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A clown today is one of various types of comedic performers, on stage, television, in the circus and rodeo. Clowns frequently appear in makeup, and costume as well as typically large footwear, oversized or otherwise outlandish clothing, bright colors and patterns or patchwork, a wig or wildly unusual hairstyle and/or color, often with bulbous or otherwise unusual nose, and enacting humorous sketches, usually in the interludes between major presentations. The clown's humor today is often visual and includes many elements of physical comedy but not exclusively.
The word clown comes from words meaning "clot" or "clod" which came also to mean "clumsy fellow", according to the Oxford English Dictionary. Clown is both a noun and a verb, and can also be an adjective (clown bike, clown shoes, clown white, and so on). Clown is also used to refer to anyone who provides entertainment in a clownish manner.
History
Clowning is a very ancient art form, which appears in some way or other in virtually every culture. An early form of clowns was the court jester, a role that can be traced back to ancient Egypt. Though most jesters suffered from some physical deformity and were often the butt of jokes, they were often the only courtiers who enjoyed free speech, and could speak their minds to the monarch.
Code of non-infringement
Each individual clown has the informal right to a costume, makeup and other unique performance attributes that must not be infringed by other clowns. Despite no enforcement through intellectual property laws, this right is always respected, and even extended to individual routines and acts. This practice is of such a great importance to clowns, that it is often referred to by clowns as simply 'The Code'
In Britain, as recognition of The Code, each clown has their own clown face painted onto an eggshell and no two eggs can be alike.
Types
There are several different types of clowns, including:
- the whiteface clown, the most well-known of modern clown types - Joey Grimaldi was a whiteface clown.
- the grotesque clown: who uses exaggerated make-up and costumes. Lou Jacobs is a famous grotesque clown.
- the character clown: who adopts the character of some common type, often a policeman or a hobo. Prime examples of this type of clown are Emmett Kelly and Charlie Chaplin. Lucy Ricardo, the most famous character played by Lucille Ball is considered by clowns to be a character clown.
- The rodeo clown has one of the most dangerous jobs in all of show business. A rodeo clown is a courageous and hard-working cowboy, dressed in wild costumes - almost always oversized and loose fitting to protect them from, and to distract, Rodeo bulls, etc. ("druther lose a shirt than lose my life") whose highly dangerous job is to protect other performers from bucking horses and charging bulls while at the same time entertaining the audience with the antics of a clown.
- The Pierrot, or "french clown", appears in whiteface, typically with very little other color on the face. This clown character prefers black and white or very plain and unflamboyant color in his or her (le pierrot is often female, and has also been called "Pirouette") costume.
- Harlequin, or Arlecchino, a character originally from Commedia dell'Arte, is a 'motley' clown - in 'commedia', Arlecchino used a cane to 'whack' the other performers, this is believed to be the origin of 'slapstick' a form of physical comedy. A slapstick (battacio in Italian) is a prop with two flat flexible wooden pieces mounted in parallel, the two sticks slap together when the implement is struck, causing a slapping sound...
- the Auguste : accompanying a circus clown, as part of a troupe, or as one of a clown duo, there is often another clown character known as an auguste, but the auguste's role is different from the other clowns, he is the 'straight man' in most gags. The Auguste is so self-important that the audience inevitably takes the other clown to heart as their protagonist. Bongo, of the duo Bongo and Clownzo, is an Auguste clown, which moniker he might assure you means "dignified and respectable".
The Auguste is the zaniest and most foolish of the clown's group, yet attempts to look dignified, and thinks of himself as smart and superior and wise, which only lends to the comedic effect when he receives his inevitable come-uppance. The cleverer clown (the sidekick) always gets the better of the auguste. The auguste gets the pie in the face, is squirted with water, is knocked down on his backside, sits in the wet paint, etc.
Clown Gags
Among the more well-known clown "gags" are: squirting flower; the too-many-clowns-coming-out-of-a-tiny-car stunt; doing just about anything with a rubber chicken or tripping over his own feet (or an air pocket or imaginary blemish in the floor) or riding a unicycle or any number of ridiculous vehicles or "clown bikes"
A clown duo might employ a number of cooperative 'bits' to help them create an improvisational performance, some of which are known as
Pete and re-Pete
"I see you bought yourself a new hat"
--"Yeah, a New Hat (big happy smile of contentment with his battered stovepipe hat)
"Get it uptown?"
--"Yup, Got it Up Town, oh Yeah, you're not gonna get a Fine New Hat like this one DOWN town (taking the hat off again for another satisfied look at the hat, and rocking up on to the balls of his feet and back on his heels, proudly)
"You can say that again"
--"OK: Got it Up Town, yeah, not gonna get one of these uptown" (another proud look at the hat, picking an imagined piece of lint from the torn brim of the Fine New Hat), yep, nothing like a Down Town Hat"
"Uhuh... they pay you much?"
