Nicolai Poliakoff

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Nicolai Poliakoff OBE (Latvian: Nikolajs Poļakov)'s creation Coco the Clown was arguably the most famous clown in the United Kingdom during the middle decades of the twentieth century. Technically, Coco is not a clown but an 'Auguste' - that is the foolish character who is always on the receiving end of buckets of water and custard pies. The Auguste often works with the cleverer white-faced 'clown' who always gets the better of him.

Poliakoff was born to a Jewish family in Latvia in 1900. His parents worked in the theatre when Nicolai was born, but both lost their jobs a few years later, and in order to survive, Nicolai started busking from the age of five. Nicolai, or 'Coco' as he was then called, came to England with his young wife Valentina and began working for the Bertram Mills Circus. 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 [1]. He was appointed an Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (OBE) for this work by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. However, at the same time he continued to work in the circus in the mid-1960s, seated ringside while selling programmes dressed in his full 'Auguste's' costume.

He died on September 25, 1974 and is buried in Woodnewton [2] in the English county of Northamptonshire.