Archives of the Blackpool Gazette
The Blackpool Gazette is full of the antics of Charlie and Co, charting his long career and devoting hundreds of column inches to articles and reports. Thanks are due to all the dedicated reporters, photographers, interviewers, and editors who have produced so many fascinating—and often very personal—stories and news items. The Blackpool Gazette have followed Charlie’s life and career closely, documenting countless memorable moments along the way.
From the Gazette
Circus spotlights for Beverly
At this afternoon’s performance at the Blackpool Tower Circus the spotlight fell on the front row of the stalls and picked out a beaming little boy, hair neatly plastered, and wearing a cream coloured shirt, a pale blue tie and brown tweed trousers.
And in that little boy’s dark brown eyes, radiant with happiness, there were too, tears of thankfulness and joy.
For, as clown Charlie Cairoli told the audience, 11 year old Beverly of Normoss Road, or, as he put it “My little friend over there,” had been desperately ill; his life despaired of three months ago.
Ambition
Now, although not fully recovered from pneumonia, Beverly was fulfilling his ambition to see the circus.
And as “Uncle” Charlie picked up his trumpet, walked over to Beverly and played with a genuine tenderness “You are my heart’s delight” Beverly’s face creased in a broad smile like a sliced water melon and there were others all around him who simultaneously found it necessary to search for their handkerchiefs.
What Charlie did not tell the audience was that Beverly, whom he had frequently visited during his illness, had been his guest at lunch today along with Mrs H.J. Jobins, Beverly’s mother.
Charlie called at the house in his car on the stroke of noon and took them to a Blackpool restaurant, where Beverly tucked into soup, steak, mushrooms, spaghetti, crepe suzette and ice cream.
Excited
“He hardly slept a wink last night through excitement and so I kept him in bed until 11 o’clock today. He thinks the world of ‘Uncle Charlie’, and Charlie thinks the same of Beverly.”
Said Mr Cairoli, “Ah leetle Beverly — ees a real trouper. An’ why? Because ‘ee can take his medicine with a great big smile.”
Beverly and his mother and father were guests of the management of the Blackpool Tower.
Photographers’ bulbs flashed and popped in Charlie’s dressing room and a picture they took will be presented to Beverly with the compliments of the “Evening Gazette.”
Charlie Strikes a New Note
Charlie Cairoli, who this year celebrates his 25th year as resident clown at the Blackpool Tower Circus, has a new role beginning Boxing Day on television.
He reads three stories for children in BBC2’s Play School programme. The first on Boxing Day is ‘Red Nose’; on Wednesday he reads the ‘Sick Bear’ and on Thursday it is the turn of ‘Making Music’.
Carole Ward and Peter Reeves read the stories on Tuesday and Friday.
Charlie also appears in the Christmas Day pantomime on BBC1 with Arthur Askey and Roy Castle.
This is a show designed to occupy the children for an hour and a half between lunch and tea.
The title is ‘Aladdin and his Wonderful Lamp’ and Charlie’s role is to provide a little slapstick humour in places.
Charlie opens in pantomime at a Liverpool theatre next week.
Fun Days with the Cairolis
from the Gazette (contributed by Michael Berry) Date unknown
There’s always a laugh line at Charlie’s
“We have been married for 26 years and we’ve never stopped laughing with – and at – each other,” says Charlie Cairoli, and he really means it.
For the first thing that strikes everyone who goes to the North Shore home of the Cairoli family is the laughter that pervades the house.
When I called to see the Cairolis, I rang the bell, waited politely with the photographer – and was confronted by dark-haired, attractive Mrs Cairoli, gurgling with laughter.
“Come in,” she said, glancing over her shoulder, and having a fresh attack of laughter, “You will have to excuse me – It’s those kids again – they never stop.”
We were shown into the Cairoli dining room to meet the family.
“This is Regina, she’s 20. This is Mary, 17 and this is Charlie junior, he’s 14,” said Mrs Cairoli. “Charlie won’t be a minute, he’s just in the garden.”
“Yes, we’re having him sprayed for greenfly,” broke in Charlie Jnr, which convulsed the whole family.
They were still wiping the laughter-tears from their eyes when Charlie walked in out of the back garden which is his pride and joy.
“All right, calm down now, we’ve got guests,” said Charlie with an air of authority that hardly seemed to convince the younger Cairolis.
