# Has there ever been a (famous) Non-Caucasian Clown? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 4, 2005, 12:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-there-ever-been-a-famous-non-caucasian-clown/306867 "2005-06-04T12:31:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Meeko](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e495f1/32.png) [@Meeko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meeko)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2005, 12:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-there-ever-been-a-famous-non-caucasian-clown/306867/1 "2005-06-04T12:31:46Z")
Granted its hard to tell with all the makeup on, but then we could split the question into 2 and ask if any Clown was ever as a Clown while being Non-Cascasian. I did some preliminary Googleing, and confirmed that Bozo (Bell and D’Auria) was indeed Caucasian. It boils down to this; Are clowns typically American Caucasians? ---
**Author:** ![racer72](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/racer72/32/3075_2.png) [@racer72](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/racer72)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2005, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-there-ever-been-a-famous-non-caucasian-clown/306867/2 "2005-06-04T12:51:23Z")
[J. P. Patches](http://www.jppatches.com/), a Seattle area icon for over 40 years, is actually an African American gentleman named Chris Weddes. ---
**Author:** ![bizzwire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/958977/32.png) [@bizzwire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bizzwire)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2005, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-there-ever-been-a-famous-non-caucasian-clown/306867/3 "2005-06-04T12:53:03Z")
[cheap shot] Does Alan Keyes count? [/cheap shot] ---
**Author:** ![Si\_Amigo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/si_amigo/32/2877_2.png) [@Si\_Amigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Si_Amigo)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2005, 1:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-there-ever-been-a-famous-non-caucasian-clown/306867/4 "2005-06-04T13:14:42Z")
Well Damon Wayons did “Homey the Clown” on the series “In Living Color” back in the early ninites. Famous forthe line “Homey don’t play that!” while bopping someone over the head. 😃 > **[TV Acres](https://www.tvacres.com/)** > > Best General News Website 2021 ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2005, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-there-ever-been-a-famous-non-caucasian-clown/306867/5 "2005-06-04T13:22:47Z")
Wasn’t the guy who played Barney the Dinosaur black? ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2005, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-there-ever-been-a-famous-non-caucasian-clown/306867/6 "2005-06-04T13:32:38Z")
> [@Si Amigo](#): > > Well Damon Wayons did “Homey the Clown” on the series “In Living Color” back in the early ninites. Famous forthe line “Homey don’t play that!” while bopping someone over the head. 😃 > > [TV Acres - Best General News Website 2021](http://www.tvacres.com/clowns_homey.htm) That is the first thing I thought of, as well. I don’t know if it really counts, though. 😃 Beyond that, I can’t really think of any. But I’m not a clown expert. ---
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2005, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-there-ever-been-a-famous-non-caucasian-clown/306867/7 "2005-06-04T13:58:43Z")
Forgive me if I’m using too narrow a definition of “Caucasian” and too broad a definition of “clown,” but I submit [Mario Moreno Reyes, also known as Cantinflas](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cantinflas), who was Mexican. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2005, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-there-ever-been-a-famous-non-caucasian-clown/306867/8 "2005-06-04T17:57:11Z")
> [@racer72](#): > > [J. P. Patches](http://www.jppatches.com/), a Seattle area icon for over 40 years, is actually an African American gentleman named Chris Weddes. Holy crap! I had no idea he was still working. Used to watch his show religiously in the early seventies. Whoa. ---
**Author:** ![anson2995](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c77e96/32.png) [@anson2995](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anson2995)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2005, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-there-ever-been-a-famous-non-caucasian-clown/306867/9 "2005-06-04T18:24:12Z")
> [@Little Nemo](#): > > Wasn’t the guy who played Barney the Dinosaur black? No. The man who did the voice of Barney was Bob West and he is caucasian. ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2005, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-there-ever-been-a-famous-non-caucasian-clown/306867/10 "2005-06-04T22:23:48Z")
> [@Little Nemo](#): > > Wasn’t the guy who played Barney the Dinosaur black? You may be thinking of Kevin Clash, who does the voice of Elmo on Sesame Street. ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2005, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-there-ever-been-a-famous-non-caucasian-clown/306867/11 "2005-06-04T22:24:33Z")
> [@bizzwire](#): > > [cheap shot] > Does Alan Keyes count? > [/cheap shot] **bizzwire**. While I know how tempting it is to respond in GQ to such great straight lines, please don’t do this. **samclem** GQ moderator. ---
**Author:** ![rfgdxm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c0e974/32.png) [@rfgdxm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rfgdxm)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2005, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-there-ever-been-a-famous-non-caucasian-clown/306867/12 "2005-06-04T22:29:36Z")
How many “famous” clowns have there been on a national level? ---
