Tragic Clown/theories

Apparently, Sunny the Tragic Clown is dead by the Sims 3, but he is still alive in The Sims. Post hypothetical theories here.

Theories
1. It's not the same Tragic Clown, because in the Sims, his name is Sunny the Tragic Clown, you would think his traits would be: Clumsy, Over Emotional, Light Sleeper, No sense of Humor, either Loser, Unlucky, or Slob. 2. The Tragic Clown from the Sims is dead, but lives through the painting.
 * Sunny the Clown was always a very cheery guy with a very depressed girlfriend. One day, she decided that they weren't compatible outlook-wise and broke up with him. She gave him a picture to help ease the pain, but she accidentaly had painted her tragicness onto his face. Sunny went looking for her using a device called the Tragic-o-Meter, which would tell him the depression level of houses he went to. He had never been to his girlfriend's house. But there was a glitch in the Meter, and it found the depession of the clown in the painting {which his girlfriend had made many copies of and sold}.He found many other depressed sims along the way, and as a clown, felt it was his duty to cheer them up, but he was so sad from the loss of his girlfriend that he couldn't tell a joke to save his life. At one house, a woman was so frightened of him she ran away. Chasing after her, Sunny slipped into the pool. He escaped, but the water had scared him so much he drowned in his own tears. Hurshbr (talk) 20:23, January 22, 2013 (UTC)Hurshbr
 * I think that (before TS3) Sunny ran out of money and became a clown, because that was the only job he could qualify for anymore, after his failures. On the side of his clown job he decided to take up painting. So one day he painted a portrait of himself, but looking at it made himself so depressed at what had happened to his life that he drowned in his own tears. The painting was found after he was buried in the Pleasant Rest Graveyard and many copies were made for sale all over town. When the Tragic Clown found out they were being sold he went back to haunt every painting of him and came out only when someone was depressed so he could make them as depressed as he had been when the he first painted the portrait.
 * Sunnys sort-of dad was also a tragic clown. He also shared the first name Sunny. After his death, Sunnys mum got remarried and had a son named Sunny in Sunny 1sts honor. After he became a young adult, his friends, his parents, his brothers and his fiancè attended a funeral service for Lolita Goth. The Sunset Valley graveyard blew up, and all his loved ones died in a place of sadness. He tries to make people happy, instead of sad like the graveyard, but everyone and everything reminded him of his loved ones. His only skill was painting, so days before he became an adult he painted his pictures.
 * Before he died he painted a picture of himself. Everyone hated it and laughed at him. He cried and drowned in his many tears (or slipped and fell into a pool). So in his honor they had put it up for sale with many copies. And he haunts all the pictures and tried to put everyone else through his misery.Wanae12 (talk) 23:31, July 30, 2012 (UTC)
 * I think that Tragic Clown died from drowning some time before TS3 and was buried in sunset valley. Someone paintes a picture in his memory. Then with the discovery of Ambrosia in TS3 someone resurrected him, meaning he was still alive during TS. However, he never fully recovered and died somehow before TS2.
 * In TS3,the Tragic clown painted a picture of himself.Everyone made fun of it and said it looked horrible.He was so upset,he cried until he drowned in his own tears.In TS,he haunts the painting and when he goes to a Sims house,he cries because he thinks they will make fun of his painting,too.
 * The clown in the sims 1 is a zombie.
 * Before the Sims 3, **** head was a bankrupt young man with no family or friends, so he became a clown, the only job he could catch. Then Tragic Clown drowned, so maybe some scientists picked him for one of their wacko expiraments and brought him back to life with Ambrosia. Then, restored, he had no money or education so he had to become a low-paid clown again. ~MadiCullen
 * The Tragic Clwon ****ed in The Sims 3, and then someone painted a picture in his memory, so the Tragic Clown saw the pictures and it made him even more depressed. Now, whenever there is a depressed Sim, the Tragic Clown comes to mope along with them and make things worse. ~AmphyPrincess
 * The Tragic Clown must have died in the Sims 3 and came back to haunt the painting that was made in loving memory of him.
