The History of Clowns

Written by Lorrette 29 Comments
Last Updated:: November 26, 2009

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by Stephen Daniels

Almost everyone has enjoyed watching a clown, from laughing at their stunts during the circus to having a one of a kind balloon animal made for them at a birthday party. Most people are unaware of the long and rich history of clowns.

Clowns began as court jesters thousands of years ago. The first report of a court jester was in 2500 BC in ancient Egypt. Records of court jesters found in China date back through the'00s BC. The majority of Native American tribes also had their version of clowns.

It wasn't all fun and games. It's interesting to note that jesters were the only people allowed to disagree with rulers, and, through their humor, they were responsible for impacting many important rulings. In China, it was the court jester Yu Sze who managed to convince the emperor not to paint the Great Wall of China, a ruling that eventually saved thousands of lives. In the 16th century, clowns became a major part of theater, known as Commedia del Arte. Today, English Pantomime is derived from this form of theater.

Even William Shakespeare recognized the importance of clowns in his work, writing about two in some of his plays; he even tailored some of his writing to fit the clowns' personalities. It is believed that some of the scripts were even made up by clowns on the spot, perhaps the first roots of improvisational comedy, or "improv" as we know it today.

The first clowns appeared in the circus in the mid-18th century in England. Variations of some of the first circus clown acts are still being performed today. "Whiteface" clowns appeared soon after; a product of Joseph Grimaldi, the Father of Modern Clowning, these clowns are the most well known today.

Another interesting fun fact about clowns is that the notable character of American pop culture, Uncle Sam, is based on one! Dan Rice was possibly one of the most influential and highest paid clowns in history. A friend of Abraham Lincoln's, Dan was famous for his satire surrounding current events, and was possibly a forefather of stand up comedians today.

Clowns have become so popular and such a staple of life over the decades that there are even clown universities where folks can go study how to be a professional clown. The most famous clown college, Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Clown College, located in Sarasota, Florida, has formally trained thousands of clowns.

In more recent years, clowns have become a mainstream part of a child's birthday party. Children love all the ways of entertaining young children a clown can have up his or her sleeve (literally.) They can create a funny animal or shape out of a balloon in seconds; they can paint a cute design on a child's face; and they can excite the crowd with any number of tricks, like a squirting flower or a handshake buzzer. They also engage almost everyone at the party, even the shyest of the group.

For a great party, consider hiring a clown.

(http://www.planyourparty.biz) Children's Choice Entertainment goes through a long hiring process to find the right person to send out to your party. They teach and train staff so they are able to run a party and perform the activities that are promised. This article powered
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