"History without insight is mere trivia."  -- Jeff Mallett

I didn't like my United States History classes in high school and college because they were a matter of memorizing names and dates.  For example, we were expected to know who was campaigning for Vice President in 1856 and lost.  We didn't learn why they lost or what effect that had on the country.  It was just a class in trivia because that was easy to test.

When I became a clown in 1974 there was very little literature available on being a clown.  The first two books on clowning that I read were Emmett Kelly's autobiography and John Towsen's Clowns, a history of clowning.  I read the history books because I was hungry for information on clowning and that was all that I could find.  I was amazed to discover that I learned a lot from those books that I was able to apply to my developing career.  That sparked my interest in continuing to study clown history. 

Recently somebody contacted me asking the origin of the red nose worn by clowns.  The truth is that nobody knows.  There are several theories about its possible origin, but there is no proof that any are accurate.  The first clown to use a red nose has not been pin pointed.  However, one thing all of the theories have in common is that the red nose began as an exaggeration of something that naturally happens to the face.  That is an important insight.  The red nose was not a fantasy disguise hiding the humanity of the clown.  The red nose, as is true with so many elements of clowning, is an exaggeration of reality.

It is possible to be a clown without using a red nose.  One style of Whiteface clown has a white nose with nostrils accentuated in black.  Where this type of clown performs provides further insight into the red nose.  The Whiteface clown with a white nose worked primarily in intimate one-ring circuses.  All their features tended to be smaller because the audience was close enough to see them.  The red nose, especially the oversized one, tended to be more common in larger shows where the exaggeration allowed their features to be seen from a greater distance. That means clowns who work in more intimate settings, like caring clowns in hospitals and nursing homes, can minimize their red nose by decreasing its size or mute it by mixing the red with a flesh tone.

Other options have been used.  For example, Jimmy Graham wore a black and white checkered nose.  Such innovations attracted attention but weren't copied.  I think that was because the change seemed arbitrary and senseless.  It was different just for the sake of being different.

Why has the red nose been so enduring?  It is used by so many clowns just because it has been used by so many clowns.  Clowns have tried to establish their own identity by varying the size and shape of their red noses.  However, to the general public it is the one feature that is the most standard from clown to clown.  A clown's face may be completely white or only certain areas are white.  The shape of the mouth can be happy or sad.  The mouth can be red, black, or white.  A clown can be completely bald, have a fringe of hair, have straight hair in a page boy cut, or have wild uncontrolled hair.   The stereotype is that every clown wears a red nose shaped like a ball.  Because of that, a round red nose by itself is enough to establish that a character is a clown.  The clown characters in the PBS television series "The Big Comfy Couch" wore very little make up except a round red nose.

When you study clown history, don't just look for the facts.  Look for the meaning.  Why was something done?  What effect did it have?  What can you learn from it that you can apply today and in the future?  If you teach clown history, don't just share trivia.  What insights can your students gain from the information?