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Grimaldi, Joseph
Grimaldi, Joseph (1778–1837), English actor, the creator of the English clown, the only character in the harlequinade not derived from the Italian commedia dell'arte. In his honour all later clowns were nicknamed Joey. The illegitimate son of Giuseppe Grimaldi, ballet-master at Drury Lane, he made his first appearance on the stage at Sadler's Wells at the age of 2½. As a boy he played in pantomime, and by the time he became a regular member of the Sadler's Wells company in 1792 he was already well trained in acrobatic and pantomimic skills. In 1796 he was at Drury Lane where he played a number of parts besides Clown, being seen as Aminadab in Mrs Centlivre's A Bold Stroke for a Wife and as Robinson Crusoe and Blue Beard in pantomime. In 1805, on the recommendation of Charles Dibdin, he was engaged for Covent Garden, where, with occasional returns to Sadler's Wells, he remained until his retirement. At these theatres his inventive comic genius—making a man out of vegetables, a coach out of four cheeses, a cradle, and a fender—was given full scope. Making Clown a rustic booby on the model of Pantaloon's servant, Grimaldi gave him his traditional costume—baggy breeches, a livery coat with scarlet patches, fantastic wigs, usually a turned-up pigtail, and a white face with scarlet triangles and exaggerated eyebrows. His acrobatics were characterized by dynamic energy which finally wore him out, and in 1823 his place at Covent Garden was taken by his dissolute and sottish son, Joseph S. (1802–32). He made his last appearance at Sadler's Wells in 1828. He then retired to Pentonville and was burried in the churchyard of St James's Chapel on Pentonville Hill, now a public garden, where his tombstone can still be seen.
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PHYLLIS HARTNOLL and PETER FOUND. "Grimaldi, Joseph." The Concise Oxford Companion to the Theatre. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. 31 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. PHYLLIS HARTNOLL and PETER FOUND. "Grimaldi, Joseph." The Concise Oxford Companion to the Theatre. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. (May 31, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O79-GrimaldiJoseph.html PHYLLIS HARTNOLL and PETER FOUND. "Grimaldi, Joseph." The Concise Oxford Companion to the Theatre. 1996. Retrieved May 31, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O79-GrimaldiJoseph.html |
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Grimaldi, Joseph
Grimaldi, Joseph (1779–1837), a celebrated clown and pantomimist, whose Memoirs were edited by Dickens, with illustrations by Cruikshank (2 vols, 1838).
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Cite this article
MARGARET DRABBLE and JENNY STRINGER. "Grimaldi, Joseph." The Concise Oxford Companion to English Literature. 2003. Encyclopedia.com. 31 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. MARGARET DRABBLE and JENNY STRINGER. "Grimaldi, Joseph." The Concise Oxford Companion to English Literature. 2003. Encyclopedia.com. (May 31, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O54-GrimaldiJoseph.html MARGARET DRABBLE and JENNY STRINGER. "Grimaldi, Joseph." The Concise Oxford Companion to English Literature. 2003. Retrieved May 31, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O54-GrimaldiJoseph.html |
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