Sunday, June 04, 2006

The Fratellinis





The Fratellini brothers, Francois, Albert and Paul, were the first and undoubtedly the greatest of all classic circus clown trios. They grew up in the circus, where their father was a trapeze artist and acrobat. They worked as clowns in pairs until their eldest brother died in 1909, whereupon they formed their unique triple act. Their three characters provided clear, effective contrasts: Francois, the elegant whiteface clown; Albert, the grotesque auguste, and Paul, the "contre-auguste", half-way between them, sometimes taking one brother's side, sometimes the other's.

The makeup Albert designed for himself—high black brows, exaggerated mouth, and bulbous red nose—single-handedly redefined the role of the circus auguste, influenced scores of later clowns (most prominently, Lou Jacobs) and is responsible for the American auguste as we know it today.

The brothers toured in Europe and Russia before joining the Cirque Medrano in Paris, where they were widely acclaimed and admired. Many of their children became successful clowns, notably Paul's son Victor (1901–79) and granddaughter Annie (1932–97).

1 comment:

  1. Francis, Nicky (Nee Nicolas Fratelini) born in 1920, Kirksville, Missouri
    , or in France died , 28 September 1960, St. Petersburg, Florida
    ; a fifth-generation circus performer, was born in France and went on the European stage at the age of 6
    with his family, the Fratelinis. Eventually moving to the United States, Nicky was a regular on TV's 'Super
    Circus', originating from WBKB-TV in Chicago. During that time Francis hosted WBKB's "Time For
    Fun!," seen weekday afternoons from 1953 to 1955. When 'Super Circus' moved to New York the Chicago
    cast was dropped and Francis departed for the Tampa Bay area.
    Funville debuted January 18, 1960 and featured the long-running 'Crusader Rabbit' cartoons along with a
    new animated package of 'Rags the Tiger'. The photo at right shows Nicky with his dog Bobo and Crusader
    Rabbit and Rags the Tiger.

    Unfortunately, Nicky Francis' tenure at WSUN tragically ended when he suffered a heart attack and died on
    Sept. 28, 1960. The next day, Channel 38 showed Nicky's hat resting on his chair, illuminated by a single
    light. An announcer spoke of sadly of Nicky's passing at the age of 40.

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