Evil Clown of Middletown
Encyclopedia
The Evil Clown of Middletown is a large outdoor sign on northbound New Jersey Route 35 in Middletown Township, New Jersey
Middletown Township, New Jersey
Middletown Township is a township in Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township had a total population of 66,522...

, advertising a Spirits Liquor Store.

History

It was originally constructed by Joseph Azzolina
Joseph Azzolina
Joseph Azzolina was a Republican who served in the New Jersey General Assembly from 1992 to 2006 where he represented the 13th legislative district....

’s Food Circus grocery store
Grocery store
A grocery store is a store that retails food. A grocer, the owner of a grocery store, stocks different kinds of foods from assorted places and cultures, and sells these "groceries" to customers. Large grocery stores that stock products other than food, such as clothing or household items, are...

 in 1956 to advertise his store. In its early years it continuously rotated via electric motor(s), a then-common form of advertising that for the most part went out of style (or economic practicality) by the 1970s. The clown has long since been fixed in place.

The clown's first starring role was in 1996, during the opening sequence of the Philip Botti movie Middletown. The movie won the New York Underground Film Festival
New York Underground Film Festival
Founded in 1994 by filmmakers Todd Phillips and Andrew Gurland, the New York Underground Film Festival was an annual event that occurred each March at Anthology Film Archives in New York City from 1994 through 2008...

 Choice award. The clown is well-known because it is unusually scary-looking. It has been featured in the local New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...

 magazine Weird NJ
Weird NJ
Weird NJ is the title of a semi-annual magazine and two paranormal travel guides that chronicle local legends, hauntings, ghost stories, folklore and anything considered "weird" in the U.S. state of New Jersey....

, as well as on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno in a Kevin Smith
Kevin Smith
Kevin Patrick Smith is an American screenwriter, actor, film producer, and director, as well as a popular comic book writer, author, comedian/raconteur, and internet radio personality best recognized by viewers as Silent Bob...

 short. The Evil Clown appears in the first few minutes of Smith's 2006 film Clerks II
Clerks II
Clerks II is a 2006 American comedy film written and directed by Kevin Smith, sequel to his 1994 film Clerks, and his sixth and latest feature film to be set in the View Askewniverse...

. It is also known by some as "The Scary Liquor Clown".

Today, the clown can also be seen on the Internet as the mascot for the Food Circus Super Foodtown franchise in central New Jersey.

Restoration

As of mid-October 2011, the clown has been repainted to restore the original look. Sporting original colors, the "SAVE" circle has been changed to be properly used as a balloon, as it had originally.
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