View source for Clown

{{short description|Comic performer, often for children's entertainment}}
{{About|the comic performer}}
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{{Infobox performing art
| name       = Clown
| image      = File:Auguste clown reading a book upside-down.jpg
| caption    = A typical clown of the Western "buffoon" tradition
| medium     = [[Physical comedy]], [[acting]], [[mime artist|mime]]
| types      = [[circus]], [[contemporary circus]], [[comedy]], [[theatre]], [[television]], [[film]]
| ancestor   = [[Jester]]
| descendant = [[Harlequinade]], [[comedian]]
| culture    = 
| era        = 
}}
{{performing arts}}
A '''clown''' is a person who performs [[physical comedy]] and [[arts]] in an [[Improvisational theatre#Comedy|open-ended fashion]], typically while wearing distinct [[cosmetics|makeup]] or [[costume|costuming]] and reversing [[social norm|folkway-norms]]. The art of performing as a clown is known as '''clowning''' or '''buffoonery''', and the term "clown" may be used synonymously with predecessors like '''jester''', '''joker''', '''buffoon''', '''fool''', or '''harlequin'''. 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 the [[court jester]]s of the [[Middle Ages]] and the jesters and ritual clowns of various [[indigenous 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.<ref>{{cite journal
| last1      = Rogers
| first1     = Phyllis 
| date       = 1980
| title      =  My Favorite Foods are Dr Pepper, Collard Greens, and Pizza. I'm sure I'll Be a Good Clown
| url        = https://repository.upenn.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1090&context=svc
| department = ScholarlyCommons
| journal    = Studies in Visual Communication
| publisher  = University of Pennsylvania
| volume     = 6
| issue      = 1
| pages      = 44–45
| doi        = 10.1111/j.2326-8492.1980.tb00116.x
| doi-broken-date = 11 July 2025 
| access-date = 1 January 2021
| quote      = 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. | issn=0276-6558}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal
 |last1        = Butler
 |first1       = Laurel
 |date         = March 2012
 |title        = 'Everything seemed new': Clown as Embodied Critical Pedagogy
 |url          = https://repository.upenn.edu/svc/vol6/iss1/7/
 |journal      = Theatre Topics
 |publisher    = Johns Hopkins University Press
 |volume       = 22
 |issue        = 1
 |pages        = 63–72
 |doi          = 10.1353/tt.2012.0014
 |s2cid        = 191476878
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20210429000133/https://repository.upenn.edu/svc/vol6/iss1/7/
 |archive-date = 29 April 2021
 |access-date  = 1 January 2021
 |quote        = 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.'
 |url-status   = live
|url-access= subscription
 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal
| last1      = Keisalo
| first1     = Marianna
| date       = 24 March 2017
| title      = 'Picking People to Hate': Reversible reversals in stand-up comedy
| url        = https://journal.fi/suomenantropologi/article/view/63057
| journal    = Suomen Antropologi
| volume     = 41
| issue      = 4
| page      = 62
| access-date = 22 March 2021
| quote      = 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).}}</ref><ref>{{cite book
 |last=Double
 |first=Oliver
 |date=2014
 |orig-date=2005
 |chapter=Licence
 |title=Getting the Joke: the inner workings of stand-up comedy
 |others=Quote by [[Stewart Lee]]
 |edition=2nd
 |location=New York
 |publisher=Bloomsbury Methuen Drama
 |page=264
 |isbn=978-1-4081-7460-9
 |quote=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.'}}</ref>

== History ==
The most ancient clowns have been found in the [[Fifth Dynasty of Egypt]], around 2400 BC.<ref name="Bala2010">{{cite journal|last1=Bala|first1=Michael|date=Winter 2010|title=The Clown: An Archetypal Self-Journey|journal=Jung Journal: Culture & Psyche|volume=4|issue=1|pages=50–71|doi=10.1525/jung.2010.4.1.50|jstor=10.1525/jung.2010.4.1.50|s2cid=143703784}}</ref> Unlike [[Jester|court jesters]],{{dubious|date=August 2015}} clowns have traditionally served a socio-religious and psychological role, and traditionally{{When|date=October 2021}} the roles of [[priest]] and clown have been held by the same persons.<ref name="Bala2010" />
Peter Berger writes, "It seems plausible that folly and fools, like religion and magic, meet some deeply rooted needs in human society."<ref name="BergerP78">{{Harvnb|Berger|1997|p=78}}</ref> For this reason, clowning is often considered an important part of training as a [[physical theatre|physical 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.<ref name="CalleryP64">{{Harvnb|Callery|2001|p=64}}</ref>