 * As the sims 3 is a prequel to the sims this means that the Tragic Clown died in sims 3 and somebody painted a memorial painting and his depressed spirit went to live in it. And because he is a clown whenever sims are sad he goes and tries to cheer them up. It works like a genie in a bottle except you have to be sad to make it work LaughingCowPlant 21:42, July 16, 2010 (UTC)
 * Maybe, The TS3 Tragic clown had a son and after he died, the TC's son became the new clown so he could carry on the family tradtion.
 * maybe he is like Dorian Gray/grey, and he's immortal. He FAKED his death in sims 3, and in sims 1, he PRETENDED to be a clown making people happy, while all the time, he was hoping that nothing happened to his painting! If they sold it, he goes off looking for it, and if they burn it, he realises that it's a fake, so he goes off and looks for the real one If the sim is happy, he feels that he HAS to leave. That may make no sense, but oh well! 86.153.214.195 11:15, June 24, 2010 (UTC)
 * Correct me if I'm wrong but the clown was alive in TS1 but in the sims bustin out there was a painting but it didn't come to life so he was dead then in TS3 he was a ghost right? What I mean is that one of the clowns is a whole new clown from a different family.
 * Probably before TS3, he had a wife and a son. His wife could have been a fun loving woman, and maybe she thought he needed more happiness and joy in his life. Maybe she died or left him, (I think death would be better) which is why he became a clown. He wanted to make her happy in the Netherworld. But he became depressed so he killed himself, leaving his only family member alone. His son probably followed his father's steps into become a clown in TS1, and only came when they had a picture of him. Then, in TS2, his son probably had the same fate as his father, which is why he was replaced with the Social Bunny. The Social Bunny was a huge success, and in time everyone forgot about the clown family...the end :D
 * You know what is kinda stupid for the Tragic Clown? HE HAS HYDROPHOBIA!!!! FEAR OF WATER!!! He died of drowning... something doesn't make any sense plus the factor that somehow he has to come back to life in the Sims! If he's a tragic clown then he has to be a living ghost... like a ZOMBIE!!!
 * So the Tragic Clown died by drowning. Perhaps he drowned in his own tears.
 * In Sims1 he's an undead. If he's called a Tragic clown he must be dead and has to haunt the living for all etarnity. Mwuhahaha! (Just kidding. Really.)
 * Although I don't personally ascribe to the continuity theory of the three Sims games, he's haunting the painting in Sims 1 after he's dead in Sims 3, which is why he appears when you have the painting. Think the Mona Lisa in Sarah Jane Adventures. Simple.
 * In the Sims 3, he died due to drowning because he is hydrophobic. TS3 is a PREQUEL to TS1, so he may have eaten the ambrosia, thus being alive in TS1. His clothing and other looks are very different between the two (TS3 he looks like a clown, TS1 he looks like a hobo with a dirty, ripped up one-piece PJ) so he may have lost everything somehow just before TS1 took place.
 * The Real clown is dead like in sims 3 but his son comes out to get his revenge to make people even more sad.
 * I think that the tragic clown from The Sims is not the same that the one from The Sims 3.
 * You're right! That makes sense
 * The fact that he's been dead for such a long time may explain why he is magically linked to a painting. Think Beetlejuice.
 * I think you're onto something with that. :D He may possibly be a ghost in The Sims as well, considering how he has such a strong connection with the painting of himself. (Maybe there's a painting of him in TS3?)
 * Actually, there is a painting of him In TS3 downloadable for free off the sims 3 store @ the website.
 * I think one of two things happened: 1, Sunny was so depressed that he faked his own death to get away from everything. 2, Maxis forgot that The Sims 3 takes place before The Sims. I believe the Second one =P
 * I think the clown in The Sims 3 is the dad of the clown in The Sims 1. He died, and that why hes always crying.
