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SAD CLOWN PARADOX: WHY TEARS OFTEN LIE BEHIND THE LAUGHS

Mental health issues are common among comedians and performing is just one way they can self-medicate

When the news broke of the tragic passing on 28 October of the comedy actor, and everyone’s sarcastic favourite in Friends, Matthew Perry (right), the tributes didn’t focus solely on his talents for making people laugh. Featured prominently in the obituaries were his struggles with mental health and addictions to alcohol and painkillers, something the man himself would undoubtedly have approved of given his openness on the subject.

Perry wasn’t unique in this. Many comedy icons – Robin Williams and Spike Milligan spring most easily to mind – are well known for their mental health struggles.

Such talents lend themselves to the ‘tears of a clown’ cliché, a concept best illustrated by the old punchline delivered when a depressed patient goes to see a doctor. The physician advises them to go and see the famous clown Pagliacci to lighten their spirits, only for the patient to burst into tears and reply: “But Doctor, I am Pagliacci.”

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BBC Science Focus Magazine
December 2023
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