List of clowns

{{pp-semi-indef|small=yes}} {{Short description|None}} {{refimprove|date=April 2024}} {{Expand list|date=December 2019}} This is a list of notable clowns.

==Circus-style== * [[Lulu Adams]] - early 20th century British female clown * [[Albert Alter]] - American clown * António Branco – ''[[Batatinha]]'' (literally ''Little Potato''), from [[Portugal]] * [[Arthur Vercoe Pedlar]] – "Vercoe", an English clown * [[Barry Lubin]] – "Grandma", star clown of the [[Big Apple Circus]] * ''[[Bim Bom]]'' – clown duo of early 20th Century Russia * ''[[Carequinha]]'' – Brazilian clown and actor, born in a circus to a circus family [[Brazil]] * [[Cepillin|Cepillín]] – Mexican clown * [[Cha-U-Kao]] - French clown, performer at the [[Moulin Rouge]] * [[Charlie Bell (clown)|Charlie Bell]] – American clown, [[Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus|Ringling Bros. circus]] * [[Charlie Cairoli]] – Italian-born British clown * [[Pinto Colvig]] - American clown who later became famous as the voice of [[Goofy]]. * [[Dan Rice|Daniel Rice]] (1823–1901) – American clown of the 19th century and principal inspiration for ''Uncle Sam''. * [[David Shiner (clown)|David Shiner]] – Tony Award-winning American born mime and circus clown who has appeared on Broadway and with several European circuses * Demetrius Nock – "[[Bello Nock]]," star clown in [[Ringling Brothers Barnum and Bailey Circus]] * [[Dimitri (clown)|Dimitri]] – Swiss clown and mime * [[Emmett Kelly]] – American tramp clown * [[Frankie Saluto]] – American clown, [[Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus|Ringling Bros. circus]] * The [[Fratellini Family]] – family of French clowns * [[George Carl]] – American clown who performed mainly in Europe. * [[Glen "Frosty" Little]] – America's last living Master Clown and longtime "Boss Clown" with the [[Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus]] * [[Greg and Karen DeSanto]] – husband and wife clown/comedy team * ''[[Grock]]'' – [[Charles Adrien Wettach]] (1880–1959), Swiss clown * [[Joe Jackson Sr.|Joe Jackson]] Sr. and Jr. – tramp clown entree with a breakaway bicycle * Johann Ludwig Jacob ''[[Lou Jacobs]]'' (1903–1992) – American Master Clown. Credited with inventing the [[clown car]] gag. * [[Josep Andreu i Lasserre]] – ''[[Charlie Rivel]]'' European clown * Jose de Jesus Medrano – ''[[Chuchin]]'' (1953–1984), Mexican clown and performance star * [[José Vega Santana]] – ''[[Remi (the clown)|Remi]]'' (1958–) – "Puerto Rico's Greatest Clown" * [[Michael Halvarson]] – Swedish clown and star pickpocket entertainer who has appeared in [[Cirque du Soleil]] Kooza * Mikhail Nikolayevich Rumyantsev – ''[[Karandash]]'' (1901–1983), Soviet Clown and clowning teacher. * [[Nicolai Poliakoff]] – ''[[Coco the Clown]]'' longtime star clown of the Bertram Mills Circus * [[Oleg Popov]] (1930–2016), Russian clown, student of ''[[Karandash]]'' * [[Otto Griebling]] – (1896–1972), American Master Clown with the Cole Bros. and Ringling circuses [[File:The Champ and The Clown.jpg|thumb|[[Muhammad Ali]] with clowns Charlie Frye and [[Skeeter Reece]] in 1980]] * [[Paul Hunt (gymnast)|Paul Hunt]] – gymnast clown * [[Pierre Étaix]] (1928–2016), French clown, comedian and filmmaker * [[John Wayne Gacy|Pogo the Clown]] - American serial killer John Wayne Gacy, who volunteered as a clown at hospitals * [[Chocolat (clown)|Rafael Padilla]] – Cuban-born clown, performing in France as "Chocolat" * [[Roly Bain]] (1954 – 2016) English [[priest]] and [[clown]] who preached and performed as Holy Roly. He helped set up the organisation Holy Fools. * [[Sergey Alexandrovich Pavlov|Sergey Pavlov]] – "Lalala", Russian clown, director and actor * [[Skeeter Reece]] – American clown * [[Steve Smith (clown)|Steve Smith]] – "T.J. Tatters", longtime director of Ringling [[Clown College]] * [[Tiririca]] - Brazilian clown who started his career in the circus, later becoming a singer, gaining fame on TV and becoming a politician * [[Vicki Gabereau]] – ''Rosie Sunshine,'' ran as a candidate in the 1974 Toronto mayoral election * [[Yuri Nikulin]] – Russian clown and actor * [[Zig and Zag (Australian performers)|Jack Perry]] and [[Zig and Zag (Australian performers)|Doug McKenzie]] – ''[[Zig and Zag (Australian performers)|Zig and Zag]]'' Australian television clowns