 * The third theory: Tragic means something bad happened to him, and catching the painting on fire kills him so it is just a strange ghost. He probably killed himself from depression which explains why he tries to cheer others but fails horribly.
 * I think that Tragic Clown doesn't actually exist, and like Social Bunnies, are the insanity/depression/hallucination of the Sims when they are lonely. --79.97.154.41 18:11, 22 May 2009 (UTC)
 * Someone finally got fed up with him and killed him.
 * I don't think the creators would have made such a mistake with something like this, i think Sunny is simply a ghost or a hallucination. Either way, I'm just glad he's in some way back. *Maybe it will be possible to resurrect him... if it is, I sure will. He was awesome.
 * Maybe he died by a fire. Then he feeds off of the sadness of Sims, and he can resurrect himself with their own pain. His only weakness is fire because that's how he died.
 * There is a clown club dedicated to cheering sorrowful Sims. The grave in Sims 3 belongs to a senior member who is brutally murdered in the middle of carrying out his duty.
 * He is like Freedy Kruger, an Evil undead thing thing that. Instead he feeds of sorrow instead of fear.
 * Perhaps, after he was buried, a painting of him was made, and honored him as the worst clown ever. Furious, he cursed every copy of the painting ever made, so that, whenever a Sim looked at the painting and felt lonliness and sorrow, a phantom of the Tragic Clown would arise and feed off those emotions/make them feel worse. Gyromite 01:15, 27 May 2009 (UTC)
 * I think that the painting is made up of some kind paint which causes weird gas and so when it is placed in the house people Hallucinate and see the man in the painting.
 * The Tragic Clown in Sims 1 and Sims 3 is the same. Since he's dead in the sims 3 and is a ghost too, and since if u have the painting of him in ts1 thats the only time he'll come out, so that means the the tragic clown in the sims 1 is a ghost aswell, and is the same clown as before. Thats what i see in my view
 * Someone have given him the food that will resurrect ghosts!
 * I think that the clown in the sims 3 is an ancestor to the one in the sims 1.
 * Maybe someone gave him a serving of Ambrosia, thus explaining his revival. The Clumsy and Loser traits may explain his bad skills. About the whole painting/clown thing, the painting may be a beacon for his Teleporter and like the Mariachis in "Sam & Max episode 204-Chariots of the Dogs" he arrives when people are feeling miserable (opposed to making birthdays) to try to cheer them up (how someone like him got the 75,000 points necessary is unknown. maybe his lifetime wish was being a clown). anyway, when the beacon gets burned, he has to teleport back, and the fire is a bad teleporting effect. the ashes are a side-effect and the urn is a beacon. the ghost is a after-image.--Lswgamer 23:33, 21 June 2009 (UTC)Lswgamer Rocha - Freelance Wiki Article Writer
 * Also someone above siad it took place before sims but it took place betweensims and sims2
 * I think it's like the Ring.
 * Ugh... Obviously, he died by drowning since his ghost is blue. Drowning = Water. In The Sims, when his picture catches on fire, he disappers. Fire and water are opposites, don't you see?
 * yeah :^D he died your way, by drowning, but the explanation of the sims is that he's a ghost.I never had the tradgedy clown or the painting( i was about 6 when i first played the sims and thought paintings a total waste of money-they are though!)but i read on a cheat website that you if you put a wall around him he just walks through it WALKING THROUGH WALLS=abnormal=ghost get me?
 * I think that if you create a female tragic clown than you might have a chance of reserecting him you. So you might not need a painting at all.
 * He drowned, then got so depressed he binge-eaten ambrosia.
 * I for one think that he's alive in the Sims in a way, but he has a connection with his painting, the painting revives him so he can help depressed, explaing why when the painting is burnt he leaves, the painting links him to the house, explaining why when selling the painting he leaves, and when he is happy he leaves because he has nothing left to do.
