The Glorious Years (Continued)

1956 Season

Mrs. Williams once again asked Charlie to provide the traditional water finale. This year, Charlie decided on something completely different: a sketch inspired by Greek mythology, featuring the legendary battle between Theseus and the Minotaur.

The Tower Works Department faced a significant challenge: they had to create both the Minotaur costume and a water monster that would pursue Charlie throughout the routine. They built a huge alligator-like head operated by two swimmers, but the creature proved extremely difficult to manoeuvre. In the water it could hardly move at all.

Because very few members of the audience recognised the legend of Theseus and the Minotaur, the sketch quickly fell flat. Charlie soon reinstated his reliable and much-loved team of Boy Scouts, once again attempting to enjoy a picnic on the same island originally built for the earliest water sketches. The gags developed in the second part of the 1954 entry were further extended and strengthened.

Charlie briefly introduced a mad character who disrupted the Scouts’ picnic, but this was dropped after only a few performances because it simply did not produce the laughs he expected.

Charlie was forever searching for ways to improve his entrées as the season progressed. If an audience reaction dipped, he would not hesitate to try something completely new the very next performance. He always wanted every sketch to feel fresh, even if it meant unexpectedly changing gags. At times he even surprised his own partners—imagine standing ready for a custard pie in the face… and not getting one!

Over the years I have seen many famous European clowns receive poor reactions from British audiences. The tastes here were—and still are—quite different. Some persisted for four or five weeks with exactly the same unsuccessful material, blaming their lack of laughs on a “bad audience.”

For example, the Rudy Llata presented a parody of Napoleon during the 1963 season which never raised even a titter… yet it remained in the show until the 200th performance!

Many Continental clowns relied on two or three classical entrées, polished to perfection. If these did not land, they blamed the crowd. Charlie did the opposite: he produced many new sketches and completely revamped existing ones. A good example was his “Busy Bee” routine.

He was also unique in how skilfully—and kindly—he interacted with members of the public, always drawing humour from volunteers without ever upsetting them.

1957 Season

I missed the entire season due to a serious motorbike accident near Ashford in Kent, which left me in hospital for a year. However, I do know that Charlie revived the classic 1948 Birthday Party entrée, commonly used in pantomime.

At the start of the season, the three guests were intended to be Scottish, with Jimmy and Jock wearing kilts. Later, Jock became the chef, and Jimmy took the role of an awkward youngster in shorts. Perhaps Blackpool’s many Scottish visitors did not appreciate the parody?

The musical entrée opened with the appearance of a snake which interfered with Charlie’s organ playing—a gag reminiscent of the old “Sucu Sucu” routine. Paul appeared to be wearing a rather plain costume, but by the end of the act it revealed its splendour under fluorescent lighting.

1958 Season

Sammy Morris, son of the well-known North West comedian Dave Morris, joined the Tower Circus company.

The Slop-Stick entrée featured little Jimmy, brought down from the audience by his mother, supposedly a child prodigy with a marvellous singing voice, presented to Charlie for an audition. Unfortunately, he “couldn’t sing when having a bath”!
Nothing could be refused, and so the tin bath—borrowed from the horse stables—was produced. Naturally, it had to be filled with water, and no one escaped a drenching.

This included Paul in full whiteface and Sammy Morris, who appeared as a stable groom trying to reclaim the stolen bath.

1959 Season

Charlie introduced a brand-new entrée titled “The Builders.”
(A full description appears elsewhere on the website under “The Builders.”)

1960 Season

This was Mrs. Williams’ final season booking the Tower Circus. By now, the impact of the rise of television on Blackpool audiences was already becoming apparent. Despite this, Charlie still had many memorable seasons ahead of him at the Tower.

A famous national newspaper photograph publicised the “Three Kings of Blackpool”:

• Charlie Cairoli
• Reginald Dixon
• Ray Barlow, the celebrated bandleader.

Daniel Poitier’s notes end here.

1956 - Theseus and the Minotaur Routine

1957 Routine

This is an enlargement of one of four black and white publicity postcards, they have been enlarged and excellently hand coloured by an unknown artist