Real Quad Cities Clown Affected By Scary Clown Trend

The recent trend of scary clowns roaming about the country (and even the Quad Cities) has us all on edge, but that feeling is amplified for someone who makes his living performing as a benevolent clown.

Craig Bruckman, who performs as Professor Dum Dum, spends his days as a cheerful, happy clown at birthday parties, events, and even the circus. He says the rash of scary clowns has hurt the careers of he and his fellow performers.

"The people dressing in clown masks have greatly affected those of us that do this for a living- livelihood and career wise," Bruckman says. "This is how we put food on our table, plain and simple, and when people are going out making poor decisions for whatever reason, it greatly affects us. With all the nonsense going on, it has caused our phones not to ring as much and people to be hesitant to book a clown for their event."

Bruckman is aware that there is a time and place for 'scary clowns,' for instance, in movies like 'It,' but even they can be confusing for children, and not something they should be exposed to.

"I think that everything has its place. I, personally, am not a big fan of those types of movies because they feed off of and make people afraid of what I do and what I love to do. When in reality those are just fictional characters, not real clowns," Bruckman says. "To a young child that still believes in the boogeyman, they see these characters portrayed in the movies and then see us, and are sometimes unable to seperate the good from the bad. The real from the fantasy, so to speak. To me, people dressing in clown masks and acting like clowns are fine for the haunted houses and horror film industry which for the most part are targeted toward the adult audience."

Haunted house and movie actors are definitely one thing, but the people dressing up and walking around town attempting to scare innocent bystanders are much different, and not something that should be acceptable.

Bruckman has chosen to speak out in an effort to combat the negative press that clowns have been given, along with discouraging the pranksters that have been terrorizing the area over the last week. He says that the educating the public is important and not to stigmatize all clowns because of a few bad apples.

"I think one of the biggest things that can be done to fight back against this is currently being done by us professional entertainers (real clowns), and that is talking to the media like we are and educating the general public on the differences between us and them and that we are not a threat, nor do we wanna hurt you. All we want to make you laugh and smile. And bring joy." Bruckman says.

So the next time you spot a clown, don't automatically assume it's one of the 'scary' ones. As it is Halloween time, there are going to be haunted house workers around town, and there will always be performers like Craig Bruckman that are just trying to go about their day and do their job. Don't get violent or confrontational. If you see something that seems inappropriate, contact the police, but otherwise, leave them alone. The more we react to these 'scary clowns,' the more power they have. Remain calm, and it will be a much safer place for the real clowns to live.