(the first clown narrates the gag, the second repeats main elements of this exposition)
Thats good/that's bad"
"I found a dog"
--"that's good"(noncommittally)
"It wasn't a hot dog though" (showing the dog)
--"that's too bad" (looking at the dog,wistfully)
"He's really friendly"
--"Oh, that's good" (agreeably)
"with people's legs
--"THAT's bad" (appalled)
"He doesn't eat much
--"that's good" (nodding agreeably)
"He sure poops a lot though"
--"that's bad"('that stinks' expression)
"he's housebroken"
--"THAT's good"(of course it is)
"No that's bad, he did some jail time for the last
housebreak"
--"Oh, then that's bad"(willing to be corrected)
"No that's good - it was his second offense. He's gone straight now"
--"that's...uh good?"(confused now)
"No that's bad, he's gone straight for your pastrami sandwich!"
(the first clown narrates the gag, the second responds with "that's good /that's bad", or "that's fortunate/unfortunate", even seen as "dude that rocks!/man, that bites". Each clown has his own gags or bits, these techniques are used to share gags with other clowns that are unfamiliar with the material, by using "Yes, and..." techniques such as Pete/re-Pete, and good/bad, the clowns avoid conflicting gags, supporting each other in whatever they say, and keeping the performance flowing.
Clown Skills
It has been said "clowns can do anything", this is mostly because clowns have such wildly varying performances. 'Everyone knows' that a clown can do magic, juggle, balance things on his nose, do backflips, ride a unicycle, etc, but clowns might be called on to do just about anything.
In the circus, a clown might be convinced to perform another circus role:
- Walk a tightrope or highwire. Or a slack rope. Or a piece of rope on the ground, though in the latter case, the predictably unpredictable clown might be just as likely to wrestle around on the gound with it, as if it were a boa constrictor.
- Ride a horse or zebra or donkey or elephant... or even an ostrich.
- Substitute himself in the role of "lion tamer"
- Act as "emcee", from M.C. or Master of Ceremonies, the preferred term for a clown taking on the role of "Ringmaster"
- 'Sit in' with the orchestra perhaps in a 'pin spot' in the center ring, or from a seat next to YOU, in the audience... he might even don 'tux and tails' and 'sneak' into the orchestra pit - a guarantee of hilarious cacaphony
- Anything any other circus performer might do, as, in this case it would not be uncommon for an acrobat, horse-back rider, lion tamer, etc. to secretly stand-in for the clown, the "switch" taking place in a brief moment offstage.
Some famous clowns
- Bozo the Clown, A franchised fictional clown, played by many local television performers.
- Bongo (clown), Clownzo the Clown's 'Auguste' partner, performed by the American multi-media and performance artist whose name is simply "Glenn"
- Buttons (clown), from the 1952 movie The Greatest Show on Earth, played by Jimmy Stewart
- Clarabell from the Howdy Doody television program, originally played by Bob Keeshan
- Homey the Clown, from the In Living Color television program known for "Homey don't play dat", played by Damon Wayans
- Krusty the Klown, from the Simpsons animated series
- Binky the Clown, from Garfield comics
- J. P. Patches, local television clown who was the inspiration for Krusty the Clown
- Slim Pickens, rodeo clown and film actor
- Emmett Kelly, "sad clown" with the Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus
- Frenchy the Clown
- Jack, advertising icon for the fast food company, Jack in the Box
- Joseph Grimaldi credited with being "the first whiteface clown" - in an homage to Grimaldi, circus clowns began referring to them selves and each other as "Joey"s, and the term 'joey' is now a synonym for clown
- Red Skelton
- Lou Jacobs
- Karandasch (Michail Nikolajewitsch Rumjanzew)
- Koko the Clown from Max Fleischer's Out of the Inkwell series of cartoons.
- Ronald McDonald, a franchised fictional clown who advertises McDonald's fast-food restaurant chain.
- Grock (Adrian Wettach)
- Oleg Popow
- Charlie Rivel
- Francesco Caroli
- Habakkuk (Arminio Rothstein)
- Die Chicky's
- Will Kemp (fl c 1589 - 1600) actor dancer and clown who worked with Shakespeare
Some other clowns
- Jonny Mortensen, from Sweden, a really "nerdy" clown. He is without doubt Karlstad's (in Sweden) most famous "newsclown".
- Three peace-seeking clowns were beaten up by police during the protests against the 1981 Springbok rugby tour of New Zealand. The protest movement thereafter added "Send in the Clowns" to its repertoire of songs.
- Ernest Borgnine, the American film and television actor, enjoys performing as a clown in parades, particularly in New York City
- Batatinha (literally Little Potato), from Portugal. A very well-known clown and a great vult of Portuguese communication.
General
Clowns have frequently been portrayed in movies, television, and novels. While clowns are generally believed to delight children, many kids - as well as some adults - are frightened by their strange appearance and unpredictable behavior. See evil clown.
See also
External links
de:Clown
eo:Klaŭno
nl:Clown
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