The author talks of the difference between the clown and the humorist. The clown tries to shine and keeps failing…

He writes: Remember Grock – one of the great clowns. He’d come on stage where his assistant – a well-dressed and well-behaved young man – was performing on the violin.  Grock was huge, impressive, authoritative. He carried a vast suitcase of enormous proportions. He looked round sternly and pushed the young artist aside, opened his vast case — and carefully brought out the tiniest of violins. Loud laughter – authority deflated is always the best of jokes.

[Another of Grock’s gags is where he sits on a stool in front of a piano. The piano is too far away to play. But instead of moving the stool closer to the piano, he drags the piano closer to him.]

The author writes: But whether Grock was playing on his tiny violin, falling over backwards on the rebellious stool, or sliding down on the wooden keyboard cover (which he took out and leaned against the piano), we always loved him. He was not a stern, imperious father; he was our dear, silly Daddy. We were delighted to see him meet one misfortune after another and he entertained us sadly: he was resigned to his failures but he would have preferred to shine and to dazzle us, his audience, his children.

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