1. A Brief History of Clowns
CLOWNS & CLOWNING
A Brief History of Clowns

2. Ancient Greek Clowns from the farce called Phlyake
HISTORY OF CLOWNS
Pygmy clowns performed as jesters in the court of the pharaoh in Egypt’s 5th dynasty – 2500 B.C.E.
Ancient Greek clowns wore short, grotesquely padded tunics and socks.
Court jesters have performed in China since 1818 B.C.E.
Ancient Greek Clowns from the farce called Phlyake

3. Traditional Chinese Opera Clown
HISTORY OF CLOWNS
Their humor could affect policy in many cultures
500 B.C.E. – China –
Emperor Shih Huang-Ti built the Great Wall – thousands died while building it
Planned to paint it
His jester: Yu Sze – jokes convinced him to abandon the plan
Yu Sze is remembered as a Chinese national hero!
Traditional Chinese Opera Clown

4. HISTORY OF CLOWNS Ancient Rome had 4 well-known styles of clowns:
Sannio – popular mimes who used grimaces
Stupidus – a mimic fool – usually bald – slapstick comedy
Scurra – lower class clown – with physical oddities
Moriones – silly and sometimes mentally challenged
Ancient Roman Clowns

5. HISTORY OF CLOWNS
Montezuma’s court of the Aztec nation included jesters that were taken back to Pope Clement III.
Most Native American tribes had some type of clown character
Important social & religious role
Some were believed to cure diseases.
Navaho Clown
dailykos.com

6. Commedia Stock Characters
HISTORY OF CLOWNS
Commedia dell’arte began in Italy in the 16th century
The dominant European theatre
Improvised scenes
Stock characters and scenarios
Many comic characters – both masters and servants
Comic servants:
1st Zany – predecessor of Whiteface clown (Peirrot)
2nd Zany - predecessor of Auguste clown (Harlequin)
Fantesca – female clown (Peirrette)
Commedia Stock Characters
Commedia del Arte
The Commedia del Arte began in Italy in the sixteenth century and soon dominated European theater. It was a highly improvised theater based upon stock characters and scenarios. It contained many comic characters divided into masters and servants. There were three types of comic servants: the First Zany, the Second Zany, and the Fantesca. The First Zany was a male servant who was a clever rogue often plotting against the masters. The Second Zany was a stupid male servant that was caught up in the First Zany’s schemes and often the victim of his pranks. The Fantesca was a female servant, played by an actress, who was a feminine version of one of the Zany characters and would participate in the schemes and provide a romantic story among the servants.
The history of clowning is a history of creativity, evolution, and change. Harlequin started off as a Second Zany, the victim of Brighella. Performers portraying Harlequin gradually made him a smarter character until he eventually usurped Brighella’s position. In English Pantomime, a style of theater based on the Commedia del Arte, John Rich completed the evolution of Harlequin elevating it to starring position. New characters evolved to assume the position of Harlequin’s stupid victims. One of these was the whiteface clown.
punchcoffee.com

7. HISTORY OF CLOWNS Jesters were given freedom of speech
Often the only one to speak out against a ruler’s ideas
Their humor could affect policy in many cultures
In Medieval England, the last of the court jesters was Dicky Pearce he was the Earl of Suffolk’s fool, born in 1665.
Dicky Pearce

8. HISTORY OF CLOWNS Shakespeare’s Clowns:
William Kemp & Robert Armin were clowns
2 of 26 principal actors in the Lord Chandler’s Men acting troupe listed in the 1st Folio
William was the 1st clown in the group and a part owner
Played a version of an Auguste clown: a stupid county bumpkin
Known for his ad-libbing
Will Kemp
Traditionally: Hamlet’s order that “clowns speak only what has been written” was Shakespeare’s criticism of Kemp’s ad libbing

9. HISTORY OF CLOWNS Shakespeare’s Clowns:
Armin joined Lord Chandler’s Men when Kemp left
Played a court jester style fool
Probably the 1st Feste (Olivia’s jester in Twelfth Night)
Wrote one of the 1st histories of clowning to be published
Shakespeare changed his style of play when Armin replaced Kemp
Traditionally: Hamlet’s order that “clowns speak only what has been written” was Shakespeare’s criticism of Kemp’s ad libbing
pathguy.com

