Clown with Auguste in modern traditionhas a precedent in the pairing ofPierrot andHarlequin in theCommedia dell'arte.Originally, Harlequin's role was that of a light-hearted, nimble and astute servant, paired with the sterner and melancholic Pierrot.
In the 18th-century EnglishHarlequinade, Harlequin was now paired with Clown.As developed by Joseph Grimaldi around 1800, Clown became the mischievous and brutish foil for the more sophisticated Harlequin, who became more of a romantic character. The most influential such pair in Victorian England were the Payne Brothers, active during the 1860s and 1870s.
White and Auguste
Les Rossyann,white clown and clumsyAuguste from France
Thewhite clown, orclown blanc in French, is a sophisticated character, as opposed to the clumsy Auguste.[25][26] The two types are also distinguished as thesad clown (blanc) andhappy clown (Auguste).[27]
The Auguste face base makeup color is a variation of pink, red, or tan rather than white. Features are exaggerated in size, and are typically red and black in color. The mouth is thickly outlined with white (called the muzzle) as are the eyes. Appropriate to the character, the Auguste can be dressed in either well-fitted garb or a costume that does not fit – oversize or too small, either is appropriate. Bold colors, large prints or patterns, and suspenders often characterize Auguste costumes.
The Auguste character-type is often an anarchist, a joker, or a fool. He is clever and has much lower status than the whiteface. Classically the whiteface character instructs the Auguste character to perform his bidding. The Auguste has a hard time performing a given task, which leads to funny situations. Sometimes the Auguste plays the role of an anarchist and purposefully has trouble following the whiteface's directions. Sometimes the Auguste is confused or is foolish and makes errors less deliberately.
Thecontra-auguste plays the role of the mediator between the white clown and the Auguste character. He has a lower status than the white clown but a higher status than the Auguste. He aspires to be more like the white clown and often mimics everything the white clown does to try to gain approval. If there is a contra-auguste character, he often is instructed by the whiteface to correct the Auguste when he is doing something wrong.
G.L. Fox, the original Humpty Dumpty, c. 1860s
There are two major types of clowns with whiteface makeup:The classicwhite clown is derived from thePierrot character. His makeup is white, usually with facial features such as eyebrows emphasized in black. He is the more intelligent and sophisticated clown, contrasting with the rude or grotesqueAuguste types.Francesco Caroli andGlenn "Frosty" Little are examples of this type. The second type of whiteface is the buffoonish clown of theBozo type, known asComedy orGrotesque Whiteface. This type has grotesquely emphasized features, especially a red nose and red mouth, often with partial (mostly red) hair. In the comedic partnership ofAbbott and Costello, Bud Abbott would have been the classic whiteface and Lou Costello the comedy whiteface or Auguste.[28]
Traditionally, the whiteface clown usesclown white makeup to cover the entire face and neck, leaving none of the underlying natural skin visible.[29] In the European whiteface makeup, the ears are painted red.
Whiteface makeup was originally designed byJoseph Grimaldi in 1801. He began by painting a white base over his face, neck and chest before adding red triangles on the cheeks, thick eyebrows and large red lips set in a mischievous grin. Grimaldi's design is used by many modern clowns. According to Grimaldi's biographer Andrew McConnell Stott, it was one of the most important theatrical designs of the 1800s.[29]
America's first great whiteface clown was stage starGeorge "G.L." Fox. Inspired by Grimaldi, Fox popularised the Humpty Dumpty stories throughout the U.S. in the 1860s.
The scary clown, also known as the evil clown, phantom clown or killer clown, is a subversion of the traditional comic clown character, in which the playful trope is instead depicted in a more disturbing nature through the use ofhorror elements anddark humor. The character can be seen as playing on the sense of unease felt by those with coulrophobia, thefear of clowns. The modern archetype of the evil clown was popularized byDC Comics characterthe Joker starting in 1940 and again byPennywise inStephen King's novelIt, which introduced the fear of an evil clown to a modern audience. In the novel, the eponymous character is a pan-dimensional monster which feeds mainly on children by luring them in the form of a clown, named "Pennywise", and then assuming the shape of whatever the victim fears the most.
