Man inherits massive clown collection

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FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla., Sept. 30 (UPI) -- A Florida man says he inherited more than 13,000 clown items when his father-in-law and business partner died two years ago.

Richard Levine is currently trying to figure out what to do with a warehouse in Davie filled with his late father-in-law's clown collection, South Florida Sun Sentinel reported.

The collection, which belonged to Jack "Clown Jackey" Kline, who died in 2010 at the age of 81, includes clown dolls, paintings, figurines, puppets, photographs, books and costumes.

"They need to be in a museum or something, not in some warehouse," said Levine, 58 of Fort Lauderdale.

Kline, who often visited children hospitals dressed as a clown, amassed the collection over more than 50 years.

"My wife and I had to make a decision. Leave it up there and probably lose it, or bringing it down here," Levine said during a recent tour of his warehouse.

Levine said he has little time to go through all of the items, but he hopes to inventory all of it, sell most of it, keep some of it and donate the rest to a local charity group.

"I am slowly starting to like them and getting enthusiastic about them. I can see how Jack was into them," Levine said. "I don't go for the sad clowns much though, but I really enjoy the happy ones."