In anthropology, the term ''clown'' has been extended to comparable jester or fool characters in non-Western cultures. A society in which such clowns have an important position are termed ''[[clown society|clown societies]]'', and a clown character involved in a religious or ritual capacity is known as a ''[[ritual clown]]''.<ref>{{cite magazine|last1=Pollio|first1=Howard|date=1978-09-14|title=What's so funny?|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HE3kv720yyEC&pg=PA774|magazine=New Scientist|location=United Kingdom|publisher=Reed Business Information|volume=79|issue=1120|page=774|issn=0262-4079|access-date=2020-05-16}}{{Dead link|date=December 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last1=Charles|first1=Lucile Hoerr|date=Jan–Mar 1945|title=The Clown's Function|journal=The Journal of American Folklore|volume=58|issue=227|pages=25–34|doi=10.2307/535333|jstor=535333}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=Edward P. Dozier|url=https://archive.org/details/puebloindiansofn0000dozi|title=The Pueblo Indians of North America|publisher=Holt, Rinehart and Winston|isbn=0030787459|location=New York|date=1970|page=202|lccn=75114696|ol=5218719M|access-date=2020-05-16}}</ref>

Many [[Indigenous peoples of the Americas|indigenous peoples]] have a history of clowning, such as the [[Pueblo clown]] of the [[Kachina]] culture. A [[Heyoka]] is an individual in [[Lakota tribe|Lakota]] and [[Dakota tribe|Dakota]] 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 a [[Winkte]]. [[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.<ref>[[Kinew, Wab]]. ''The Reason You Walk: A Memoir'', [[Penguin Random House]], 2017.</ref>

The [[Canadian clowning]] method developed by [[Richard 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 the [[medicine wheel]]. During this process, the clown creates a personal mythology that explores their personal experiences.
{{quote box
| width = 30%
| align = right
| quote = "Grimaldi was the first recognizable ancestor of the modern clown, sort of the ''Homo 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."
| source = —''The History and Psychology of Clowns Being Scary'', [[Smithsonian]].<ref name="Smithsonian">{{cite news |title=The History and Psychology of Clowns Being Scary|url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/the-history-and-psychology-of-clowns-being-scary-20394516/ |access-date=2 March 2022 |work=Smithsonian}}</ref>
}}

The [[circus clown]] tradition developed out of earlier comedic roles in theatre or ''Varieté'' 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.<ref name="Smithsonian"/>

The first mainstream clown role was portrayed by [[Joseph 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 the [[harlequinade]] that formed part of British [[pantomime]]s, notably at the [[Theatre Royal, Drury Lane]] and the [[Sadler's Wells Theatre|Sadler's Wells]] and [[Royal Opera House|Covent 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.<ref name="Smithsonian"/>

The [[comedy]] 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.<ref>{{cite web |date=2021-09-06 |title=Clowns – a Brief Look Into their History and Mythology |url=https://www.theatreartlife.com/circus/clowns-a-brief-look-into-their-history-and-mythology/ |access-date=2022-05-02 |website=TheatreArtLife |language=en-US |archive-date=2022-03-01 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220301162512/https://www.theatreartlife.com/circus/clowns-a-brief-look-into-their-history-and-mythology/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>

The [[modern clowning]] school of comedy in the 21st century diverged from white-face clown tradition, with more of an emphasis on personal vulnerability<ref name="NYT Fear Factor">{{cite news |last1=McElroy |first1=Steven |title=Modern Clowns With a Fear Factor |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/03/theater/modern-clowns-with-a-fear-factor.html |access-date=28 August 2023 |work=The New York Times |date=3 September 2006}}</ref> and heightened sexuality.<ref name="NYT CARNAL CLOWNS">{{cite news |last1=Zinoman |first1=Jason |title=Make Way for the Carnal Clowns of Stand-Up |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/15/arts/television/clowns-comedy.html |work=The New York Times |date=15 November 2019}}</ref>

=== Origin ===
The ''clown'' character developed out of the [[zanni]] ''rustic fool'' characters of the early modern [[commedia dell'arte]], which were themselves directly based on the ''rustic fool'' characters of ancient [[Theatre of ancient Greece|Greek]] and [[Theatre of ancient Rome|Roman theatre]]. Rustic buffoon characters in Classical Greek theater were known as ''sklêro-paiktês'' (from ''paizein'': ''to play (like a child)'') or ''deikeliktas'', besides other generic terms for ''rustic'' or ''peasant''. In Roman theater, a term for clown was ''fossor'', literally ''digger; laborer''.

