Shane Farberman knows how to clown around. He’s been doing it professionally for 32 years.

But it’s not his funny chops giving Farberman, known better by his clown name, Doo Doo, worldwide attention. Rather, he’s being recognized for his quick thinking in an incident far more serious than his usual work.

It happened around 3 p.m. on Sunday, as Farberman was driving back from a day’s work with two clown colleagues in the backseat. Around Front and Portland Sts., Farberman said he saw a man jumping on cars.

“Right away, I called 911 [and] said ‘There’s a guy in distress,’” he said.

The man ran down to Bathurst Street, and Farberman, after being asked where he was by the emergency operator, followed him in his car. As he turned the corner, he saw the man take a swipe at two women walking the opposite direction in the street.

“They started walking a little quicker. They obviously knew something was up. And the guy turns around and starts chasing them,” he said.

At that point, Farberman, still in full clown makeup and dress, rolled down his windows and yelled for the women to get in his car.

“I screamed and screamed like 20 times, ‘Get in my car,’’ he said, adding he only realized after how bizarre the moment must have been for the women.

“[They’re] looking at a black hummer, and a clown screaming “Get in! Get in!”

The women dove into Farberman’s car, squeezing in with the two other clowns in the backseat, while the man followed soon after and started pounding on the car.

“He was kicking, smashing it, and all of a sudden he ripped my mirror off. He looked like Jack Nicholson in [The Shining],” he said.

While everybody in the car was screaming at the man trying to get in, police arrived and subdued him. A police spokesperson was unable to say whether charges were laid, or whether more information would be released.

Coincidentally, Farberman had a dashboard camera, given to him as a gift a week earlier by his son, and captured the whole incident on it. A CityNews crew who arrived on the scene got the footage before it was seized by police. The news story has since gone viral, and Farberman said he woke up Monday to a media circus and roughly 12,000 emails from all over the world.

“I thought ‘I’ll go through [the emails].’ I sat down for 15 minutes. I did 10,” he said.

Hanging out on the clown tour.

While Doo Doo has had his share of fame, notably as the clown in the Adam Sandler movie Billy Madison, Farberman is still new to worldwide attention. He received a celebratory scroll from the city, as well as a reception with City councillor Norm Kelly on Monday. Kelly said he was struck by Farberman’s bravery.

“You give an additional definition to the word clown. You weren’t clowning around. You were acting decisively and bravely,” Kelly told Farberman while giving him the scroll.

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Like most people suddenly famous for a good deed, Farberman said he doesn’t consider his actions particularly heroic.

“If you watch the video, you see how terrified we were … I’m very humbled. I believe that people should look out for people,” he said.

Doo Doo the Clown is not the first costumed hero to grace our streets. Here are some of the GTA’s other caped crusaders.

Batman, AKA Alex Brovedani

Brovedani achieved viral fame after he posted a video of himself, dressed as Batman, walking around Toronto landmarks screaming “Where are they” at startled bypassers. The line is a reference the film The Dark Knight, where Batman shouts it multiple times.

Brovedani has since announced his retirement will coincide with the release of the Suicide Squad movie, which also features Batman, played by Ben Affleck, and partly filmed in Toronto.

The Crimson Canuck

The Crimson Canuck – whose secret identity is still unknown – doesn’t beat up criminals. Instead, he passes out mittens and snacks to Windsor’s needy, while wearing a maple leaf mask on his face. And while in Gotham the police may arrest Batman on sight, Windsor police told the Windsor Star they don’t an issue with the Crimson Canuck, as long as he doesn’t start fighting anybody.

Mazing, AKA Matthew Genser

Mazing got famous in July 2015, when put on his green spandex, with a neon pink M on the chest, and waged a war – against bad hair, that is.

Offering a free haircut to whomever he feels needs it, often the homeless who can go a long time between hair cuts, Genser, who owns a salon in Kensington Market, told Metro he does it to connect with people, and put smiles on their faces.

The Katalysts

An Oshawa version of other superhero teams like the Avengers or the Justice League, the Katalysts patrol the streets of Oshawa and literally get rid of the city’s garbage. They clean up litter in the city’s parks and streets, among other things, according to their website.

The heroes, who go by names like Aftershock and the Nameless Crusader, haven’t been heard from since 2014, when the last update to their website was posted. Maybe they’re just deep undercover.