==Rodeo== * [[Flint Rasmussen]] – seven-time winner of ''Man in the Can'' award. * [[Johnny Tatum]] – American rodeo clown * [[Quail Dobbs]] – American rodeo clown * [[Slim Pickens]] – American rodeo clown and film actor.

==Film== * [[Abbott and Costello]] (William (Bud) Abbott, 1897–1974; Louis Costello, 1906–1959) – American comedy duo specializing in the white clown (straight man)/red clown (comic) relationship * [[Ben Turpin]] (September 19, 1869 – July 1, 1940) – cross-eyed comedian, best remembered for his work in silent films * [[Buster Keaton]] (October 4, 1895 – February 1, 1966) – "The Great Stoneface" * [[Charlie Chaplin]] (April 16, 1889 – December 25, 1977) – British born comedian. His principal character was "The Little Tramp" * [[Chester Conklin]] (January 11, 1886 – October 11, 1971) – American comedian and actor * [[Harry Langdon]] (June 15, 1884 – December 22, 1944) – American silent film comedian and mime * [[Jacques Tati]] (October 9, 1908 – November 5, 1982) – French comedian, mime and filmmaker; played the socially inept [[Monsieur Hulot]] * [[Keystone Cops]] – incompetent group of policemen created by Mack Sennett for his Keystone Film Company between 1912 and 1917 * [[Laurel and Hardy]] – comedy duo in film * [[Martin and Lewis]] – American comedy duo, comprising singer Dean Martin (as the "straight man") and comedian Jerry Lewis (as his stooge) * [[The Marx Brothers]] – team of sibling comedians that appeared in vaudeville, stage plays, film and television * [[Peter Sellers]] (September 8, 1925 – July 24, 1980) – English comedian and actor; played [[The Pink Panther (disambiguation)|Inspector Clouseu]] * [[Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle]] (March 24, 1887 – June 29, 1933) – actor, was involved in the "Fatty Arbuckle scandal" * [[Shaggy 2 Dope]] – DJ of the [[Insane Clown Posse]], Detroit-based hip-hop group with a fan army of "schizophrenic wizards" called the juggalos and star of underground film ''Big Money Hustlaz'' * [[Slim Pickens]] – rodeo clown and film actor * [[Snub Pollard]] (November 9, 1889 – January 19, 1962) – silent film comedian, popular in the 1920s * [[The Three Stooges]] – slapstick comedians * [[W.C. Fields]] (January 29, 1880 – December 25, 1946) – American comedian and actor * [[Violent J]] – leader of the Insane Clown Posse, a Detroit-based hip-hop group and star of ''Big Money Hustlaz'' underground film. * [[Jim Varney]] - Actor of [[Ernest P. Worrell]]