The character clown makeup is a comic slant on the standard human face. Their makeup starts with a flesh tone base and may make use of anything from glasses, mustaches and beards to freckles, warts, big ears or strange haircuts.
The most prevalent character clown in the American circus is thehobo,tramp orbum clown. There are subtle differences in the American character clown types. The primary differences among these clown types isattitude. According to American circus expertHovey Burgess,[where?] they are:
The Hobo: Migratory and finds work where he travels. Down on his luck but maintains a positiveattitude.
The Tramp: Migratory and does not work where he travels. Down on hisluck and depressed about his situation.
The Bum: Non-migratory and non-working.
Organizations
TheWorld Clown Association is a worldwide organization for clowns, jugglers, magicians, and face painters. It holds an annual convention, mainly in the United States.
Clowns of America International is a Minnesota-based non-profit clown arts membership organization which aims "to share, educate, and act as a gathering place for serious minded amateurs, semiprofessionals, and professional clowns".
Clowns International is a British clowning organisation dating back to the 1940s. It is responsible for theClown Egg Register.[30]
In the circus, a clown might perform other circus roles or skills. Clowns may perform such skills astightrope,juggling,unicycling,Master of Ceremonies, or ride an animal. Clowns may also "sit in" with theorchestra. Other circus performers may also temporarily stand in for a clown and perform their skills in clown costume.
Frameworks
Frameworks are the general outline of an act that clowns use to help them build out an act.[32] Frameworks can be loose, including only a general beginning and ending to the act, leaving it up to the clown's creativity to fill in the rest, or at the other extreme a fully developed script that allows very little room for creativity.
Shows are the overall production that a clown is a part of, it may or may not include elements other than clowning, such as in a circus show. In a circus context, clown shows are typically made up of some combination ofentrées, side dishes, clown stops, track gags, gags andbits.
Gags, bits and business
Business – the individual motions the clown uses, often used to express the clown's character.
Gag – very short piece of clown comedy that, when repeated within abit orroutine, may become arunning gag. Gags are, loosely, the jokes clowns play on each other. A gag may have a beginning, a middle, and an end – or may not. Gags can also refer to the prop stunts/tricks or the stunts that clowns use, such as a squirting flower.
Bit – the clown's sketch or routine, made up of one or more gags either worked out and timed before going on stage, or impromptu bits composed of familiar improvisational material
Menu
Entrée — clowning acts lasting 5–10 minutes. Typically made up of various gags and bits, usually within a clowning framework. Entrées almost always end with ablow-off — the comedic ending of a show segment, bit, gag, stunt, or routine.
Side dish — shorter feature act. Side dishes are essentially shorter versions of theentrée, typically lasting 1–3 minutes. Typically made up of various gags and bits, side dishes are usually within a clowning framework. Side dishes almost always end with ablow-off.
Interludes
Clown Stops orinterludes are the brief appearances of clowns in a circus while the props and rigging are changed. These are typically made up of a fewgags or severalbits. Clown stops will always have a beginning, a middle, and an end to them, invariably culminating in a blow-off. These are also calledreprises orrun-ins by many, and in today's circus they are an art form in themselves. Originally they were bits ofbusiness usually parodying the preceding act. If for instance there had been atightrope walker the reprise would involve two chairs with a piece of rope between and the clown trying to imitate theartiste by trying to walk between them, with the resulting falls and cascades bringing laughter from the audience. Today, interludes are far more complex, and in many modern shows the clowning is a thread that links the whole show together.
Prop stunts
Among the more well-known clown stunts are: squirting flower; thetoo-many-clowns-coming-out-of-a-tiny-car stunt; doing just about anything with arubber chicken, tripping over one's own feet (or an air pocket or imaginary blemish in the floor), or riding any number of ridiculous vehicles orclown bicycles. Individual prop stunts are generally considered individual bits.
