Success of horror film ‘It’ has not affected Arizona’s clown business

PHOENIX — From last year’s clown sightings to the rise of the horror film “It,” which has grossed more than $123 million on opening weekend, the trend of “scary” clowns seems to be bigger than ever.

But has the clown business here in Phoenix taken a hit because of the trend? Local experts are saying no.

Todd Smeltzer, a Phoenix-based clown who has been working for 32 years, said the business has not slowed down in recent months.

“What I see is some questions like, ‘Should we have a clown? What are my other options?’ I get that a little more than I used to,” Smeltzer, who also goes by Bobo the Magic Clown, Stinky Pete the Pirate, FumdleDum the Wizard, and Santa Arizona, said.

Smeltzer said the modern fear of clowns largely stems from the original film “It,” which is based on a Stephen King novel.

He said a lot of today’s adults — and with the adaptation, even some kids — saw the film “before they were able to mentally and developmentally handle it” and are now spreading their fears.

Kathy Scott, another Arizona-based clown, said she wishes people could separate fictional clowns from real-life clowns.

“We just want to make kids happy and bring joy to everybody,” she said. “We love kids. We love to see their faces after we’ve face-painted them — they smile so big when they see it.”

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