Shakes the Clown (1991)

Director:

Bobcat Goldthwait

Writer (WGA):

Bobcat Goldthwait (written by)

Release Date:

13 March 1992 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy

Tagline:

Loved by children. Desired by women. Adored by bartenders everywhere.

Plot:

Shakes plods about his duties as party clown, and uses all of his free time getting seriously drunk...

Plot Keywords:

Clown | Mime | Murder | Party | Clown Face

Cast

Bobcat Goldthwait	...	Shakes the Clown
Julie Brown	...	Judy
Bruce Baum	...	Ty the Rodeo Clown
Steve Bean	...	Beaten Mime in Park
Blake Clark	...	Stenchy the Clown
Eliza Coyle	...	Enthusiastic Mime
Paul Dooley	...	Owen Cheese
Gerald F. Edelstein	...	2nd Party Dad
Robin Williams	...	Mime Class Instructor (as Marty Fromage)
Jack Gallagher	...	Officer Crony
Paige Gosney	...	Billy
Kathy Griffin	...	Lucy
Florence Henderson	...	The Unknown Woman (Shakes One Night Stand)
Scott Herriott	...	Floor Director
Melissa Hurley	...	Producer at Big Time Carlson Circus
Tim Kazurinsky	...	1st Party Dad
Tom Kenny	...	Binky the Clown
Paul Kozlowski	...	HoHo the Clown
Jeremy Kramer	...	Detective Boar (as Jeremy S. Kramer)
Sydney Lassick	...	Peppy the Clown
Bob Nickman	...	Gas Station Owner
LaWanda Page	...	Female Clown Barfly (as La Wanda Page)
Shane Ricci	...	Obnoxious Kid at Party
Adam Sandler	...	Dink the Clown
Johnny Silver	...	Clown Tailor
Cary Smith	...	Mom at Party
Dan Spencer	...	Boots the Clown
Greg Travis	...	Randi the Rodeo Clown
Tony V.	...	Broken Saddle Bouncer (as Tony V)
Tom Villard	...	Dirthead in Car
Martin Charles Warner	...	Male Clown Barfly
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Joel Murray	...	Milk Man (uncredited)

Directed by
Bobcat Goldthwait

Writing credits (WGA)
Bobcat Goldthwait		(written by)

Produced by
Paul Colichman	....	producer
Miles A. Copeland III	....	executive producer
Ann Goldthwaite	....	producer (as Ann Luly-Goldthwait)
Barry Krost	....	executive producer
Ann Luly	....	producer
Ann Luly-Golthwait	....	producer
Steven Reich	....	associate producer
Harold Welb	....	executive producer

Original Music by
Tom Scott

Cinematography by
Bobby Bukowski
Elliot Davis

Film Editing by
J. Kathleen Gibson

Casting by
Donald Paul Pemrick

Production Design by
Pamela Woodbridge

Art Direction by
Christopher Neely

Set Decoration by
Marty Huyette

Costume Design by
Stephen M. Chudej

Makeup Department
Karen Asano-Myers	....	hair designer
Jeffrey S. Farley	....	special makeup effects artist (as Jeff Farley)
Kathryn Fenton	....	makeup designer (as Kathryn Miles Kelly)

Production Management
Melissa Cobb	....	executive in charge of production

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Matthew J. Clark	....	first assistant director
Rosemary C. Cremona	....	second assistant director

Art Department
Carlos Barbosa	....	assistant art director
Scott Edward Collins	....	set dresser

Sound Department
Vanessa Theme Ament	....	foley artist
Giovanni Di Simone	....	sound mixer
Armond Ghzanian	....	sound assistant
Steve Kohler	....	sound mixer
Steve Rice	....	dialogue editor
Tom Ruff	....	sound re-recording mixer

Special Effects by
Gary D'Amico	....	special effects coordinator
Ken Speed	....	special effects assistant

