Ever had your funny bone tickled by a white-faced clown? You should be thankful to Joseph Grimaldi for it, for he is considered the inventor of the modern-day white face clown. Born to a pantomimist father and dancer mother, Grimaldi found performing arts therapeutic after his wife passed away during childbirth. His most notable work was as the pantomime clown in Harlequin and Mother Goose; or the Golden Egg. As Joey, Grimaldi envisioned and gave the world a brand new clown! He was a pioneer in the trade, introducing audience participation, making fun of royalty through his mime acts and was also adept at visual tricks and buffoonery.

To honour his great talent, every year, a memorial service is held in the Holy Trinity Church in England in February. Clowns from all over the world dressed in attires pioneered by the man also called “Iron Legs” attend the service. This year, at the event held recently, which is in its 66th year, a clown show for children followed the service. The service was given by Reverend Roly who was dressed fully in a clown’s garb.
What is little known however is the fact that Charles Dickens edited Grimaldi’s memoirs and has drawn sharp criticisms as the editing is considered to have been poor and done in a manner that compromised on originality of the text and the tone used by Grimaldi.