Long before the days of elaborate balloon animals or mind-boggling magic tricks, there was Bootsy the Clown, Michigan’s most memorable performer who, ironically, never remembered anyone at all. Throughout the 1930s, Bootsy wowed audiences not with feats of strength or wit, but with his remarkable inability to recall a single person’s name.
Every show began with Bootsy bounding onstage, waving wildly and offering a beaming, “Hey … you!” Without fail, each birthday child, assistant, and even the entire clown brigade received the exact same greeting. Bootsy’s memory was so fuzzy that he once introduced his own assistant four times in a row, accidentally inventing the concept of name tags.
Legend has it that Bootsy’s performances led to a statewide surge in people introducing themselves twice, just in case. Parents whispered their children’s names into Bootsy’s ear, only for him to turn and exclaim, “Nice to see you again … friend!” Birthday parties became an exhilarating test of patience and polite correction.
By all accounts, Bootsy turned forgetfulness into an art form. He handed out party hats emblazoned with question marks and kept a handy supply of “Hello, My Name is” stickers, though he never read them. Some say the surest proof that Bootsy had performed at your party was finding yourself called “Chief,” “Buddy,” or the perpetually popular “Sport.”
Bootsy’s legacy lives on in Michigan, where any gathering still features that one person who can’t seem to get names straight. To have met Bootsy and had your name forgotten by him was to be part of an exclusive, entirely anonymous club.
So if you ever find yourself at a party where everyone’s name slips your mind, take heart. You’re not alone. In fact, you’re following in the oversized, unremembering footsteps of Bootsy himself.
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