Local clown to return ... but not as Klutzo

Klutzo may be dead, but Jerry Kautz is still a clown.

And he even has his laugh back.

In the wake of published reports about the woes triggered by another Klutzo the Clown's arrest for child pornography, the Algonquin village clerk and part-time clown said the subsequent support from the community today prompted him not to hang up his big clown shoes after all.

"The support has been unbelievable," Kautz said, adding he was feeling much better after hearing from other elected officials and the community. "People coming up to me today, saying, 'We can't imagine what you're going through, don't give up the fight' and so forth ... it meant a lot.' "

More Coverage Algonquin's 'Klutzo' retires over name confusion (Oct. 12) Child porn charges filed against clown (Oct. 11)

The confusion came after the arrest of a Springfield man who went by Klutzo the Clown - the same clown name Kautz has used for almost 25 years. News of that arrest sparked hate mail to Kautz's Klutzo Web site, prompting him Thursday to shut the site down and vow he would quit clowning.

The subsequent outpouring of support touched him deeply, Kautz said this afternoon shortly after returning home from helping collect donations - costume free, of course - for the Lions Club Candy Day.

"I'm still going to bury Klutzo," he said of the clown he's played at numerous village events and the annual Founders Day parade. "I've got to - I think the name is too tainted now - but clowning is a part of me," Kautz said. "This sounds crazy, but Klutzo is a part of the family. That's what kills me."

He hasn't yet settled on a new clown identity, he said between national news media interviews this afternoon. All he knows for sure right now is he'll still don his face paint and clown suit to try to make people laugh.

"I can't give up clowning," Kautz said. "It's in me."