[[File:Joseph Grimaldi.jpg|thumb|right|225px|[[Joseph Grimaldi]] as "Joey" the Clown, c. 1810]]
The English word ''[[:wikt:clown|clown]]'' was first recorded c. 1560 (as ''clowne, cloyne'') in the generic meaning ''rustic, boor, peasant''. The origin of the word is uncertain, perhaps from a Scandinavian word cognate with ''clumsy''.{{refn|group=lower-alpha|Icelandic ''klunni'', Swedish ''kluns'' "clumsy, boorish person"; cf. North Frisian ''klönne'' and ''kluns'', also meaning ''clumsy person''. An alternative proposal derives ''clown'' from Latin ''colonus'' "colonist, farmer". The verb ''to clown'' "to play the clown onstage" is from about 1600.<ref>{{cite web|title=Etymology Dictionary|url=https://www.etymonline.com/word/clown|access-date=May 6, 2020}}</ref>}} It is in this sense that ''Clown'' is used as the name of [[Shakespearean fool|fool characters]] in Shakespeare's ''[[Othello]]'' and ''[[The Winter's Tale]]''. The sense of ''clown'' as referring to a professional or habitual fool or jester developed soon after 1600, based on [[English Renaissance theatre|Elizabethan]] ''rustic fool'' characters such as Shakespeare's.

The [[harlequinade]] developed in England in the 17th century, inspired by [[Harlequin|Arlecchino]] and the commedia dell'arte. It was here that ''[[Clown (Harlequinade)|Clown]]'' 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 by [[Joseph Grimaldi]], who played Clown in [[Charles Dibdin the younger|Charles Dibdin's]] 1800 pantomime ''Peter Wilkins: or Harlequin in the Flying World'' at [[Sadler's Wells Theatre]], where Grimaldi built the character up into the central figure of the harlequinade.<ref name=Neville6>{{Harvnb|Neville|1980|pp=6–7}}</ref><ref name=Wilkins>{{Harvnb|McConnell Stott|2009|pp=95–100}}</ref>

==={{anchor|Auguste}}{{anchor|Red}}Modern circuses ===
{{main|Circus clown}}
The [[circus clown]] developed in the 19th century. The modern circus derives from [[Philip Astley]]'s London riding school, which opened in 1768. Astley added a clown to his shows to amuse the spectators between equestrian sequences. American [[comedian]] [[George L. Fox (clown)|George L. Fox]] became known for his clown role, directly inspired by Grimaldi, in the 1860s.
Tom Belling senior (1843–1900) developed the ''red clown'' or ''Auguste'' (''Dummer August'') character c. 1870, acting as a foil for the more sophisticated ''white clown''. Belling worked for [[Circus 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 or ''hobo'' 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 in [[Ruggero Leoncavallo]]'s 1892 opera ''[[Pagliacci]]'' (''Clowns'').
Belling's ''Auguste'' character was further popularized by [[Nicolai Poliakoff]]'s ''Coco'' in the 1920s to 1930s.

The English word ''clown'' was borrowed, along with the circus clown act, by many other languages, such as French ''clown'', German ''Clown'', Russian (and other Slavic languages) кло́ун, Greek κλόουν, Danish/Norwegian ''klovn'', Romanian ''clovn'' etc.

Italian retains ''Pagliaccio'', a Commedia dell'arte [[zanni]] character,{{refn|group=lower-alpha|From ''paglia'', the word for ''straw'' (after the straw costume of the rustic buffoon character), or from ''bajaccio'' "mocker, scoffer".}} and derivations of the Italian term are found in French ''Paillasse'', Spanish ''payaso'', Catalan/Galician ''pallasso'', Portuguese ''palhaço'', Greek παλιάτσος, Turkish ''palyaço'', German ''Bajass'' <ref>Dialectal [https://digital.idiotikon.ch/idtkn/id4.htm#!page/41099/mode/1up Bajass] (in German) in ''[[Schweizerisches Idiotikon]]''</ref> or ''Bajazzo'', Yiddish פּאַיאַץ (''payats''), Russian пая́ц, Romanian ''paiață''.