==Television== * [[Lucille Ball]] – ''I Love Lucy'', ''The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour'', ''The Lucy Show'', ''Here's Lucy'' * [[Bassie & Adriaan|Bassie]] – clown on the Dutch "Bassie & Adriaan" television series, played by Bas van Toor * [[Benny Hill]] – The Benny Hill Show * [[Milton Berle]] – ''Texaco Star Theater'', ''Berle's Buick Hour'' * Blinky the Clown – played by [[Russell Scott]] as the star of "''[[Blinky's Fun Club]]''" in [[Colorado-Denver|Colorado, Denver]]. * [[Bozo the Clown]] – franchised character played by many local television performers and on [[cartoon]]s, based on the character created in 1946 by [[Alan W. Livingston]] for [[Capitol Records]]' record-reader series * [[Bubbles the Clown]] – clown doll that appears on BBC test cards F, J & W. * [[Charlie Chalk]] – main character of the British children's TV series of the same name. * [[Clarabell the Clown]] – regular character from the ''[[Howdy Doody]]'' television program, originally played by [[Bob Keeshan]] of ''[[Captain Kangaroo]]'' fame. * [[Der Clown]] - German TV clown * [[Doink the Clown]] – [[List of professional wrestling terms#G|gimmick]] used by several wrestlers in the 1990s. Doink began as a [[Heel (professional wrestling)|heel]] wrestler in the [[evil clown]] [[archetype]], but later Doinks portrayed the character as a [[Face (professional wrestling)|babyface]] who loved to entertain the children in the crowd. * [[Dink the Clown]] – midget sidekick of Doink the Clown. * Flunky the Clown – Character of comedy writer [[Jeff Martin (writer)|Jeff Martin]] on [[Late Night With David Letterman]] . * [[Herman the Clown]] - main character of Finnish series ''Pelle Hermanni''. * [[Damon Wayans|Homey the Clown]] – character from the ''[[In Living Color]]'' television program, whose famous [[catchphrase]] was "Homey don't play that (or dat)". * [[John Michael Howson]] – 'clown' from [[Adventure Island (TV series)|''Adventure Island'']]. * [[Vesa-Matti Loiri|Nasse Setä]] – Character of Finnish comedian Vesa-Matti Loiri * [[The Big Comfy Couch#Characters|Loonette the Clown]] - main character of Canadian series ''[[The Big Comfy Couch]]''. * [[Mr. Noodle]] – character created by [[Bill Irwin]] for the "[[Elmo's World]]" segment of ''[[Sesame Street]]'' * [[Mr Tumble]] – character on ''[[Something Special (TV series)|Something Special]]'', played by [[Justin Fletcher]] * [[Patati Patatá]] – Brazilian TV * [[Chris Wedes|J.P. Patches]] – Seattle children's television mainstay for decades. * [[Paul Reubens]] – ''[[Pee-wee Herman]]'', ''[[Pee-Wee's Playhouse]]''. * [[Peppi & Kokki]] - Two Dutch clowns who starred in their own children's TV series. * [[Pinky Lee]] – ''The Pinky Lee Show'' * [[Pipo de Clown]] – main character of the Dutch children's TV series of the same name. * [[Piñón Fijo]] – Argentine TV * [[Red Skelton]] – ''The Red Skelton Show'' * [[Roberto Gómez Bolaños]] - Better known as ''Chespirito'', he created and played ''El Chavo'' and ''El Chapulín Colorado'' * [[Rowan Atkinson]] – ''Mr. Bean'' * [[Rusty Nails|Jim Allen]] – ''[[Rusty Nails]]'' (1957–1972), Pacific Northwest children's television clown, and model (in part) for Matt Groening's "Krusty" character on the television program ''The Simpsons'' * [[Sid Caesar]] – ''Your Show of Shows'' and ''Caesar's Hour'' * [[Soupy Sales]] – ''The Soupy Sales Show'' * [[Roger Black (actor)|Yucko the Clown]] – ''[[The Howard Stern Show]]'', known for rude observations, obscenities and public intoxication * [[Os Trapalhões]] - Didi, Dedé, Mussum and Zacarias, from the TV show of the same name. * [[Zig and Zag (Australian performers)]]