“Is it like this all the time?” I asked him.
“……….. they are worse,” he replied.
Having been reared on the belief that clowns are rather morose sorts of chaps when they are off stage, I asked Charlie if this were ever true in the case of the Cairolis.
“Anybody who believes this is welcome to come and live here for a little while,” he said. “They will either kill themselves laughing or collapse with nervous exhaustion inside a week.”
The Cairoli household is certainly different in most respects to most others.
Cooking
“When I come home from the show, I cook myself something to eat (Not because I have to cook it myself – I really like cooking) and then we get together and play music and sing and talk.
Many’s the time we don’t go to bed until two in the morning.
The big day in the Cairoli household is Sunday.”
Sunday lunch
“We have got it all sorted out. Regina makes the hors d’oeuvres, Mary makes the dessert, I make the main course and Charlie makes a nuisance of himself,” said Mrs Cairoli.
It struck me that with all the somewhat unusual goings on at the Cairoli household, the neighbours might object occasionally.
“No, they don’t mind,” said Charlie. “After 14 years in this house, we are accepted as being a little crazy and people understand us.”
“In fact they lean on their garden fences to watch us,” said Mrs Cairoli. “I was once in the garden with a brand new Paris dress on and a new hair-do. I was feeling very elegant. The next minute I was drenched from top to toe. One of the kids had turned a hose pipe on me. That was one joke I didn’t appreciate.”
Charlie's Hobbies, From the Blackpool Gazzette, Date unknown
Fishing
Tower Circus clown Charlie Cairoli, much as he loves circus life, likes to get away from the atmosphere of the ring at weekends.
What does he do? “I go fishing,” said Charlie. “I only need the slightest excuse to get out the rods. I’m mad about fishing.”
So every Sunday, wet or fine, throughout the circus season he has spent happy relaxing hours fishing in the Lune between Sedbergh and Kirkby Lonsdale.
He was there last Sunday when he landed a three and a half pound sea trout using fly.
“It gave me a bit of a fight, for a strong wind was blowing and the river was in flood,” he said. “It almost went over the top of my waders and I nearly fell in, too. That would not have been unusual. I generally manage to do that four or five times a season.”
His best catch in the Lune was when he hooked a 13lb sea trout. He had to play with it for about 45 minutes before landing it.
It was a nice reward for the ‘early bird’ for this keen angler, who has fished in diverse ways practically all over the world, is up at 4.30 on Sunday mornings to be at the Lune by 6.00.
Leatherwork
If Charlie Cairoli had his way, cows would not be kept in fields with barbed wire fences; he’d prefer them to wear “overcoats” from calf to cowhood.
“See that,” said the famous clown at his Warley Road home this week, and he pointed to deep scratches in a quarter inch thick offcut of cowhide. “Barbed wire did that.”
Charlie is an expert leather sculptor as well as a top flight clown; and so to him an unmarked hide is like a responsive audience.
“You can start off with a full size skin – they cost a lot of money in this country – but end up with only a small piece because of scratches and blemishes.”
Charlie’s hobby started in the United States back in 1954.
“I went there to do a colour TV show. There used to be a shop in Madison Square Garden, New York which sold Western Saddles and that sort of thing.
“I thought I would like to try my hand at it and started to make inquiries.”
And now, hundreds of hours of patience and scores of skins later, Charlie could justly be called an expert.
“It’s an expensive hobby,” he confided, “If you make a mistake there is no way of altering it. You just have to throw it away and start all over again. I made a lot of mistakes to start with.”
It is a hobby with many frustrations.
“I had finished a lovely belt once and lacquered it to keep it clean and the leather just curled up and was ruined. Hours of patient craftsmanship went in the dust bin.”
An ornate miniature saddle, complete with rifle holster, pommel and chaps took him about two months to complete. A shopping bag could take two or three days if he worked at it solidly.
He has a beautiful collection of hand-worked leather – handbags, belts, a firescreen, wallets and many other items of intricately worked leather, all done by Charlie in his spare time.
Films
On Sunday evening, the whole family go to the cinema.
“Usually a Western,” said Regina, “Daddy’s mad on them.”
Random Gazzette Articles, undated
Charlie made the Russians laugh
Tower Circus clown and partner Paul entertained Mr Malenkov and Mr Jacob Malik, the Soviet ambassador at a private party at the Midland Hotel, Manchester, on Saturday night.