=== 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 the [[tramp]] or [[hobo]]. Examples include [[Marceline Orbes]], who performed at the [[New York Hippodrome|Hippodrome Theater]] (1905), [[Charlie Chaplin]]'s ''[[The Tramp]]'' (1914), and [[Emmett Kelly]]'s ''Weary Willie'' based on hobos of the Depression era. Another influential tramp character was played by [[Otto Griebling]] during the 1930s to 1950s. [[Red Skelton]]'s Dodo the Clown in ''[[The Clown (1953 film)|The Clown]]'' (1953), depicts the circus clown as a tragicomic stock character, "a funny man with a drinking problem".{{citation needed|date=April 2018}}

In the United States, [[Bozo the Clown]] was an influential ''Auguste'' 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 the ''Bozo'' character in the 1960s. [[Willard Scott]], who had played ''Bozo'' during 1959–1962, performed as the mascot in 1963 television spots. The McDonald's trademark application for the character dates to 1967.

Based on the ''Bozo'' 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 to [[Clown Care]] or ''hospital clowning'' in children's hospitals by the mid-1980s. [[Clowns of America International]] (established 1984) and [[World Clown Association]] (established 1987) are associations of semi-professionals and professional performers.

The shift of the ''Auguste'' or ''red clown'' character from his role as a foil for the white in circus or pantomime shows to a ''Bozo''-derived standalone character in children's entertainment by the 1980s also gave rise to the [[evil clown]] character, with the attraction of clowns for small children being based in their fundamentally threatening or frightening nature.{{refn|group=lower-alpha|

A study by the [[University of Sheffield]] concluded "that clowns are universally disliked by children. Some found them quite frightening and unknowable."<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7189401.stm |title=Health &#124; Hospital clown images 'too scary' |work=BBC News |date=2008-01-15 |access-date=2020-05-16 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |work=BBC News |date=2008-01-16 |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/7191721.stm |title=Why are clowns scary? |first1=Finlo |last1=Rohrer |access-date=2020-05-16}}</ref> The natural dislike of clowns makes them effective in eliciting laughter by releasing tension in acting clumsy or rendering themselves helpless.<ref>{{cite journal| last1=Durwin| first1=Joseph| title=Coulrophobia and the Trickster| journal=Trickster's Way| volume=3| issue=1| publisher=Trinity University| location=San Antonio| date=15 November 2004| url=http://digitalcommons.trinity.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1080&context=trickstersway| format=PDF| issn=1538-9030| access-date=2020-05-16}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.trinity.edu/org/tricksters/trixway/current/Vol%203/Vol3_1/Durwin.htm |last1=Durwin |first1=Joseph |title=Coulrophobia and the Trickster |publisher=Trinity.edu |access-date=2020-05-16 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110624001158/http://www.trinity.edu/org/tricksters/trixway/current/Vol%203/Vol3_1/Durwin.htm |archive-date=2011-06-24}}</ref>
}} The fear of clowns, particularly circus clowns, has become known by the term "coulrophobia."<ref>{{citation|last1=Crosswell|first1=Julia|title=The Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins|edition=2nd|date=2009|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-954792-0|entry=clown|entry-url=https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780199547920.001.0001/acref-9780199547920-e-1047|entry-url-access=subscription|url=https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780199547920.001.0001/acref-9780199547920|access-date=May 6, 2020}}</ref>

== Types ==
{{more citations needed section|date=June 2009}}

There are different types of clowns portrayed around the world. They include
{{div col|colwidth=15em}}
* [[Circus clown#The auguste|Auguste]]
* [[Blackface]]
* Buffoon
* [[Harlequin]]
* [[Jester]]
* [[Mime artist]]
* [[Pierrot]]
* [[Pueblo Clowns|Pueblo]]
* [[Rodeo clown]]
* Tramp
* [[Circus clown#The whiteface clown|Whiteface]]
{{div col end}}

=== Circus ===
{{further|Circus clown}}

=== Pierrot and Harlequin ===
{{further|Harlequinade}}
The classical pairing of the White Clown with Auguste in modern tradition
has a precedent in the pairing of [[Pierrot]] and [[Harlequin]] in the [[Commedia 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 English [[Harlequinade]], 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.

