FAMOUS clowns have brought their colourful craft to Glasgow over the decades, lighting up venues such as Hengler’s Circus, the Glasgow Hippodrome and the Kelvin Hall.
Did Whimsical Walker, one of the most well-known clowns of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, who was a favourite of Queen Victoria’s, ever come to the city?
His great-great-grandson hopes he did.
“I’d like to think he did – Glasgow audiences are beautiful, Glaswegians are lovely, lovely people,” smiles Philip Breen, or Whimmie, as he is known in tribute to his celebrated ancestor.
“He knew everyone – the Royal family, Barnum and Bailey, Charlie Chaplin. He toured the world and became a pantomime star and appeared in silent films. And he did literally run away to join the circus.
“He worked his way up. In 1887, when he was with Barnum and Bailey, he purchased Jumbo the elephant for them, from the London Zoological Gardens, for the sum of £2000. The fee was more than paid back in just a few performances.”
Philip adds: “He was Queen Victoria’s favourite - he appeared at the first Royal Command Performance, staged at Windsor Castle, and his last performance before royalty was for the first visit to a circus of the Princess Elizabeth in 1934.”
Clowning is in Whimmie’s blood.
He is in Glasgow this month with Zippo’s Circus, which is at Victoria Park until Sunday (June 19).
“My first appearance was aged five, when my dad threw me into the ring,” grins the 63-year-old.
“My mum was a trapeze artist, my dad was a clown, with Billy Smart’s Circus. Where am I from? I’m from the circus. I was born in a hospital in Kent, and the next day, the circus moved on.
“Growing up, we moved from town to town, a different school each week.
“Eventually, my parents sent me to a Brighton boarding school for children of theatrical families, because they understood it was hard for me.
“But I was always going to follow them into the circus – in those days, it was what you did. It was like going down the mines, or working in a cobbler’s. If that’s what your dad did, that’s what you did.”
Philip’s wife Roberta is also a clown, but their son and daughter, Ashley and Chantelle, have chosen not to follow their parents into the profession.
“In my day you didn’t have a choice, but nowadays, you can go your own way,” says Philip. “They are proud of me and of what I do.”
He adds, with a laugh: “My grandson, Zak, who is two, loves the fact his grandfather is a clown.”
Zippo’s is at Victoria Park until June 19 - visit zippos.co.uk/tickets for more information.
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