 * If you wish you can disregard this completely, but in my game I associated him with the late Big Steve Underwood, my epitaph for the clown reads: "Never annoy Big Steve when he's hungry..." while Big Steve's states: "Big Steve was promptly hanged after he killed the clown" So I supposed something along those lines could be the fate of that dad-burned clown.
 * Could it be that he died--but almost not quite--and is chained to his own portrait until the end of eternity. He exists but in a sort of half-life. Possibly trapped in a limbo between life and death. Perhaps he got on the nerves of the Grim Reaper so that instead of passing back into the spirit world he would be spiritually chained to the painting. He has to linger and annoy people for eternity---the uiltimate tortured soul.
 * Tragic Clown the ghost (from the Sims 3) WooHooed with someone and had a non-ghost boy named exactly after his father. This boy is the Tragic Clown from The Sims 1.
 * The tragic clown from the sims 1 maybe the tangible ghost of the tragic clown in the sims 3. Think about it... he could go through walls if you blocked his path in the Sims 1. Its similar to the maid in the sims 2 PSP.
 * I think that he is a ghost he maby haunting one object in this case the paiting and i think the clown cachers are like the Ghostbusters that catch the ghost and take away the pating in order to stop the haunting its simple logic!!! (P.S. I havent played the sims or the sims 3 I only have the sims 2) AND ITS A GAME IT DOSENT HATH TO MAKE SENSE!!!.
 * I think that he is not really there, but still there, meaning that he died, came back alive, lost everything and died with water and randomly became linked with a painting, hence hauntings in TS3 but still being alive in TS1. Think about nervous subject from TS2 as well. Notice a link?
 * I see, that I'm not the only one thinking, that Tragic Clown from The Sims is a ghost of the one in The Sims 3. It all adds up perfectly - in The Sims 3 he died when he was onlty an adult, maybe even a young adult. That made him feel sad and when the portrait of him has been made, it made him feel angry, because he throught that it was made to laugh at him, not for a memory of him, so he started coming to the houses and scarying the people that had it. He also could walk through objects. But, when he camed, he forgot about how he feels about the owners of the house and he just walked there alosne, being sad. When people sold the picture, he had his memory refreshed and he remembered then and he decided to go - he throught that people don't want to laugh at him anymore.
 * Simple explenation, the way Tragic Clown needs a painting to show up, and the way the clown catchers take him away suggests he is some kind of spirit or ghost. Hence he is already dead.
 * I have two theories:


 * I believe the second theory by the previous contributor. Because, if he's dead, then that would make him so depressed. Bleeh  [ iTalk  ]01:17, February 8, 2010 (UTC) S
 * In a picture in the Sims 3, he can be seen being pushed into the swimming pool at the Goth`s house, so it is likely that he drowned in the Goth family home and he must have been brought back to life to get revenge on people by depressing them.
 * Prior to the Sims 3, Tragic Clown Died. Then, the Grim Reaper was nice and gave him a second chance, giving him a special painting; but his death would become permanent if he lost the painting. UBFunkaneer 20:29, April 5, 2010 (UTC)
 * he died, but came back as an Onryo to haunt the living. see, Onryos' thrive on the misery and pain of others, so he came back to create more misery and pain by amplifying the misery and pain they already had.Awesomebloodvamp 18:16, April 7, 2010 (UTC)
 * I believe the Tragic Clown in TS3 is the same as the one in TS1. Someone painted a painting in his honor, and then he was sucked into the painting, depressed as ever. So, whenever a sad Sim looks at him, he tries his best to not make them suffer his pain. PepterPepper 17:59, February 22, 2010 (UTC)
 * He was given Ambrosia. Thats it. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Bosif546 (talk • contribs) - Sign your comments with ~
 * maybe he was never alive maybe was a supernatural entity is bound to the painting
 * a) he might have eaten ambrosia b) someone may have liked the tragic clown (but if we know who that is we will burn his house for liking him) and painted a paiting of him in ts1. so when a sad sim gets well... SAD, the tragic clown will thank the painter for his kindness and help the living with their social problems
 * maybe he was brought back to life with I-Dunno-What.