==={{anchor|White|White_clown_and_Auguste}}{{anchor|Sad}}White and Auguste ===

[[File:LES ROSSYANN Weisscloun und dummer August.JPG|thumb|right|Les Rossyann, ''white clown'' and clumsy ''Auguste'' from France]]

The ''white clown'', or ''clown blanc'' in French, is a sophisticated character, as opposed to the clumsy Auguste.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Schechter |first1=Joel |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=avG5rDz3ENUC&pg=PA139 |title=Popular Theatre: A Sourcebook |date=2003 |series=Worlds of performance |publisher=Routledge |isbn=9780415258302 |lccn=2002026941 |page=139}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |title=World Book |date=2022 |publisher=World Book |isbn=9780716601227 |edition=72nd |location=Chicago |pages=712}}</ref> The two types are also distinguished as the ''sad clown'' (blanc) and ''happy clown'' (Auguste).<ref>{{citation |first1=Danièle |last1=Berton |first2=Jean-Pierre |last2=Simard |year=2007 |title=Création théâtrale: Adaptation, schèmes, traduction |language=fr}} [https://books.google.com/books?id=q7FLWMA8MiAC&pg=PA330 p. 330]</ref>

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.

The ''contra-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.

[[File:G.L. Fox the original Humpty Dumpty. LCCN2014635786.jpg|right|thumb|G.L. Fox, the original Humpty Dumpty, c. 1860s]]
There are two major types of clowns with whiteface makeup:
The classic ''white clown'' is derived from the [[Pierrot]] 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 grotesque ''Auguste'' types. [[Francesco Caroli]] and [[Glen Little (clown)|Glenn "Frosty" Little]] are examples of this type. The second type of whiteface is the buffoonish clown of the ''[[Bozo the Clown|Bozo]]'' type, known as ''Comedy'' or ''Grotesque Whiteface''. This type has grotesquely emphasized features, especially a red nose and red mouth, often with partial (mostly red) hair. 
In the comedic partnership of [[Abbott and Costello]], Bud Abbott would have been the classic whiteface and Lou Costello the comedy whiteface or Auguste.<ref>{{cite web |last1=McCoy |first1=Tiffany |date=2010 |url=http://new.4-hcurriculum.org/projects/theatre/TheatreArts/Clowning/Clown%20Types.html |title=Clown Types |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151026152528/http://new.4-hcurriculum.org/projects/theatre/TheatreArts/Clowning/Clown%20Types.html |archive-date=2015-10-26 }}</ref>

Traditionally, the whiteface clown uses ''clown white'' makeup to cover the entire face and neck, leaving none of the underlying natural skin visible.<ref name=MCS117-118 /> In the European whiteface makeup, the ears are painted red.

Whiteface makeup was originally designed by [[Joseph 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.<ref name=MCS117-118>{{Harvnb|McConnell Stott|2009|pp=117–118}}</ref>

America's first great whiteface clown was stage star [[George L. Fox (clown)|George "G.L." Fox]]. Inspired by Grimaldi, Fox popularised the Humpty Dumpty stories throughout the U.S. in the 1860s.

=== In horror ===
{{further|Evil clown}}

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 of [[Horror and terror|horror]] elements and [[dark humor]]. The character can be seen as playing on the sense of unease felt by those with coulrophobia, the [[Phobia|fear]] of clowns. The modern archetype of the evil clown was popularized by [[DC Comics]] character [[Joker (character)|the Joker]] starting in 1940 and again by [[Pennywise]] in [[Stephen King]]'s novel ''[[It (novel)|It]]'', 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.

=== Character ===
The character clown adopts an eccentric character of some type, such as a butcher, a baker, a policeman, a housewife or [[hobo]]. Prime examples of this type of clown are the circus tramps [[Otto Griebling]] and [[Emmett Kelly]]. [[Red Skelton]], [[Harold Lloyd]], [[Buster Keaton]], [[Charlie Chaplin]], [[Mr. Bean (character)|Rowan Atkinson]], [[Philippe Gaulier]], and [[Sacha Baron Cohen]] would all fit the definition of a character clown.