Visual Effects by
Richard Kilroy	....	matte artist

Stunts
Gregory J. Barnett	....	additional stunts
Sandy Berumen	....	additional stunts
Richard L. Blackwell	....	additional stunts
John Blenkhorn	....	additional stunts (as John Todd Blenkhorn)
John Cade	....	additional stunts
Doc D. Charbonneau	....	additional stunts
Carl Ciarfalio	....	additional stunts
Wally Crowder	....	additional stunts
Mark A. Cuttin	....	additional stunts
BJ Davis	....	additional stunts (as B. J. Davis)
Dick Dial	....	additional stunts
Christopher Doyle	....	additional stunts (as Chris Doyle)
Steven Graves	....	additional stunts (as Steve Graves)
Gary Guercio	....	additional stunts
Norman Howell	....	additional stunts
Scott Land	....	clown stilt walker
Lane Leavitt	....	additional stunts
Gene LeBell	....	additional stunts
Michael R. Long	....	additional stunts
Dennis Madalone	....	additional stunts
Eddie Matthews	....	additional stunts (as Eddie Mathews)
Steve Picerni	....	additional stunts
Spiro Razatos	....	additional stunts
Spiro Razatos	....	stunt double
Kip Reynolds	....	stilt walker
Michael J. Sarna	....	additional stunts (as Michael John Sarna)
Jim Stephen	....	additional stunts
Tim Trella	....	stunt coordinator
Ric Roman Waugh	....	additional stunts (as Ric Waugh)
Merritt Yohnka	....	additional stunts

Camera and Electrical Department
Jeff Graham	....	second assistant camera
Paul Janossy	....	assistant camera
Eric M. Klein	....	best boy grip
Calvin Maehl	....	gaffer
Tom Stackpoole	....	first assistant camera
Rick Stribling	....	key grip
Michael Tolochko	....	electrician

Casting Department
Gregory Concors	....	casting assistant
Deverin Karol	....	casting assistant

Editorial Department
David C. Eichhorn	....	assistant editor

Music Department
Paul Di Franco	....	music supervisor

Transportation Department
Roger Bojarski Jr.	....	driver: honeywagon
Paul Jones	....	driver

Other crew
Bundy Chanock	....	set medic
Patrick Shiffrar	....	production assistant
Barbara Tuss	....	script supervisor

Thanks
Tasha Goldthwait	....	thanks

Production Companies

• IRS Media

Distributors

• IRS Media (1992) (USA) (theatrical)
• 20/20 Vision (1993) (UK) (VHS)
• Sony Video (1999) (USA) (VHS)
• Columbia TriStar Home Video (2000) (USA) (DVD)
• LK-TEL Vídeo (Brazil) (VHS)

Also Known As:

Clowns - Ihr Lachen bringt den Tod (Germany) [de]
Um Palhaço Suspeito (Brazil) [pt]

MPAA:

Rated R for language and drug use.

Runtime:

87 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Iceland:12 | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:14A | UK:18 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

IRS Media

Trivia:

Cameo: [Robin Williams]the mime instructor.

Quotes:

Shakes the Clown: Hey, hey, kid, what are you doing?
Kid: I had to go to the bathroom.
Shakes the Clown: On my head?
Kid: Hey this is my bathroom not your bedroom you big drunken mess.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Showbiz Today: (1992-03-10)" (1992)

What a great yuk!

This rare gem is an example of a funny, funny man (Bobcat Goldthwait) given free reign over the creation of a comedy gem. Though this film may not exemplify any of the tired old Hollywood "formulas" for what makes a profitable comedy, it nonetheless succeeds wonderfully.

Shakes The Clown is quirky, kinky, edgy and hilarious. It features great comic performances by many such under rated comic talents as Bruce Baum and Tom Kenny. Conversely, in the tradition of the inspired casting of Leslie Neilsen in Airplane, Goldthwait places in hilariously improbable comic situations traditional "straight" actors, such as Florence Henderson in the role of a Clown-dating bar floozy.

I won't say that this film exemplifies a category, because I feel that it defines one. A true original, one of a kind, Shakes The Clown should not be missed.