Gallery
Joseph Grimaldi as Clown, showing his own make-up design (1820)
Typical aspects of an Auguste; white muzzle and eyes (Swedish actorLasse Beischer [sv] in a performance of1 2 3 Schtunk [sv], 2008 photograph)
10-year-old Swedish actressInger Nilsson during her visit toHelsinki, Finland in February 1970; she is here seen with the Finnish clown Onni Gideon inHelsinki Ice Hall
^Icelandicklunni, Swedishkluns "clumsy, boorish person"; cf. North Frisianklönne andkluns, also meaningclumsy person. An alternative proposal derivesclown from Latincolonus "colonist, farmer". The verbto clown "to play the clown onstage" is from about 1600.[16]
^Frompaglia, the word forstraw (after the straw costume of the rustic buffoon character), or frombajaccio "mocker, scoffer".
^A study by theUniversity of Sheffield concluded "that clowns are universally disliked by children. Some found them quite frightening and unknowable."[20][21] The natural dislike of clowns makes them effective in eliciting laughter by releasing tension in acting clumsy or rendering themselves helpless.[22][23]
References
^Rogers, Phyllis (1980)."My Favorite Foods are Dr Pepper, Collard Greens, and Pizza. I'm sure I'll Be a Good Clown". ScholarlyCommons.Studies in Visual Communication.6 (1). University of Pennsylvania:44–45.doi:10.1111/j.2326-8492.1980.tb00116.x (inactive 11 July 2025).ISSN0276-6558. Retrieved1 January 2021.Your face was your fortune, and to copy another man's face without his permission was theft, punishable by ostracism. Every man had some kind of special trick which made his makeup look perfect...The old clowns feel that the quickest and easiest way for a person to distinguish between a clown and a person in makeup is the clown's ability to make his face move...The old clowns say that anyone can apply greasepaint to his face but very few practitioners of the art of clowning ever acquire the skill to make their faces move.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: DOI inactive as of July 2025 (link)
^Butler, Laurel (March 2012)."'Everything seemed new': Clown as Embodied Critical Pedagogy".Theatre Topics.22 (1). Johns Hopkins University Press:63–72.doi:10.1353/tt.2012.0014.S2CID191476878.Archived from the original on 29 April 2021. Retrieved1 January 2021.Italian clown pedagogue Giovanni Fusetti proposes...conceiving of clown as a state of being...'a state of playing where everyone has access to the key question: what is so funny about myself?' Lecoq describes entering into 'the clown dimension,' which requires 'a state of openness, entirely without defense...a state of reaction and surprise' (146). John Wright...[says] 'the state of bafflement that we see in clown...as a common state of humanity...Clown reminds us that, deep down, we're all in exactly the same bemused state' (218). John Flax (2009)...says that, for Lecoq, 'theatrical clown was just about finding that basic state of vulnerability and allowing the audience to exist in that state with you...A clown state is a state of innocence and poetry and naivety that allows the audience to draw their own conclusions. That's the state that you bring them to, and they'll make the connections or not, but they love to be in that state because we don't go there very often. It's a state of anti-intellectualism, a kind of pure emotion.'
^Keisalo, Marianna (24 March 2017)."'Picking People to Hate': Reversible reversals in stand-up comedy".Suomen Antropologi.41 (4): 62. Retrieved22 March 2021.Reversals, broadly defined as switching to the opposite of what is considered 'the normal order' ... Reversals are an important aspect of the performance of many ritual clown figures (Keisalo-Galvan 2011; Steward 1991 [1929]) as well as more everyday instances of clowning and humor (e.g., Basso 1979).
^Double, Oliver (2014) [2005]. "Licence".Getting the Joke: the inner workings of stand-up comedy. Quote byStewart Lee (2nd ed.). New York: Bloomsbury Methuen Drama. p. 264.ISBN978-1-4081-7460-9.According to Stewart Lee, 'By reversing the norms and breaking the taboos, the clowns show us what we have to lose, and what we might also stand to gain, if we stand outside the restrictions of social convention and polite everyday discourse.'
![Typical aspects of an Auguste; white muzzle and eyes (Swedish actor Lasse Beischer [sv] in a performance of 1 2 3 Schtunk [sv], 2008 photograph)](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=http%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aLasse_Beischer_(2686825990).jpg)
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