The English equivalent of the clown seen today did not emerge until around the sixteenth century. However, the Puritans closed the English theaters in 1642 and when they reopened in 1660, clowns were not allowed. The English clowns continued performing anywhere they could including improvised stages and at fairgrounds. In Italy, from the 1500's to the 1700's a form of street theater called commedia del'arte gave rise to such famous characters as Harlequin, with his colorful patchwork costume, and Pierrot, one of the first clowns recorded to use whiteface makeup. French clowns incorporated juggling, tightrope walking, and tumbling in front of fairground theaters. Once the circus arrived in America, so did the clowns. Joseph Grimaldi created the character Joey in the early 1800's. He used makeup to exaggerate his rubbery features. He applied makeup designs over a base of pure white, which gave birth to the basic funny face on which clowns still apply their greasepaint variations we see today. Clowns today are referred to as Joey.