10. HISTORY OF CLOWNS Philip Astley created the 1st circus clown:
Billy Buttons –1768
Scenario: the Tailor’s Ride to Brentford
A tailor, a poor rider, tries to ride a horse to Brentford to vote
Astley, as Billy Buttons, acted as the tailor
circopedia.org

11. HISTORY OF CLOWNS Joseph Grimaldi (1778-1837)
He developed of the pantomime character: Clown
Clown nickname “Joey” after him…
The Father of Modern Clowning
Never performed in a circus
Elaborate tricks, special effects, and live action scenes
Usually appeared as a Whitefaced Clown
clown-ministry.com

12. HISTORY OF CLOWNS Amelia Butler: Recognized as the 1st female clown
1858
Toured with
Nixon’s Great American Circus
Kemp’s Mammoth English Circus
Amelia was the last women clown in the American circus for almost twenty years
Peggy Williams, in 1970 graduated from the Ringling Brothers’ Clown College. Peggy was not married to a clown but a woman clown in her own right. Her presents in the circus was the catalyst that was needed to encourage other women to get involved with the art of clowning. Even with the females in clowning, you rarely saw a female in a dress. Clowns were taught that they should look neutral in gender… not to look like women.
In the late 1970s, a few bold women took the leap developing a truly feminine clown. With petticoats and bloomers, women have taken a front line in the art of clowning, creating a truly new character of their on, the female clown character. Women now constitute a large majority of the professional clowns.
clownschool.net
The next female clown was Lulu in 1939

13. HISTORY OF CLOWNS Dan Rice – 1st Modern Clown: 1823-1901
Often make political commentary
Animal acts
“Uncle Sam” drawings based upon him
Highly paid and Philanthropic
Only man to ever have an elephant walk a tightrope
Often earned more than his friend Abraham Lincoln

14. Types of Modern Day Clowns
CLOWNS & CLOWNING
Types of Modern Day Clowns

15. WHITE-FACE CLOWN All flesh is covered by makeup or clothing.
Face and neck covered with a coat of “clown white” greasepaint.
Features are then added on top.
justclowningaround.org

16. WHITE-FACE CLOWN
A direct descendant of the classic black & white Commedia dell’arte Pierrot Clown
French in origin
Considered the smartest clown
He is the “straight man” Never the brunt of a joke
my.opera.com

17. Types of Whiteface Clowns
Bobby Kaye ( ):
Neat Whiteface
Small features using red or black
Carefully color-coordinated clothing

18. Types of Whiteface Clowns
Bozo the Clown
Grotesque or Comedy Whiteface
Large features in a variety of colors
Outlandish clothing

19. Types of Whiteface Clowns
European Whiteface
Uses bald-cap
Elaborate, glitzy costumes
In Europe:
Accents their ears with red
Uses their own hair or a black wig
Wears a spangled costume
(Rudy Llatge)

20. AUGUSTE CLOWN White around their eyes and mouth.
Covers the remaining exposed flesh with colored greasepaint.
May paint lower lip red or black
Rafael “Chocolate” Padilla
One of the first truly successful Augustes was Chocolat (Raphael Padilla) (? ), a Cuban born Black orphan. He was sold as a servant to a European, and eventually worked as family servant for Tony Grice, a whiteface clown. Part of his duties was appearing as an Auguste in Grice’s clown acts. It was after he teamed with English Whiteface clown George Footit ( ) that he became extremely popular. The duo demonstrated the dramatic comedy inherent in a whiteface- auguste duo. Footit was the haughty, authoritarian, demanding, physically abusive Clown. Chocolat was a lazy fool unsuccessfully attempting to appear dignified, a naive hapless scapegoat who obeys without complaining and doesn’t react to the abuse he suffers. They recreated Grice’s train station sketch, and performed some traditional routines, but they were most noted for their original parodies rich in dialogue. Their success inspired many imitators establishing the auguste character.
Chocolat did not wear make up. His dark skin contrasted nicely with Footit’s white make up.