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 the ''hobo'', ''tramp'' or ''bum'' clown. There are subtle differences in the American character clown types. The primary differences among these clown types is [[Attitude (psychology)|attitude]]. According to American circus expert [[Hovey Burgess]],{{where|date=January 2020}} they are:
* The Hobo: Migratory and finds work where he travels. Down on his luck but maintains a positive [[Attitude (psychology)|attitude]].
* The Tramp: Migratory and does not work where he travels. Down on his [[luck]] and depressed about his situation.
* The Bum: Non-migratory and non-working.

== Organizations ==
The [[World 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 the [[Clowns Gallery-Museum|Clown Egg Register]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.clownsinternational.com/ |title=The Oldest Organisation To Support The Art Of Clowning Since 1947 |publisher=Clowns International |date=2022-03-25 |accessdate=2022-08-27}}</ref>

[[École Philippe Gaulier]] is a famous clown school in [[Étampes]], [[France]] outside of [[Paris]]. The school, taught by master clown [[Philippe Gaulier]], boasts a large roaster of alumni including [[Sacha Baron Cohen]], [[Roberto Benigni]], [[Emma Thompson]], [[Helena Bonham Carter]], [[Simon McBurney]], and others.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Zinoman |first1=Jason |title=Philippe Gaulier on the Art of Clowning and Sacha Baron Cohen |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/18/arts/television/philippe-gaulier-clowns.html |website=www.nytimes.com |publisher=New York Times |access-date=11 August 2025}}</ref>   

== Terminology ==

=== Roles and skills ===
In the circus, a clown might perform other circus roles or skills. Clowns may perform such skills as [[tightrope]], [[juggling]], [[unicycling]], [[MC|Master of Ceremonies]], or ride an animal. Clowns may also "sit in" with the [[orchestra]]. 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.<ref name="simplycircus.com">{{cite web|archive-date=March 13, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160313202950/http://simplycircus.com/circus_dictionary/clowning_framework|url=http://www.simplycircus.com/Circus_Dictionary/Clowning_Framework|website=simplycircus.com|title=Clowning Framework}}</ref> 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 of ''entrées, side dishes, clown stops, track gags, gags'' and ''bits''.

=== 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 a ''bit'' or ''routine'', may become a ''[[running 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 a ''blow-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 the ''entrée,'' 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 a ''blow-off.''

=== Interludes ===
''Clown Stops'' or ''interludes'' are the brief appearances of clowns in a circus while the props and rigging are changed. These are typically made up of a few ''gags'' or several ''bits''. Clown stops will always have a beginning, a middle, and an end to them, invariably culminating in a blow-off. These are also called ''reprises'' or ''run-ins'' by many, and in today's circus they are an art form in themselves. Originally they were bits of ''business'' usually parodying the preceding act. If for instance there had been a [[tightrope walker]] the reprise would involve two chairs with a piece of rope between and the clown trying to imitate the ''artiste'' 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; the ''[[Clown car|too-many-clowns-coming-out-of-a-tiny-car]]'' stunt; doing just about anything with a [[rubber chicken]], tripping over one's own feet (or an air pocket or imaginary blemish in the floor), or riding any number of ridiculous vehicles or [[clown bicycle]]s. Individual prop stunts are generally considered individual bits.

