Theft Means Tears for a Clown

The thieves may have made a goof--but it’s keeping Robert Zraick from being one.

Zraick, a professional clown for the L.A. Circus, told police he believes his big black satchel containing wigs, horns, nine noses, custom shoes and an exploding violin was stolen Saturday after a city-sponsored show in a downtown park.

Zraick, 46, a North Hollywood man who has dressed for excess as Barnaby the Clown for three decades, discovered the loss Sunday as he was getting ready for a gig at a corporate picnic.

“I was like a maniac. I was running around pulling my hair out--for real,” Zraick said.

Although Zraick could have mislaid the bag, he says he is usually meticulous about keeping tabs on the tools of his trade. Like the “exploding violin” that emits puffs of smoke, the horn that hits just the right laugh note, and the custom-made clown shoes.

As Zraick was filing his theft report on the items, which he valued between $800 and $1,000, the police officer couldn’t keep a straight face as he described the right shoe, which has two rubber toes sticking out of it so Zraick can pull out a balloon. “She was trying to be very serious. But she was laughing so hard by the end of it,” Zraick said.