The Dual Life of Chicago’s Pogo the Clown

1970s

The Painted Smile: The Dual Life of Chicago’s Pogo the Clown   Pogo There is a specific type of cold that settles in the bones when you realize the person shaking your hand might be the last person you ever see. In the 1970s, Northwest Chicago lived within this chill, though the source remained hidden in plain sight. To the community, John Wayne Gacy was a "Model Citizen"—a successful contractor, a political precinct captain, and a man who spent his weekends entertaining sick children as Pogo the Clown. But beneath the floorboards of his ranch house at 8213 West Summerdale Avenue, the air was thick with a secret that defied human comprehension. The Victim The Stench of the Crawl Space Neighbors often complained of a "rancid, swampy"... Read More