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Years of a clown: Leeds panto star Charlie Cairoli
As we move into the pantomime season, JOHN THORPE looks back at one of Leeds panto's best-loved stars.
THE crowds of Christmas shoppers thronging the city centre streets had never seen anything like it.
Snaking its way through the middle of Leeds was a swaying line of giggling children being led Pied Piper-style to their destination.
At the head of the line, in his familiar bowler hat and red nose, was the legendary clown Charlie Cairoli, an entertainer for whom Leeds had become a home from home.
By now – four decades after his first visit – he had cast a magical spell over the city and its occupants... one they would not soon forget.
Charlie Cairoli – the 'King of Clowns' – had been born in Milan in 1910 to a travelling circus family with French origins.
His father was a juggler and it's reckoned the young Charlie was seven when he got his first taste of clowning around.
Over the years he became one of Europe's top clowns, appeared on TV shows around the world and was a much-loved figure for Leeds audiences of all ages.
His first appearance in the city looks to have been around the late 1930s when he trod the boards at The Grand.
It may have been his first time in Leeds but he quickly developed a fondness for the place.
He returned numerous times and appeared at the world-famous City Varieties, at Leeds Empire and even crossed the city boundary into Bradford to entertain at The Alhambra.
Charlie always got a warm-hearted reception from Leeds audiences – he said once he thought he was among friends whenever he was in the city.
Michael Joseph, along with his brother Stanley, owned and operated Leeds City Varieties at the time and both knew Charlie well.
They never regretted booking him for their pantomimes.
"Leeds was always a good stamping ground for Charlie," Michael said. "He had the most successful season with us in Jack and the Beanstalk in 1972, and it was our most successful pantomime."
It was that year that Charlie brought Christmas shopping to a standstill as he led hundreds of youngsters through the streets of Leeds and herded them to the City Varieties where he promptly gave a special show to 600 invited children.
In the same season Charlie made several personal appearances throughout West Yorkshire including Wakefield where he presented a boating pool equipped with three radio-controlled model boats to the children of Fieldhead Hospital – a present from bookmaker Ladbrokes.
Indeed, it was in the 1970s that his career really took off in Britain and he became one of the country's best-known clowns.
His TV appearances took his unique brand of humour to the masses. He became a mega-star of the day.
Charlie was the only clown to have been the subject of This is Your Life. It will come as no surprise that he was introduced as "the king of clowns".
He was more than a clown though, Charlie was also a talented impressionist and musician.
It was his professional approach to his work that endeared him to theatre bosses and impresarios.
He was steeped in the tradition of the circus and panto and without doubt was a superb performer and a great crowd-puller.
He had a natural ability to win the affection of not only the children in his audiences but adults, too.
Charlie was a big hit on stage but also impressed away from the grease paint.
"He was a perfect gentleman with a marvellous sense of humour off stage," recalled Michael Joseph.
"He was also a family man. He had his son, Charlie junior, working with him, and his wife also travelled with him too."
He first set foot in Blackpool's Tower Circus in 1939. He liked it so much he decided to stay.
His decision had something to do with Charlie's wish to keep a stable family life and adopted home became Blackpool – the Las Vegas of Britain.
He did 40 seasons at The Tower Circus – a world record for the most performances at a single venue.
His appearances took up around five months out of every 12.
He and his family spent the rest of the time travelling both at home and abroad.
When he announced he was quitting showbusiness in November 1979, a bout of nostalgia swept through Leeds where so many had such fond memories of seeing him in action.
Having been enchanted by his stage exploits in pantomimes when they were children, many felt a sense of loss that they would never again see him in his bowler hat and red nose.
Alas, Charlie didn't survive long after he stepped into retirement. In June 1979 he had been forced to miss performances at the Tower after being admitted to hospital with exhaustion.
He died in Blackpool a year later at the age of 70, taking his special brand of humour with him.
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Saturday 11 February 2012
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