Clown sightings: hysteria in the US reaches a fever pitch

Multi-talented clown Dan Rice became a household name in America in the mid 1800s, with his performing pig, Sybil. He ran for president unsuccessfully, obviously but coined the popular phrase jump on the bandwagon after inviting future president Zachary Taylor onto his traveling circus cart. Legend has it Rice even inspired Uncle Sams aesthetic .

But the traveling circus in both Europe and the US always had its vagabond side with performers, circus hands and animals crammed into wagons, side-shows drawing pick-pockets and brawlers, life on the road attracting runaways and, no doubt, the odd fugitive.

Shaking that stigma isnt easy, said Milhollan.

His clowning partner and wife Tiffany Riley, alias Slappy, said that clowning is a much misunderstood art form.

Being ridiculous is a serious business, she said. Slappy graduated from New York Universitys Tisch School of the Arts and she and Monday toured with the Big Apple Circus.

Theyve trained clowns and straight actors and now are often employed to perform in schools or cheer up children in hospitals, where the kids call her Dr Slappy. Shes currently writing her Masters thesis on the effects of humor on healing.

It upsets me, it really hurts, she said of the new wave of clown hysteria and hopes it will die down after Halloween. But some people are drawn to the dark side of everything and if you put the make-up on a certain way, its scary, Ill grant you that.

Vocational clowns are not only up against amateurs and imposters a new film version of Stephen Kings horror novel It is underway, with an evil clown who preys on children as well as everyones phobias and fears.

And TVs American Horror Story series has twice recently invoked the real life serial killer John Wayne Gacy, a former clown who <a href=”http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/politics/chi-chicagodays-gacy-story-story.html” data-link-name=”in” body link” class=”u-underline”>murdered at least 33 males in Illinois in the 1970s.

Distrust of clowns is deeply entrenched. The make-up that can be un-nerving and the archetype of the jester operating outside the normal rules of society if you take that one step further you can draw that character as a killer and then youre off to the races, a figure that is adored and revered is co-opted and professional clowns have to reassure people and separate themselves from the crazy people running around. Its exasperating, said Pisoni.

But he also acknowledges that there is an inherent distrust of someone who is always smiling.

But while scary pretend clowns hide behind their garb to threaten people, Pisoni said professional clowns flip that on its head they are vulnerable, baring their souls as they attempt the tricky art of making an audience laugh.

His new documentary, Circus Kid, which screened at the Woodstock Film Festival on Friday and is showing at DOC NYC in New York on Monday, is based on his biographical play Humor Abuse, charting the trials and tribulations of growing up in the circus.

Pisoni began clowning principally to get the attention of his distracted father, clown Larry Pisoni, who created the Pickle Family Circus in California in 1974.

He describes how, beneath the costume, the gags and the acrobatics, his father was a depressive who dealt poorly with his mental demons and had a nervous breakdown in 1987.

As that famous Smokey Robinson lyric goes: Aint too much sadder than the tears of a clown.

Lorenzo Pisoni fled the circus once when he reached adulthood and became a dramatic stage and screen actor. Performing drama is a lot easier than comedy, he pointed out.

And hell be distancing himself a long way from Clown Lives Matter.

Its making a lot out of something thats not funny, he said.