Nicolai Poliakoff

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Nicolai Poliakoff (otherwise Poliakovs)'s clown creation Coco was arguably the most famous clown in the United Kingdom during the middle decades of the twentieth century.

Coco the Clown was born to a Jewish family in Latvia in 1900. He arrived in the UK in 1929.

He appeared for many years with Bertram Mills's circus and his clown persona had two distinctive visual features that endeared him to TV audiences. The first were his boots, described as being size 58, the second was his trick hair that lifted when he was surprised with hinges in the centre parting. He is a member of the Clown Hall of Fame.

During the Second World War he entertained troops as a member of ENSA (Entertainments National Service Association). In 1960 he was involved in a serious road accident prompting him to devote himself to the promotion of road safety awareness in children.

He died on September 25, 1974. He is buried in Woodnewton in the English county of Northamptonshire.