"I was born a clown," said Rainone, 20. "This is probably what I'm supposed to do."
When he was a week out of the womb, his parents, John "Bonkers" Rainone, and mother, Holly "Poppy" Benner, dressed themselves and their newborn in classic clown garb. It was their first family portrait.
Rainone still keeps the photograph. In it he looks like a pale-faced doll in his parents' arms.
At 5 weeks old, Rainone - pronounced Ray-NO-nee - appeared on his parents' television program, Club 27, which aired in the late 1980s and early 1990s on KDFI.
When he was 5, his mother stopped putting on his makeup and made him do it himself.
When he was in the fourth grade, "everyone decided I was a loser," Rainone said.
He rebelled against his parents and hated classmates who gave him a tough time because he was different.
"I can't be a cute clown, I need to be tough," Rainone told himself when he reached 13. He quit clowning.
Then about a year ago, he realized he was hiding from something that made him the happiest. He wanted to be a clown again.
"Now I don't care what anybody thinks as long as they don't think I'm a bad clown," he said.
Rainone showed up for the audition with a trunk full of gags and a red-and white-striped long-sleeve shirt. He was Zerp again, and he brought along his clown protege, his girlfriend, Kelli Brown.
"I'm going to go in there and do what I normally do and make people laugh," he said.
Inside the arena, the Ringling clowns and talent scouts for the circus were eager to see what awaited them.
"We're looking for someone who is comfortable with being uncomfortable," said David Kiser, director of talent. "We're not looking for an actor to play the role of a clown. What we're looking for is desire and heart."
