A Brief History of Clowning

What is a clown?

Clowns are comic performers, characterized by colored wigs, makeup, outlandish costumes and usually oversized shoes whose purpose is to induce hearty laughter. The clown, unlike the traditional fool or court jester, usually performs a set routine characterized by broad, graphic humor, absurd situations, and vigorous physical action".

First known clown was a pygmy presiding as a court fool at the court of Pharoah Dadkeri-Assi Egypt’s Fifth Dynasty. In 1818 BC, one of the China’s rulers, neglecting ancient religious rites, filled court with clowns. His successors restored the rites, but also kept the clowns. One of China’s Jesters, YuSze is remembered as a national hero because he saved the lives of thousands of laborers when he kidded the Emporer Shih Huang –Ti out of having the enemy side of the Great Wall whitewashed in 300 BC.

Clowns played an important role in the religious lives of Asian societies. In India, Sanskrit Damas based on the epic stories “Magabharata” and “Ramayan” began about 100 AD. Most of the dialogue was in Sanskrit language spoken only by gods, kings, ministers, generals and sages. Viduska, a clown who was the hero’s servant and confidant, spoke Prakit, the language of the general population, Viduska interpreted the action for the audience. When the kingdom of Pagan, in Burma, was destroyed by a Civil War in 1257 AD, the scholars and writers fled into the countryside, and inspired the country folk to hold pageants representing the life of Buddha. The roles of the royal attendants were transformed into clown characters called Lu-byet.

Some of the earliest ancestors of the clown were present in ancient Greece. These comics were bald-headed wore padding to appear larger than normal. They performed as secondary figures in farces and mime parodying the actions of more serious characters and at times threw nuts at the spectators. A similar type of clown also was present in the Roman mime. This clown wore a pointed hat and a patchwork colorful robe and was the target for all the tricks and abuse of his fellow actors.

In the late Middle Ages, the clown emerged as a professional comic actor when traveling entertainers began to imitate the antics of the court jesters and the amateur fool societies. The traveling companies of the Italian commedia dell'arte developed one of the most famous and durable clowns of all time, the Arlecchino, or Harlequin some time in the latter half of the 16th century. The Harlequin began as a comic valet, or "zany," but soon developed into an acrobatic trickster, wearing a black domino mask and carrying a bat or noisy slapstick with which he frequently spanked his victims.

The English clown was descended from the Vice character of the medieval mystery plays, a buffoon and prankster who could sometimes deceive even the Devil. Among the first professional stage clowns were the famous William Kempe and Robert Armin, both whom were connected with Shakespeare's company. Traveling English actors of the 17th century were responsible for the introduction of stage clowns to Germany, among them such popular characters as Pickelherring, who remained a German favorite until the 19th century. Pickelherring and his confederates wore clown costumes that have hardly changed to this day: oversized shoes, waistcoats, and hats, with giant ruffs around their necks.

The traditional whiteface makeup of the clown is thought to be introduced by the character of Pierrot, the French clown with a bald head and flour-whitened face. He first appeared during the latter part of the 17th century. He was created as a fool for Harlequin, Pierrot was gradually softened and sentimentalized. The pantomimist Jean- Baptiste-Gaspard Deburau took on the character in the early 19th century and created a famous love-sick, pathetic clown, whose melancholy has since remained part of the clown tradition.

The earliest of the true circus clowns was Joseph Grimaldi, who first appeared in England in 1805. Grimaldi's clown, called "Joey," specialized in the classic physical tricks, tumbling, pratfalls, and slapstick beatings. In the 1860s a low-comedy comic appeared under the name of Auguste, who had a big nose, baggy clothes, large shoes, and untidy manners. He worked with a whiteface clown and always spoiled the latter's trick by appearing at the wrong time to mess things up.

Grock (Adrien Wettach), a famous whiteface panomimist, evoked laughter in his continual struggle with inanimate objects. Chairs collapsed beneath him. When a stool was too far from a piano, he shoved the piano to the stool. His elaborate melancholy resembled that of Emmett Kelly, the American vagabond clown.

