Seth Bloom New York NY Suicide – The 49-year-old physical comedy genius and clown with blue hair, Seth Bloom, passed away on August 2 in Poughkeepsie, New York.
His wife and performance partner Christina Gelsone claims he died by suicide.
With their visually stunning and imaginative act “Air Play,” the Acrobuffos were praised for their use of Styrofoam peanuts, silk, and balloons in their humorous physical comedy. Bloom and Gelsone started their profession and meaningful outreach in Afghanistan in 2003 with the Mobile Mini Circus for Children.
Educational performances were a part of their work in Afghanistan, where they taught kids important skills including avoiding land mines and how to use bed nets to avoid malaria. A larger social circus movement, of which Bloom was a part, sought to provide education and delight to youngsters living in difficult circumstances.
Even though he was born in Washington, D.C. on January 4, 1975, Bloom spent his childhood moving around the world because his parents were both in very mobile professions.
Initially interested in clowning as a career path, he attended Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Clown College before going on to get degrees in physical theater and dance.
His ability to engage viewers and inspire shared laughter through his work—which combines physical antics with creative expression—was highly praised. Not only does Bloom’s wife survive him, but his father and sister also survive.
He suffered from chronic foot pain in recent years, probably as a consequence of his strenuous performances. Regardless, up to his death he persisted in performing, and his legacy is one of groundbreaking comedy and humanitarianism.