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303:. The cause of his death remains a mystery and was treated with some suspicion. Although he had been an alcoholic and had suffered from epilepsy and bouts of mental illness for many years, there were suspicions that he had been poisoned or had died as a result of injuries sustained in a drunken brawl. His parents were devastated by his death and attempted suicide but survived. His mother died in 1834, and his father survived him by five years.
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his father that "At present I am in difficulties; but as long as I earn a shilling you shall have half." Grimaldi finally returned home in 1827, when his parents were awakened one night to discover their son standing in the street, feverish, emaciated and dishevelled. He was taken in by his parents, who managed to secure him a number of brief theatrical engagements, including a few
Christmas pantomimes and benefits for his father.
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engagements became rare as theatre managers were reluctant to hire him. He survived two suicide attempts: in 1821 he cut his throat, and two years later he lacerated himself on a window. Fortunes at Sadler's Wells were also dwindling, with lessees failing to mount new engagements, thus leaving
Grimaldi out of work. His alcoholism effectively ended his career as he became abusive to colleagues and even more unreliable.
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280:. Upon his release on 3 March 1831, he moved in with his parents, who again tried to find him employment; their efforts failed because he did not appear for rehearsals. Grimaldi soon reverted to his old ways and often abused his parents' charitable nature by bringing home prostitutes and fighting with his alcoholic friends within the house. He moved out later that year.
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ability. The comparisons affected his self-confidence. Grimaldi's desire to distance himself professionally from his famous father had intensified during their constant touring of the provincial theatres together. Grimaldi heard of an outrage committed in 1820 by the actor Robert
Bradbury, who assaulted a
231:. His doctors diagnosed the 42-year-old performer as suffering from "premature old age". JS took over his father's role and completed the remainder of the show's run. Now acting as his father's official understudy, Grimaldi fulfilled many of his father's theatrical engagements, including a revival of
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Grimaldi became estranged from his parents in 1823, who saw their son only occasionally over the next four years, as
Grimaldi went out of his way to avoid them. They communicated only through written correspondence, with Grimaldi often sending his father letters begging for money. Grimaldi stated to
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In 1814, Grimaldi's father fell ill. The seizure kept Joseph
Grimaldi house bound for four months, and the theatre's receipts fell by £50 as a result. This left the 12-year-old JS to perform, for the first time, without his father by his side. The challenge resulted in an improvement in the boy's
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of the early 1800s and invented the modern conception of whiteface clown. His father introduced
Grimaldi to the eccentric atmosphere at both Drury Lane and Sadler's Wells from the age of 18 months. Although eager to have Joseph Samuel follow him onto the stage, his father felt that it was important
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Grimaldi made a career of emulating his father's act and received favourable notices as a clown, but his success was constantly overshadowed by that of his father. As his career blossomed, he was increasingly and unfavourably compared with his more famous father in terms of personality and acting
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The critical comparisons between
Grimaldi and his father also adversely affected their personal relationship. By the early 1820s, Grimaldi became resentful of his father and publicly shunned any association with him. JS turned to alcohol and became increasingly unreliable; his professional
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opposite his father, who played the title character. Although his father was initially against the idea of his young son becoming a performer, he saw the boy's promise when he starred alongside him in the piece. He became known professionally as
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in his audience. Bradbury gained a rebellious reputation because of it; something which appealed greatly to
Grimaldi, as it was an act so far removed from his father's gentle reputation. During the 1821 pantomime
215:. Grimaldi and his father also toured together. After a few productions in 1819, Sadler's Wells Theatre was sold, and Grimaldi toured Ireland with his father in 1820. That September, he appeared in a version of
105:
Grimaldi turned increasingly to alcohol over the years, becoming unreliable, abusive and ultimately unemployable. He was mostly unemployed throughout his 20s, making his final appearance in a revival of
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at the Sadler's Wells
Theatre, while his father played the title role. The success of the piece confirmed, in his father's mind, that Grimaldi was more than capable of sustaining his own career.
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JS enjoyed a successful performing career throughout his teenage years. In 1818 his father took over the running of Sadler's Wells and offered
Grimaldi the role of Clown in
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140:, which taught the children of theatrical performers. JS excelled at school and became fluent in French. After Ford's Academy, he attended a private school in
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227:, with the pantomime being particularly successful. In May 1821, Joseph Grimaldi collapsed on stage from exhaustion during a performance of
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252:, Grimaldi caused a scandal and was censured for threatening and verbally abusing an audience member who criticised his performance.
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Young Grimaldi made his professional debut, shortly before his 12th birthday, on 10 October 1814, as Friday in a
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102:(1820), but he grew to resent the often unfavourable comparisons made between him and his famous father.