The clowns of Native America cultures also played a religious role. In some tribes, the religious ceremony can’t begin until the clowns made everybody laugh because they believed laughter made them more open to learning. The North American Clowns frequently had a teaching function. They taught the children the proper way to perform the tribe’s ceremonies. They also taught people to follow tribes social rules.

Educational Information

Clown Alley – In the Circus, Clown Alley has two meanings. Because of powdering their make up, the clowns were given their own section of the dressing tent. This section was nearest the side wall so the clowns could easily duck under the canvass to powder outside. This section was the darkest because it was the furthest from the opening to the tent and the lights hanging from the center pieces. The darkness and wall down one side made it seem like an alley, so it was dubbed clown alley.
If there were rigging problems or someone got injured, the clowns would fill in until the show was ready to resume. The traditional method to signal an acrobat to go on to start a trick or skit was to yell “Allez Oop” (Pronounced Alley opp). If the clowns were needed, the Performance Director would yell, “Clown Allez” meaning “Clowns Go”. Eventually the group of clowns became known as the “Clown Alley” and later the place where they waited between acts also became known as the clown alley.

The Circus “RING”

In the circus, a circus “Ring” came to life in the spring of 1768 on the outskirts of London. Philip Astley did his first show of trick horse back riding, magic and a slack rope clown skit. The concept of the ring was created when it was discovered that a circle is some 13 meters, (42.65 ft) in diameter was the best size for a horse and rider.

Types of Clowns

White Face Clown

There are 2 types of White Face Clowns:

The first white face clown is typically the straight clown in skits with make-up which has a base of white grease paint. A straight clown will usually be the one acting very serious but who falls prey to the brunt of the punch line ("blow off") of the skit. The white faced clown's costume tends to be more formal than the auguste clown. Formal for a clown is different than for a regular person. This just means that the colors will tend to match and flow throughout the costume. The colors are less likely to be gaudy and mismatched as in the other clown types. The Second white face clown tends to be colorful and mismatched. It is a silly clown that resembles the character of the Auguste clown.

The make-up of the white face clown is typically simple to look at and will highlight the natural features already present on the face (i.e., eyes, cheeks, lips, nose, etc). The variations of a white face clown are endless and there are no specific guidelines other than the basic white base.

Auguste Clown

The Auguste clown tends to be the silly clown in skits and make-up is a bright flesh-tone base. The silly clown will usually appear to not know what is going on in a skit but usually somehow escape the "blow off." The costume of the auguste clown tends to be gaudy, mismatched, and very bright. Primary colors are most popular with this clown type and the clothing is usually over-sized.

The make-up is usually bright and exaggerates the natural features already present in the face (e.g., a large nose, large outline of mouth, etc). Again there are millions of variations and each clown has their own special characteristics.

Character Clown

The character is exaggerated into a clown. Their costumes depict a specific occupation, hobby or easily identifiable individual. Their make can be white face, auguste or hobo/tramp style. In reality, their costume does not depict their character. Their personality does. A clown can be a police officer, an animal, a baseball player, a doctor, a cowboy or other professional occupations.

There are also other character clowns:

Mime Clowns: Combine the art of clowning with mime. They wear a mime style make up which ends at the jaw line, leaving their neck uncovered. If you use this make up, you create the expectation that you will perform mime illusions. Silent performers with gestures.

Rodeo Clown: It is a very specialized branch of clowning. They use tramp/hobo or auguste type make up. There is a distinctive style of rodeo make up based on geometric shapes instead of the performer’s natural features. There are 2 types of rodeo clowns – the barrel clown and the Bullfighter.

Tramp/Hobo Clown

The tramp/hobo clown was inspired by homeless people in the late 19th century. A tramp/hobo clown paints white around their mouth and sometimes around their eyes. They paint an artificial beard using grease paint. Their clothing is either patched or tattered.

Auguste Elite Clown

August elite aka European Auguste: It is a similar style of make up used by Auguste clowns early in the 20th century and clowns styles developed by clowns in the Soviet Union. It is most used in theatrical settings or by hospital clowns.

