List of clowns

Main article: Clown

"ON THE LAST DAY OF THE CARNIVAL, Mardi Gras (French for Fat Tuesday,) promiscuous masking is allowed on the streets, which are thronged with picturesque bands of maskers of every age and condition, and their costumes run in every garment from the clown to kings and queens."
The view shows a group of maskers in the street, most in costumes of clowns with polka-dots and pointed hats. A sign on the neutral ground reads "Welcome to the Winter Capital of America". Early 20th century postcard

Circus-style

• Achille Zavatta (1915–1993)
• Angus Oblong – "Angus Oblong" from United States (1976–), creator of the animated series "The Oblongs", only appears as Angus Oblong
• António Melo – Batatinha (literally Little Potato), from Portugal
• Arthur Vercoe Pedlar – "Vercoe", an English clown
• Barry Lubin – "Grandma", star clown of the Big Apple Circus
• Bim Bom – clown duo of early 20th Century Russia
• Carequinha – Brazilian clown and actor, born in a circus to a circus family Brazil
• Cepillín – Mexican clown
• Cha-U-Kao - French clown, performer at the Moulin Rouge
• Charlie Cairoli – Italian-born British clown
• Daniel Rice (1823–1901) – American clown of the 19th century and principal inspiration for Uncle Sam.
• David Shiner – Tony Award-winning American born mime and circus clown who has appeared on Broadway and with several European circuses
• Demetrius Nock – "Bello Nock," star clown in Ringling Brothers Barnum and Bailey Circus
• Dimitri – Swiss clown and mime
• Emmett Kelly – American tramp clown
• Ernie Burch – Blinko (c. 1944–1995), host of 1950s TV show. Ringling Bros. circus. The Greatest Show on Earth film. Named by Cecil B. DeMille
• The Fratellini Family – family of French clowns
• Fumagalli – European star clown, Big Apple Circus
• George Carl – American clown who performed mainly in Europe.
• Glen "Frosty" Little – America's last living Master Clown and longtime "Boss Clown" with the Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus
• Greg and Karen DeSanto – husband and wife clown/comedy team
• Grock – Charles Adrien Wettach (1880–1959), Swiss clown
• Joe Jackson Sr. and Jr. – tramp clown entree with a breakaway bicycle
• Johann Ludwig Jacob Lou Jacobs (1903–1992) – American Master Clown. Credited with inventing the clown car gag.
• John Wayne Gacy – "Pogo", a painter and serial killer
• Josep Andreu i Lasserre – Charlie Rivel European clown
• Jose de Jesus Medrano – Chuchin (1953–1984), Mexican clown and performance star
• José Vega Santana – Remi (1958–) – "Puerto Rico's Greatest Clown"
• Michael Halvarson – Swedish clown and star pickpocket entertainer who has appeared in Cirque du Soleil Kooza
• Mikhail Nikolayevich Rumyantsev – Karandash (1901–1983), Soviet Clown and clowning teacher.
• Nicolai Poliakoff – Coco the Clown longtime star clown of the Bertram Mills Circus
• Oleg Popov (1930–2016), Russian clown, student of Karandash
• Otto Griebling – (1896–1972), American Master Clown with the Cole Bros. and Ringling circuses
• Paul Hunt – gymnast clown
• Pierre Étaix (1928–2016), French clown, comedian and filmmaker
• Reeve J. Porter (1989–Present), American clown, professional pagliacco and market joker
• Roly Bain (1954 – 2016) English priest and clown who preached and performed as Holy Roly. He helped set up the organisation Holy Fools.
• Sergey Pavlov – "Lalala", Russian clown, director and actor
• Steve Smith – "T.J. Tatters", longtime director of Ringling Clown College
• Tom Bolton – American clown and juggler living in Germany
• Vicki Gabereau – Rosie Sunshine, ran as a candidate in the 1974 Toronto mayoral election
• Yuri Nikulin – Russian clown and actor
• Jack Perry and Doug McKenzie – Zig and Zag Australian television clowns

Rodeo

• Flint Rasmussen – Seven-time winner of Man in the Can award.
• Johnny Tatum – American rodeo clown
• Quail Dobbs – American rodeo clown
• Slim Pickens – American rodeo clown and film actor.