Charlie was invited because it was felt that, owing to language difficulties, an artist whose particular talent was visual comedy would be the most suitable for the occasion.
“I did my clowning and added a dash of music,” said Charlie today. Mr Malenkov must have enjoyed it because he sent a message round afterwards to say it was the best night he had ever had.
“I made some references to Mr Malik switching on the Blackpool Illuminations and said he was stealing my thunder. I made a few other wisecracks and both Mr Malenkov and Mr Malik laughed heartily. It was altogether a very enjoyable evening.”
Charlie needs no aids to laughter
Tyldesley Girls School hall rang with laughter and delighted cheers and applause today when Charlie Cairoli, the renowned Tower Circus clown, opened a coffee morning and bring and buy sale.
The event organised by the Parent Teachers’ Association was in aid of the Tyldesley Girls Choir trip to Holland at Whitsuntide, where they have been invited to sing at an international Festival.
Charlie, in lounge suit, was minus his ‘props’ – red nose, make-up, bowler hat, music – but he proved he needed no aids to make people laugh other than his ready wit, ‘castanet fingers’ and hilarious facial expressions.
He kept the parents and 500+ girls present laughing throughout the opening ceremony which culminated in a scuffle among the front row girls as he threw signed photographs from the platform.
Charlie has a pleasant job to do
Charlie Cairoli of the Tower Circus had another pleasant job to do last night besides his star act at the circus.
He went along to the Mount Pleasant Hotel, High Street, North Shore and ‘heaved’ over a column of pennies amounting to £26 which was given to the RSPCA and the local fund for polio research.
The money was raised through the efforts of the licensee of the hotel – Mr & Mrs Arnold Leigh.
Charlie Cairoli has flu, will miss TV appearance
Charlie Cairoli, the Tower Circus clown, has influenza and will not be appearing in ITV’s ‘Saturday Spectacular’ tomorrow night.
Charlie flew into Ringway Airport, Manchester yesterday after a short holiday in Paris, to prepare for tomorrow’s show.
But the flu caught up with him.
Now he is at home in Warley Road, North Shore trying to shake it off in time for his next show which opens in Dudley on November 9.
Charlie and Paul will be replaced by Leo de Lyon.
Shirley Bassey, also scheduled to appear, is indisposed and her place has been taken by the Kaye Sisters.
Charlie in Pantomime
This winter, Charlie is appearing in Emile Littler’s pantomime ‘Little Miss Muffet’ for the seventh year in succession, at Bournemouth.
His ‘dame’ in the show is none other than circus ringmaster – Henry Lytton.
“He’s been my dame for the last five years and I couldn’t have a better one!” said Charlie.
Charlie Not Recognised?
Known to millions, yet in the street hardly ever recognised—such is the double life of Tower Circus clown Charlie Cairoli. The minions think of him only as they have seen him in the ring or on the stage: false nose, thickened eyebrows, a broad black line of greasepaint covering an otherwise elegant moustache, bowler hat, and a variety of baggy suits.
Remove these trappings and reveal the real-life Charlie, and he can walk the busy streets of Blackpool without a single look of recognition shot in his direction.
“That’s quite true,” he said at his Warley Road, North Shore home the other day. “I don’t mind at all. It’s a pleasure for me. I can listen in to conversations about my act and hear things that people really wouldn’t dare say to my face. That can be most helpful.”
Often Charlie slipped into a pub near the Circus to hear the reactions of holidaymakers to the show, and it has never happened that the fit, rather serious-looking man standing unobtrusively to one side has been identified in the crowd. Indeed, he has more than once been drawn into discussions, and still managed—in spite of what he describes as “my eyes”—to remain anonymous.
21st Circus Birthday
To the cheers of a capacity 2,000-strong audience, artists at the Blackpool Tower Circus were presented with end-of-season medals at the final performance on Saturday night. The event was stolen by the incomparable Charlie Cairoli.
As the band struck up “Charlie Is My Darling,” Dr. G. E. Badman, chairman of the company, who presented the medals, handed the famous clown a 35mm camera to mark Charlie’s 21st year with the Circus. It was Charlie’s own choice of present.
“During that time,” said Dr. Badman, “he has given nearly 10,000 performances and has only ever missed a single one. On behalf of the Tower Company, I’m going to give him a 21st birthday present.”
