I saw the Black and White Minstrel Show on BBC television, maybe as far back as the 1950s (when there was only one channel so you watched what was on or nothing).
I found it frustrating as one of them had a lovely voice and I wanted to know what he really looked like. I didn't think of it then as pretending to be black, it was more like clown costumes but without being scary.
I never found clowns funny.