Born On This Day ~ January 10 ~ Grock (Charles Adrien Wettach) ~ Famous Swiss Clown

Born: January 10, 1880 (Bern Switzerland)
Died: July 14, 1959 (Liguria Italy)

Famous For/Known For:
Famous Swiss Clown

A Little About Grock (Charles Adrien Wettach):

Born to a watchmaker father who also dabbled a bit in music and acrobatic, Wettach grew up being taught the foundations of gymnastics and melody.

At a young age, Wettach would perform with the circus, first as a tumbler and then a musician.

From there he went on to join a caravan of gypsies where he was taught how to play many musical instruments.

By the time Wettach was 14 he could play 14 different musical instruments and was fluent in many languages. It was at this age that he made his clown debut in Fiame Wetzel’s Circus.

Wettach entered into a partnership with another clown named Brick. The two performed internationally appearing in France, Africa and South America.  When Brick married the two went their separate ways.

In 1903, Wettach decided to take the stage name of Grock. He went on to become a famous clown in Europe.

Wettach’s most famous clown act was that in which he appeared unable to figure out how to play musical instruments, especially the fiddle. He would try to play the fiddle, as it was flipped over, and wondered where the strings were.

In his lifetime, Wettach had been a clown, composed his own music, and had written many books including his autobiograpy, Grock, King of Clowns.

In 1992, Wettach was inducted into the Clown Hall Of Fame.

Grock (Charles Adrien Wettach) died at the age of 79.

Books About/Written By Grock (Charles Adrien Wettach)

Grock: EinLeben als Clown. Meine Erinnerungen

NIT M-O-O-O-GUCH. Die Memoiren Des Konigs Der Clowns

Grock: King of Clowns

*This post contains affiliate links.

Reference:
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0342815/bio

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