AFP photo Didier Pallages
The clown Howard Buten, known for his character Buffo, and author of ten books including the bestseller When I was five I killed myselfdied Friday at the age of 74, we learned from his partner and translator.
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 lived, Jacqueline Huet, who translates some of his books, told AFP.
With his white face, his red nose, his mittens and his long black shoes, the clown Buffo was recognizable among thousands. 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.
Howard Buten, from a Lithuanian family that had emigrated to the United States, moved to France in 1981 after the release of his first book, Burt in English, translated and published in French under the title When I was five, I killed myselfwhich was a bestseller.
The artist is much more than that: in 1986 he became a doctor in clinical psychology and devoted himself to autistic children in Saint-Denis (Seine-Saint-Denis) in the Adam Shelton Center which he created in 1996. Among his others books, some also address this subject, such as “There is someone in there: autism” or “These children who do not come from another planet: autistics”.
It is in his country that Funnya 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.
In 1987, his career began in Europe. Funny is revealed in Paris at the Théâtre Le Ranelagh. He performed on the Olympia stage for a week in 1992.
Howard Buten refers to the clown Grock who introduced him to his vocation: ” My approach is to never create a new show, but, as this one did, to endlessly perfect a single number that evolves over the years » explained the artist. In a show fixed to the breath and often even to the quarter of a sigh, he reinvents each gag, each gesture each time.
How is the show constructed and evolved? It is the minor incident (the bow that “snaps”, the accessory that slips, the violin that squeaks?) which will force the artist to find the new sketch, often major, which will then be kept in the show until he in turn is driven out by a new discovery. Sometimes, it is the bright idea that springs forth, which will masterfully modify the sequence in progress, provoke a new beginning, bring about another end. Sometimes, it is between two shows that the concept which had difficulty materializing on stage will suddenly appear obvious and be translated onto the stage from the next performance.
In 1998, Howard Buten won a Molière for best one-man show for a show with the cellist Claire Oppert. He was made a Knight of Arts and Letters in 1991.
Many artists have adapted in France When I was five I killed myselfas Barthélémy Fortier in a choral version in 2022 or Robin Caussein a version alone on stage in 2018.
His latest book Funny (2005) is autobiographical. “ A tribute will be paid to him later in Paris“, his partner told AFP.
