History of clowns: white faced clowns

The world of clowning is long and storied and out of the three types of clowns there is none older than the “White Face” type.

White faced clowns or classic clown (also found as whitefaced clown) is the type of clown that the majority people think of when the word “clown” is mentioned. This clown also widely accepted as your typical circus clown. Often found at the very top of the clown world the white faced clown is also usually called upon as a ringleader as they tend to be the “smarter” acting clown type. They will give orders to the other clowns around them with their own clowning ways revealed either by their own hand or by those of the other clowns. They are, by no means, restrained to these bonds. They’re able to change their clown personality as they see fit switching from witty or inept to angry or quick-witted. Whatever is funny at that time. There are many well-known stars that have utilized this clown type including: Uncle Soapy, Bozo the clown, Bobby Kaye and many other.

What makes the white face clown stand out is, of course, the make-up. There are two types of white face clown with the first being the “classic” or standard. All forms of this type begin with a white base with accents around the eyes and the mouth. Many consider this a “circus” clown. The second style of the white face clown is the comedic white face, otherwise known as a grotesque. They are more whacky than the other style. The make-up itself is outrageous to show the personality of the clown. Bozo is a great example of this type of clown. Either style can utilize a bald cap that has hair or partial hair. The make-up of both clowns is there to extenuate the natural features.

Costumes of the clown are nearly as important as the face paint. Traditionally speaking, however, the white face clown would dawn a one piece outfit with outlandish accents all over. The severity of the outlandish nature of the extra pieces is determined by the clown’s character. All in all though they can wear any sort of outfit or combination of outfit that fits their persona or character.

The white face type of clown is the oldest clown style that there is. It dates as far back as the Greek theatre. Popular belief is that clowns use make-up as a means to disguise themselves and become a veritable blank slate to which to draw upon, but that is not in the case. In fact, the make-up is used to enhance the features, to reveal them because lighting was virtually nonexistent in the Greek theatre. White paint with black highlights served to make the clown stand out. The court jester is a prime example of one of the very first white face clowns which dates back to the middle ages. Authentic court jesters, however, rarely wore any make-up. The comedy troupe known as “commedia” is credited with popularizing several characters of clowns through their trunk shows. They were all originally uniquely masked which paved the way and evolved into the white face clown.

A major clown subtype is known as the Grotesque. The original whiteface is considered intelligent compared to the buffoon style of the grotesque. In comparison Bug Abbot would have been a classic white face where his partner, Lou Costello woul have been considered a grotesque.

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