To the roar of the delighted audience, Charlie—in full make-up and wearing a frock coat and bowler hat, both covered with medals he had received in previous years—walked to the microphone in the centre of the ring and said:
“I am very pleased and very proud. I never expected this.”
He convulsed the audience by adding, “I don’t deserve it, but I will take it just the same!”
He went on: “To the public, and especially the children, thank you for being such a wonderful audience.”
He paid tribute to the Tower Company directors—“who have paid me every week”—and to his many friends in the Circus.
“We have had a very happy season this year,” he said. The artists were leaving the following day for all parts of the world, and he wished them well and hoped one day to see them again.
True for Him
A dream has come true for Charlie Cairoli’s new partner, Paul King. From a theatrical family, Paul—aged 47—had never played in a circus ring. He had, however, played the clown in partnership with the late Freddie Schweitzer. Before meeting Charlie, he was on his own. He is married with three sons and a daughter.
Silent Salute to a Master of Magic
Extract from the Blackpool Gazette, 22 February 2008
Magicians from across the world will hold a minute’s silence in memory of popular Blackpool children’s entertainer Ken Robinson.
Ken was best known for entertaining thousands of sick, disabled, and under-privileged children in hospitals, schools, and orphanages over the years as clown Charlie Cairoli—thanks to the late Circus star himself, who allowed Ken to use his exact make-up. Later, Ken became the secretary and official lookalike of the Charlie Cairoli Appreciation Society.
(Ken’s father William was a spearman on the Golden Mile in the 1930s; his sisters were both in variety, and his brother was a stuntman)
PARIS COSTUMES FOR CAIROLI’S NEW PAUL
The new “Paul” of the world-famous Charlie Cairoli and Paul act, Mr. Paul King, will travel to Paris in a fortnight’s time to be fitted for a set of dazzling new costumes for the 1960 Blackpool Tower Circus season.
“They will be brilliantly dazzled costumes,” Mr. Cairoli told a Gazette reporter last night. “They will cost about £100 each. This is something I’ve always wanted.”
Mr. King succeeds Paul Friedman, who leaves the act at the end of the month. The newcomer worked for two years with the celebrated musical clown Freddie Schweitzer, and was selected from among thirty eager applicants.
“I did not hold auditions,” Mr. Cairoli explained. “I wanted the best, and I remembered this fellow. He has played all over the world. He is very good. He can play all instruments — even two at once! He can even play the bagpipes.”
Mr. Cairoli is presently appearing in pantomime at Leeds, marking his final engagement with Mr. Friedman. The traditional Cairoli routine will be retained, and rehearsals for the new partnership will commence in Leeds in a fortnight.
SHOW WORLD GOSSIP
By B. B.
“Viola!” says clown Charlie Cairoli. “The Circus is back in town.”
Mr. Cairoli, without whom a Tower Circus season would be unthinkable, remarked cheerfully, “We are back home again. I am happy.”
CIRCUS ARTISTS ON THE WIRELESS
The Big Top — BBC Home Service
Listeners to the BBC Home Service last night heard two artists from the Blackpool Tower Circus speak of their unusual profession on the programme “The Big Top.”
Charlie Crowley, clown, told how he first trod the sawdust ring at the age of seven under the guidance of his father, a renowned Parisian clown.
“Nowadays circus life is a good life,” he said, “but in the old days, it was very tough.”
Asked whether clowning was easy, he replied:
“It’s very difficult, because you’re never finished. You learn every day.”
On the secret of clowning success, he added:
“To find a happy medium, and do something to please everybody.”
Mr. Harold Holt, equestrian director, spoke on animal welfare.
“There is no cruelty at all to the animals,” he stated. “If there was, they wouldn’t work.”
Sacha Houche, presenter of Lipizzaner horses, and Charley Baumann, tiger trainer, both contributed fascinating insights into the training of their charges.
NORTHERN SHOW TALK
The first of Blackpool’s summer entertainments opens on Thursday next, when the Tower Circus raises its famous ring-curtain for the Easter holidaymakers.The comedy star, as ever, will be Charlie Cairoli. “They gave me a camera last summer to celebrate my 21st anniversary,” he laughed. “After another 21 years, I’ll get the film!”
In that time Charlie and his loyal comedy companions have played 10,000 performances at the Tower Circus — and the inimitable clown boasts he has never missed a single show.