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for the boy to have an education, and so he enrolled him at Mr Ford's Academy, a boarding-school in
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and his dancer wife Mary Bristow. Grimaldi's father popularised the role of Clown in the
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166:. Later in 1814, Grimaldi made his second professional appearance, playing the part of
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729:
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53:, was an English stage actor, comedian and dancer, who frequently played the role of
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theatres. Throughout his teenage years, he was a successful performer, starring in
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performing skills. The following year, Grimaldi and his father played together in
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Grimaldi's lack of a steady income eventually led to him being incarcerated in a
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193:. Grimaldi played Miniature Clown opposite his father, who played "Adult Clown".
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His final performance was at the Tottenham Street Theatre in a production of
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327:, Oxford University Press, 2004; online edition, accessed 10 August 2012
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The young Grimaldi began his career in 1814 playing in a version of
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651:"The Pantomime Life of Joseph Grimaldi by Andrew McConnell Stott"
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45:(21 November 1802 – 10 December 1832), better known as
657:(online edition), 1 November 2009, accessed 10 August 2012
69:, who popularised the role of Clown in the early 1800s.
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in which he played Friar Bacon. Both were staged at
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in 1832. He died later that year, at the age of 30.
27:
English stage actor, comedian and dancer (1802–1832)
744:
187:Harlequin and Fortunio; or, Shing-Moo and Thun-Ton
92:Harlequin and Fortunio; or, Shing-Moo and Thun-Ton
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237:Harlequin and Mother Bunch; or, the Yellow Dwarf
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295:Grimaldi died at age 30 on 11 December 1832 in
189:, the first pantomime known to have featured a
836:Comedians from the London Borough of Islington
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747:Incidents in the Life of Joseph Grimaldi
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211:, opposite his parents and the comedian
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325:Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
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219:, followed by the Christmas pantomime
726:The Pantomime Life of Joseph Grimaldi
229:Undine; or, the Spirit of the Waters
170:in a hugely profitable pantomime of
61:that accompanied nineteenth-century
610:Grimaldi (Boz edition), pp. 250–251
446:Grimaldi (Boz edition), pp. 254–255
209:The Fates; or, Harlequin's Holy Day
96:The Fates; or, Harlequin's Holy Day
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728:. Edinburgh: Canongate Books Ltd.
25:
852:
801:English people of Italian descent
264:J.S. Grimaldi later in his career
200:Grimaldi (right) with his father
816:19th-century English male actors
724:McConnell Stott, Andrew (2009).
571:McConnell Stott, pp. 293 and 295
559:McConnell Stott, pp. 294 and 309
711:. London: MacGibbon & Kee.
702:. London: G Routledge & Co.
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321:"Grimaldi, Joseph (1778–1837)"
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43:Joseph Samuel William Grimaldi
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751:. London: Jonathan Cape Ltd.
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78:, and in other roles, at the
821:19th-century British dancers
666:McConnell Stott, pp. 307–308
640:McConnell Stott, pp. 300–301
598:McConnell Stott, pp. 273–274
464:McConnell Stott, pp. 255–256
419:McConnell Stott, pp. 251–252
348:McConnell Stott, pp. 117–118
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707:Findlater, Richard (1955).
37:Joseph Samuel "JS" Grimaldi
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826:People imprisoned for debt
699:Memoirs of Joseph Grimaldi
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250:Harlequin and Mother Bunch
786:English male stage actors
233:Harlequin and Friar Bacon
221:Harlequin and Friar Bacon
100:Harlequin and Friar Bacon
80:Theatre Royal, Drury Lane
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841:People from Clerkenwell
811:Male actors from London
743:Neville, Giles (1980).
709:Grimaldi King of Clowns
631:McConnell Stott, p. 301
622:McConnell Stott, p. 303
589:McConnell Stott, p. 277
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396:McConnell Stott, p. 153
378:McConnell Stott, p. 246
339:McConnell Stott, p. 122
301:Whitefield's Tabernacle
127:, London, to the actor
791:English male comedians
357:Findlater, pp. 123–124
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159:Sadler's Wells Theatre
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694:Boz (Charles Dickens)
675:"Death of Grimaldi",
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225:Covent Garden theatre
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123:Grimaldi was born in
119:Early life and career
65:. He was the son of
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796:English male dancers
679:, 10 June 1837, p. 4
299:and was interred at
677:Westmorland Gazette
550:Findlater, 195–196
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781:1832 deaths
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168:Scaramouche
164:JS Grimaldi
151:version of
142:Pentonville
125:Clerkenwell
51:JS Grimaldi
770:Categories
307:References
63:pantomimes
717:558202542
297:Tottenham
235:1821 and
149:pantomime
114:Biography
696:(1853).
285:Don Juan
173:Don Juan
108:Don Juan
94:(1815),
82:and the
75:Don Juan
687:Sources
256:Decline
245:heckler
217:Aladdin
157:at the
57:in the
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202:Joseph
138:Putney
291:Death
55:Clown
753:ISBN
730:ISBN
713:OCLC
86:and
49:or
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20:)
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
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