Search Results - Bologna, Jack, 1929-2006

Jack Bologna

John Peter Bologna (1775 –1846), known as Jack Bologna on stage, was an Italian actor and dancer, who spent much time in England popularising the role of Harlequin in Georgian pantomimes and harlequinades in the early part of the 1800s at the Sadler's Wells and Covent Garden Theatres.

After arriving in England with his performing family in 1787, Bologna made his London debut at the Covent Garden Theatre as Harlequin in the pantomime ''Niobe; or, Harlequin's Ordeal''. After playing in his family's act throughout England, he starred in, and later choreographed, pantomimes and plays, including some notable successes at the Royal Circus, including ''The Cloud King'', ''The Sorceress of Strozzi'', ''Black Beard'', and ''Edwin of the Green''. In 1806, he, along with the famous Clown performer Joseph Grimaldi, performed in ''Harlequin and Mother Goose; or, the Golden Egg'', Bologna's biggest success. Bologna was also an amateur machinist who often showcased his mechanical designs, using them on stage as part of his productions.

Having mostly retired from the stage in 1820, he struggled financially and lived in severe poverty throughout the remaining 26 years of his life, before dying penniless aged 71. Provided by Wikipedia