Write Charlie, March 2007, Issue 50

Write Charlie, March 2007, Issue 51

Charlie Cairoli CD

‘King Pole’ – the quarterly magazine of the Circus Friends Association announces that the North West Sound Archive has produced a CD of a full-length interview with Charlie Cairoli talking about many aspects of his career. The CD is part of the Archive’s “I Remember” series. The Archive has already produced two volumes of assorted Belle Vue memories (including those of CFA member Cyril Bloor). Each of the CD’s cost £5.95 or £9.95 for both the Belle Vue discs. They are available on cassette if preferred. They are obtainable from North West Sound Archive, Old Steward’s Office, Clitheroe Castle, Clitheroe, Lancs, BB7 1AZ (I haven’t got one yet, so I would be interested in comments from anyone who has!)

Laci Endresz

The Grand Theatre, Blackpool announces ‘The Life and Times of a Circus Showman’ – an afternoon with Laci Endresz. This will be in the form of an interview by Elaine Fossett and Paul Iles about his life’s work, including thirty years behind the iron curtain when circus artists were revered by the state. He will be joined by colleagues from the Blackpool Tower Circus and members of the Tower Circus Band. This promises to be an event not to be missed – Laci is our Vice President and would welcome all CCAS members and circus enthusiasts. The date is Friday 27th April. The start time is 2.30pm. Tickets are £5.00. See you there!

Mooky’s Circus Masquerade

This year’s show at the Tower starts on March 31 and continues until the end of the Illuminations – starring Mooky (who else?) Laci’s son!. Together with a star-studded cast of international circus performers. On Fridays a completely different magic show is presented.

Goodies

Thanks are once again due to Arthur Pedlar for the colour photograph of Charlie with his trumpet, and the black and white one of Porto, Charlie and Jean Marie (this must date from the 30’s). The smaller photographs are from early Tower programmes and publicity material.

An extract from an e-mail

“Charlie Cairoli was and is my all-time hero. He had a presence that was indescribable. He filled the place with unimaginable joy and happiness. You had to write and book your seat in those days because the Circus and Charlie were as big a part of your stay in Blackpool as the sand and the sea.
My mother was, shall we say, rather large in those days, and this, coupled with her laugh used to draw Charlie, Little Jimmy and Paul over to her. Little Jimmy inevitably ended up on mother’s knee. Nostalgia isn’t a bad thing when it helps you to recreate such wonderful, wonderful memories!”

Charlie’s Hobbies from the Gazette

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 into 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 Archives from the Gazette.

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.

Fun Days with the Cairolis from the Gazette (contributed by Michael Berry)

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.”