Grock in Son premier film (1926)
French postcard by J. Combier, Macon. Photo: Production Jacques Haik. Grock in Son premier film (Jean Kemm, 1926).
Grock (1880-1959) was a Swiss clown, composer and musician. 'The king of clowns' was once the most highly paid entertainer in the world.
Grock was born Charles Adrien Wettach in 1880 in Loveresse, a village in the Bernese Jura in the Canton of Bern. He started early as a performer, learning musicianship and acrobatic skills from his father. He worked up a variety show with his sister Jeanne that appeared in hotels and clubs. When a caravan of Roma passed through, he joined them, learning more instruments and gaining confidence with them. He became fluent in a many languages, and mastered fourteen musical instruments, including a miniature violin. In 1894, the 14-years-old boy debuted with Fiame Wetzel's traveling circus. He became a clown, working with another clown Brick and in 1903 he adoped the name 'Grock'. They appearded in France, Africa and South America. After Brick married, Grock left him and he performed with with Umberto Guillaume, the famous clown Antonet. Their act was developed with the aim of making the transition from circus to music hall stages, which were more lucrative. While not initially successful, Antonet and Grock did manage to secure a London engagement in 1911. Refining their performances according to audience response, Grock came to dominate the act, and they eventually split up. , fumbling with the instruments as if he knew nothing about them, instruments that Karl Wettach had mastered as a boy. But the clown Grock would absentmindedly flip a fiddle over, then try to play it, wondering where the strings went. It was an act that helped develop his reputation as King of Clowns.
With the outbreak of World War I, Grock made Britain his base, remaining there until 1924, when he returned to continental Europe. Some of Grock's performances have been preserved on film. He made the silent film Son premier film /What For? (Jean Kemm, 1926), and French and German language versions of Grock (Carl Boese, Joë Hamman, 1931) with Gina Manès and Liane Haid respectively. A biopic, Au revoir, M. Grock/Farewell Mister Grock (Pierre Billon, 1950), featured Grock as himself, with Adrien Osperi and Ted Rémy playing Grock as a boy and young man, respectively. He performed throughout Europe and in the United States, commanding ever higher fees, and his continuing success enabled him to establish his own circus in 1951, with which he toured until his final performance in Hamburg on 30 October 1954. With Ines Ospiri, his Italian wife, he retired to the Villa Bianca (now named 'Villa Grock'), a 50-room house he had had built in the 1920s in Imperia, Italy. In retirement, he made some appearances on Italian television. He also wrote several books, including an autobiography in German, 'Grock. Nit mö-ö-ö-glich. Die Memoiren des Königs der Clowns' (1956) of which the English version was 'Grock, King of Clowns' (1957). Grock died in 1959 in his home in Imperia. He was inducted into the Clown Hall of Fame in 1992.
Sources: Jon C. Hopwood (IMDb), Wikipedia and IMDb.
Grock in Son premier film (1926)
French postcard by J. Combier, Macon. Photo: Production Jacques Haik. Grock in Son premier film (Jean Kemm, 1926).
Grock (1880-1959) was a Swiss clown, composer and musician. 'The king of clowns' was once the most highly paid entertainer in the world.
Grock was born Charles Adrien Wettach in 1880 in Loveresse, a village in the Bernese Jura in the Canton of Bern. He started early as a performer, learning musicianship and acrobatic skills from his father. He worked up a variety show with his sister Jeanne that appeared in hotels and clubs. When a caravan of Roma passed through, he joined them, learning more instruments and gaining confidence with them. He became fluent in a many languages, and mastered fourteen musical instruments, including a miniature violin. In 1894, the 14-years-old boy debuted with Fiame Wetzel's traveling circus. He became a clown, working with another clown Brick and in 1903 he adoped the name 'Grock'. They appearded in France, Africa and South America. After Brick married, Grock left him and he performed with with Umberto Guillaume, the famous clown Antonet. Their act was developed with the aim of making the transition from circus to music hall stages, which were more lucrative. While not initially successful, Antonet and Grock did manage to secure a London engagement in 1911. Refining their performances according to audience response, Grock came to dominate the act, and they eventually split up. , fumbling with the instruments as if he knew nothing about them, instruments that Karl Wettach had mastered as a boy. But the clown Grock would absentmindedly flip a fiddle over, then try to play it, wondering where the strings went. It was an act that helped develop his reputation as King of Clowns.
With the outbreak of World War I, Grock made Britain his base, remaining there until 1924, when he returned to continental Europe. Some of Grock's performances have been preserved on film. He made the silent film Son premier film /What For? (Jean Kemm, 1926), and French and German language versions of Grock (Carl Boese, Joë Hamman, 1931) with Gina Manès and Liane Haid respectively. A biopic, Au revoir, M. Grock/Farewell Mister Grock (Pierre Billon, 1950), featured Grock as himself, with Adrien Osperi and Ted Rémy playing Grock as a boy and young man, respectively. He performed throughout Europe and in the United States, commanding ever higher fees, and his continuing success enabled him to establish his own circus in 1951, with which he toured until his final performance in Hamburg on 30 October 1954. With Ines Ospiri, his Italian wife, he retired to the Villa Bianca (now named 'Villa Grock'), a 50-room house he had had built in the 1920s in Imperia, Italy. In retirement, he made some appearances on Italian television. He also wrote several books, including an autobiography in German, 'Grock. Nit mö-ö-ö-glich. Die Memoiren des Königs der Clowns' (1956) of which the English version was 'Grock, King of Clowns' (1957). Grock died in 1959 in his home in Imperia. He was inducted into the Clown Hall of Fame in 1992.
Sources: Jon C. Hopwood (IMDb), Wikipedia and IMDb.