==Theatrical== * [[A. Robins]] – vaudeville's "The Banana Man" and "One Man Music Shop" * [[Alan Clay]] – international clown teacher and performer; author of ''Angels Can Fly, a Modern Clown User Guide'' * [[Alex Tatarsky]] – American vaudeville-style [[bouffon]] performer based in New York and Philadelphia * [[Alex the Jester]] – "King of Jesters," speaks a contemporary version of the medieval gibberish language [[Grammelot]]. * [[Andy Kaufman]] – American comic and practitioner of ''[[anti-humor]]'' * [[Avner Eisenberg]] – also known as Avner the Eccentric, a "Broadway" clown * [[Bill Irwin]] – Tony Award-winning clown known for his new [[vaudeville]]-style performances * [[Blue Man Group]] – trio of silent characters that perform covered in blue paint * [[Clark and McCullough]] – Bobby Clark and Paul McCullough started as circus clowns and progressed to be stars of stage and screen * [[Sylvester the Jester]] – The Human Cartoon * [[Dario Fo]] – Capo Comicio, creator of "Mistero Buffo" and "Accidental Death of an Anarchist"; recipient of the 1997 [[Nobel Prize in Literature]]; uses Arlecchino stage persona, political activist * [[Ed Wynn]] – The Perfect Fool * [[Eric Davis (clown)|Eric Davis]] – [[Cirque du Soleil]] clown and creator of [[Red Bastard]] * [[Geoff Hoyle]] – stage clown, started in the [[Pickle Family Circus]] with Bill Irwin and Larry Pisoni * [[George Carl]] – longtime star of the [[Crazy Horse (cabaret)|Crazy Horse Saloon]] in Paris * [[G. L. Fox|George Washington Lafayette Fox]], American stage clown during the 19th century * [[James and Jamesy]], Canadian clown duo * [[Jango Edwards]] – American clown and entertainer in the European cabaret tradition * [[John Gilkey]] – [[Cirque du Soleil]] clown * [[Joseph Grimaldi]] – credited with being "the first whiteface clown" — in an homage to Grimaldi, circus clowns began referring to themselves and each other as "Joey"s, and the term 'joey' is now a synonym for clown * [[Marceline Orbes]] (1874–1927) – performed in Europe and for many years at the [[New York Hippodrome]]. * [[Morro and Jasp]] – Canadian clown duo * [[Mump and Smoot]] – Canadian "clowns of horror" * [[Olsen and Johnson]] – stars of Broadway's ''Hellzapoppin''' * [[Puddles Pity Party]] (Michael Geier) – American traditional popular singer and [[YouTube]] celebrity who performs as a whiteface clown. Billed as the "sad clown with the golden voice." * [[Richard Pochinko]] – founder of "[[Canadian Clowning]]" style * [[Richard Tarlton]] – actor and clown in the [[English Renaissance theatre|Elizabethan theatre]] in England * [[Richard Usher]] – 19th-century clown, performed at [[Astley's Amphitheatre]] * [[Robert Armin]] – actor and clown in Shakespeare's company * [[Sergey Alexandrovich Pavlov|Sergey Pavlov]] – Russian clown "LALALA", creator of "LALALA SHOW" * [[Slava Polunin]] – Russian-born clown and creator of "Slava's Snowshow" * [[Spike Jones]] and his City Slickers – American musical act featuring [[slapstick]] circus-style [[comedy]] * [[Thomas Monckton]] – award-winning physical clown * [[Tommy Cooper]] – British comedy magician * [[W. C. Fields]] – vaudeville comedy star * [[William Kempe|Will Kempe]] (''fl. c'' 1589–1600) – actor dancer and clown who worked with [[William Shakespeare|Shakespeare]]; famously jigged his way from [[Norwich]] to [[London]] in 1600 * [[Wolfe Bowart]] – stage clown touring internationally with his productions ''LaLaLuna'' and ''The Shneedles''

