I know some people may not feel comfortable with answering this, but I was just wondering how old everyone was when they realised "OK, thats it, I am to be a clown!"

It seems that clowning professionally is something that is really only done by "older" people. Dont take offence to that, I am in no way saying that I am young, but here there are VERY few (If any) clowns in their 20's

I did my first Paid Birthday party gig with games , balloons, and magic when I was 15 years old.
I peformed untill I went to college at 18. I then quit while I was in college, except for doing the "fairmont fair" (fete) a couple of times.
I'm 36 now. Hard to believe that was half of my life ago. I don't think I every stopped being a clown. I read years ago that even whrn clowns retire, It's only semi retirement. Clowns don't retire untill they die. It's in my blood so deep that you couldn't separate it from the red or white "corpsuckles" !!

Excellent reply scruffy.
I agree, clowns dont die until they are dead. Simple as that. Actually, in fact they live on in the memories of all those that they entertained.

I still vividly remember a clown that entertained me when I was younger who has now passed on, he still lives on in my memory.


Regarding age, I am actually 21. I started off juggling and now combining my limited clowning skill with juggling and sometimes team up with other members of my juggling club when the entertainment outsourcers come looking. They always send an email to our clubs address asking if any of us would be interested in doing such and such an event.

Anyway, there are younger clowns. Liveing proof.

:lol: :lol: :lol:

I think I've always been a goof, enjoying life through humor.

It wasn't until this year in January that I was able to put this silly humor to good use entertaining others besides my family members who questioned my sanity. In some ways I consider it a rebirth at 34. I guess I am midway between being a youngster and being considered an older more mature person....

Mature? Naw, not me...probably at this rate not ever...:)

Ya know, I just realized that if you take one letter, T, in the word Mature, and change it to an N, that it spells a kind of fertilizer!! :)

Wait....one day I will become fertilizer.....I think....

Oh well...

Well, it started when I was in the first grade. The teacher told my Mom that I was a daydreamer and Class Clown. :D

But Porfessionally speaking,,,I got married in 1990 at age 24 and was working part time at a Magic & Novelty dealer. We hired out entertainment for shows. A call came in for a Clown that paid $75 and ours had just quit. The owner of the shop appraoched me and asked if I'd like to be a Clown. NO WAY!!! something about a wig and make up did not turn me on, besides I had dreams of becoming the next David Copperfield (Yeah Right).

He kept insisting, gave me a wig and some makeup and told me I had the whole store to choose some props for the act. He said to get my wife to explain how to apply makeup. Well, women may know how to apply makeup but not in a Clown sense (If they're not Clowns). I went home that night and was up past 2 A.M. working on a Clown face (I didn't realize ya had to set it with powder). So, that next morning, I went to the Daycare to do the show. Looking back now, I looked horrible but when I walked into that cafeteria and those little kids started yelling THE CLOWN! THE CLOWN! My heart melted. I did my normal Magicians act only accted silly in between effects. At one point, my nose fell off and the children laughed. When I realized it wasn't going to stay on, I looked to the side, let out a fake SNEEZE, and blew the nose across the room. The cafeteria ERUTED with laughter, and I went on to finish the show,,,,Noseless.

Went home, told my wife I had a ball. She said a lady she worked with was a Clown and the next day, she brought home an application to the World Clown Association. And the rest my friends, is history. (I do remember when I got my first Clowning Aroundmagazine, I carried it around with me for weeks, reading it from cover to cover numerous times). My act really took off after attending the 1993 WCA Convention.

So in answer to y'er wuestion.....24 (14 years ago)

Like many I started as a kid, we'd dress up and put on impromtune show for grand parents and any one that came by, then about 14 I started clowning for church groups and nursing homes, I always thought of it as fun, not a career [young and dumb], stop when I went to college, got married, only once braking out my costume for a nursing home I worked in, three girls later, started clowning again when I was### not supposed to ask a lady her age :lol: 36, 6 years ago. Really when I was younger I though the only real job for a clown was the circus I didn't realized how much was out there until, I started our group.

I first began clowning in 1996 when I was 33 years of age. I had been happily puppeteering for several years before then and had not planned to become a clown. My clown appeared during a workshop and once he'd come out, I didn't want him to go away. Not that I could get rid of him even if I wanted to.

Even though I dressed as a clown when selling balloon sculptures 6 years ago, it was only 2 years ago at age 28 that I started studying Clowning and created a show that I could use at parties.

SouthwestSam, I did the same thing with that grease paint when I first used it, I got some from a dollar shop and didn't realise that it needed to be powdered so I went back to using face paints. It was only in 2002 when I wanted to know how to become a professional clown that I got the nose from Proknows and the face paints I saw the powder on their site and started to realise that it went together. I got some tips from kevinclown's website in the UK.

I liked the nose gag. That's great to make the best of an accident. Shows that you had it in you to be a clown and showman!

I once was doing a trick that needed a 260Q balloon but it had the end broken off so it made a funny sound. I now do that every time because it got so many laughs. I have a part of the routine built around the kids saying a magic formula to repair the balloon.

