{{Short description|American author in France (1950–2025)|bot=PearBOT 5}} {{More citations needed|date=January 2025}} thumb|Howard Buten as Buffo, 2008 '''Howard Buten''' (July 28, 1950 – January 3, 2025) was an American author living in France. He was also a psychologist, a clown, and a violin player. Buten was the author of five novels, the first of which, entitled ''When I Was Five I Killed Myself'', was published in 1981 and turned into a film under its French title ''Quand j'avais cinq ans je m'ai tué'' in 1994.
== Biography == Buten was born in Detroit, Michigan, on July 28, 1950. As a young man, Buten encountered a child with autism and this sparked a lifelong interest in the disorder. He worked on autism as a researcher, clinical psychologist, therapist, and founder of a clinic for the autistic in Paris, France.
Buten was also a theatrical clown (graduate of Ringling Bros) with the stage name Buffo, who is quite well known in France.<ref>[http://www.artfilm.ch/buffo-buten-howard&lang=en ''Buffo, Buten & Howard''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140408224043/http://www.artfilm.ch/buffo-buten-howard%26lang%3Den |date=2014-04-08 }}, documentary 2009, Swissfilms, at artfilm.ch</ref> He got his start in acting at a very young age, re-enacting scenes from his favorite stories, along with his childhood friends and neighbors.
Buten's first and best known novel, ''When I Was Five I Killed Myself'', is largely unknown in his home country, but has sold more than a million copies in France. He was made Chevalier of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres, a prominent literary honor, in 1991.
Howard Buten played a significant role in the Koschise Project, a French study center dedicated to the communication of autistic children. Founded in collaboration with Romain Philippe Pomedio, Koschise focuses on developing imitation techniques based on mirror neurons to promote empathy in children with autism<ref>{{Cite web |last=Levisalles |first=Natalie |title=Howard Buten Entrée des autistes. |url=https://www.liberation.fr/portrait/1996/07/15/howard-buten-46-ans-psychologue-et-ecrivain-rendu-celebre-par-quand-j-avais-cinq-ans-je-m-ai-tue-n-a_177074/ |access-date=2025-01-10 |website=Libération |language=fr}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Les chants d'Ulysse, Académie internationale |url=https://theatreledome.saumurvaldeloire.fr/la-saison/les-chants-d-ulysse-academie-internationale |access-date=2025-01-10 |website=theatreledome.saumurvaldeloire.fr |language=fr-fr}}</ref>
Buten died on January 3, 2025, at the age of 74.<ref>{{cite news |title=Howard Buten, alias le clown Buffo, auteur de « Quand j'avais cinq ans, je m'ai tué », est mort |url=https://www.lemonde.fr/disparitions/article/2025/01/05/quand-j-avais-cinq-ans-je-m-ai-tue-deces-d-howard-buten-alias-le-clown-buffo_6481848_3382.html |access-date=5 January 2025 |publisher=Le Monde |date=5 January 2025}}</ref>
== Works == * ''{{ill|When I Was Five I Killed Myself (novel)|fr|Quand j'avais cinq ans je m'ai tué|lt=When I Was Five I Killed Myself}}'' (also published under the title ''Burt'') (1981) * ''{{ill|Le Cœur sous le rouleau compresseur|fr}}'' (1984) * ''{{Lang|fr|Monsieur Butterfly}}'' (1987) * ''{{Lang|fr|Il faudra bien te couvrir...}}'' (1989) * ''{{Lang|fr|Histoire de Rofo, clown}}'' (1991) * ''{{Lang|fr|C'était mieux avant}}'' (1994) * ''{{Lang|fr|Ces enfants qui ne viennent pas d'une autre planète}}'' (1995) * ''{{Lang|fr|Quand est-ce qu'on arrive?}}'' (2000) * ''{{Lang|fr|Il y a quelqu'un là-dedans, des autismes}}'' (2003) * ''{{Lang|fr|Buffo par Buten}}'' (2005) * ''Through the Glass Wall: Journeys Into the Closed-Off Worlds of the Autistic'' (Bantam, 2004) * ''I Understand that If Not Completely Satisfied I Will Be Issued a Full Refund'' (1996)
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== * [http://www.buffo-buten.com/ Buffo Buten] * {{IMDb name|0124731|Howard Buten}} * {{discogs artist|Howard Buten}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Buten, Howard}} Category:1950 births Category:2025 deaths Category:21st-century American psychologists Category:Chevaliers of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres Category:American emigrants to France Category:American male novelists Category:20th-century American novelists Category:20th-century American male writers Category:French-language American writers Category:21st-century American writers Category:American clowns Category:French clowns Category:20th-century American psychologists
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