I’m usually working on Halloween night so in years past I’ve had to accompany my kids trick-or-treating dressed as a newscaster in my Channel 3 uniform, so I can easily return to the studio for the 11PM News. This year, Halloween falls on a Saturday,  and my son and daughter were thrilled that  Kara and I could get in to costume.  Their request?   Mom and Dad should compliment their superhero get-ups, and so I’m going as the Joker, and Kara, Catwoman.

I picked the Joker from the 1960s “Batman” television series because our children on occasion watch an old episode (new for them) and the latter Jokers on the big screen are a little more violent than the preposterous foolery in the tv show.

For the Joker’s suit, I took an old khaki suit and painted it.  Seriously.  Behr’s Delicious Berry interior paint from Home Depot did the trick.  I hung it in the backyard and when it dried it looked just like leather.

As for the hair, I bought a cheap wig at Five Below rather than the green hair paint.  Many years I ago went as Bart Simpson and I remembered that yellow hair spray didn’t come out all that easily.

Here’s the finished product that Kara and I tried out at a Halloween party this past weekend.

By the way, that khaki suit that I painted?  I wore it when I popped the question to Kara on Mackinac Island back in 2002.  Still fits!

Have a great Halloween!  The Joker was not the first time I was a clown.  My mom made these costumes.