WWE’s original ‘Doink the Clown’ dead at 55

Former wrestler Matt Osborne, best known for playing the twisted Doink the Clown character in the early '90s, died Friday at a local hospital in Plano, Texas. According to NBCDFW.com, Osborne, 55, was found unresponsive by his girlfriend inside their apartment and detectives believe the death was accidental, though a homicide investigation is underway.

Before his stint as Doink the Clown, Osborne worked the independent circuit and even wrestled on the inaugural WrestleMania card against Ricky Steamboat in 1985 at Madison Square Garden. Osborne would go on to compete in World Class Championship Wrestling (WCCW) and World Championship Wrestling (WCW) before returning to the WWE in 1992.

Clowns are already pretty creepy to begin with, so when Osborne slapped on the greasepaint, green wig, and came out to a theme song that likely still haunts kids to this day, he and the WWE had struck gold with a great heel character. So great that Doink often made children cry at ringside thanks to his pre- and post-match antics.

 If you thought one Doink was disturbing enough, the WWE soon introduced a second Doink character (played by Steve Keirn) to torment and confuse his opponents and audiences during matches.
Culled from