==Fictional== * Adam the Clown – from the video game ''[[Dead Rising]]''. Equipped with two [[chainsaws]] that he juggles, he is a [[boss (video games)|boss]] in the game. * [[Binky the Clown]] – from the ''[[Garfield]]'' comic by [[Jim Davis (cartoonist)|Jim Davis]]. * [[Buggy the Clown]] – an antagonist of the [[manga]] ''[[One Piece]]'' * [[Buttons (clown)|Buttons the Clown]] – a central character from the 1952 film ''[[The Greatest Show on Earth (film)|The Greatest Show on Earth]]'', played by [[James Stewart]] * Calvero – clown character played [[Charlie Chaplin]] in the film ''[[Limelight (1952 film)|Limelight]]'' * [[Captain Spaulding (Rob Zombie)|Captain Spaulding]] – from the horror films ''[[House of 1000 Corpses]]'' and ''[[The Devil's Rejects]]'' * [[Chuckles the Clown]] – ''[[Mary Tyler Moore Show]]'' background character who was trampled to death in an episode * Colly Wobble, a clown toy in CBeebies TV show ''[[Moon and Me]]'' * Crackers the Clown, played by [[Peter Brocco]] – "bad-guy" clown in the ''[[List of Adventures of Superman episodes|Adventures of Superman]]'' episode titled "The Clown Who Cried". * [[Dodo Delwyn]] – once a famous [[Ziegfeld]] star, is reduced to playing clowns in burlesque and amusement parks in 1953 film ''[[The Clown (1953 film)|The Clown]]''; played by [[Red Skelton]] * Dr. Rockso – the Rock & Roll Clown from ''[[Metalocalypse]]'' * Fatso the Clown – clown statue in ''[[The 70s Show]]'' episode titled "Fun It" * Fizbo the Clown - Cam Tucker's clown character from ''[[Modern Family]]''. * [[Frenchy the Clown]] – character of the national lampoon comic ''Evil clown comics'' series. * Fun Gus the Laughing Clown - cursed character in the cosmic/folk horror novel, "The Cursed Earth" by D.T. Neal (Nosetouch Press, 2022). * The Ghost Clown – evil hypnotist clown featured in the ''[[List of Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! episodes|Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!]]'' episode titled "Bedlam in the Big Top" * [[Gamzee Makara]] – clown-like Highblood Troll and one of the antagonists of the webcomic ''[[Homestuck]]'' * [[List of Ace Attorney characters#Geiru Toneido|Geiru Toneido]] – minor antagonist in ''[[Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney – Spirit of Justice]]'' * ''[[Pagliacci|I Pagliacci]]'', (''The Clowns'') – tragic [[opera]] by [[Ruggiero Leoncavallo]] prominently features [[Arlecchino]] as a character * Jack – advertising icon for the [[fast food]] company, [[Jack in the Box (restaurant)|Jack in the Box]] * [[Jack Point]] – from the [[Judge Dredd Megazine]]'s [[The Simping Detective]] series * Jojo – main character on the [[Disney Channel]]'s ''[[Jojo's Circus]]'' * [[Joker (character)|The Joker]] – supervillain often called the "Clown Prince of Crime" created by [[DC Comics]] * [[Kefka Palazzo]] – main antagonist of ''[[Final Fantasy VI]]'' * Killer Klowns – from the horror films ''[[Killer Klowns from Outer Space]]'' * [[Koko the Clown]] – from [[Max Fleischer]]'s ''[[Out of the Inkwell]]'' series of [[animated cartoon]]s. <ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.lambiek.net/artists/f/fleischer_max.htm|title=Max Fleischer|access-date=2018-06-06|archive-date=2018-07-21|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180721043919/https://www.lambiek.net/artists/f/fleischer_max.