A Blending of Clowns for “Letting the laughter Loose” TV Program Channel 14


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History of Clowning What is a Clown? Educational Information The Circus Ring Types of Clowns White Face Clown Auguste Clown Character Clown Tramp/Hobo Clown Auguste Elite Clown	A Brief History of Clowning What is a clown? Clowns are comic performers, characterized by colored wigs, makeup, outlandish costumes and usually oversized shoes whose purpose is to induce hearty laughter. The clown, unlike the traditional fool or court jester, usually performs a set routine characterized by broad, graphic humor, absurd situations, and vigorous physical action". First known clown was a pygmy presiding as a court fool at the court of Pharoah Dadkeri-Assi Egypt’s Fifth Dynasty. In 1818 BC, one of the China’s rulers, neglecting ancient religious rites, filled court with clowns. His successors restored the rites, but also kept the clowns. One of China’s Jesters, YuSze is remembered as a national hero because he saved the lives of thousands of laborers when he kidded the Emporer Shih Huang –Ti out of having the enemy side of the Great Wall whitewashed in 300 BC. Clowns played an important role in the religious lives of Asian societies. In India, Sanskrit Damas based on the epic stories “Magabharata” and “Ramayan” began about 100 AD. Most of the dialogue was in Sanskrit language spoken only by gods, kings, ministers, generals and sages. Viduska, a clown who was the hero’s servant and confidant, spoke Prakit, the language of the general population, Viduska interpreted the action for the audience. When the kingdom of Pagan, in Burma, was destroyed by a Civil War in 1257 AD, the scholars and writers fled into the countryside, and inspired the country folk to hold pageants representing the life of Buddha. The roles of the royal attendants were transformed into clown characters called Lu-byet. Some of the earliest ancestors of the clown were present in ancient Greece. These comics were bald-headed wore padding to appear larger than normal. They performed as secondary figures in farces and mime parodying the actions of more serious characters and at times threw nuts at the spectators. A similar type of clown also was present in the Roman mime. This clown wore a pointed hat and a patchwork colorful robe and was the target for all the tricks and abuse of his fellow actors. In the late Middle Ages, the clown emerged as a professional comic actor when traveling entertainers began to imitate the antics of the court jesters and the amateur fool societies. The traveling companies of the Italian commedia dell'arte developed one of the most famous and durable clowns of all time, the Arlecchino, or Harlequin some time in the latter half of the 16th century. The Harlequin began as a comic valet, or "zany," but soon developed into an acrobatic trickster, wearing a black domino mask and carrying a bat or noisy slapstick with which he frequently spanked his victims. The English clown was descended from the Vice character of the medieval mystery plays, a buffoon and prankster who could sometimes deceive even the Devil. Among the first professional stage clowns were the famous William Kempe and Robert Armin, both whom were connected with Shakespeare's company. Traveling English actors of the 17th century were responsible for the introduction of stage clowns to Germany, among them such popular characters as Pickelherring, who remained a German favorite until the 19th century. Pickelherring and his confederates wore clown costumes that have hardly changed to this day: oversized shoes, waistcoats, and hats, with giant ruffs around their necks. The traditional whiteface makeup of the clown is thought to be introduced by the character of Pierrot, the French clown with a bald head and flour-whitened face. He first appeared during the latter part of the 17th century. He was created as a fool for Harlequin, Pierrot was gradually softened and sentimentalized. The pantomimist Jean- Baptiste-Gaspard Deburau took on the character in the early 19th century and created a famous love-sick, pathetic clown, whose melancholy has since remained part of the clown tradition. The earliest of the true circus clowns was Joseph Grimaldi, who first appeared in England in 1805. Grimaldi's clown, called "Joey," specialized in the classic physical tricks, tumbling, pratfalls, and slapstick beatings. In the 1860s a low-comedy comic appeared under the name of Auguste, who had a big nose, baggy clothes, large shoes, and untidy manners. He worked with a whiteface clown and always spoiled the latter's trick by appearing at the wrong time to mess things up. Grock (Adrien Wettach), a famous whiteface panomimist, evoked laughter in his continual struggle with inanimate objects. Chairs collapsed beneath him. When a stool was too far from a piano, he shoved the piano to the stool. His elaborate melancholy resembled that of Emmett Kelly, the American vagabond clown. The clowns of Native America cultures also played a religious role. In some