Film

• Abbott and Costello (William (Bud) Abbott, 1897–1974; Louis Costello, 1906–1959) – American comedy duo specializing in the white clown (straight man)/red clown (comic) relationship
• Ben Turpin (September 19, 1869 – July 1, 1940) – cross-eyed comedian, best remembered for his work in silent films
• Buster Keaton (October 4, 1895 – February 1, 1966) – "The Great Stoneface"
• Charlie Chaplin (April 16, 1889 – December 25, 1977) – British born comedian. His principal character was "The Little Tramp"
• Chester Conklin (January 11, 1886 – October 11, 1971) – American comedian and actor
• Harry Langdon (June 15, 1884 – December 22, 1944) – American silent film comedian and mime
• Jacques Tati (October 9, 1908 – November 5, 1982) – French comedian, mime and filmmaker; played the socially inept Monsieur Hulot
• Keystone Cops – incompetent group of policemen created by Mack Sennett for his Keystone Film Company between 1912 and 1917
• Laurel and Hardy – comedy duo in film
• Martin and Lewis – American comedy duo, comprising singer Dean Martin (as the "straight man") and comedian Jerry Lewis (as his stooge)
• The Marx Brothers – team of sibling comedians that appeared in vaudeville, stage plays, film and television
• Peter Sellers (September 8, 1925 – July 24, 1980) – English comedian and actor; played Inspector Clouseu
• Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle (March 24, 1887 – June 29, 1933) – An actor, was involved in the "Fatty Arbuckle scandal"
• Shaggy 2 Dope – DJ of the Insane Clown Posse, Detroit-based hip-hop group with a fan army of "schizophrenic wizards" called the juggalos and star of underground film Big Money Hustlaz
• Slim Pickens – rodeo clown and film actor
• Snub Pollard (November 9, 1889 – January 19, 1962) – silent film comedian, popular in the 1920s
• The Three Stooges – slapstick comedians
• W.C. Fields (January 29, 1880 – December 25, 1946) – American comedian and actor
• Violent J – leader of the Insane Clown Posse, a Detroit-based hip-hop group and star of Big Money Hustlaz underground film.

Television

• Bassie – clown on the Dutch "Bassie & Adriaan" television series, played by Bas van Toor
• Benny Hill – The Benny Hill Show
• Blinky the Clown - played by Russell Scott as the star of "Blinky's Fun Club" in Colorado, Denver.
• Bozo the Clown – franchised character played by many local television performers and on cartoons, based on the character created in 1946 by Alan W. Livingston for Capitol Records' record-reader series
• Bubbles the Clown – clown doll that appears on BBC test cards F, J & W.
• Charlie Chalk – main character of the British children's TV series of the same name.
• Clarabell the Clown – regular character from the Howdy Doody television program, originally played by Bob Keeshan of Captain Kangaroo fame.
• John Michael Howson – 'clown' from Adventure Island.
• Loonette the Clown - main character of Canadian series The Big Comfy Couch.
• Doink the Clown – gimmick used by several wrestlers in the 1990s. Doink began as a heel wrestler in the evil clown archetype, but later Doinks portrayed the character as a babyface who loved to entertain the children in the crowd.
• Dink the Clown – midget sidekick of Doink the Clown.
• Homey the Clown – character from the In Living Color television program, whose famous catchphrase was "Homey don't play that (or dat)".
• J.P. Patches – Seattle children's television mainstay for decades.
• Lucille Ball – I Love Lucy, The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour, The Lucy Show, Here's Lucy
• Milton Berle – Texaco Star Theater, Berle's Buick Hour
• Mr. Noodle – character created by Bill Irwin for the "Elmo's World" segment of Sesame Street
• Mr Tumble – character on Something Special, played by Justin Fletcher
• Patati Patatá – Brazilian TV
• Paul Reubens – Pee-wee Herman, Pee-Wee's Playhouse
• Pinky Lee – The Pinky Lee Show
• Piñón Fijo – Argentine TV
• Red Skelton – The Red Skelton Show
• Roberto Gómez Bolaños - Better known as Chespirito, he created and played El Chavo and El Chapulín Colorado
• Rowan Atkinson – Mr. Bean
• Jim Allen – Rusty Nails (1957–1972), Pacific Northwest children's television clown, and model (in part) for Matt Groening's "Krusty" character on the television program The Simpsons
• Sid Caesar – Your Show of Shows and Caesar's Hour
• Soupy Sales – The Soupy Sales Show
• Yucko the Clown – The Howard Stern Show, known for rude observations, obscenities and public intoxication
• Zig and Zag (Australian performers)
• Der Clown – German television

