Oleg Popov, The Sad Clown

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In about six weeks this remark­able man will cel­e­brate his 80th Birth­day. Who is he? The most pop­u­lar clown of the Soviet Union, also known as the Sun­shine Clown, Oleg Popov is true icon of its own. Born in 1930, he had on of the tough­est upbring­ings ever — yet he man­aged to become one of most recog­nis­able peo­ple of the 20th cen­tury: he also was in Guin­ness Records Book for “being pop­u­lar in the West and in the East”.

levit9 445x500 Oleg Popov, The Sad Clown

On top of his game. Oleg Popov in 1976.

He was train­ing to be a plumber when, at the age of 17, his friends took him along to the local cir­cus — over­whelmed, he later said there was no way back. He started learn­ing acro­bat­ics, gym­nas­tics, tricks; he spent all of his time and money on learn­ing about the famous clowns and their tech­niques. It did not take him long to become famous: his nat­ural tal­ent and an open smile made wonders.

In his inter­view for the Russ­ian news­pa­per Argu­ments and Facts, Oleg Popov is rem­i­nisc­ing about the hap­pi­est day of his life:after Stalin’s death in 1953, all enter­tain­ment was banned as a deep mourn­ing was announced. So the cir­cus he was work­ing at was shut, and those weeks of not doing what he loved was tor­tur­ous. It took over two months for the ban to be lifted, and even then he was briefed not to joke “too much”. So com­ing out on stage and receiv­ing a huge round of applaud made Oleg realised that it wasn’t only him who missed per­form­ing  — it was also the spec­ta­tors who needed laughter.


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  • Nestor Makhno

    :)

  • Tho­rum

    Thanks for your post. Very great story and needed to be told!! :)

  • Bob Hillier

    I heard a Russ­ian story about a man who goes to see a psy­chi­a­trist.  He says “There is no joy in my life, no laugh­ter. I feel no hint of hap­pi­ness or con­tent­ment, only dark­ness and despair. Noth­ing bright­ens my spirit. Doc­tor, can you help me?”

    “Ha!” the shrink says, “Laugh­ter is the best med­i­cine! You must go and see Popov the Clown! He will make you laugh.  When Popov is around, the lit­tle chil­dren laugh, their par­ents laugh, and their grand­par­ents also, they laugh.   Even I laugh when I see Popov the Clown. Why? Every­body laughs when Popov the Clown is in town.  You must go see him. Then you will laugh again!”

    The man says, “But I am Popov the Clown.” 

    • http://staskulesh.com Stas Kulesh

      That’s a funny one. And a lit­tle bit sad to be honest.