Kids can help give Klutzo a new name

I'm so thankful that Jerry Kautz isn't hanging up his clown shoes for good.

In case you missed it, Kautz, also the village's longtime clerk, will keep clowning around, but not as Klutzo the Clown.

He's turning to your children to help him find a new persona.

The stage name he had for 24 years was tainted last October when federal agents busted a Springfield man -- who also used the Klutzo name -- on child pornography charges.

People mistakenly thought Kautz was affiliated with the bad Klutzo and sent him hate mail and death threats, causing him to consider terminating his clown career.

He has not performed as Klutzo the Clown ever since.

"I hate to talk about it since I won't be using his name anymore," Kautz said.

I wasn't covering the town at that point, but was following this story because it was obvious how much Klutzo meant to Kautz and the community and how horrified he was at the case of mistaken identity.

I met Kautz earlier this year when I started covering Algonquin board meetings. He's the first person I talked to and he basically explained the lay of the land to me and told me who everyone was. I found him to be a gentle soul and a very kind man.

And I can't believe there were some people out there who would confuse him with the bad Klutzo, but I guess that's what happens when you don't do your research.

Kautz tells that the Klutzo name actually came about when the auto correct feature on his word processing program changed his surname to "klutz."

And according to him, the name stuck because, "I was always sort of a klutz anyway."

His big break in clowning came when a former associate pastor at St. Margaret Mary Catholic Church asked him to join a clown troupe.

He took his show on the road when he performed for people at hospitals and in nursing homes.

I'm also told that Klutzo was a mainstay at the Algonquin Founders' Days festival.

Kautz says Klutzo is an old school tramp clown that's a cross between Emmett Kelly, who performed as a clown with the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, and Red Skelton.

He takes his craft quite seriously and has even taken clown courses in other parts of the country.

He'll pattern his next joker after whatever name local children eventually come up with, so it'll be interesting to see what he does next. And after yanking the site devoted to Klutzo out of cyberspace, Kautz says he'll develop another site for the new clown.

By the way, the naming contest is still open to all children in kindergarten through third grade.

If you'd like to get your child involved, you can pick up entry forms at Rosen Hyundai of Algonquin, 771 S. Randall Road. The winner will receive a $1,000 savings bond.

For details about the contest, which is sponsored by the dealership and the Algonquin Lions Club, call Jerry Glogowski at (847) 458œ1639.

We can look forward to seeing the new clown at the Founders' Days festival.