Yes, gaily painted idiotic creatures in funny clothes with very little on their minds and no talent...would come into a theater to see clowns.

One of the greatest clowns was Marceline Orbes, who left our world on November 5, 1927.

As Mr. Smith, chronicler of chronic comics, reports in his "Who's Who in Comedy," tales of "defeated, broken-hearted "Pagliacci" clowns may have been widespread in literature, but it was the tragic reality of Marceline...Not confined to the circus, Marceline played the finest venues including five years at England's Hippodrome...One critic wrote of his stage act, 'part of his appeal lay in a bewildered expression, as though life puzzled him. He picked something up only to drop it. He sought to help others, but always got in the way. Children, and adults too, howled and rocked in their seats with laughter as Marceline grew entangled in the rugs...meanwhile dropping trays of dishes.'

"Just ten years later, the same Marceline played the Hippodrome in 1915 to far less praise. His comic routines were evidently now deemed old fashioned. Under such conditions, it was hard for him to even perform his old standards with enthusiasm. Unable to recapture his old form, Marceline lent his name to a restaurant. When it failed, he invested his money in a second restaurant. It too failed. He and his wife separated and his remaining savings withered away.

"The proud Spaniard couldn't find a way create new material or to revive an act that was now viewed with scorn and indifference. The years passed slowly for him, but quickly enough to make his name only a dim memory for audiences. Nearly broke, he checked into the Hotel Mansfield at 226 West 50th Street in New York. The manager recalled that in many months, "Nobody ever telephoned him; he never received mail, he never smiled or complained. We knew nothing of his business."

"On November 3, he pawned his diamond ring for $15. Two days later, between midnight and 4am, Marceline knelt at his bed, staring at the photographs of himself he had placed there, like cards. His first trembling pistol shot went into the wall. The second did not miss.

"Marceline was found "kneeling as though in prayer" the following morning. The shots had been heard and had been ignored. Six dollars was all he had left besides the pictures of a once-loved clown."