Benny The Clown
de la Cour appears in many of his public performances – particularly with Zipperface – as his alter ego Benny the Clown.
Benny is a traditionally made up whiteface (grotesque) clown, with oversize shoes, gaudily coloured baggy trousers and an enormous red fright-wig. Benny has his own unique facial make-up. He is often heard to speak in a broad Brooklyn accent, which can be heard in his early "...play this with your eyes closed" videos.
In November 2007, Benny appeared with his new sidekick Percy the Ringmaster at the Southbank Centre's Queen Elizabeth Hall to perform a specially choreographed 8 minute skit to music composed by de la Cour.
Benny and Percy have since appeared at the launches of the Spitalfields Festival (December 2008, Spitalfields Market, London - with pianist Mark Knoop) and Brighton's Soundwaves Festival (Brighton Station main concourse, June 2008 - with a band featuring Alan Bates on Double Bass and Mr Pump on Keyboard).
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Famous quotes containing the word clown:
“They tell us sometimes that if we had only kept quiet, all these desirable things would have come about of themselves. I am reminded of the Greek clown who, having seen an archer bring down a flying bird, remarked, sagely: “You might have saved your arrow, for the bird would anyway have been killed by the fall.””
—Elizabeth Cady Stanton (1815–1902)