Graveyard Shift List of Famous Clowns

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This list of famous clowns includes photos, bios, and other information, when available. Who are the top clowns in the world? While most clowns don't intend to scare, these reasons why kids hate clowns might bring back some childhood fears. This list includes the most prominent clowns, living and dead, both from America and abroad. This list of notable clowns and clown names is ordered by their level of prominence, and can be sorted for various bits of information, such as where these popular clowns were born and what their nationality is. The people on this list are from different countries, but they're all regarded as famous clowns in history and today.

No clown names list would be complete without the likes of Willard Scott, Red Skelton, Bill Irwin, and more. Did you know serial killer John Wayne Gacy had a career as a clown as well? Famous circus clowns, famous TV clowns, and others are full of surprises.

From reputable, prominent, old, and well known clowns to funny clown names you might not have heard of, these are some of the funniest famous clown names int the business. You'll even find a few female clown names on this list! So, who are the most famous clowns ever? What are the names of famous clowns? This list has them all, with French, Italian, and other world famous clowns for your amusement.

1
Bill Irwin is listed (or ranked) 1 on the list List of Famous Clowns
age 67 William Mills "Bill" Irwin is an American actor, clown, and comedian. He is best known for his vaudeville-style stage performances and has been noted for his contribution to the ...more

2
John Wayne Gacy is listed (or ranked) 2 on the list List of Famous Clowns
Dec. at 52 (1942-1994) John Wayne Gacy, Jr., also known as the Killer Clown, was an American serial killer and rapist who was convicted of the sexual assault and murder of a minimum of 33 teenage boys and young men in ...more

3
Emmett Kelly is listed (or ranked) 3 on the list List of Famous Clowns
Dec. at 81 (1898-1979) Emmett Leo Kelly was an American circus performer, who created the memorable clown figure "Weary Willie", based on the hobos of the Depression era.

4
Red Skelton is listed (or ranked) 4 on the list List of Famous Clowns
Dec. at 84 (1913-1997) Richard Bernard "Red" Skelton was an American entertainer best known for his national radio and television acts between 1937 and 1971 and as host of the television program The Red ...more

5
Soupy Sales is listed (or ranked) 5 on the list List of Famous Clowns
Dec. at 83 (1926-2009) Soupy Sales was an American comedian, actor, radio-TV personality and host, and jazz aficionado. He was best known for his local and network children's television show, Lunch with Soupy Sales; a ...more

6
Grock is listed (or ranked) 6 on the list List of Famous Clowns
Grock Dec. at 79 (1880-1959) Grock, born Charles Adrien Wettach, was a Swiss clown, composer and musician. Called "the king of clowns" and "the greatest of Europe's clowns", Grock was once the most ...more

7
Bob Keeshan is listed (or ranked) 7 on the list List of Famous Clowns
Dec. at 77 (1927-2004) Robert James "Bob" Keeshan was an American television producer and actor. He is most notable as the title character of the children's television program Captain Kangaroo, which became ...more

8
Joseph Grimaldi is listed (or ranked) 8 on the list List of Famous Clowns
Joseph Grimaldi Dec. at 59 (1778-1837) Joseph Grimaldi was an English actor, comedian and dancer, who became the most popular English entertainer of the Regency era. In the early 1800s, he expanded the role of Clown in the ...more

9
W. C. Fields is listed (or ranked) 9 on the list List of Famous Clowns
Dec. at 66 (1880-1946) William Claude Dukenfield, better known as W. C. Fields, was an American comedian, actor, juggler and writer. Fields's comic persona was a misanthropic and hard-drinking egotist, who remained a ...more

10
Dimitri is listed (or ranked) 10 on the list List of Famous Clowns
Dimitri age 82 Dimitri. After changing his name, his official name is Jakob Dimitri. He is a well-known Swiss clown and mime.

11
Otto Griebling is listed (or ranked) 11 on the list List of Famous Clowns
Otto Griebling Dec. at 76 (1896-1972) Otto Griebling was a German-born circus clown who performed for many years with the Cole Brothers and Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circuses. He was one of four clowns given the title ...more

12
Michael Goudeau is listed (or ranked) 12 on the list List of Famous Clowns
age 58 Michael Carey Goudeau is a juggler and an ex-circus clown who graduated from the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Clown College. He was an Emmy-nominated writer and executive producer for ...more

13
Chester Conklin is listed (or ranked) 13 on the list List of Famous Clowns
Dec. at 85 (1886-1971) Chester Cooper Conklin was an American comedic actor who appeared in over 280 films, about half of them in the silent film era.

