"Clowns should omit anything off color or offensive.  Costumes, words or actions that are in bad taste, or that ridicule any race or nationality have no place in a good clown act."  - Wes McVicar, Clown Act Omnibus, 1960

Wes McVicar's advice is just as true today fifty years later.  However, it is easy to overlook how important it was at the time.  The debate over Civil Rights was just beginning when McVicar wrote his book.  The debate included how Black characters were depicted in entertainment, especially in comedy.  The NAACP was protesting the continued syndicated reruns of the Amos 'n' Andy television show that they felt was racist.  (The show originally aired from 1951 until 1953.)  The show, which had a Black cast, showed professional Black businessmen but it also included stereotypical lazy, shiftless Black men.  It was those stereotypes that caused the NAACP protest.  In 1961, to avoid racial issues, Freeman Gosden and Charles Correll, the creators of Amos 'n' Andy, introduced an animated spin off series titled Calvin and the Colonel.  Similar humor was used, but this time the characters were all animals so their race could not be determined.  In 1966, bowing to public pressure, the Amos and Andy programs were withdrawn from syndication.  Professional Minstrel performances had ended before 1960, but amateur groups were still performing Minstrel shows that included two clown characters known as Mr. Bones and Mr. Tambo.  In part it was these performances that McVicar was warning against.

McVicar's advice prohibits ridiculing other races.  That does not mean that you cannot use your own national origins as part of your act.  For example, Angel Contreras, who is Hispanic, sometimes performs a very funny Mexican clown character.  Yakov Smirnoff, a Russian immigrant to America, has had a very successful comedy career commenting on his background and experiences.  The key is whether you are ridiculing others or using your life as the basis of your material. 

I think intent is another key.  Sarah Ophelia Colley Cannon's depiction of Minnie Pearl, an Appalachian mountain girl, was grounded in Sarah's true love and affection for people of that region.  That gave her portrayal warmth that endeared her to people.  That was the key to her success.  She loved her character.  She loved her audience, and they returned that love.  I have seen other country bumpkin characters performed by clowns that audience members found offensive because the performer didn't have any respect or affection for the character being portrayed.  If you don't like the character you are portraying, members of your audience won't like it either.

I would add gender to McVicar's list.  By that I don't mean men playing female roles or women playing male roles.  There are many examples of great entertainers who have done that without ridiculing the other gender.  There is also a tradition of characters impersonating the other gender and trying to continue the charade after mistakes have revealed the deception.  That is part of the general impersonation style of comedy.  Another example of that type of comedy is a singer lip syncing to a record who tries to continue when a track keeps repeating. 

I consider ridicule based on gender to be men making comments that put down women in general or that have a sexual connotation.  I have observed that many women and some men find those comments very offensive.  People who make women the target of their jokes or use off color material do get some laughter, but at the price of alienating part of their audience.  Many comedians have said that you can gain laughter using blue material and at the same time cause the audience to hate you.  The key to success as a clown is not how much people laugh, but how much they like you.  A likeable clown will be rehired many times while a clown who gets a lot of laughter without being liked quickly wears out their welcome.

Is your act in good taste?  Is there anything offensive that you need to edit out?  Do you ridicule others or make yourself the basis for your humor?  How likeable is your character?  What can you do to make it more likeable?