Skeeter Reece

Zachary "Skeeter" Reece (born ) is an American clown. He became a clown in the 1970s after serving in the Vietnam War, and was one of very few Black clowns in the US at the time.

Early life Reece was born in St. Petersburg, Florida, and raised in the Bronx in New York City. His grandmother nicknamed him "Skeeter" since he was small as newborn.

He went to Theodore Roosevelt High School in the Bronx, played basketball and ran track. He later found the athletic experience useful in clowning. He also learned how to unicycle. which accepted about 50 out of 3000 applicants a year, He would later return to the Clown College to teach. When she drew a picture of "Skeeter" in school, a teacher told her "Now, Rain, you know there's no such thing as a black clown." and the Federal Correctional Institution, El Reno. He left the Ringling in 1982. In 1987, he was part of a show called Jamboree at the Riviera in Las Vegas.

In 1994, Reece was the opening act together with Albert Alter (as "Alter and Reece") at a Britt Music Festival with the Smothers Brothers. Reece and Alter also worked as hospital clowns together. In 1996, he warmed up the crowd at a show with comedians Bobby Slayton and Nick Griffin in Las Vegas. In 2000, he performed as part of Clark County School District's Class Act program,

Reece is an Auguste clown, a silent character. In 2021 he said "I love my clown. That's just the way it is now. I know exactly who it is. ...I say 'my clown' because we're two different people."

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