21. AUGUSTE CLOWN Often use exaggerated eyebrows
Lou Jacobs ( )
Often use exaggerated eyebrows
May wear a colorful wig, or a bald top with a fringe of colorful hair

22. AUGUSTE CLOWN Costume is usually has very bright colors
"Clown Bluey " Brattle
Costume is usually has very bright colors
Costume is frequently too large
Frequently the brunt of the jokes

23. HOBO or TRAMP CLOWN Inspired by the homeless of the late 19th century
Emmett Leo Kelly, Sr
Inspired by the homeless of the late 19th century
White paint around mouth and perhaps around their eyes
Paint an artificial beard with greasepaint
James McIntyre ( -Aug. 18, 1937) and Tom Heath ( -Aug. 19, 1938) created the tramp clown characterization in They portrayed African Americans made homeless by the Civil War. They based their characters on blackface minstrel clowns which is the origin of the white mouth used by tramp clowns. They studied African American culture attempting to accurately portray it. McIntyre is credited with introducing an African American dance called the Buck and Wing to the American stage. The dance later became known as tap dancing. It should be noted that there are alternate ‘origins’ for the tramp character—one of which was the traveling "hoe boys," or itinerant farm workers, who rode the rails from one town to another, wiping the soot away from their eyes & mouth. These hoe boys (or hobos) are another possible inspiration for the tramp clown.

24. HOBO or TRAMP CLOWN An American invention Famous Tramps: Famous Hobos:
Charlie Chaplin’s Little Tramp
Emmett Kelly’s Weary Willie
Tramps are down-on-their luck & unhappy
Famous Hobos:
Red Skelton’s Freddy the Freeloader
Hobos are “devil-may-care” –happy – looking forward to the future
Red Skelton ( )
The Tramp clown is a distinctly American invention, although he is now popular in European circuses as well. The most well-known Tramp is clearly Charlie Chaplin’s "Little Tramp," Red Skelton’s Freddy the Freeloader, or Emmett Kelly’s "Weary Willie." The generic Tramp character assumes a "down-on-his-luck" approach to life. His costume appears tattered and torn (a performing clown should never have a shabby or unclean costume), and things do not go well for him.
The hobo, on the other hand, has much more of a "devil-may-care" attitude. Although in the same position as the tramp (costuming and make-up may be virtually identical), the hobo is not unhappy about his situation. He knows that everything will turn out all right. A well-known example is Red Skelton‘s clown character, "Freddy the Freeloader."

25. CHARACTER CLOWNS
Kupcake the Clown
as a Keystone Cop
Character Clowns only really exist in clown competitions
Can be any type of clown
Costume depicts a recognizable occupation or hobby:
Cowboy
Doctor
Pirate
Hippie
Cop
allaboutclowns.com
The Character should be based on the Clown’s personality!

26. Clown College information from Ringling.com
Founded by Irvin Feld in 1968
1,300 people have received diplomas
Many graduates with The Greatest Show On Earth®
Others perform on stage, in film and in other performing arts
Alumni originate from 9 countries and 44 states
The formal college closed in
The Felds organized and ran the Clown College for 30 years. It was founded at a time when Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus had only about a dozen clowns – most of them almost ready to retire. Irvin Feld opened the college to train a new generation of clowns for the circus.
Clown College information from Ringling.com

27. CLOWN COLLEGE Classes included: character development Improvisation
Makeup
Pantomime
gag development
Acrobatics & dance
prop & costume construction
physical skills of slaps and falls
stilt-walking & unicycling
juggling & choreography
The Clown College accepted 30 students a year and now there are plenty of clowns. Today Ringling Brothers auditions new clowns on the road and provides a year of on-the-job training instead of the organized training program of the past. Graduates of the Ringling Clown College and retired clowns also teach at various locations under a loosely organized collective as Clown School.

28. RODEO CLOWNS Almost all are Character Clowns – usually cowboys!
Both comedian and athlete
Also known as “bullfighters”
Trained & practiced animal wranglers
Primary job is to protect a fallen rider
Abilities can mean life or death for the fallen bull rider
They also entertain the audience with clowning activities and slapstick comedy
library.thinkquest.org
“He has to be afraid of nothing and stand in front of the bull and distract him and he could be killed. The rest of the rodeo, he’s trying to make people laugh at him.”
Gail Woerner, Rodeo Historian
reportingtexas.com

29. CIRQUE CLOWNS Cirque du Soleil is a circus without animals
Cirque clowns tend to be mime-based instead of Barnum-type clowns
Alegria celebrates old-fashioned circus acts
Kooza celebrates the arts of acrobatics and clowning
All the Cirque shows have clown acts
Alegria Clown
Beyond-the-depths.deviantart.com