CLOWNS!!!!

With the recent release of the new horror film Clown in a Cornfield—which, by the way, is absolutely terrible (and yes, you can read my review for all the painful details)—I started thinking about clowns.

Not the kind that ruin horror movies by being dull, derivative, and dumb (looking at you, Terrifier fans), but the kind of clowns that actually work. The ones that are funny, creepy, iconic, strange, and unforgettable. So I decided to put together a list of my 10 favorite clowns from TV and movies.

Now before I dive into the list, we’ve gotta pay tribute to the real legends—the originators, the foundational faces of clowning. The art form goes way back to Joseph Grimaldi, who basically created the modern clown in the early 1800s. Then you’ve got icons like Grock, Oleg Popov, Charlie Chaplin, Emmett Kelly, and of course Lou Jacobs and Felix Adler, who helped shape the clown as we know it today.

And yeah, you can’t ignore Ronald McDonald, corporate shill though he may be, or the great Bozo the Clown—especially for us Chicagoans who grew up watching Bozo’s Circus live from the WGN studios and dreamed of tossing ping pong balls into buckets. Bozo is part of our DNA.

Now let’s be clear—I’m not scared of clowns. Never have been. But I know plenty of people who are legit terrified by them. And it’s not hard to see why. Even clowns that are supposed to be funny can be unsettling.

The painted-on smile, the exaggerated expressions, the whole “trying too hard to be jolly” vibe—it can get creepy fast. That’s why horror movies have latched onto the trope and cranked out evil clowns by the dozen, some effective… most not.

A few clowns that didn’t make the cut but deserve a mention: Twisty from American Horror Story, a cool design and well-acted by John Carroll Lynch, but the show is a mess. The killer clowns from outer space? Fun, but not top ten material. The clown doll from Poltergeist? That movie’s overrated and the clown never scared me.

And yes, I’m aware of The Joker, arguably the most famous clown character in pop culture history—but I’m skipping him here. Why? Because there are too many Jokers and they’re wildly inconsistent. Joaquin Phoenix’s Joker is unwatchable, Heath Ledger is good but stuck in a joyless movie, and while I love Jack Nicholson’s over-the-top turn, my favorite Joker of all time is Cesar Romero—the man who refused to shave his mustache, so they just slapped makeup over it. Respect.

And before you ask—Art the Clown from Terrifier? Absolutely not. Those are some of the worst horror movies ever made. Art is dull, empty, and a cheap knockoff of better characters. I’m still shocked that so many horror fans are on board with those awful, amateur-hour gorefests.

So now that I’ve acknowledged the history, tipped my hat to the classics, and cleared out the clown trash, I’m ready to unveil my list. These are my ten favorite clowns from film and television—funny, creepy, wild, weird, lovable, and in some cases, all of the above.

In no particular order… here they are: MY FAVORITE CLOWNS 🎪

1. SHAKES – SHAKES THE CLOWN (1991)

The Citizen Kane of alcoholic clown movies.

Written, directed, and starring Bobcat Goldthwait, Shakes the Clown is a dark, hilarious satire set in a bleak, booze-soaked world where clowns live in Palookaville and drink like old-timey vaudevillians on a bender. Shakes is a birthday party clown who’s terrible at his job, awful with kids, and circling the drain with his bottle of vodka in hand—and he’s completely unforgettable.

The cast is packed: Julie Brown, Florence Henderson (giving the most twisted cameo of her career), Paul Dooley, Blake Clark, and a young Adam Sandler. Even Robin Williams pops in as a competitive mime. It’s insane. Shakes isn’t just a character—he’s a burned-out, paint-smudged symbol of everything broken, hilarious, and raw.

It’s the perfect debut for Goldthwait, who would go on to make some of the smartest, darkest comedies of the 2000s. But Shakes? He’s the clown you want at your party… if your party is in hell.

2. GRIMM – QUICK CHANGE (1990)

Bill Murray robs a bank in clown makeup. What more do you want?

In the opening of Quick Change, Bill Murray appears as Grimm, a disgruntled New Yorker dressed in full clown regalia, complete with balloons and red nose, robbing a Manhattan bank with terrifying ease and bone-dry wit. It’s one of the best, most unexpected uses of a clown costume in film.

Co-directed by Murray and Howard Franklin, this criminally underrated comedy follows Grimm and his accomplices (Geena Davis and Randy Quaid) as they try—unsuccessfully—to escape New York. It’s a love letter to NYC wrapped in black comedy. And Murray, in the opening act as a deadpan clown holding a bank hostage, is just comedy gold.

3. CRAZY JOE DAVOLA – SEINFELD (1992)

He dressed like a clown and tried to kill Jerry. Classic.

Played with unnerving intensity by the late, great Peter Crombie, Crazy Joe Davola is one of Seinfeld’s most unhinged recurring characters. He’s a psychotic, opera-loving, hyper-paranoid loner who shares a psychiatrist with Elaine and once dressed up as Pagliacci to stalk and terrify the gang.

In “The Opera” episode, Joe shows up in full clown gear, looming in the shadows and whispering death threats. The fact that he’s based on a real TV producer named Joe Davola just makes it even better. Joe’s clown turn is brief, but legendary. He’s the stuff sitcom nightmares are made of.

4. HOMIE D. CLOWN – IN LIVING COLOR (1990–1994)

Homie don’t play that.

Damon Wayans’s most iconic character from In Living Color is Homie D. Clown, a disgruntled, parole-bound ex-con forced to perform clown community service—and he hates every second of it. He despises kids, smacks people upside the head with a sock full of something heavy, and drops truth bombs through gritted teeth.

