Edwards performances are mainly one-man shows in the European cabaret tradition, in which he combines traditional clowning with countercultural and political references. Edwards built up a cult following over more than three decades of touring Europe with his shows.
Edwards is a native of Detroit, where his family owned a successful landscaping business. During the late 1960s, he became immersed in radical politics, philosophy, religion, and the esoteric sciences.[citation needed] After three trips to Europe, he decided to give up his possessions in the U.S. and to travel to Europe to study the art of comedy and the clown.[citation needed] He became a busker in London and formed traveling comedy groups there.[citation needed]
Beginning in 1975, he became known as one of the primary organizers and performers at the "International Festival of Fools", an occasional citywide festival of alternative comedy and clown acts in Amsterdam.[citation needed] Edwards gained a fan base in the Netherlands and for many years attracted enthusiastic audiences to his performances there. He also developed a fan base in Germany. From the 1980s, Edwards spent much of his time in France, where his style of performance was well received.[citation needed] For a time he gave regular performances at a small theatre in the Pigalle district of Paris. More recently, he has been based in Barcelona.

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