Joseph Grimaldi

NAME Joseph Grimaldi

WHAT FAMOUS FOR  He was the Regency era’s most successful entertainer and the greatest clown of his age, remembered for creating the whiteface make-up design still used by clowns today.

BIRTH Joseph Grimaldi was born on December 18, 1778 in Stanhope Street, Clare Market, London. Some sources list the date as December 18, 1779, but the 1778 date appears most frequently in reliable sources.

FAMILY BACKGROUND Grimaldi came from a long line of Italian performers. His grandfather, Giovanni Battista Grimaldi, was a professional performer known in Italy and France. His father, Giuseppe Grimaldi (also called Joseph or "The Signor"), was an Italian pantomime actor, dancer, and ballet master at Theatre Royal, Drury Lane. Giuseppe was known as "Iron Legs" for his athletic abilities and was a prominent performer who had appeared at various London theaters.

His mother, Rebecca Brooker, was an English dancer and actress who performed at Drury Lane and Sadler's Wells. She was more than 50 years younger than Giuseppe and was one of his several mistresses. Giuseppe was known to be a philanderer who fathered at least 10 children by three different women.

CHILDHOOD Grimaldi made his first stage appearance at age three (some sources say two) at Sadler's Wells Theatre in April 1781, performing alongside his father in the pantomime The Triumph of Mirth; or, Harlequin's Wedding. By age six, he was considered a prominent stage performer by the press.

His father died when Grimaldi was only nine years old in 1788, making him the family's main breadwinner. After his father's death, his salary was reduced, forcing the family to move from their comfortable home in Holborn to lodgings in the slums of St Giles in Great Wild Street.

EDUCATION Despite his stage career, Grimaldi received some formal education. He attended Mr. Ford's Academy, a boarding school in Putney that specialized in educating the children of theatrical performers. However, he struggled with reading and writing throughout his life, though he showed talent for art, as evidenced by some of his drawings that survive in the Harvard Theater Collection.

CAREER RECORD Grimaldi's professional career spanned nearly five decades:

Early Career (1781-1800): Started as a child performer at Sadler's Wells and Drury Lane, often running between both theaters on the same night. By his teenage years, he was established as a successful juvenile performer.

Breakthrough (1800-1806): His first major success as a clown came in 1800 in Peter Wilkins, or Harlequin in the Flying World at Sadler's Wells, where he played "Guzzle the Drinking Clown" alongside John Baptist Dubois. This production introduced his innovative white-face makeup and colorful costume design.

Peak Years (1806-1820): Joined Covent Garden Theatre in 1806, where his performance in Harlequin and Mother Goose; or, The Golden Egg became his greatest triumph. The production ran for 92 nights and took over £20,000. He worked simultaneously at Covent Garden and Sadler's Wells.

Decline and Retirement (1820-1828): His association with Sadler's Wells ended in 1820 due to management disputes. Health problems forced his retirement from regular performances in 1823. Made his final public appearances in benefit performances at Sadler's Wells and Drury Lane in 1828.

APPEARANCE Grimaldi was of average height, with a neat and plain appearance, and none of the exaggerated facial features or colors associated with his iconic "Joey" look. 

1807 portrait of Joseph Grimaldi by John Cawse

FASHION Grimaldi was known for his distinctive clown makeup and costume. He pioneered the white-face design with two red half-moons on each cheek and thick black painted eyebrows. His costume featured bright, colorful diamonds and polka dots adorned with ruffs and golden tassels, replacing the traditional tatty servant costumes of earlier clowns. 

Grimaldi's revolutionary costume design became the template for modern clown fashion. 

CHARACTER On stage, he was energetic, mischievous, and high-spirited with "almost demonic quality" in his mime and expressions. His clown character "possessed no respect for property, propriety or authority" and satirized contemporary British society. (1)

Off-stage, however, Grimaldi was described as quiet, studious, and prone to depression. He was known for his famous self-deprecating pun: "I am grim all day, but I make you laugh at night". Despite his comedic brilliance, he was reportedly somber and melancholic in private life.

SPEAKING VOICE Grimaldi was not gifted as a speaker and struggled with learning lines. His performances relied heavily on physical comedy, mime, and acrobatic skills rather than verbal delivery. However, he was successful in leading audience sing-alongs and engaging in comic interaction with spectators.

SENSE OF HUMOUR Grimaldi's humor was characterized by physical comedy, acrobatics, slapstick, and audience participation. He was famous for catchphrases like "Here we are again!" and "Shall I?" which prompted audience members to respond "Yes!" . His comedy often involved satirizing contemporary politics and society, bringing current events onto the stage since many people couldn't read newspapers. 

