A sad day in the life of a clown
'I need to protect my income, name and the brand I have build over the past eight years'
CLUMZE Eddie, the clown known for years to entertain crowds in Kempton Park, is not such a happy clown following a rather unfortunate incident.
According to Clumze Eddie, real name Edwin Erasmus, there is a man who is allegedly claiming to be working with him and is conducting himself in a way that could ruin Eddie’s reputation.
The man (32) is a former colleague of Eddie’s and has claimed, to a number of people, that the two are partners.
However, Eddie maintains this is not the truth.
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“It’s unfortunate that I have to have this published. However, to protect my income, name and the brand I have built over the past eight years, I was left with no choice but to do so,” the 30-year-old says.
“Last year around August I took it upon myself to help a man who had been a waiter at an eatery but was fired from the establishment. Since he had enthusiasm and seemed willing to take on the adventure of becoming a clown, I took it upon myself to train him in the art of balloon sculpting and just a few magic tricks to get him started. I had established a spot for him to earn money and market himself as an entertainer,” Eddie says.
According to Eddie, the situation eventually reached a point where the man was telling people he and Eddie worked together. It also came to Eddie’s attention that this person was wrongfully using his name.
“He was also telling people that we where in business together. He was also approached by people asking for my details to book me, then turning around and telling people I wasn’t interested. I have no idea why he would be telling people this when he was supposed to build a reputation for himself as an entertainer, or why he would do so when I and several other people had taken our time and money to teach him a skill to make a living for himself.”
To refrain from defaming the man, Eddie has chosen not to reveal his name to the public.
“In the entertainment industry, clowns are few and far between, thus rather than being in competition we should work together in a coalition. We have circles and gatherings and all entertainers know each other and use each other when getting big events,” Eddie says.
