Tragic Clown

Sunny the Tragic Clown was introduced with The Sims: Livin' Large. Should a Sim have a painting of the Tragic Clown in their house and then look at the painting when they are in a bad mood, the Tragic Clown himself will appear to try and cheer the Sim up.

However, it doesn't help that the clown is also feeling miserable, so any tricks he attempts to do will fail, meaning he will probably make your Sims even more unhappy. He wanders around your house, crying and coughing, and although your Sims can interact with him, the only interaction that makes them happier is insulting him. The only way the Tragic Clown can leave is if the Sim cheers up (a hard feat to achieve when the Clown is constantly making matters worse), or if the painting of the clown catches fire; if this happens, the Tragic Clown himself will also go up in flames.

Maxis also offered a download called the Clown Catcher, which, when rung up, would come round and remove the Tragic Clown from the house.

The Sims 3
At the graveyard you can find Tragic Clown's tombstone.

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


 * 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