World’s oldest clown Floyd ‘Creeky’ Creekmore dies aged 98

Creeky the Clown regularly performed to raise money for local hospitals

Floyd "Creeky" Creekmore, the world’s oldest performing clown, has died at the age of 98 (PA)

Floyd "Creeky" Creekmore, the world’s oldest performing clown, has died at the age of 98.

Mr Creekmore passed away on Saturday night in his home following complications from heart disease, his son Dave said.

After retiring from ranching and building homes in the 1980s, he joined the Al Bedoo Shrine Clown as Creeky, a group who regularly held circus performances to raise money for local hospitals.

In February 2012, the Guinness World Records (GWR) recognised the then-95-year-old as the world's oldest performing clown.

He took the title from Andrew Beyer, or 'Bumbo the Clown', who set the record at 86 years old in 2004.

A previous stroke had forced him to remove the juggling from his act, but he still regularly performed for young and old audiences in his home town of Billings, Montana.

Floyd 'Creeky' Creekmore visits with a boy at a Shrine circus in Billings (AP)

He finally stopped performing later in 2012 when Betty, his wife of 74 years, died - although he continued to attend Shriners’ meetings.

His friend and fellow performer Jim Nasby said Creeky would also teach others how to perfect the clown make-up. He told the Billing's Gazette: “He taught us by the way he did things. He taught us how to throw a pie right.

“He and Betty were a wonderful couple. I think part of the reason he died was of loneliness.”

He said Creeky was so popular that he was thrown five separate parties for his 90th birthday.

"A lot of people go clear through life and are never really passionate about something," his son told the Associated Press. "Boy, he had the passion. He jumped into that with both feet."