Send in the clowns...

Right, a photo of Emmett Kelly in character. Right, a clown named after him by
Effanbee doll company. Read more about him here. Emmett Kelly also had a son
who followed in his footsteps; read about him here.

       The circus clown developed in the 19th century. The modern circus derives from Philip Astley's London riding school, which opened in 1768. Astley added a clown to his shows to amuse the spectators between equestrian sequences. American comedian George L. Fox became known for his clown role, directly inspired by Grimaldi, in the 1860s. Tom Belling senior (1843–1900) developed the red clown or Auguste (Dummer August) character c. 1870, acting as a foil for the more sophisticated white clown. Belling worked for Circus Renz in Vienna. Belling's costume became the template for the modern stock character of circus or children's clown, based on a lower class or hobo character, with red nose, white makeup around the eyes and mouth, and oversized clothes and shoes. The clown character as developed by the late 19th century is reflected in Ruggero Leoncavallo's 1892 opera Pagliacci (Clowns). Belling's Auguste character was further popularized by Nicolai Poliakoff's Coco in the 1920s to 1930s.

• Cute curly haired clowns - very innocent looking, Gorham dolls made of stockinette
• Vintage Restorations: Mattel Talking "Bozo The Clown" pull-string toy
• Korby the Clown Marionette by Scott Land

Left, Bozo on television. Right a Bozo the Clown doll
from 1964. Read more about him here.

       In the early 20th century, with the disappearance of the rustic simpleton or village idiot character of everyday experience, North American circuses developed characters such as the tramp or hobo. Examples include Marceline Orbes, who performed at the Hippodrome Theater(1905), Charlie Chaplin's The Tramp (1914), and Emmett Kelly's Weary Willie based on hobos of the Depression era. Another influential tramp character was played by Otto Griebling during the 1930s to 1950s. Red Skelton's Dodo the Clown in The Clown (1953), depicts the circus clown as a tragicomic stock character, "a funny man with a drinking problem".

• Charlie Chaplin ABCs - C for Clown - very cute! and cute windup 1930s Schuco Charlie Chaplin Figure
• Marceline (the last dance) and a Documentary for Mercelino
• Emmett Kelly is Sweeping Up the Spotlight Gag from 1967
• Red Skelton plays The Clown from Warner Bros.

       In the United States, Bozo the Clown was an influential Auguste character since the late 1950s. The Bozo Show premiered in 1960 and appeared nationally on cable television in 1978. McDonald's derived its mascot clown, Ronald McDonald, from the Bozo character in the 1960s. Willard Scott, who had played Bozo during 1959–1962, performed as the mascot in 1963 television spots. The McDonald's trademark application for the character dates to 1967.

• Hasbro, 1978 Ronald McDonald Doll and The original McDonald's Museum in San Bernardino and Charity - RMHC
• Bozo The Clown Doll Commercial 1992 and Biography About Art Cervi and Tintoyman demonstrates the Tumbling Bozo the Clown Doll from 1970s

Pippo the clown with a doll made to represent his character from a 1964 catalogue.
  Read more about him here.

 

       Based on the Bozo template, the US custom of birthday clown, private contractors who offer to perform as clowns at children's parties, developed in the 1960s to 1970s. The strong association of the (Bozo-derived) clown character with children's entertainment as it has developed since the 1960s also gave rise to Clown Care or hospital clowning in children's hospitals by the mid 1980s. Clowns of America International (established 1984) and World Clown Association (established 1987) are associations of semi-professionals and professional performers.

• International Clowns of America
• World Clown Association

Advertisement for Clancy The Clown doll by Rushton Co., 1955.

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