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> * [[Krusty the Clown]] – television clown on the Fox animated television series ''[[The Simpsons]]'' * [[List of Ace Attorney characters#Moe|Lawrence "Moe" Curls]] – minor character in ''[[Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney – Justice for All]]'' * [[Dead Moon Circus#Lemures|Mr. Magic Pierrot]] – a [[villain of the week]] in the [[Sailor Moon SuperS|fourth season]] of the ''[[Sailor Moon (TV series)|Sailor Moon]]'' anime series. Some clown-like monsters called "Pierrot" also appear in the [[Sailor Moon musicals|''Sailor Moon'' musicals]] and in the [[Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon (2003 TV series)|live-action series]]. * Murder the Clown - from the ''[[Goosebumps Most Wanted]]'' book "A Nightmare on Clown Street", also appeared in the 2015 ''[[Goosebumps (film)|Goosebumps]]'' film. * [[Pennywise|Pennywise the Dancing Clown]] (also known as "It") – shape-shifting monster in [[Stephen King]]'s ''[[It (novel)|It]]'' and its adaptations * Pierrot Bolneze – from ''[[Yakitate! Japan]]'', clown, bread judge and master of ceremonies, he's also the [[crown prince]] of Monaco according to the series * Rajoo – circus clown and the central character in [[Raj Kapoor]]'s film ''[[Mera Naam Joker]]'' * Rollo the Clown – played by William (Billy) Wayne, the "good-guy" clown in the ''[[List of Adventures of Superman episodes|Adventures of Superman]]'' episode titled "The Clown Who Cried". * Rollo the Clown – from the 1991 film ''[[The Little Engine That Could (1991 film)|The Little Engine That Could]]'', based on the [[The Little Engine That Could|children's book of the same name]]. * [[Ronald McDonald]] – [[McDonald's]] fast-food restaurant chain's advertising clown character, first portrayed by [[Willard Scott]]. * Sacarrolha - protagonist in a long-running Brazilian comic strip, created by [[Primaggio Mantovi]]. <ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.lambiek.net/artists/m/mantovi_primaggio.htm|title=Primaggio Mantovi|access-date=2019-01-28|archive-date=2019-01-28|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190128135643/https://www.lambiek.net/artists/m/mantovi_primaggio.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> * [[Shakes the Clown]] – title character of the film of the same name. * [[List of Ace Attorney characters#Simeon Saint|Simeon Saint]] – primary antagonist in ''[[Ace Attorney Investigations 2: Prosecutor's Gambit]]'' * Splinters – title character in a newspaper comic strip by William Steinigans, which ran between 1911 and 1912. <ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.lambiek.net/artists/s/steinigans_william.htm|title=William Steinigans|access-date=2018-06-06|archive-date=2018-08-12|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180812054321/https://www.lambiek.net/artists/s/steinigans_william.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> * Stan – clown name of the character [[Louison]] in the 1991 French film ''[[Delicatessen (1991 film)|Delicatessen]]''. * [[Sweet Tooth (Twisted Metal)|Sweet Tooth]] – sociopathic serial killer who is a primary protagonist/antagonist in the''[[Twisted Metal]]'' franchise. * Tricky the clown from the [[Newgrounds]] series Madness Combat * [[Violator (comics)|Violator]] – serial killer and one of the enemies from the ''[[Spawn (character)|Spawn]]'' franchise. * Vulgar the Clown – protagonist of the 2000 motion picture ''[[Vulgar (film)|Vulgar]]'' * Wobble – [[roly-poly toy|roly-poly]] clown from the [[BBC]] children's TV show ''Playbus'' (later ''[[Playdays]]'') * [[Yorick]] – court jester who featured as the subject of a lengthy soliloquy in [[William Shakespeare|Shakespeare's]] ''[[Hamlet]]''

==See also== * [[Evil clown]] * [[List of jesters]]

==References== {{Commons category|Clowns}} {{Reflist}}

{{Clowns}}

[[Category:Clowns|*]] [[Category:Fictional clowns|*]] [[Category:Lists of entertainers|Clowns]]