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Joseph GrimaldiEnglish clown and mime, <the greatest clown in history>
Date of Birth: 18.12.1778
Country:  Great Britain |
Content:
Biography of Joseph Grimaldi
Joseph Grimaldi was an English clown and mime, considered to be the father of modern clowning and one of the most famous clowns in England. He is known as the first clown with a white (European) face, and his performances made the Clown character the central figure of British pantomimes.
Early Life
Grimaldi was born in one of the districts of London to an Italian father, Signor Giuseppe (Joseph) Grimaldi, who was nicknamed "Iron Legs" in London theatrical circles. His father was a pantomimist, circus artist, and ballet master at the Drury Lane Theatre. His mother, Rebecca Brooker, was a dancer in the corps de ballet. Grimaldi's father passed away in 1788, leaving the family in debt when Joseph was only nine years old.
At the age of less than two, Joseph performed a small role on the stage of the Drury Lane Theatre, and at the age of less than three, he started to occasionally perform at the Sadler's Wells Theatre. As a young man, Grimaldi fell in love with the daughter of the owner of Sadler's Wells Theatre and married her. However, Maria Grimaldi passed away during childbirth eighteen months later. Grimaldi found solace in his work and remarried after some time. His son, Joseph Samuel Grimaldi, later joined the family theatrical profession, but died at the age of thirty.
Career
Grimaldi is considered unparalleled in his role as a clown-mime. He achieved tremendous success in the Royal Covent Garden Theatre production of "Mother Goose" and solidified his success in other productions. Grimaldi was an undeniable innovator in his field, as his character, a clown named Joey, was a modern clown for that time, although his role was based on the traditional fool and buffoon roles that originated from the commedia dell'arte. Based on this innovation, Grimaldi's character became central to pantomimes. He had an extraordinary comedic grace, coming up with clever visual tricks and buffooneries that skillfully elicited laughter from the audience. By the time music halls became popular, Grimaldi introduced female pantomime and established the tradition of involving the audience in the performance.
The famous "sad clown" anecdote, where a doctor advises a client to attend a clown's show as a way to overcome depression, was originally about Grimaldi himself.
Retirement
By 1828, Grimaldi was completely bankrupt, and charity performances were held in the Covent Garden and Sadler's Wells Theatres to raise funds for his livelihood. The Drury Lane Fund granted him an annual pension of 100 pounds. In his final years, Joseph Grimaldi could barely walk and spent a lot of time at the Cornwallis Tavern in London. The tavern's owner, George Cooke, would take him home in the evenings.
Grimaldi, now crippled, continued to perform on stage until his death on the night of May 31, 1837. The London Illustrated News wrote in his obituary, "Grimaldi is dead and hath left no peer. We fear with him the spirit of pantomime has disappeared." In his will, Joseph Grimaldi requested to be beheaded before burial, supposedly out of fear of being buried alive.
Joseph Grimaldi's grave is located in Joseph Grimaldi Park (formerly the courtyard of St. James's Chapel) on Pentonville Road in Islington. There is a blue plaque on the building on Granville Road to commemorate that he once lived nearby.
