When did it become cool to be afraid of clowns? Doesn't it seem like EVERYONE these days says that they are "deathly afraid" of clowns? All a clown wants to do is make you laugh. They are solely motivated by bringing what may only be a fleeting moment of merriment into the dull and otherwise dreary lives of the masses. I guess the obvious answer as to when they became the archetypal object of fear is when that miniseries "It" was released. I was one of the few brilliant people who refused to watch that movie (I'm already cursed with a panic-stricken, overactive imagination, and the last thing I need is demon, flesh-eating clowns populating my nightmares). Thusly, clowns don't scare me a bit. In fact, there is nothing more that I love than a 32-foot, neon, clown and one of the only places to find a 32-foot, neon clown, of which I am aware (if there is another please let me know), is at Circus Liquor in North Hollywood!
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| The world-famous Circus Liquor clown on the corner of Burbank Blvd. and Vineland Ave. in North Hollywood, CA |
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| You see, that drum beating clown with the exed-out eyes, devilish eyebrows, and sinister smile isn't scary at all. Isn't it worth facing your fears to qualify for "discount cigarettes?" |
Of course, we were there at the most opportune time to get a sun-drenched view of the Circus Liquor clown, but night time is when he really comes alive. I don't mean that figuratively; I'm pretty sure that he actually does come alive to terrorize the unsuspecting, clown-fearing residents of the San Fernando Valley!!!
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| Circus Liquor by night (source) |
Come to think of it, the nightmare sequence from Pee Wee's Big Adventure predates "It" by a solid five years. Y'all should have been scared of clowns for a lot longer than you have been!
Pee Wee's Big Adventure (1985).
Circus Liquor
5600 Vineland Ave.
North Hollywood, CA
(818)769-1500
circusliquor.com
Cheers!
Mr. Tiny
Around here, it started way before Tim Curry's clown in IT (oh, how I love him), but with the Chicago serial killer John Wayne Gacy who killed dozens of teenage boys in the 70s and also moonlighted as a clown for charity events. That'll shake clown love right out of you. lol
ReplyDeleteOh, Tasha, I completely forgot about JWG!!! That IS enough to put one off of clowns for a lifetime and more. There is a house out here in SoCal that reportedly belongs to JWG's sister and there is all kinds of crazy graffiti all over it about him. The house is super-creepy!!! Okay, so maybe I'm a little afraid of clowns!
DeleteWe saw that famous sign totally by surprise on our day in North Hollywood- it was just yards away from where Retro Roadhusband was being interviewed for a Podcast. As usual I made the most of it and photographed it :-)
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing the additional views and nighttime shots!
I'm so glad that you got to see it while you were out here. I am desperate to get out your way so I can see all of the cool lunch counters/dime stores that you've featured. In my town, we had a five-and-dime called Gilbert's that lasted until about 2000 when it succumbed to all of the 99cents and Dollar Tree stores that popped up. I heard you met up with Charles when you were out here; he had nothing but great things to say about you guys!!
DeleteI tried to get night photos, but portions were not functioning, I was having trouble timing the flashing pattern, and people had said not to go there at night! That was three years ago.
ReplyDeleteI haven't been there in several years. It might be the next wacky tacky adventure!!!
Deleteclowns don't scare me, and "it" is both my favorite book AND favorite movie...and i'm also guilty of owning several authentic john wayne gacy paintings ; )
ReplyDeleteYou must post pictures of your art! As soon as Tasha mentioned JWG, I started looking up pieces of his clown art. The creepiest one that I found was Pogo surrounded by The Seven Dwarves!
Deletei'm sure they're in some old blog posts but i'll have to show you sometime! i wish i had a pogo one but i DO have two dwarves paintings: "hi ho in the winter" (the 7 dwarves ice skating!) and "hi ho in the fall" (walking under some beautiful fall leaves, ha). plus one other which is a portrait of another serial killer that was commissioned by a friend of mine...
DeleteYes, I was going to mention Gacy. I guess just the idea that the clown is so funny and clever but behind the make up lurks pure evil. Shudder. For the record I am not afraid of clowns but I have noticed an abundance of people who are. Also I'm freaking out about erin owning several of gacy's paintings! Ack!
ReplyDeleteI really can see why people are scared of them...they can be pretty creepy. I'm not particularly afraid of them, but you can bet I'll be steering clear of middle-aged clowns at birthday parties!!!
DeleteI love your night pic of the Circus Liquor clown. Now that's pretty cool! (I liked Pee Wee's Big Adventure, too. Every time THE ALAMO comes up in a conversation (hey, ya never know...) I say "Did you know the Alamo has NO BASEMENT??? So far, not one person has gotten the connection! (I get the wide-eyed looks: "Really????") And yep, I've actually been there myself!!!) LOL
ReplyDeleteWait a minute. SO what you're telling me is that there is NO BASEMENT at The Alamo???? So the fortune teller was lying??? Well, Buenos Dias!
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