Photo: Des Plaines Police Department / Public domain (source: Wikimedia Commons)
John Wayne Gacy was born on March 17, 1942 in Edgewater, New Jersey, United States and was credited as a clown, painter and serial killer. John Wayne Gacy died on May 10, 1994 at the age of 52. Education on record includes Cooley Vocational High School and Northwestern College. The listed height was 174 cm.
My Take
I won't pretend to be a fan here, because there's nothing to be a fan of. Gacy is one of those names that turns my stomach: a man who hid behind block-party charm, contractor handshakes, and a painted clown face while doing unspeakable things to dozens of young men and boys in the 1970s. What's always stuck with me is how ordinary he looked to his neighbors, how the friendly "Pogo the Clown" routine became the most chilling detail of the whole case. I think the real weight of this story belongs to his victims and their families, not to him. So my honest take is simple: he's a grim, cautionary chapter in American crime history, the kind of figure you study to understand evil, never to admire.
This take was written by generative AI, one per person, from publicly reported facts (editorial policy). It is a reading of the record, not reporting.
1. Profile
- Name (English)
- John Wayne Gacy
- Name (Japanese)
- ジョン・ゲイシー
- Reading
- じょん・げいしー
- Born
- March 17, 1942 – May 10, 1994
- Origin
- Edgewater, New Jersey, United States
- Height
- 174 cm
- Occupation
- clown / painter / serial killer
- Zodiac / Chinese zodiac
- Pisces / Horse
2. Background
- High school
- Cooley Vocational High School
- University
- Northwestern College
3. Links
- Wikipedia (English)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John%20Wayne%20Gacy
- Wikipedia (Japanese)https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%82%B8%E3%83%A7%E3%83%B3%E3%83%BB%E3%82%B2%E3%82%A4%E3%82%B7%E3%83%BC
- Wikidatahttps://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q298252
4. About this entry
Tags
- Last updated
Only publicly available facts are listed; non-public or unconfirmed items are omitted. Base data was compiled from Wikidata from June 2026 onward; ages are recalculated daily and deaths are checked against Wikidata on an ongoing basis. English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.
Frequently asked questions
When was John Wayne Gacy born?
John Wayne Gacy was born on March 17, 1942.
When did John Wayne Gacy die?
John Wayne Gacy died on May 10, 1994, aged 52.
Where was John Wayne Gacy from?
John Wayne Gacy was from Edgewater, New Jersey, United States.
What did John Wayne Gacy do?
John Wayne Gacy worked as clown, painter, serial killer.
How tall was John Wayne Gacy?
John Wayne Gacy was 174 cm tall.
Where did John Wayne Gacy study?
John Wayne Gacy attended Northwestern College.
Painter — see all → · More people from the United States → · More people born on March 17 →