Well, I dressed up as a clown many times when I was a kid and into my teenage years for halloween parties and such. I have not really done any kind of professional clowning until this April at the ripe old age of 37!! Once I went to my first clown conference, I was hooked and realized that this is what I was meant to do. It's just me!
Jubilee

I got some tips from kevinclown's website in the UK.

Hey I saw Kevin Clown perform about a year before I started clowning. His performance was very good.

I have been starting clowning recently, in my 27 years old (in 2003). Nowadays, I'm continuing to study clowning and I intend to be a professional clown (hospital caring clowning).

Differently of almost here, I have started clowning to discover myself a little bit more... But I really has passioned with it.... And so on, I have continuing to study...

That's all, my friends...

Picaburu

i started as a rodeo clown in 1989 and did some other clown work between then and now but just recently decided to get back into it on both levels clown bullfighter and clown performer

:D Hi! I am almost fourteen. I have been a magician's assitant my whole life, mostly unwillingly and just recenlty I have become fascinated by the secret world of entertainers. Because I'm not shy and I am able to sell myself, I have had several gigs. Also, this is my first job, so I get so excited when I am hired that I charge pennies and deliever millions, practicing every day.

:D 8) :)

:D I get so excited when I am hired that I charge pennies and deliever millions, practicing every day.

:D 8) :)

Just a long as you charge enough to keep yourself in Whoopie cushions and balloons, you'll do just fine.

:D Hi all! In your answer scruffy, sunday was my first birstday party and monday was my second. On sunday, the kids were way to young, because they were 3-5(mostly 3) and hadn't gone to school yet so didn't have any measure of how to act. On monday, I did another birthday party for a coworker in the restaurant that i clown in, and he speaks little english, so i wasn't exactly sure what i was wlaking into. But, it turned out to be oklay when he gave me a very hefty tip! Dinner time..
:) :D 8) Giggles

Great job, giggles!

I started out as a rodeo clown in '75 at 18 years old- and did that until my
daughter was born in '78. After that, too much responsibility
to risk getting hurt for fun.

THen I joined my local fire department as a volunteer - it was a
combination paid / volunteer fire department at that time. Adrenaline
junky I am - running into burning buildings while others are running out.

Anyway, shortly after I joined, they (the fire chief) asked if anyone wanted
to be a clown for an underpriveleged kids Christmas party - and looked right at me.

So, Ashes was officially born. I've migrated from rodeo clown to tramp clown
with several changes along the way.

Hmmm, nearly 30 years of clowning in some form or other.

well ashes its great to have another former rodeo clown in the group. although im lookin at not bein former for very long im gonna be helpin a friend of mine next yr with about 30 rodeos. or at least some of them. im also doin parties and things like that.

well, mr buckaroo -

Those were some really fun times, but I've put on a lot of years, and a lot of
miles since then.

I'm still an adrenaline junky, just have to find other sources.


Folks used to ask me: Is it dangerous? I'd reply that it sure is, but
so is driving on the freeway. In the arena, you at least know where the
danger is at all times and to me, that's better than the freeway where
you don't know where or when.

Ashes

I went for an interview with a clown company about a month after I got my drivers' licence - when I'd only just turned 17. That was about three and a half years ago - I'm now 20, and I've done 425 parties (as at 15/12/04). I know another clown who has only just started, and she's 17 (i think), and I know still another who started when he was 15 (i think), and now he's probably about 17 or 18.

Actually my sister reminded me that I had first dressed up as a clown when I was 5 years old. We recently found the picture and until then, I had completely forgotten about it! Great to bring back those memories of being 5 again! It was only a few years ago :wink:

around christmas time 5 yrs old never seems like that long ago. we are all kids at heart around christmas.

I became a clown a little over a year ago at the ripe age of 31. I was pulled to clowning when I learned about the Shriners and the work they do. In case you didn’t know the Shriners hospitals offer free treatment to kids suffering burns and orthopedic problems. Everything is offered 100% free regardless of race, background or financial status. They have hospitals located all over the US and Mexico that I know of. As a Shrine clown we use our skills to entertain these kids and raise money. And if I may add once you see one of these great kids you’re hooked!

..... And if I may add once you see one of these great kids you’re hooked!

I couldn't agree more!

In 1967 I had a chance to see Lou Jacobs and have wanted to be a clown ever since but life got in the way then after 32 yrs my wife paid for me to take a class in clowning as a Christmas present So I started clowning weekends and after awhile She told me to quit my regular job because I enjoyed clowning a lot more S o at the tender age of 50 Papa jamz went full time and has never looked back

Hey, I am one of those "young clowns". I am 15 and will die a clown. Like Scruffy said it's in your blood.

Auzzy Dee

At age 38, I was one of the youngest clowns in my class of 16. One of my classmates was in her mid 80s, and as far as I know, she is still clowning today. (This was in 2001).

wow this is an old thread revived after 5 years of dormancy! haha i can safely say i was the youngest clown in my class, and there are now two younger than me. but i was 11 when i took my class and became "official" haha pickles, 80s sounds like most smiles clowns.. haha i think my chapter is probably the youngest chapter of any of them that ive seen.. haha