| Laci Endresz Jr. | |
|---|---|
| Pseudonym | Mooky the Clown |
| Birth name | Laszlo Robert Endresz [1] |
| Born | 28 July 1974 Eastbourne, East Sussex, England |
| Medium | Circus |
| Genres | Circus clown |
Laci Endresz Jr. (born 28 July 1974) is an English circus performer who performs as the circus clown Mooky the Clown. He has been the main clown at the Blackpool Tower Circus since 1999. [2]
Endresz was born in Eastbourne, East Sussex, England. His father, Laci Endresz Sr., was born in Hungary and is the director of the Blackpool Tower Circus at Blackpool Tower, a position he has held since 1992. [3] [2]
He is from a circus family: seven generations of his family have performed in the circus on his father's side and nine generations on his mother's side. [4]
Endresz made his first appearance as a clown in a circus at the age of four in his family's musical clown act. As a child, he performed in circuses as a juggler and in a springboard act with his family. [5]
In 1985, Endresz won a bronze medal for his juggling act at the Cirque Mondial de Demain Festival in Paris, France. [6] Then in 1987, at the age of 12, he performed at the 12th International Circus Festival of Monte-Carlo with his sister Kate –juggling with nunchucks, five and seven rings, four and five clubs, three then five balls and finishing his act with five fire torches. [7] During this time, he also appeared on the Paul Daniels television show three times and performed at the Royal Command Performance. [4]
Endresz is the third member of his family to adopt the name Mooky for his clown character. [1] The name was first adopted by his grandfather in Hungary during the 1940s and was then adopted by his father from the 1970s until the late 1990s. [8] By the time his father began managing the Blackpool Tower Circus in 1992, Endresz had become Mini Mooky and performed as a sidekick clown to his father. [2]
After the act was introduced during the 1994 Blackpool Tower Circus main show, Endresz toured numerous circuses in Europe with his juggling act "Wild on Wheels", which featured him juggling on the back of a moving motorcycle. He returned to the Tower Circus at the end of 1997 for the first circus pantomime Aladdin. [2] [5] Here, Endresz was asked to stay for the upcoming summer season, but due to the presence of another juggler in the show, he instead worked again as Mini Mooky. [2]
In 1999, Endresz took over as the main Mooky the Clown, and in the process became the primary clown at the Blackpool Tower Circus. It was at this point he introduced his current look for Mooky: during the 1999 show Mooky acted as a "ringboy" who would interupt the circus acts. [9] [5] The ringboy's uniform at the Tower Circus during this time was blue and gold with a matching skullcap. Endresz would adopt this as Mooky's look, and has continued to wear it throughout his career even after Mooky's role as ringboy was dropped. [5]
Since then, he has starred, without break, each year in the summer circus show; and until it was discontinued in 2020, in the Circus’ pantomime as well. [2] [10]
In his act, Mooky is usually accompanied by a straight man, who often tries and fails to control Mooky’s chaotic behaviour in the ring. Over the years there have been different characters who have played this role:
As well as his role as Mooky, Endresz is also known to be responsible at the Blackpool Tower Circus for backstage co-ordination; and since at least 2017, stage direction. He also builds the majority of the props used in the circus. [1] [14]
Endresz appeared in the 1995 film Funny Bones as a juggler. He also appears in the short film Grimaldi: The Funniest Man in the World, playing young Joseph Grimaldi alongside his brother Bubu Endresz, who plays young Jack Bologna. [15] He also performed his juggling act on the Children's Variety Performance in 1994. [16]
In 2007, he appeared in the second series of the Channel 4 documentary The Convention Crasher as Mooky, helping Justin Lee Collins learn clowning before he travelled to the United States to participate in a clowning convention in Houston, Texas. [17]
Endresz has won a number of awards, including: [4]
| Award | Organization | Location | Year | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Silver Medal Winner | Festival Mondial du Cirque de Demain | Paris, France | 1985 | Won for his juggling act. |
| Paris, France | 1995 | Won for his juggling act "Wild on Wheels". [18] | ||
| Best Ground Act in Great Britain | Circus Friends Association | 1999 | ||
| Leisure Parcs Entertainer of the Year | Leisure Parcs | Blackpool, United Kingdom | 1999 | |
| Best Comedy Act in Great Britain | Circus Friends Association | 2000 | As Mooky | |
| 2001 | ||||
| 2002 | ||||
| Leisure Parcs Entertainer of the Year | Leisure Parcs | Blackpool, United Kingdom | 2002 [19] | |
| Best Comedy Act in Great Britain | Circus Friends Association | 2004 | As Mooky, joint award with Mr Maxi (Attila Endresz) [20] | |
| Silver Cup | Hansa Theatre | Hamburg, Germany. | ||
| Circus Personality of the Year | Bayern Munich Carnival, Circus Krone | Germany | ||
| Gold medal winner | Tokyo Circus Festival | Tokyo, Japan | ||
| Best All Round Entertainer | Budapest, Hungary |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | Funny Bones | Juggler | |
| 2017 | Grimaldi: The Funniest Man in the World | Young Joseph Grimaldi | Credited as Mooky |