Clown’s Cluttered Home No Laughing Matter: Judge Orders Him to Clean Up

Some people use their closets and drawers for storage. Professional clown Terry Knutson prefers his bathtub.

That’s where he keeps his shoe boxes, folded paper grocery bags and 29 partial rolls of toilet paper.

The clutter, which extends throughout his Mission Hills property, is not part of Knutson’s Clownzo the Clown act. But it has played a starring role in the real-life predicament of Knutson and his neighbors for more than a decade.

Earlier this week, a municipal court judge ordered the professional jester to clean up his house and yard or face up to eight months in jail. The sentence, which follows previous, less severe court orders, was imposed after jurors convicted him on six counts, including maintaining a “rodent harborage,” permitting fire-hazardous refuse inside and outside a dwelling, and permitting trash, debris, garbage and overgrown vegetation to accumulate on a lot.

Neighbors who have complained for 15 years about garbage accumulating on Knutson’s property in the 15000 block of Vintage Street expressed hope Thursday that he would obey the court order and clean up the outside of his house by Dec. 15 and the inside by Jan. 15.

But two days after being sentenced, Knutson, 50, was unrepentant. In an interview in his house Thursday afternoon, the self-described “pack rat” offered a rare glimpse into the lifestyle of a compulsive collector.

“My life doesn’t need to be put in order,” he said, surrounded by knee-high stacks of newspapers and other papers that litter his two-bedroom house, except for a narrow path to the bathroom and master bedroom.

“It’s true that it’s cluttered,” he added. “But it’s not accurate to call it trash and debris. Everything here has a purpose. . . .

“I hate when everything looks so sterile and picture-perfect,” he said. “It’s like a museum or hospital.”