RELATIONSHIPS Grimaldi was married twice. On May 11, 1799, Grimaldi married Maria Hughes, the eldest daughter of Richard Hughes, proprietor of Sadler's Wells Theatre. The marriage was strategic for his career but ended tragically when Maria died during childbirth on October 18, 1800, less than two years after their wedding.

On December 24, 1801, Grimaldi married Mary Bristow, a dancer who had cared for him during his recovery from a foot injury. Mary had been employed by his mother as a nurse during his rehabilitation.

Grimaldi had one son, Joseph Samuel William Grimaldi (J.S. Grimaldi), born in 1802 to Mary Bristow. His son followed him onto the stage but struggled with alcoholism and became unreliable and unemployable. J.S. Grimaldi died in 1832 at age 30, having "drank himself to death".

MONEY AND FAME At his peak, Grimaldi was extremely well-paid and famous throughout Britain. His 1806 contract at Covent Garden paid him one pound per week, rising to two pounds and eventually three pounds per week. In 1817, during his only year free from Sadler's Wells, he earned £1,743 for 56 summer shows touring England and Scotland.

However, despite earning substantial sums, Grimaldi was "imprudent or unlucky in his investments" and rarely succeeded in keeping the money he made. He funded an extravagant lifestyle but never kept money for long. By his final years, he had fallen into poverty and debt and relied on charity. (2)

FOOD AND DRINK Grimaldi was famous for his food-related comedy routines. His most celebrated song, "Hot Codlins" (about a street hawker selling baked apples), premiered in Mother Goose in 1806 and became his signature piece. 

The character he portrayed was often associated with gluttonous behavior and mime performances of eating. 

In his later years, struggling with depression, he reportedly became an alcoholic.

JOSEPH GRIMALDI THE CLOWN Joseph Grimaldi, if you can believe it, was once the most famous man in London. Not a politician, not a general, not even a poet, but a clown—quite literally. In the first decades of the 19th century, when the Regency set were strutting around in their high collars and top hats, Grimaldi was redefining the business of making people laugh. Before him, clowns were little more than rustic buffoons, a kind of comic garnish to the main act. Grimaldi turned them into the dish itself—the star attraction of British pantomime—and in doing so invented, more or less single-handedly, what we now think of as modern clowning. His stage name, “Joey,” became so popular that clowns everywhere still answer to it, much as every photocopier, regardless of make, is called a Xerox.

Grimaldi was a man of endless invention. He came up with the now-classic clown look: face painted in white, with two vivid red half-moons on his cheeks, and costumes so brightly coloured they probably startled horses. He shouted catchphrases—“Here we are again!” was his favourite—that are still echoed in pantomimes two centuries later. His performances were an exhausting cocktail of tumbling, dancing, pratfalls and sly social satire. On stage he could be impudent, mischievous, even subversive, lampooning the great and good of Britain while simultaneously falling flat on his face to the delight of the masses.

Born in London in 1778 to a family who thought nothing of putting a three-year-old on stage (child labour laws not yet being a thing), young Joseph debuted at Drury Lane before most children can tie their own shoes. By 1806 he was the toast of Covent Garden with Harlequin and Mother Goose, a show so popular it ran for months and made him a household name. The downside of all this physical comedy was that it wrecked his body: by middle age he had accumulated more injuries than a veteran prizefighter. He finally retired in 1828, after fifty years of pratfalls and painted smiles.

And yet his legacy is astonishing. Clowns are still “Joeys.” His whiteface design remains the global standard. And every year in London, clowns in full regalia troop into a church in Hackney to remember him—surely one of the more surreal memorial services anywhere on Earth. In short, Joseph Grimaldi didn’t just make Regency London laugh; he made the whole world’s idea of what a clown should be.

Grimaldi as "Joey" the Clown

MUSIC AND ARTS Grimaldi was multi-talented in the performing arts. He was accomplished as a dancer, singer, and acrobat. He helped write pantomimes and songs for performances and was very inventive in creating props and stage effects. Despite his difficulties with reading and writing, he showed talent for visual arts, with some of his drawings surviving in theater collections. He also played musical instruments and was involved in the musical aspects of his performances.

Grimaldi was known to sing comical songs during his acts. His most famous was "Tippety Witchet," a comedic song that showcased his vocal ability and humor. He also sang in his more conventional theatrical roles.

LITERATURE Grimaldi had significant difficulties with reading and writing throughout his life. However, he dictated his memoirs before his death, which were later edited by Charles Dickens and published in 1838 as Memoirs of Joseph Grimaldi. The original manuscript was considered "redolent of twaddle" by Dickens, who extensively rewrote it. The memoirs became an important historical document of Georgian theater life.