tribes, the religious ceremony can’t begin until the clowns made everybody laugh because they believed laughter made them more open to learning. The North American Clowns frequently had a teaching function. They taught the children the proper way to perform the tribe’s ceremonies. They also taught people to follow tribes social rules. Educational Information Clown Alley – In the Circus, Clown Alley has two meanings. Because of powdering their make up, the clowns were given their own section of the dressing tent. This section was nearest the side wall so the clowns could easily duck under the canvass to powder outside. This section was the darkest because it was the furthest from the opening to the tent and the lights hanging from the center pieces. The darkness and wall down one side made it seem like an alley, so it was dubbed clown alley. If there were rigging problems or someone got injured, the clowns would fill in until the show was ready to resume. The traditional method to signal an acrobat to go on to start a trick or skit was to yell “Allez Oop” (Pronounced Alley opp). If the clowns were needed, the Performance Director would yell, “Clown Allez” meaning “Clowns Go”. Eventually the group of clowns became known as the “Clown Alley” and later the place where they waited between acts also became known as the clown alley. The Circus “RING” In the circus, a circus “Ring” came to life in the spring of 1768 on the outskirts of London. Philip Astley did his first show of trick horse back riding, magic and a slack rope clown skit. The concept of the ring was created when it was discovered that a circle is some 13 meters, (42.65 ft) in diameter was the best size for a horse and rider. Types of Clowns White Face Clown There are 2 types of White Face Clowns: The first white face clown is typically the straight clown in skits with make-up which has a base of white grease paint. A straight clown will usually be the one acting very serious but who falls prey to the brunt of the punch line ("blow off") of the skit. The white faced clown's costume tends to be more formal than the auguste clown. Formal for a clown is different than for a regular person. This just means that the colors will tend to match and flow throughout the costume. The colors are less likely to be gaudy and mismatched as in the other clown types. The Second white face clown tends to be colorful and mismatched. It is a silly clown that resembles the character of the Auguste clown. The make-up of the white face clown is typically simple to look at and will highlight the natural features already present on the face (i.e., eyes, cheeks, lips, nose, etc). The variations of a white face clown are endless and there are no specific guidelines other than the basic white base. Auguste Clown The Auguste clown tends to be the silly clown in skits and make-up is a bright flesh-tone base. The silly clown will usually appear to not know what is going on in a skit but usually somehow escape the "blow off." The costume of the auguste clown tends to be gaudy, mismatched, and very bright. Primary colors are most popular with this clown type and the clothing is usually over-sized. The make-up is usually bright and exaggerates the natural features already present in the face (e.g., a large nose, large outline of mouth, etc). Again there are millions of variations and each clown has their own special characteristics. Character Clown The character is exaggerated into a clown. Their costumes depict a specific occupation, hobby or easily identifiable individual. Their make can be white face, auguste or hobo/tramp style. In reality, their costume does not depict their character. Their personality does. A clown can be a police officer, an animal, a baseball player, a doctor, a cowboy or other professional occupations. There are also other character clowns: Mime Clowns: Combine the art of clowning with mime. They wear a mime style make up which ends at the jaw line, leaving their neck uncovered. If you use this make up, you create the expectation that you will perform mime illusions. Silent performers with gestures. Rodeo Clown: It is a very specialized branch of clowning. They use tramp/hobo or auguste type make up. There is a distinctive style of rodeo make up based on geometric shapes instead of the performer’s natural features. There are 2 types of rodeo clowns – the barrel clown and the Bullfighter. Tramp/Hobo Clown The tramp/hobo clown was inspired by homeless people in the late 19th century. A tramp/hobo clown paints white around their mouth and sometimes around their eyes. They paint an artificial beard using grease paint. Their clothing is either patched or tattered. Auguste Elite Clown August elite aka European Auguste: It is a similar style of make up used by Auguste clowns early in the 20th century and clowns styles developed by clowns in the Soviet Union. It is most used in theatrical settings or by hospital clowns. A Blending of Clowns for “Letting the laughter Loose” TV Program Channel 14
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