Theatrical

• A. Robins – Vaudeville's "The Banana Man" and "One Man Music Shop"
• Alan Clay – international clown teacher and performer; author of Angels Can Fly, a Modern Clown User Guide
• Alex the Jester – "King of Jesters," speaks a contemporary version of the medieval gibberish language Grammelot.
• Andy Kaufman – American comic and practitioner of anti-humor
• Avner Eisenberg – also known as Avner the Eccentric, a "Broadway" clown
• Bill Irwin – Tony Award-winning clown known for his new vaudeville-style performances
• Blue Man Group – trio of silent characters that perform covered in blue paint
• Clark and McCullough – Bobby Clark and Paul McCullough started as circus clowns and progressed to be stars of stage and screen
• Sylvester the Jester – The Human Cartoon
• Dario Fo – Capo Comicio, creator of "Mistero Buffo" and "Accidental Death of an Anarchist"; recipient of the 1997 Nobel Prize in Literature; uses Arlecchino stage persona, political activist
• Ed Wynn – The Perfect Fool
• Eric Davis – Cirque du Soleil clown and creator of Red Bastard
• Geoff Hoyle – stage clown, started in the Pickle Family Circus with Bill Irwin and Larry Pisoni
• George Carl – longtime star of the Crazy Horse Saloon in Paris
• George Washington Lafayette Fox, American stage clown during the 19th century
• Jango Edwards – American clown and entertainer in the European cabaret tradition
• John Gilkey – Cirque du Soleil clown
• Joseph Grimaldi – credited with being "the first whiteface clown" — in an homage to Grimaldi, circus clowns began referring to themselves and each other as "Joey"s, and the term 'joey' is now a synonym for clown
• Marceline Orbes (1874–1927) – performed in Europe and for many years at the New York Hippodrome.
• Morro and Jasp - Canadian clown duo
• Mump and Smoot – Canadian "clowns of horror"
• Olsen and Johnson – stars of Broadway's Hellzapoppin'
• Puddles Pity Party (Michael Geier) – American traditional popular singer and YouTube celebrity who performs as a whiteface clown. Billed as the "sad clown with the golden voice."
• Richard Pochinko – founder of "Canadian Clowning" style
• Richard Tarlton – actor and clown in the Elizabethan theatre in England
• Richard Usher – 19th-century clown, performed at Astley's Amphitheatre
• Robert Armin – actor and clown in Shakespeare's company
• Sergey Pavlov – Russian clown "LALALA", creator of "LALALA SHOW"
• Slava Polunin – Russian-born clown and creator of "Slava's Snowshow"
• Spike Jones and his City Slickers – American musical act featuring slapstick circus-style comedy
• Thomas Monckton – award-winning physical clown
• Tommy Cooper – British comedy magician
• W. C. Fields – Vaudeville comedy star
• Will Kempe (fl. c 1589–1600) – actor dancer and clown who worked with Shakespeare; famously jigged his way from Norwich to London in 1600
• Wolfe Bowart – stage clown touring internationally with his productions LaLaLuna and The Shneedles

Fictional

• Adam the Clown – from the video game Dead Rising. Equipped with two chainsaws that he juggles, he is a boss in the game.
• Binky the Clown – from the Garfield comic by Jim Davis.
• Buggy the Clown – the antagonist of the manga and anime One Piece
• Buttons the Clown – a central character from the 1952 film The Greatest Show on Earth, played by James Stewart
• Calvero – clown character played Charlie Chaplin in the film Limelight
• Captain Spaulding – from the horror films House of 1000 Corpses and The Devil's Rejects
• Chuckles the Clown – Mary Tyler Moore Show background character who was trampled to death in an episode
• Crackers the Clown, played by Peter Brocco – "bad-guy" clown in the Adventures of Superman episode titled "The Clown Who Cried".
• Dodo Delwyn – once a famous Ziegfeld star, is reduced to playing clowns in burlesque and amusement parks in 1953 film The Clown; played by Red Skelton
• Dr. Rockso - the Rock & Roll Clown from Metalocalypse
• Fatso the Clown – clown statue in The 70s Show episode titled "Fun It"
• Frenchy the Clown – character of the national lampoon comic Evil clown comics series.
• The Ghost Clown – evil hypnotist clown featured in the Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! episode titled "Bedlam in the Big Top"
• Gamzee Makara – clown-like Highblood Troll and one of the antagonists of the webcomic "Homestuck"
• I Pagliacci, (The Clowns) – tragic opera by Ruggiero Leoncavallo prominently features Arlecchino as a character
• Jack – advertising icon for the fast food company, Jack in the Box
• Jack Point – from the Judge Dredd Megazine's The Simping Detective series
• Jojo – main character on the Disney Channel's Jojo's Circus
• The Joker – supervillain often called the "Clown Prince of Crime" created by DC Comics
• Kefka Palazzo – main antagonist of Final Fantasy VI
• Killer Klowns - from the horror films Killer Klowns from Outer Space
• Koko the Clown – from Max Fleischer's Out of the Inkwell series of animated cartoons.
• Krusty the Clown – television clown on the Fox animated television series The Simpsons
• Pennywise – shape-shifting monster in the Stephen King book and screen adaptations, It
• Pierrot Bolneze – from Yakitate! Japan, clown, bread judge and master of ceremonies, he's also the crown prince of Monaco according to the series
• Rajoo – circus clown and the central character in Raj Kapoor's film Mera Naam Joker
• Rollo the Clown – played by William (Billy) Wayne, the "good-guy" clown in the Adventures of Superman episode titled "The Clown Who Cried".
• Rollo the Clown – from the 1991 film The Little Engine That Could, based on the children's book of the same name.
• Ronald McDonald – McDonald's fast-food restaurant chain's advertising clown character, first portrayed by Willard Scott
• Shakes the Clown – title character of the film of the same name.
• Splinters - title character in a newspaper comic strip by William Steinigans, which ran between 1911 and 1912.
• Stan – clown name of the character Louison in the 1991 French film Delicatessen.
• Sweet Tooth – sociopathic serial killer who is a primary protagonist/antagonist in theTwisted Metal franchise.
• Violator – serial killer and one of the enemies from the Spawn franchise.
• Vulgar the Clown – protagonist of the 2000 motion picture Vulgar
• Wobble – roly-poly clown from the BBC children's TV show Playbus (later Playdays)
• Yorick – court jester who featured as the subject of a lengthy soliloquy in Shakespeare's Hamlet

See also

• Evil clown
• List of jesters