PETS Grimaldi was known for breeding pigeons as one of his main hobbies during his youth. 

HOBBIES AND SPORTS Grimaldi's main hobbies were breeding pigeons and collecting insects. His insect collection was particularly extensive, containing 4,000 specimens of flies. These activities required considerable patience and provided him with relaxation from his demanding theatrical career. (2)

His demanding physical comedy routines involving tumbling, and dangerous stunts. required acrobatic skills. 

PHILOSOPHY & THEOLOGY Grimaldi's philosophical outlook appeared to center on practical human kindness. His philosophy was described as "never to refuse help to a human being when it was in his power to render aid". 

Grimaldi lived in a Christian society and would have been familiar with basic Christian teachings. His approach to life seemed more practical than theoretical.

His legacy is honoured in an annual clown service at Holy Trinity Church, Hackney, which blends theatre with religious ritual

POLITICS Grimaldi frequently incorporated political satire into his performances, ridiculing contemporary British society and the Regency period. He brought current political events onto the stage because many audience members couldn't read newspapers. However, there are no records of his personal political affiliations or active involvement in political movements beyond his satirical commentary through performance. 

Image of Grimaldi by Perplexity

SCANDAL No great public scandals are recorded, though his alcoholism and impoverishment in later life cast a shadow over his career.

MILITARY RECORD During the Napoleonic Wars, Grimaldi was performing in London theaters, where proprietors looked to him to provide comic relief for audiences seeking escape from wartime anxieties. His contribution was entirely civilian, entertaining the public during wartime.

HEALTH AND PHYSICAL FITNESS Grimaldi's health was severely impacted by his physically demanding career. The extreme physical comedy and acrobatic performances took a tremendous toll on his body. By 1813, The Times was expressing concern about the sustainability of his performances, noting the "serious tumbles from serious heights, innumerable kicks, and incessant beatings". (3)

His health declined rapidly from multiple injuries sustained during his energetic clowning. By 1823, he suffered from severe arthritis, respiratory problems, and joint damage that made it impossible to continue performing. He had to be carried to his dressing room and revived after each performance in his final years. He retired at the relatively young age of 45 due to his physical disabilities.

HOMES Grimaldi’s addresses tell the story of his life almost as clearly as his performances. He was born in Stanhope Street, Clare Market, a rough corner of London’s slums, and after his father’s death the family shifted to lodgings in Great Wild Street, St Giles.

As a young man newly married to Maria Hughes, he settled at 37 Penton Street in Pentonville. Success on the stage later allowed him to buy a retreat: in 1806 he purchased Fallow Cottage in Finchley, where he and his second wife, Mary, spent their summers away from the theatre. The cottage became his principal home from 1806 until 1827.

In his final years, Grimaldi lived quietly in Islington, where he died in 1837.

TRAVEL Grimaldi traveled extensively for his theatrical career. He made regular tours throughout England and Scotland. His most successful tour was in 1817, when he was free from his Sadler's Wells contract and toured 56 shows across England and Scotland, earning £1,743. He performed in major cities including Birmingham, where he had extended engagements. However, his travels were primarily professional rather than leisure-based.

DEATH Joseph Grimaldi died on May 31, 1837 at age 58 at his home in Islington, London. His final years were marked by depression, alcoholism, poverty, and physical disability. He had outlived both his wife Mary and his son J.S. Grimaldi, dying penniless and alone. 

Grimaldi was buried in the churchyard of St James's Anglican Chapel, and the grounds were later converted into Joseph Grimaldi Park in his honor.

APPEARANCES IN MEDIA Grimaldi's memoirs were edited by Charles Dickens and published in 1838 with illustrations by George Cruikshank. The work became a significant piece of Victorian literature. 

His life has been the subject of various modern biographical works, including Andrew McConnell Stott's The Pantomime Life of Joseph Grimaldi. 

His story has been adapted for radio broadcasts and theatrical productions. 

Numerous visual representations exist, including prints, engravings, and portraits from his era.

His name is synonymous with clowning, and he is often referenced in discussions of theatre history.

ACHIEVEMENTS Created the Joey the Clown character and whiteface make-up design still used in clowning.

Became the Regency era’s most celebrated performer.

Drew enormous audiences, with one in eight Londoners seeing him perform.

Inspired the annual clowns’ memorial service at Holy Trinity Church, Hackney, attended by clowns in full costume since the 1940s.

Sources: (1) Friends of Islington Museum (2) Dictionary of National Biography (3) The Public Domain Review