Everyone Loves A Clown - But Which Kind?

Evil Clown Origins:
Some Are Evil
Some Become Evil
Some Are Driven Evil
Some things need no embellishment:

There are certain things one should never do in a clown costume.

Drinking alcohol is one; telling off-colored jokes is another. Swearing, smoking, and behaving distastefully round out the list.

It’s known as the clown code of ethics, and it’s just part of the clown curriculum taught by Spanish Springs resident Teddy Bear for Truckee Meadows Community College.

“Most people think that clowns are just clowns, but there’s a lot to it,” said Bear, who goes by the clown name “Huggie Bear” and is a retired telephone operator and mother-of-two.

“It’s not a good idea to just wing it.”

So students in Bear’s class go beyond the basics of juggling, balloon tying, and puppets.

At the evening lessons hosted by Reed High school, they learn to keep their hands on a child’s shoulders if they get hugged, and to aim for the chin — not the nose — when they throw a whipped cream pie. The do’s and don’ts of costumes and make-up are covered in detail.

By the time the five-week class ends this month, her eight students will know better than to repeat the mistake Bear made when she took up clowning 23 years ago. Her first clown costume combined a casual sweatshirt and cut-off pair of jeans with a white-painted face.

“Which was all wrong,” Bear laughed.

“The white-face clown is the elegant clown. You’re supposed to wear dress clothes.”

Bear opts for less fussy outfits herself, sporting bright hats and suspenders, subdued clown make-up, and a straight blue wig. But she tells her students that being a great clown requires more than a great costume.

“A Halloween clown is someone who puts on an outfit,” Bear said. “What makes a real clown comes from the heart. It’s a sharing of love. You have to love people.”

You also have to have skills to make it through birthday parties and street festivals. That can mean playing the guitar and singing, like Bear does, or tying balloons and juggling, or riding a unicycle while doing any of the above.

“You don’t want to do stupid things that are risky just for a laugh. You want to use educated skills,” Bear said.

Some of those skills can be more difficult to teach, like the keen instincts and social sensitivity all good clowns must have.

Clowns need to know when they are hitting the mark, Bear said, and when to back off. Particularly now that scary movies like Stephen King’s It have transformed the friendly clown into a frightful figure.

Bear recalls one man she approached at the Sparks Hometowne Farmer’s Market with a tied balloon.

“He just immediately panicked,” she said. “I really felt bad when I found out he really was terrified.” Kids with developmental disabilities are on the other side of the spectrum, Bear said. She has yet to meet one who didn’t adore her.

“They just love clowns,” she said. “They’ll grab onto you, and they won’t let go. You have to be very careful.”

Lucky for Bear and her students, most folks fall somewhere in between, and most children still believe in the magic of a clown.

“I just love their reactions; I love to see their eyes sparkle; I like to see them laugh.” Bear said. “They look at you like you’re a star.”

This little gem was from the Reno Gazette-Journal, B. Willem, 1984 - Everyone loves a clown and it's fun to learn to be one

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If you can hear me it is because I am screaming, screaming from the pits of hell, or because the mic is on.

- Litotes The Clown

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