You can’t tell who this lady is in the photograph above. And that’s on purpose. Because the lady in the photo asked me to delete her image from my blog site. She told me she did not want to be identified with any blog that had the word ‘Clown’ in it.
Why? Because she said it was in questionable taste.
To back up -- I often eat lunch at the Provo Senior Center. Once a month they bring in a performer to share their talents with us old folks while we chomp on meatloaf and swill apple sauce. This particular woman came to sing to us. I was impressed with the warmth of her vocal offerings, so asked if I could do a photoshoot while she sang, to post on my blog. She was delighted to say yes -- so I spent 45 minutes taking over a hundred shots of her sharing her talent with the senior citizens. When it was over she asked for the name of my blog site, which I gave her. That’s when her snobbery surfaced.
Not only did she ask that I not use her image or name on my blog, but she had the effrontery to first ask that I delete all the photos from my digital camera -- and then changed her mind and asked me to send them all to her, but still not to use them myself. I politely told her I would be happy to delete the photos, but would not consider letting her have them first. She seemed startled at my decision.
Before that damn word ‘coulrophobia’ even existed, there were plenty of people who had it in for clowns -- but not as scary creatures. Clowns were simply ‘declasse,’ as the French had it. Low class individuals that decent people would not consort with. Probably criminals on the lam.
My former in-laws were always distraught that their lovely daughter had lowered herself to marry a -- ugh! -- circus clown.
When I first joined the LDS Church I mentioned to several of my file leaders that I wanted to quit clowning and become a Seminary teacher in the Church Education System. They tactfully indicated that with my circus background, it would probably not be possible to make that kind of career change -- the Church was very careful about the antecedents of potential teachers.
The word ‘clown’ itself is a pejorative -- in Britannic Latin it was ‘colonus’, meaning backwoods boor. From the sticks. A hayseed.
When Moe Howard, of the Three Stooges, tried to purchase a bungalow in Beverly Hills, he was told quite bluntly that the neighborhood would not allow a ‘low comedian’ into its hallowed precincts.
At Universal Studio in the 1940’s Abbott and Costello literally pulled the studio out of bankruptcy with their popular movies -- yet all their films were made on the ‘B’ lot. Bud and Lou were not even allowed to set foot on the ‘A’ lot of the studio until the 1950’s, when the studio got new owners.
And let’s not forget how America treated its greatest clown during the Red Scare of the 40’s and 50’s. In 1948 Charlie Chaplin left his home in Hollywood for an extended business trip in England and Europe. When he returned home the FBI impudently entered his house without his permission to demand a debriefing that ranged from his racial origins to his religious and political beliefs. The House Committee on UnAmerican Activities had Chaplin in their sights from the get-go, hounding him to come testify in Washington for completely frivolous reasons.
This persecution reached a climax in 1952, when Chaplin went to England for the premier of his great film about clowning, ‘Limelight.’ The United States government denied him a reentry permit (eerily presaging our current Administration’s efforts to keep out ‘bad’ foreigners) because they suspected him, quote, of ‘morals, health or insanity, or for advocating Communism or associating with Communist or pro-Communist organizations.’ So Chaplin went into exile in Switzerland.
What could America ever find threatening in this wonderful entertainer, who brought us laughter with a touch of wry melancholy? Nothing -- except he was a lowbrow buffoon who dared to aspire to be something better, both in his movies and in his personal life. And that was something the clown-haters were not willing to countenance.
Today the public may say they love clowns, and mourn their passing from venues like Ringling Brothers -- but I’m convinced that in their heart of hearts, many people still harbor a snobbish dislike and distrust of the whole slapstick fraternity, and are secretly saying to themselves ‘good riddance!’
Clowns deserve their place in the sun just like everyone else. I have always resented being diminished for my profession. And now that I’m retired and have become a writer, I intend to work towards full Clown Equality (as long as I don’t have to include Congress.)
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