14
Wavy Gravy is listed (or ranked) 14 on the list List of Famous Clowns
age 81 Wavy Gravy is an American entertainer and activist for peace, best known for his hippie appearance, personality and countercultural beliefs. His moniker was given to him by B.B. King at the ...more

15
Bud Abbott is listed (or ranked) 15 on the list List of Famous Clowns
Dec. at 79 (1895-1974) William Alexander "Bud" Abbott was an American actor, producer and comedian. He is best remembered as the straight man of the comedy team of Abbott and Costello, with Lou Costello.

16
Avner the Eccentric is listed (or ranked) 16 on the list List of Famous Clowns
age 69 Avner Eisenberg "Avner the Eccentric" is an American vaudeville performer, clown, mime, juggler, and sleight of hand magician. He played the title role in the 1985 film The Jewel of ...more

17
Oleg Popov is listed (or ranked) 17 on the list List of Famous Clowns
Oleg Popov age 87 Oleg Konstantinovich Popov is a famous Soviet and Russian clown and circus artist. Popov is also called the "Sunshine clown". He was born on 31 July 1930 in Moscow, the son of a ...more

18
Bob Bell is listed (or ranked) 18 on the list List of Famous Clowns
Dec. at 75 (1922-1997) Robert Lewis Bell, better known as Bob Bell, was famous for his alter-ego, Bozo the Clown. He was the original portrayer of the character for Chicago superstation WGN-TV.

19
Pinto Colvig is listed (or ranked) 19 on the list List of Famous Clowns
Dec. at 75 (1892-1967) Vance DeBar "Pinto" Colvig was an American vaudeville actor, radio actor, newspaper cartoonist, prolific movie voice actor and circus performer, whose schtick was playing the clarinet ...more

20
Yuri Nikulin is listed (or ranked) 20 on the list List of Famous Clowns
Dec. at 76 (1921-1997) Yuri Vladimirovich Nikulin was a well-known Soviet and Russian actor and clown who starred in many popular films. He was awarded the title of People's Artist of the USSR in 1973 and Hero of ...more

21
Jim Allen is listed (or ranked) 21 on the list List of Famous Clowns
Jim Allen Jim Allen is a television producer.

22
Lou Jacobs is listed (or ranked) 22 on the list List of Famous Clowns
Dec. at 89 (1903-1992) Johann Ludwig Jacob was an auguste clown who performed for Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus for more than 60 years. He was inducted into the International Clown Hall of Fame in ...more

23
Willard Scott is listed (or ranked) 23 on the list List of Famous Clowns
age 84 Willard Herman Scott, Jr. is an American actor, author, media personality, clown, and comedian, best known for his TV work on Today and as the creator and original portrayer of Ronald McDonald.

24
Arisa is listed (or ranked) 24 on the list List of Famous Clowns
age 35 Rosalba Pippa, better known by her stage name Arisa, is an Italian singer and actress.

25
Achille Zavatta is listed (or ranked) 25 on the list List of Famous Clowns
Dec. at 78 (1915-1993) Achille Zavatta was a French clown, artist and circus operator. Achille Zavatta was born in La Goulette, Tunisia, the son of Federico Zavatta, a circus owner. He started performing in his ...more

26
Vladimir Durov is listed (or ranked) 26 on the list List of Famous Clowns
Vladimir Durov Dec. at 71 (1863-1934) Российский дрессировщик и цирковой артист. Заслуженный артист Республики. Учился в военной гимназии, но оставил ее, увлёкшись цирком. На арене с 1879 года. С 1883 — в цирке-зверинце Винклера в ...more

27
Ernie Fosselius is listed (or ranked) 27 on the list List of Famous Clowns
age 73 Ernie Fosselius is an American filmmaker who has largely stayed out of the public eye. He is best known for his satirical spoofs of popular films, including the classic Star Wars parody Hardware

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age 64 David Shiner is an American actor, clown, playwright and theater director. Shiner was born in Boston, Massachusetts, the son of Francis Shiner, a computer programmer, and a homemaker mother. The ...more

29
Justin Fletcher is listed (or ranked) 29 on the list List of Famous Clowns
age 48 Justin Fletcher, MBE is an English children's television personality in the United Kingdom. Fletcher is most associated as a presenter and actor on the BBC pre-school television channel ...more

30
Steve Laporte is listed (or ranked) 30 on the list List of Famous Clowns
Steve La Porte is a makeup artist. He won at the 61st Academy Awards in the category of Best Makeup for his work on Beetlejuice. He shared his Oscar with Ve Neill and Robert Short. He is also ...more

31
Patch Adams is listed (or ranked) 31 on the list List of Famous Clowns
age 72 Hunter Doherty "Patch" Adams is an American physician, social activist, clown, and author. He founded the Gesundheit! Institute in 1971. Each year he organizes a group of volunteers ...more

32
Glen Little is listed (or ranked) 32 on the list List of Famous Clowns
Dec. at 85 (1925-2010) Glen "Frosty" Little was a circus clown who served with the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus for over 20 years. He was one of only four clowns ever to have been given the ...more

33
Pierre Étaix is listed (or ranked) 33 on the list List of Famous Clowns
age 89 Pierre Étaix is a French clown, comedian and filmmaker. Étaix made a series of acclaimed short- and feature-length films in the 1960s, many of them co-written by influential ...more

34
Slava Polunin is listed (or ranked) 34 on the list List of Famous Clowns
age 67 Vyacheslav Ivanovich “Slava” Polunin PAR is a Russian performance artist and clown. He is the creator of the stage spectacles Asisyai-revue, Slava's Snowshow and Diabolo.

