King of Clowns

Over the past couple of weeks I had the privilege of reading the autobiography/memoir of Adrien Wettach, known to most around the world as Grock, King of Clowns. I knew nothing more about Grock when I started the book as you probably do now reading his name. Grock never really made the big splash in America that he made other places, mainly Europe. He did one small run in New York early on in his career and decided that Americans didn't have the right sensibility for him, and thus decided not to perform here anymore. As such, if you say his name to an American, you will probably get a quizzical look, but if you ask a European if they've heard of Grock, you will probably also get a quizzical look. However, it will be more along the lines of, "What? Of course I have. Who hasn't heard of Grock?"

You see, in Europe Grock was just as famous as a theatre clown as Charlie Chaplin was as a film clown. The two had a great admiration and respect for one another. Each thought the other was far more talented than himself, which is no small sentiment considering the egos of both men. Grock was for a period receiving the highest salary any entertainer in the world had ever received. He made enough money in his fifty year career to purchase the Villa Grock, a palatial estate in Italy.

And yet almost no one in America has heard of him.

Which is why I have made it my mission to educate Americans on Grock. If you're looking for something to read, this biography is great. It doesn't matter that you don't know who he is. I didn't when I started reading the book. He is such a charming and witty character, you fall in love with him on page one, and you don't stop. His writing style is so casual and conversational, you feel like you just have this amazing entertainer with 70 years of stories sitting next to you regaling you with tales of his first time on a high wire, riding around in sports cars, or begrudgingly being forced to perform for Hitler.  He is so fascinating, and I cannot recommend the book highly enough. If you're looking for a fun read, Grock: King of Clowns.

And he's a little video footage of his show. The dialogue is in French, but it's pretty easy to follow, even for a non French speaker.