== Gallery ==
<gallery>
File:Joseph-Grimaldi-head.jpg|[[Joseph Grimaldi]] as Clown, showing his own make-up design (1820)
File:Actor in clown costume - Weir Collection.jpg|Actor in a clown costume ({{circa|1870}})
File:SAND Maurice Masques et bouffons 05.jpg|The Italian {{lang|it|Pagliaccio}} of c. 1600 (Maurice Sand, ''Masques et bouffons (Comedie Italienne)'', 1860)
File:Chuchin the clown.jpg|''[[Chuchín]]'' (José de Jesus Medrano), a famous Mexican circus clown from the late 1960s to 1984
File:Arm & Hammer Brand Soda poster ca. 1900.jpg|A [[circus clown]] in an ''Arm & Hammer Brand Soda'' advertisement poster ({{circa|1900}})
File:Auguste clown with a pie at a parade.jpg|Clowns are often associated with the [[Pieing|pie-in-the-face]] gag. An auguste clown holds a pie at a parade.
File:Paul Cézanne- Pierrot and Harlequin.JPG|''Pierrot and Harlequin'' by [[Paul Cézanne]] (1898)
File:Smilie 2.JPG|Smilie The Clown
File:Geclown.jpg|Swedish actor [[Gösta Ekman (senior)|Gösta Ekman senior]] (1890–1938) as a whiteface clown in the play ''Han som får örfilarna'' ([[He Who Gets Slapped]]) by [[Leonid Andreyev]] (1926)
File:Lasse Beischer (2686825990).jpg|Typical aspects of an Auguste; white muzzle and eyes (Swedish actor {{interlanguage link|Lasse Beischer|sv}} in a performance of {{interlanguage link|1 2 3 Schtunk|sv}}, 2008 photograph)
File:Inger-Nilsson-1970-in-Helsinki.jpg|10-year-old Swedish actress [[Inger Nilsson]] during her visit to [[Helsinki]], Finland in February 1970; she is here seen with the Finnish clown Onni Gideon in [[Helsinki Ice Hall]]
File:Bozo's Circus 1968.JPG|1968 postcard, main cast of ''[[Bozo's Circus]]'' ([[WGN-TV]]); left to right, ''Ringmaster Ned'' ([[Ned Locke]]), ''Mr. Bob'' (bandleader [[Bob Trendler]]), ''[[Bozo the Clown]]'' ([[Bob Bell (actor)|Bob Bell]]), ''Oliver O. Oliver'' ([[Ray Rayner]]), ''Sandy the Clown'' ([[Don Sandburg]])
File:Colorful Clown 3.jpg|Toddles The Clown
File:Clown chili peppers.jpg|Clown at a [[Memorial Day]] parade, 2004
File:Clown dusseldorf.jpg|Clown of [[Düsseldorf]]
File:Joker.jpg|Joker Clown
File:Carnival Joker.jpg|Carnival Joker
File:AU Wien, Prater, arlekin 1, 2011.08.05 (4) COR.jpg|A sculpture of a clown at the [[Wurstelprater]] amusement park, [[Vienna]]
File:Bhutanese clown, Paro.jpg|Bhutanese clown in [[Paro, Bhutan]]
File:Clown Dog (8126571992).jpg|Clown Dog
File:Clown costume.jpg|A man dressed in clown costume
File:-Clown- MET DP325372.jpg|Clown, circa 1860
File:Clown Bassie.jpg|Clown Bassie from ''[[Bassie & Adriaan]]''
File:34 Ulica - Teatr Pinezka - Epidemia śmiechu - 20210709 1829 8275.jpg|Teatr Pinezka in the show "An Epidemic of Laughter" at 34. ULICA – The International Festival of Street Theatres in Kraków
File:Harry Payne clown slnsw.jpg|Portrait of Englishman Harry Payne, a clown, between 1863 and 1867
</gallery>

== See also ==
* [[List of clowns]]
* [[Bouffon]]
* [[Clown car]]

==Notes==
{{reflist|group=lower-alpha}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Bibliography==
{{refbegin}}
* {{citation |last1=Berger |first1=Peter L. |author-link=Peter Ludwig Berger |title=Redeeming Laughter: The Comic Dimension of Human Experience |publisher=Walter de Gruyter |year=1997 |isbn=3-11-015562-1 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/redeeminglaughte0000berg }}
* {{citation |last1=Callery |first1=Dymphna |title=Through the Body: A Practical Guide to Physical Theatre |publisher=Nick Hern Books |year=2001 |isbn=1-85459-630-6}}
* {{cite book | last1= McConnell Stott| first1=Andrew | year=2009| title=The Pantomime Life of Joseph Grimaldi| location=Edinburgh | publisher=Canongate Books Ltd| isbn=978-1-84767-761-7}}
* {{cite book| last1=Neville| first1=Giles| year=1980| title=Incidents In the Life of Joseph Grimaldi| location=London| publisher=Jonathan Cape Ltd| isbn=0-224-01869-8| url=https://archive.org/details/incidentsinlifeo0000nevi}}
{{refend}}

== External links ==
{{commons category|Clowns}}
{{Wikiquote|Clowns}}
* [https://famousclowns.org/famous-clowns/clown-quotes-famous-sayings-clowns/ Quotes by and about Clowns]
*[https://exchange.umma.umich.edu/resources/23671 Collection: "Clowns"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201106141458/https://exchange.umma.umich.edu/resources/23671 |date=2020-11-06 }} from the [[University of Michigan Museum of Art]]

{{Clowns}}
{{Humor and wit characters}}
{{Stock characters}}
{{Circus skills}}
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