35
George L. Fox is listed (or ranked) 35 on the list List of Famous Clowns
Dec. at 52 (1825-1877) George L. Fox was an American actor and dancer who became known for his clown roles and who based the characterisations on his inspiration Joseph Grimaldi.

36
Christopher Fitzgerald is listed (or ranked) 36 on the list List of Famous Clowns
age 45 Christopher Cantwell Fitzgerald is an American actor, singer, mime, clown, juggler, and acrobat. He is best known for his role as Boq in the musical Wicked and his role of Igor in Young ...more

37
Russell Scott is listed (or ranked) 37 on the list List of Famous Clowns
Dec. at 91 (1921-2012) Russell Scott, also known as Blinky the Clown, was an American clown and television personality and presenter who starred in a Denver, Colorado television program called Blinky's Fun Club. ...more

38
Toby Philpott is listed (or ranked) 38 on the list List of Famous Clowns
age 72 Toby Philpott is an English puppeteer best known for his work in motion picture animatronics during the 1980s in such films as The Dark Crystal and Return of the Jedi. Born into a family of ...more

39
Raymond Devos is listed (or ranked) 39 on the list List of Famous Clowns
Dec. at 84 (1922-2006) Raymond Devos was a Belgian-French humorist, stand-up comedian and clown. He is best known for his sophisticated puns and surreal humour.

40
Søren Østergaard is listed (or ranked) 40 on the list List of Famous Clowns
age 60 Søren Østergaard is a Danish film, television and stage actor.

41
Annie Fratellini is listed (or ranked) 41 on the list List of Famous Clowns
Dec. at 65 (1932-1997) Annie Fratellini was a French circus artist, clown, singer and film actress. She was born Annie Violette Fratellini in Algiers, French Algeria to a Pied-noir family of Italian descent. The ...more

42
Leonid Yengibarov is listed (or ranked) 42 on the list List of Famous Clowns
Dec. at 37 (1935-1972) Leonid Georgievich Yengibarov was a Soviet clown and actor. Leonid Yengibarov was born in Moscow to an Armenian father and a Russian mother. He started his career as a boxer. In 1955 he joined ...more

43
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age 53 Markus Kupferblum is an Austrian theatre and opera director, author and clown. He founded the opera company "Totales Theater" in Vienna and is an expert in Commedia dell'arte and mask ...more

44
Jango Edwards is listed (or ranked) 44 on the list List of Famous Clowns
age 67 Jango Edwards is an American clown and entertainer who has spent most of his career in Europe, primarily in France, Spain, Netherlands, and England. His performances are mostly one-man shows in ...more

45
George Carl is listed (or ranked) 45 on the list List of Famous Clowns
Dec. at 84 (1916-2000) George Carl was a "vaudevillian" style comic & clown. Carl was born in Ohio, and started his comedy career traveling with a variety of circuses during his teenage years. In time, ...more

46
Max Patkin is listed (or ranked) 46 on the list List of Famous Clowns
Max Patkin Dec. at 79 (1920-1999) Max Patkin was an American baseball player and clown, best known as the Clown Prince of Baseball. Patkin was the third "officially" crowned Clown Prince of Baseball, after Al Schacht ...more

47
Andy the Clown is listed (or ranked) 47 on the list List of Famous Clowns
Andy the Clown Dec. at 78 (1917-1995) Andy the Clown was the performing name of Andrew Rozdilsky, Jr., a lifelong Chicago resident who performed, unofficially, as a clown at Chicago White Sox games at Comiskey Park for 30 years from ...more

48
Peter Behrens is listed (or ranked) 48 on the list List of Famous Clowns
age 70 Peter Behrens is a German drummer, actor, musician and clown.

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Mark Stolzenberg is listed (or ranked) 49 on the list List of Famous Clowns
Mark Stolzenberg Mark Stolzenberg is an American film and stage actor, screenwriter, producer, physical comedian and Circus Artist. He is considered by Oscar Talent Search as among the top ten acting teachers on ...more

50
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Dec. at 89 (1910-1999) Bill Ballantine, a well-respected writer and illustrator of circus subjects, was also a professional clown. A prolific writer, Ballantine contributed circus and travel essays to major magazines. ...more