 * Not sure if this has already been said, but I think the Tragic Clown is still dead in TS1. It's just like the Therapist/Shrink/Whatever he's called in TS2. Only the Sim that needs him can see him because he's a ghost (or, maybe in the Therapist's case, a hallucination or something...Ironic, no?)
 * Well if u see i can think that in TS3 Mortimer killed him, well only look at the pictures and u can see Mortimer was afraid of him and always hated him like u can see once he tried to hit him with a base-ball, and like other that he is making faces to Mortimer and he is afraid of him and in the other one he looks like he has been pushed to the pool in the goths manor so i think it was Mortimer.
 * Simple, Tragic Clown from Sims 3 had a child (after his death) that turned out human and became the Tragic Clown from Sims 1, more simply, Sims 1 Tragic Clown is the son of Sims 3 Tragic Clown.
 * The Sims 3 TC had an adopted son and he had the same traits as his Father and became the Sims 1 TC.
 * The truth is it was a technical error by the producer. They may accidentally killed him. But as something I like fantasy, let's imagine he got revived on The Sims. ---  Rodrigo X    13:24, July 6, 2010 (UTC)
 * I think that the TS3 Tragic Clown did die. Some relatives of his found out (quite late) and resurrected him. However, they were poor (he was a clown after all) so they couldn't fully revive him, so he came back as a zombie, which explains the freaky appearance he had at TS. Nickols12345
 * I think that the tragic clown is deceased in both games, but he lives trough the painting in TS1.\
 * So if he is alive through Ambrosia, who made it...and if someone made it, why would they give it to a creepy looking clown. It's not like there's a Mrs.Tragic Clown to give it to him. And i agrree with the guy above me too Riseagainst4u 16:44, August 17, 2010 (UTC)risEAgainst
 * Inbetween TS1 and TS2, the Tragic Clown time traveled before the times of TS3, perhaps to change something that made his life tragic. However, he drowned in a horrible accident. This means that perhaps TS3 is a sequel for him, just like with Don Lothario. That's why in TS1 he is living and he is not there in TS2. 98.211.3.190 18:17, October 9, 2010 (UTC)
 * This is my favorite theory. It really explains why he's a ghost in TS3 despite TS3 being a prequel to the original The Sims.
 * Maybe someone fed him Ambrosia. 67.185.176.237 17:19, January 17, 2011 (UTC)
 * The tragic clown was a man who was never taken seriously because of his bizarre ways, his stupidity, his clumsiness, and his poverty which led him to never make it to medical school. He pursued being a clown instead, hoping that even if he can't save lives with a scalpel, at least he can save lives using laughter, knowing that laughter is the best medicine. So being the dork (and wannabe hero due to reading too many comic books, being easily impressed by the superheroes) that he is, some jerks pushed him to the pool. Because he is a hydrophobe who can't swim, he drowned. The only thing he ever did to make people happy in his life is to drown. There were pictures made in memory of him by an artist, which were, in turn, bought by other depressed sims who needed some cheering up. Hoping that he can at least do something right, he haunted every picture with his spirit and appeared whenever he saw someone weep. Alas, all he can do is mope around with the depressed person he's trying to cheer up, being the clumsy man that he is who can't actually juggle, especially if the depressed person lived in a messy home, being the neat person that the Tragic Clown is. Even in the Hereafter 25 years in time, he still can't do things right. Even then, the only thing that he can do to make others happy is to become the object of insult. Also, since he is a spirit after all, the clown catchers can only take him away temporarily. The only way to get him off the house of the depressed sim would be burn the object that he haunts with his spirit (painting) or simply to just get rid of the painting in any way. He would also leave in dolor when he sees the depressed sim happy when he realizes his failure in cheering the sim up. But then, all hope isn't lost for him yet. In another 25 years to improve his social skills and sense of humor, he takes on another form as a bunny, getting rid of his erstwhile clown image. He sought refuge inside his fuzzy suit and finally succeeded in his pursuit to become solace to the tragic souls like him, to make a difference to the world.EmilyArmstrong 07:03, February 25, 2011 (UTC)
 * edit to above story: oh, the clown catchers take away the painting, thus the clown catchers are actually counted as a way to totally get rid of his memory, unless of course if the sim is foolish enough to buy another of those paintings. EmilyArmstrong 13:24, February 27, 2011 (UTC)
 * He pooped and drowned..
