Culture: Death of Howard Buten, aka the Buffo Clown

The clown Howard Buten, known for his character “Buffo”, and author of around ten books including “When I Was Five, I Killed Myself”, died Friday at the age of 74, we learned on Saturday from his partner and translator, confirming information from Le Point.

Born in Detroit in the United States in 1950, the American artist, who suffered from Alzheimer’s disease, died “peacefully in his sleep” in Plomodiern (Finistère), where he resided, declared to the AFP Jacqueline Huet, who translated some of his books.

With his white face, his red nose, his mittens and his long black shoes, the clown Buffo was recognizable among thousands.

Clumsy gestures and bewildered expressions

Under this disguise, Howard Buten always provoked the same emotion and laughter from the public, with silent sketches, little dance tricks, clumsy gestures and bewildered facial expressions.

It was in his country that this lunar character, who was also a dancer, singer and musician, was shaped, during a music hall number which grew longer over time. In the 1970s, it already had a thousand performances.

Buffo had with him his musical instruments (violin, piano, trumpet), his vindictive plastic chicken, his recalcitrant household utensils. He was even a ventriloquist for a time.

Doctor of Clinical Psychology

Howard Buten, from a Lithuanian family who had emigrated to the United States, settled in France in 1981 after the release of his first book, “Burt” in English, translated and published in French under the title “Quand j’ When I was five, I killed myself,” which was a bestseller.

The artist is much more than that: he became a doctor in clinical psychology in 1986 and devoted himself to autistic children in Saint-Denis (Seine-Saint-Denis) in the Adam Shelton Center which he created in 1996.

Among his other books, some also address this subject, such as “There is someone in there: autism” or “These children who do not come from another planet: autistic people”. His latest book “Buffo” (2005) is autobiographical.

In 1998, he won a Molière for best one-man show for a show with cellist Claire Oppert. He was made a Knight of Arts and Letters in 1991. “A tribute will be paid to him later in Paris,” his partner told AFP.

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