History Main / SadClown

* Creator/PeterSellers is a particularly famous example, so much so that a book and film (''Film/TheLifeAndDeathOfPeterSellers'') was devoted to this. On an episode of ''Series/TheMuppetShow'' in 1977, Kermit encouraged Peter (dressed in a mishmashed outfit including a single boxing glove and a [[HornyVikings Viking helmet]]) to relax and be himself, with Peter somberly telling Kermit "But that, you see, my dear Kermit, would be altogether impossible. I could never be myself. You see, there is no me; I do not exist... There used to be a me, but I had it surgically removed."

* In the 1928 Creaor/LonChaney flick ''Laugh, Clown, Laugh'' Tito the clown, his adopted daughter Simonetta and Count Luigi Ravelli are in a love triangle. Tito, distressed by his conflicted feelings, practices a new routine without safety procedures and falls to his death, freeing Simonetta to marry the count.

** This joke is also told as an anecdote about some real-life clowns, notably Joe Grimaldi and Gaspard-Baptiste Debureau. [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sad_clown_paradox#Pagliacci_joke Wikipedia dates it to 1814]], in a book of public speaking which calls the clown Carlina.

* Beast Boy from ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans2003'' is an insecure and vulnerable kid who constantly uses humour as a defense mechanism.

* ''WesternAnimation/KungFuPanda'' had Po, a giant panda who was initially filled with a sense of self-loathing (which he hid well) so profound that it made his heroes' initial disdain for him feel positively kind.

* Supplementary (and ambiguously canon) material for ''WesternAnimation/GravityFalls'' indicates that [[spoiler:while [[Characters/GravityFallsBillCipher Bill Cipher]] puts himself up as a LaughablyEvil and carefree trickster, deep down he actually despairs over the destruction of his home dimension and everyone in it, and the fact he can never go home again, even if [[NeverMyFault he'll never admit he alone is responsible for all of it]]]].

** However in another episode, he freely admits to being one in response to a general's ArmorPiercingQuestion about his constant joking. And in the final episode, we see what happened to Hawkeye when [[SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome that coping mechanism ceases to be effective.]]

* ''Manga/The100GirlfriendsWhoReallyReallyReallyReallyReallyLoveYou'': Miss Naddy, real name Nadeshiko Yamato, is a reverse OccidentalOtaku, a Japanese woman so enamoured with the United States that she dyes her hair, dresses as a hot cowgirl, speaks in horrifically mangled English, and considers Big Macs (the most American food she knows) the best thing ever. Behind the exaggerated stereotypes is a young woman who rejected her upbringing as a YamatoNadeshiko because it made her miserable. Indeed, any time Naddy drops the act, she is noticeably sadder. In chapter 80, Naddy speaks normally because she's stranded in the woods with Yaku, who can't understand anything she says otherwise. Yaku notices, and encourages Naddy to be herself despite the "language barrier" because it obviously makes her happy and Yaku much prefers seeing that.

* The entire premise of ''Film/Joker2019'', with a proposed origin for Mister J (the character is otherwise a prime example of MultipleChoicePast). He's introduced as Arthur Fleck, a somewhat optimistic but down-on-his-luck comedian and clown-for-hire with a mental condition that causes him, among other things, to laugh uncontrollably. A combination of awful events coupled with bad decisions both from himself and from people around him (in particular, his boss) cause him to snap completely.