He’s anti-authority, anti-establishment, and definitely anti-Birthday Party. Yet somehow, the kids love him. Homie tapped into a vein of satire and absurdity that was pure 90s brilliance. And that catchphrase? “Homie don’t play that” became a cultural juggernaut. A classic example of the anti-clown we all needed.

5. GWYNPLAINE – THE MAN WHO LAUGHS (1928)

The original frozen smile from your nightmares.

Long before Pennywise, before Joker, there was Gwynplaine—a disfigured man with a surgically carved grin. Played hauntingly by Conrad Veidt in Paul Leni’s German expressionist masterpiece, The Man Who Laughs is part horror, part tragedy, and all unforgettable.

Based on Victor Hugo’s novel, the character inspired the visual design of the Joker. Veidt’s performance, his haunting smile, and the film’s bold visuals burned this clown into cinematic history. It’s a silent scream from the past that still echoes today—terrifying, tragic, and iconic.

6. KRUSTY THE CLOWN – THE SIMPSONS (1989–Present)

“Hey kids! It’s your old pal, Krusty!”

Voiced by Dan Castellaneta, Krusty the Clown is the jaded, chain-smoking, gambling-addicted children’s entertainer who somehow still hosts a beloved TV show in The Simpsons. He’s Bart’s idol and also a total trainwreck of a human being.

Krusty represents every washed-up TV personality rolled into one—he’s cynical, out of touch, and morally bankrupt. But man, is he funny. From his failed business ventures to his catchphrases (“I heartily endorse this event or product!”), Krusty is one of Springfield’s all-time greats and one of television’s best comedic clowns. Sad, angry, ridiculous—and perfect.

7. PENNYWISE – IT (1990, 2017, 2019)

He floats—and so do we when he shows up on screen.

Whether you prefer Tim Curry’s iconic miniseries take or Bill Skarsgård’s drooling nightmare fuel from the films, Pennywise the Dancing Clown is horror royalty. Created by Stephen King, Pennywise lures children, feeds on fear, and grins like a monster straight out of a cosmic hell.

Everything about him is terrifying—the makeup, the smile, the voice, the way he moves. Pennywise is fear incarnate, made even more haunting because he disguises himself as something designed to bring joy. No other clown has haunted more childhoods. He’s the definitive evil clown.

8. BO HOOPER – HARDLY WORKING (1980)

Jerry Lewis in clown makeup is a national treasure.

Jerry Lewis, one of my all-time heroes, stars as Bo Hooper, a down-on-his-luck clown who tries to reenter society after the circus shuts down. Hardly Working is a deeply silly, wildly uneven comedy—and I love every second of it.

Lewis directs, mugs, pratfalls, and breaks every rule of logic. The opening and closing sequences, featuring him in full clown mode, are vintage Jerry—goofy, heartfelt, and full of comic chaos. He also famously played a clown in The Day the Clown Cried, a film so controversial it’s never seen the light of day. But Bo Hooper is the one we did get, and he’s pure Jerry magic.

9. PAUL BEAUMONT – HE WHO GETS SLAPPED (1924)

Revenge is a dish best served… in makeup.

Another silent-era gut-punch, He Who Gets Slapped features Lon Chaney, the man of a thousand faces, in one of his most powerful roles. Paul Beaumont is a man broken by betrayal, humiliation, and—of course—a literal slap. He joins the circus as a clown, hiding behind face paint as he plots revenge.

Directed by Victor Sjöström, this is a haunting psychological thriller. Chaney’s expressive face, his eerie clown persona, and the visual symbolism of the slap make this a must-see for silent film lovers and horror historians. It’s eerie, emotional, and unforgettable.

10. CLOWN ZOMBIE – ZOMBIELAND (2009)

Because sometimes your worst nightmare is a zombie... in clown shoes.

In Zombieland, Jesse Eisenberg’s character Columbus reveals he has one major fear: clowns. So naturally, when it’s time for his big zombie boss battle, he faces a towering, slobbering clown zombie in a rundown amusement park. It’s gross. It’s terrifying. It’s hilarious.

It’s also brilliant horror-comedy writing—facing your ultimate phobia at the worst possible time. The clown zombie is well-designed, creepy, and manages to be both funny and menacing. In a movie packed with great kills and big laughs, this painted, undead freak is a show-stealer.

So there you have it—ten of my favorite clowns, pulled from the twisted corners of cinema, TV, and my pop culture-loving brain. Some are terrifying, some are hilarious, some are tragic, and a few are just flat-out weird. But every one of them is unforgettable.

Clowns get a bad rap. For some people, they’re pure nightmare fuel. For others, they’re goofy entertainers with big shoes and bigger smiles. For me? They’re fascinating.

They represent everything from childlike wonder to deep, existential dread. That’s why they show up so often in movies and TV—because they can be anything. Joyful. Violent. Heartbreaking. Hilarious. And sometimes all four in the span of 90 minutes.

And look, I know I didn’t include every clown. I left out some horror staples, some comedy oddballs, some circus classics. But these are my top ten—characters that stuck with me, made me laugh, scared the hell out of me, or just made me love movies and TV a little bit more.

Whether it’s a mime-fighting drunk in Palookaville, a career-burned kids’ show host in Springfield, or a zombie in clown makeup chasing Jesse Eisenberg through a theme park—these clowns left a mark.

So next time you see a clown? Maybe don’t run. Maybe say thanks—for the laughs, the scares, the confusion, and the paint-streaked nightmares.

And hey—homie don’t play that, but I sure do.

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