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Revision as of 22:45, 29 October 2022
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In The Spotlight
JACKO FOSSETT
A very popular British clownGeneric term for all clowns and augustes. '''Specific:''' In Europe, the elegant, whiteface character who plays the role of the straight man to the Auguste in a clown team., Jacko Fossett (1922-2004) belonged to the English branch of the extremely prolific Fossett circus family, whose origins date back to the mid-nineteenth century in Ireland. So numerous the Fossett clan is that it was once said that every circus in the British Isles harbored at least one Fossett! (Jacko Fossett said: "It's not a family, it's a disease!") The family produced several good clowns, among whom Harry Fossett ("Funny Harry"), Tommy Fossett, better known as "Professor Grimble," and Jacko's own father, also known as "Jacko." The junior Jacko Fossett, however, enjoyed a very successful career that spanned nearly sixty years not only in the British Isles, but also abroad.
He was born Robert George John Francis Fossett on November 11, 1922, in Kingston upon Hull, a port city in East Yorkshire where his father, John Fossett, was performing as a clown with the Sir Robert Fossett Circus. His mother was Maria Fossett, née Proctor, a tightwireSee Tight Wire. artist who came from a large family of fairground entertainers. Jack (as Jacko Fossett was known to his friends and family) had three elder sisters, Margaret, Emmie, and Louise, who, as a trio, performed a trapeze act.
John Fossett was one of the eleven children of Robert Fossett III (whose own father, "Sir" Robert Fossett, was the founder of the eponymous circus) and Isabelle Bailey. After the death of his father in December 1922, John, with some of his siblings, founded the Fossett Family Circus, while his brother Robert IV revived the Sir Robert Fossett title. Like all circus children, Jack Fossett learned an array of circus disciplines from his extended family. Unfortunately, despite changing its name to a glorious Fossett's Imperial Circus, the Fossett Family Circus failed and eventually closed in 1928.... (more...)
New Essays and Biographies
- Little Billy Merchant, Clown
- Jacko Fossett, Clown
- Circus Ring of Fame, History
- Natalya Jigalova, Aerialist
- Guangzhou Acrobatic Troupe, History
New Videos
- Bertram Mills Circus, newsreel (1946)
- George Hanneford Troupe, jockeys (1949)
- Henry Ayala, clown (2022)
- Paul Ponce, juggler (2018)
- Black Diamonds, hand-to-handAn acrobatic act in which one or more acrobats do hand-balancing in the hands of an under-stander. balancing (2022)
New Oral Histories
- For A Moment You Fly, The First Season of The Big Apple Circus (1977)
- Vladimir Durov Documentary on Russian Television (c.2000)
- Dolly Jacobs Interview at The Ringling (2018)
- Pinito del Oro's Interview on Spanish Television (1970)
- Gia Eradze's Interview on SSU TV (2015)
Circopedia Books
- Philip Astley & The Horsemen who invented the Circus, by Dominique Jando (2018)
A Message from the Founder
CIRCOPEDIA is a constantly evolving and expanding archive of the international circus. New videos, biographies, essays, and documents are added to the site on a weekly—and sometimes daily—basis. Keep visiting us: even if today you don't find what you're looking for, it may well be here tomorrow! And if you are a serious circus scholar and spot a factual or historical inaccuracy, do not hesitate to contact us: we will definitely consider your remarks and suggestions.
- Dominique Jando
- Founder and Curator
