DubLi.com Fun Shopping
L-Shadow R-Shadow

The History of Clowns

admin
Lorrette 16 Comments
Last Updated:: November 26, 2009
Related Products:

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
by(http://seo-search-engine-optimization.netbiz.com/)  SEO 2.0 Services

[picappgallerysingle id="255550"]

Reblog this post [with Zemanta]

Popularity: 29% [?]

Share and Enjoy:
  • Digg
  • del.icio.us
  • Facebook
  • NewsVine
  • Reddit
  • StumbleUpon
  • Google Bookmarks
  • Yahoo! Buzz
  • Twitter
  • Technorati
  • Live
  • LinkedIn
  • MySpace
  • Fark
  • FriendFeed
  • MisterWong
  • Propeller
Blog Traffic Exchange Related Posts Blog Traffic Exchange Related Websites
  1. Hey Lorrette,

    I really like your comment “celebrate life and laugh until it hurts”…sadly I cant remember the last time I laughed like that!
    Craig @ Spartan Costume´s last blog ..About Us My ComLuv Profile

    Reply
    • #2
      Lorrette says:

      Hey There Craig

      I am sad to hear that – everyone should be able to get a good hard laugh out of something …at least occasionally. I hope somehow this happens for you too…and soon.

      In the meantime ..I wish for you …good things..always
      Lorrette

      Reply
  2. Hey Lorette,

    I quite often pop by your blog because I enjoy the articles and also because I like to leave comments and also admire how dedicated you are at replying to comments. One question, how on earth do you come up with the topics for your blog?

    Thanks,

    Mark
    Mark @ Auto Content Cash´s last blog ..About Us My ComLuv Profile

    Reply
    • #4
      Lorrette says:

      Hiya Mark

      Thank you and I am so pleased to hear you are a ‘regular’ as it were and thank you too for your valued comment. Coming up with my topics is easy for me, I have always been able to sense ‘the ridiculous’ in life. It used to get me in serious strife both at home and at school and then later on in college – I can’t count how many times I had someone say these words to me..‘Can’t you take anything seriously for just 5 minutes!!!?” - so there you have it..

      Look forward to your visiting again ..soon

      Celebrate Life and Laugh Til It Hurts!
      Lorrette

      Reply
  3. That makes me scared of them even more!
    Ben´s last blog ..Contact Us My ComLuv Profile

    Reply
  4. Hy! thanks for sharing..it is a very nice blog indeed..Few days ago I saw these funny pictures of cats,dogs…lovely pets indeed… they`re “kiling“ me :) …see ya

    Reply
  5. #8
    William from Scrap Car says:

    Lorrette, I totally agree with you.

    Reply
  6. What a great idea for a post! Thanks for sharing I really enjoyed it.

    Reply
  7. I’m more of a stand-up comedian fan myself. Although they are sort of clowns but they tell jokes instead of do stunts. :)
    Dean Saliba´s last blog ..About To Make Use Of A Dead Domain My ComLuv Profile

    Reply
    • #12
      Lorrette says:

      Hi Dean

      Hear, Hear!! I love a good stand-up comedian and yes they are ‘clowns’ in their own kind of way. A good stand-up can really get your mind cleared of sad and negative thinking…laughter after all is the ‘best’ medicine!

      Cheers
      Lorrette

      Reply
  8. I am more enjoyed watching clowns while entertaining the kids in the party…
    I wonder if clowns are happy with their jobs.

    Reply
Leave a Comment

CommentLuv Enabled

This site uses KeywordLuv. Enter YourName@YourKeywords in the Name field to take advantage.

Advertisement

Subscribe

Advertising

Featured Video

Trakkrz

    Lifehacks @ trakkrz.com

Facebook

    Be My Friend?

Twitter

    Follow Me!

Alltop

MyBlogLog

CopyScape

Qassia

CommentLuv

Technorati

Tagomatic

IEC

    Her Blog Directory

Canonical URL by SEO No Duplicate WordPress Plugin