Fred Karno

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Fred Karno

Fred Karno (born March 26, 1866 in Exeter , England as Frederick John Westcott ; † September 18, 1941 in Poole , England) was a British theater producer who was successful with his ensembles in the music halls , especially for slapstick and pantomime was known in his skits. Karno had later star comedians like Charlie Chaplin and Stan Laurel under contract, over whom he exerted greater influence.

life and career

Fred Karno initially worked as a carpenter, but then switched to show business and initially performed as an acrobat. In 1889 he married Edith Cuthbert, with whom he had a son in 1896. He separated from his wife a few years later and began a relationship with Marie Moore. Nevertheless, he remained married to Cuthbert until her death in 1927. Two weeks after her death, he married Marie. From the 1890s, Karno had considerable success on the London stage with his comedic shows, which mostly included slapstick interludes. His wordless skits were in the tradition of comic pantomime games . He was considered one of the funniest and best musical hall comedians of his time. Guest performances have taken Karnos theater companies across England as well as to France and the United States .

Among the talented young actors who he took under contract, belonged to the later than Stan Laurel known Arthur Stanley Jefferson , from 1908 to the end of 1913 Charlie Chaplin and Will Hay from 1918 to 1920. Both Chaplin and Laurel took properties from the Karno- Shows like the slapstick or the pantomime in their later films, with Chaplin especially the characteristic mixture of pathos and slapstick. For many, Karno is also considered the father of slapstick and one of the greatest influences on early film comedy.

When the Fred Karno troupe (originally Fred Karno's Army ) began touring the United States and Canada for two years in June 1910, Chaplin was already the young star of the ensemble and Laurel was substitute for its roles. Chaplin in particular delighted the audience and the press so much that Karno sent his ensemble to America for a second tour after only five months in England. However, this was far less successful. In the course of 1913 the American film industry contacted Chaplin, who responded gratefully to the interest and in September signed up for a year as a film actor with Keystone Studios , the comedy specialist of the New York Motion Picture Company . After Chaplin had left the company on November 28th, the further tour with Stanley Jefferson in Chaplin's place was finally a flop for Karno, finally canceled and the ensemble members unemployed. Stan Laurel decided to stay in America and look for an acting career there. Like Chaplin, he later moved to the emerging new film city of Hollywood . Stan Laurel said of Fred Karno:

"Fred Karno didn't teach Charlie and me all we know about comedy, he just taught us most of it. Above all he taught us to be supple and precise. Out of all that endless rehearsal and performance came Charlie Chaplin, the most supple and precise comedian of our time. "

Fred Karno's houseboat Astoria

In 1912 Karno bought Tagg's Island and rebuilt the hotel on the island. For the renovation, he employed the architect Frank Matcham and set up a music hall , The Karsino . The island became very popular and in addition to the hotel and music hall there was a boathouse and various other attractions. Karno had a luxurious houseboat permanently on the island, he described the island as "the hub of the universe for river people". After the end of the First World War, the island's popularity waned. With the rise of the film, the popularity of the music halls fell, which Karno also felt from the 1920s. In 1925 he had to file for bankruptcy. The hotel was renamed The Casino but Karno sold the island in 1926. Two years later the hotel reopened under the name Thames Riviera and a vehicle ferry brought cars from the mainland to the island. In 1940 the hotel was closed again. After numerous attempts to revive the hotel, it was demolished in 1971.

After 1925 Karno only occasionally worked as a theater producer. Between 1929 and 1930 he worked briefly at Hal Roach Studios on the mediation of Stan Laurel, but could not gain anything from Hollywood. On his return to England he built a new acting company called Karno's Krazy Komics . He spent the last years of his life as a wine merchant on the south coast of England. In 1941 he died of diabetes at the age of 75.

Fred Karno's houseboat ( Astoria ) on the River Thames in Henley is now used as a recording studio by David Gilmour of Pink Floyd .

Web links

literature

  • Edwin Adeler: Remember Fred Karno? The life of a great showman . Long, London 1939.
  • Joseph P. Gallagher: Fred Karno. Master of mirth and tears . Hale Books, London 1971, ISBN 0-7091-2227-6 .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Fred Karno's biography
  2. ↑ Fred Karno's biography
  3. ^ Photograph from the crossing to the USA
  4. ↑ Fred Karno's biography
  5. ↑ Stephen Croad: Liquid History: The Thames Through Time . Batsford, 2003, ISBN 978-0-7134-8834-0 , p. 20.
  6. ^ Fred Karno and the Karsino . In: Local History Notes . London Borough of Richmond upon Thames . Archived from the original on April 17, 2011. Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved October 16, 2010. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.richmond.gov.uk
  7. ↑ Fred Karno's biography
personal data
SURNAME Karno, Fred
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Westcott, Frederick John (maiden name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION British theater producer
DATE OF BIRTH March 26, 1866
PLACE OF BIRTH Exeter , England
DATE OF DEATH September 18, 1941
Place of death Poole , England