**Author:** ![mobo85](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mobo85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mobo85)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2005, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-there-ever-been-a-famous-non-caucasian-clown/306867/13 "2005-06-04T23:59:25Z")
> [@anson2995](#): > > No. The man who did the voice of Barney was Bob West and he is caucasian. But the actor in the Barney suit was a black man. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2005, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-there-ever-been-a-famous-non-caucasian-clown/306867/14 "2005-06-05T02:04:39Z")
> [@](#): > > No. The man who did the voice of Barney was Bob West and he is caucasian. > [@](#): > > You may be thinking of Kevin Clash, who does the voice of Elmo on Sesame Street. I’m talking about Bob Joyner, who was the black guy inside the purple dinosaur suit. ---
**Author:** ![anson2995](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c77e96/32.png) [@anson2995](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anson2995)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2005, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-there-ever-been-a-famous-non-caucasian-clown/306867/15 "2005-06-05T02:09:16Z")
> [@mobo85](#): > > But the actor in the Barney suit was a black man. Yes… his name is David Joyner. ---
**Author:** ![C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b2d939/32.png) [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C_K_Dexter_Haven)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2005, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-there-ever-been-a-famous-non-caucasian-clown/306867/16 "2005-06-05T02:09:46Z")
The International Clown Hall of Fame (see [www.theclownmuseum.org](http://www.theclownmuseum.org)) does indeed have histories of several very famous clowns who were black. I had the very great privilege (and it was wonderful fun, too) to investigate [clowns and clown history](http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mclown.html) for a Staff Report. It was several years ago, the clown museum seems to have moved from downtown Milwaukee. I did mention one famous black clown, Bert Williams (1874-1922), in that report. My recollection (faulty at times) is that in the early part of the 1900s, it was possible for blacks to be clowns even though many other jobs in entertainment were closed to them, precisely because under all the make-up, who knew? ---
**Author:** ![Meeko](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e495f1/32.png) [@Meeko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meeko)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2005, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-there-ever-been-a-famous-non-caucasian-clown/306867/17 "2005-06-05T03:17:31Z")
> [@Si Amigo](#): > > Well Damon Wayons did “Homey the Clown” on the series “In Living Color” back in the early ninites. Famous forthe line “Homey don’t play that!” while bopping someone over the head. 😃 > > [TV Acres - Best General News Website 2021](http://www.tvacres.com/clowns_homey.htm) About 5 minutes after I Asked, I thought of Homey. But I figured he was created more or less on the fact that people can’t think up African America clowns on the spur of the moment. While I agree he does fit the bill, I was hoping for less novelty acts. (That is, not one invented just to fill the perceived gap.) ---
**Author:** ![Si\_Amigo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/si_amigo/32/2877_2.png) [@Si\_Amigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Si_Amigo)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2005, 4:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-there-ever-been-a-famous-non-caucasian-clown/306867/18 "2005-06-05T04:45:38Z")
> [@Meeko](#): > > About 5 minutes after I Asked, I thought of Homey. But I figured he was created more or less on the fact that people can’t think up African America clowns on the spur of the moment. While I agree he does fit the bill, I was hoping for less novelty acts. (That is, not one invented just to fill the perceived gap.) Yes, I was just being facetious. 😉 But Al Sharpons been around for a while . . . opps, there I go, doing it again, sorry admin!. :wally ---
**Author:** ![Si\_Amigo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/si_amigo/32/2877_2.png) [@Si\_Amigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Si_Amigo)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2005, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-there-ever-been-a-famous-non-caucasian-clown/306867/19 "2005-06-05T04:50:54Z")
> [@C K Dexter Haven](#): > > My recollection (faulty at times) is that in the early part of the 1900s, it was possible for blacks to be clowns even though many other jobs in entertainment were closed to them, precisely because under all the make-up, who knew? What a cool job, investagating clowns. 🆒 What a cool board, I actually learned something today. 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![CBCD](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9fc348/32.png) [@CBCD](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CBCD)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2005, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-there-ever-been-a-famous-non-caucasian-clown/306867/20 "2005-06-05T14:12:28Z")
There have been lots of non-caucasian clowns in the [Beijing Opera.](http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.mybeijingchina.com/images/chou.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.mybeijingchina.com/opera/roles.htm&h=200&w=160&sz=36&tbnid=MRPye0gt-EUJ:&tbnh=99&tbnw=79&hl=en&start=1&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dbeijing%2Bopera%2Bchou%26hl%3Den%26lr%3D%26sa%3DN)