 * 1. He step on the time machine in The Sims that brought him back to past and then drowned. 2. He have a children in The Sims 3 and that children was the Tragic Clown on The Sims
 * Since the Grim Reaper seems to enjoy the misfortune of other (as mentioned when he resurects Sims with the loser or unlucky traits), he may have binded the clown to the memorial paintings and split his soul into millions. When someone is deppresed, one of those divided souls are sent to the house (as long as it has a clown painting) to tourture the deppresed even further for the Reaper's entertainment. Finaly, when the deppresed Sim chears up, the soul of the Clown is returned and branded a failure. He is then destroyed and reconstructed to reset his memory to straight after he died.
 * I think that when the Tragic Clown was late at night near the pool in Sunset Valley, a teenager was there. The Tragic Clown was annoying the teenager, so he pushed him in the pool. Since he was hydrophobe, he drowned. He was arrested and no one heard from again. I think that happened during Sims 2.
 * Here is one long reason. Tragic Clown was walking down the street when some guy with a hose sprayed him. Being a Hydrophobe, he suffered a heart attack. He was sent straight to the ER where he died, but not before he entrusted his depressing powers to his unborn son. The Grim Reaper told Tragic Clown that if he painted a self-portrait and paid a fee, he could be resurrected. He painted a sad picture and paid two simolians to Reaper. Angered by the depressing painting and the tiny amount, he trapped Tragic Clown's vengeful soul in the portrait. He escaped and assumed his now forty year old son and once again died, this time by drowning in the bathtub. He went back to his picture. One day, an art thief created billions of these pictures, trapping single severed pieces of Tragic Clown's ghost in each one. So now, he haunts the paintings, reaping his revenge by depleting happiness because no one mourned for him except his cat, Jimmy.
 * Ok how about this he was alive in TS1 and died in TS2 and his grave is made in TS3 and his son toke over somewhere in TS3. By the way TS3 son I belevie was adopeted.
 * The Tragic Clown is a ghost in the Sims 1! Or a special kind of a ghost. The Clown-Catchers are Ghostbusters, but they named it Clown because Sunny always escapes.
 * I have three theories. 1. He got very upset because of all of the heat and preasure, like from Mortimer Goth. Maybe he faked his death to get it all away from him. The ghost of Tragic Clown is a hologram projected by Sunny to make people Think he died. 2. He got pushed in by Mortimer Goth because he was fed up with the clown. So some wacky scientists decided to get a Tribute painting of him and suck his spirit in the painting with Ghostbusters so he wouldnt terrorize anyone, but realized he could come out of the painting, which led to him appearing near depressed sims. 3. The Sims 1 came before sims 2 and 3. Why you may ask? Mortimer probally, with his science equipment, decided to make everyone young again so he could restart because of Bella being abducted. He made everyone young and the time went into the past to when Most adults in Sims 1 and 2 are Kids. So Tragic Clown maybe wasnt a ghost until Sims 3, when he made a accidential mistake of tripping into the pool while running from Clown Catchers and ran. He slipped on the wet ground and drowned in the pool.
