The author of the bestseller When I was five I killed myself was suffering from Alzheimer’s disease. It went out « peacefully in his sleep » in Plomodiern in Finistère.
The clown Howard Buten, known for his character “Buffo”, and author of around ten books including When I was five I killed myselfdied Friday at the age of 74, we learned on Saturday from his partner and translator, confirming information from the 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 lived, Jacqueline Huet, who translated 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.
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.
A life dedicated to autistic children
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.
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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 Funny (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.
