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BAD CLOWN: Koko the Killer Clown

Koko the Killer Clown, a featured attraction at a Coney Island sideshow, has spent recent years folding balloons in a soiled prison cap, mumbling caustic remarks to the audience through the smudged greasepaint on his lips. Koko (né Tony Torres), was once a Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus clown. But when he caught his best friend in bed with his wife, he shot the man 69 times. Since he was a dwarf — and both men were standing — many of the bullets were lodged in the victim's crotch. Koko tells audiences at his Coney Island performances that he served six years of a 50-year sentence.

GOOD CLOWN: Mr. Twister

Even if you don't find clowns the least bit funny, you have to appreciate a guy who runs down the street ahead of meter maids, feeding coins into parking meters in downtown Santa Cruz, Calif., to help forgetful motorists. The folks watching his street act sure laughed, but not some city officials. They want local merchants to enjoy a high turnover of shoppers. And, of course, parking tickets are a source of city revenue. A cop told him his act was illegal and he was later given a summons. Seven years ago, city council members embraced Mr. Twister's plight and, in a show of solidarity, they donned red rubber noses as they voted to repeal the law.

BAD CLOWN: Coco the Cop

In a purple wig and light-up nose, Coco the Clown busted four hookers in Tampa, Fla. Officer Tim Pasley, posing as Coco, engaged women in conversation until they offered him sex for money, when backup officers would swoop in to make the arrest. You'd think that would make him a good clown, but real clowns have been offended that Officer Pasley played off the bad-clown image, making their jobs harder. Pasley admitted to a local newspaper that the idea for Coco came from a producer for Fox's COPS TV show.

GOOD CLOWN: Dr. Hunter "Patch" Adams

The doctor portrayed by Robin Williams in 1998's Patch Adams is sending 30,000 pounds of donated medical gear to Kabul, Afghanistan, along with a troupe of clowns to help hand out the goods.

BAD CLOWN: Larry Harmon's Bozo

Larry Harmon bought the rights to TV's most famous clown in the mid-1950s and marshaled an army of Bozos who performed on local shows in Chicago, New York, Boston and dozens of other cities. But that's not enough for Harmon, who has, on many occasions, taken credit for creating Bozo. That honor really belongs to legendary record producer Alan Livingston, who created the Bozo look and sound for TV, records and picture books. Credit also goes to Pinto Colvig, who appeared on Bozo records and first portrayed Bozo on TV in Los Angeles in 1949. Harmon has denied that he's taken credit for being the original Bozo (a title not everyone would covet). But The Wolf Files unearthed Harmon's own promotional literature, which states otherwise. Bozo always said, "It's nice to be important, but it's more important to be nice." Harmon should listen to his own inner-Bozo.