 * TS3 Tragic Clown died drowned in a dunk-tank which also explains his hydrophobic trait. He has the fear to fall in the water, but when someone finaly sunk him, he unfortunately died. TS Tragic Clown is a completely diferent clown. I think EA messed up big time when making TS3 a prequel from TS.
 * I think he died in sims 3 and in sims 1 he turned into chucky (a doll that comes to life and kills you? so chucky!)
 * Duh, it's obvious that the Tragic Clown was pretending to be a ghost then at 12:00am he takes off his disguise and turns into a doll. BECUASE THE CLOWN NEVER DIES!!
 * I believe that the tragic clown in the sims was a figment of your sims imagination like the social bunny and the tragic clown in the sims 3 is the real thing.
 * I think he is a time traveler.
 * They are different people! Bakerychaz 08:38, June 22, 2012 (UTC)
 * He is and always was a ghost. Maybe the painting was his once upon a time and that's why he haunts it in The Sims. He is hydrophobic in Sims because that's how he died, by drowining. I'd say he never was hydrophobic before that. It makes more since that he was always a ghost than to say that a living person could somehow be summoned into you're home just because you happened to own a clown painting. ~Peramia
 * He died in TS3, then either, he is a ghost and comes through the painting in TS1, or the time is waaayyyy in the future, they gave him Ambrosia, and they gave him the power to go through paintings, but the machine to do that is destroyed so no one else could use it. (They only brought him back to life so if there were bad consequences no one would care) Xiledx101 (talk) 01:27, July 24, 2012 (UTC) Xiledx101
 * Often when you are hydrophobic its because you can't swim. Which could explain why he died of drowning. Someone pushed him into a pool or he fell in, panicked (Cause he's afraid of water/doesn't know how to swim) and well drowned... Regarding the painting...think "The Ring", his ghost haunts the copies of his painting. And comes out when he sees people are sad, cause he is a clown just a very terrible clown. of course he's going to mope around when he fails to cheer the sims up. Then in TS2 the circulation of his painting stops, because they were destroyed and/or confiscated. KittyPaine 21:59, September 30, 2012 (UTC)
 * What I think is, before The Sims 3, Sunny had a job as a clown but he was terrible at it, so everyone was mean to him and made his life a misery. He then decided to paint a self-portrait of himself which he kept at home. He later slipped and fell into a pool, and since he had a hydrophobic trait, he couldn't swim so he drowned. When everything in his home was removed, they made copies of his painting and sold it all over town. His ghost hauts the copies of his painting and comes out when people are sad, so he can cheer them up. But it never works. Everyone got rid of their painting and burned them while Sunny escaped and became missing, as shown on the notice on a milk carton in The Sims 2.
 * I believe both clowns are the same. I think in TS3, Mortimer Goth pushed the Tragic Clown into a pool, not knowing he didn't know how to swim, so the clown died. Then, a witch read an old World Record book (Record for Worst Clown) and wanted to resurrect the clown, making him think he could have another chance at making people happy, when, in reality, she wanted to make people miserable. The witch put him in a different dimension, where the paintings acted as portals from that dimension to the regular world. The painting portals would only work when someone near it was extremely miserable, however. Eventually, some people working with the paranormal worked to destroy the portals, but more paintings kept being made. The people/creatures that became the Social Bunnies ended up buying a painting. When the Tragic Clown came out, they kidnapped him, thus explaining his disappearance in TS2.
 * Maybe the clown used to be a serial killer like the "it" clown.  Eventully he was caught and executed, and to add to punishment, they had a witch bind his soul into a painting who they buried it so nobody could even see him.  However, one day somebody dug up his grave and found the painting then they decided to make millions of copies to sell to people who were depressed because clown are suppose to cheer people up.  But what they didn't was that by copying the painting, they also copyed his soul. and after relizing what they've really done, they wanted to take back all there paintings, thus becoming the clown catchers.  As for the clown, He is depressed because he could not kill people anymore, so he proceded to just annoy people instead.  I think he fails on purpose because making people miserable acually makes him happier.