Dimitri Jakob Muller (18 September 1935 – 19 July 2016), known as Dimitri was a Swiss

clown A clown is a person who performs comedy and arts in a state of open-mindedness using physical comedy, typically while wearing distinct makeup or costuming and reversing folkway-norms. History The most ancient clowns have been found in ...

and

mime artist A mime artist, or simply mime (from Greek , , "imitator, actor"), is a person who uses ''mime'' (also called ''pantomime'' outside of Britain), the acting out of a story through body motions without the use of speech, as a theatrical medium ...

. He later changed his name to Jakob Dimitri.

Career

Dimitri was born in

Ascona 300px, Ascona Ascona ( lmo, label= Ticinese, Scona ) is a municipality in the district of Locarno in the canton of Ticino in Switzerland. It is located on the shore of Lake Maggiore. The town is a popular tourist destination and holds the yea ...

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

in 1935. When he was seven years old he decided he wanted to become a

. After graduating from school, Dimitri became an apprentice potter while studying music and theater. He went to Paris to study under Etienne Decroux, then Marcel Marceau. In 1959, he was hired as an Auguste by Louise Maisse, a whiteface clown. He then created his own solo mime act which was received with much acclaim during the 1962 International Mime Festival in Berlin. In 1971, Dimitri founded with his wife Gunda a theater. In 1975, he founded the ''Scuola Teatro Dimitri'' in

Verscio Verscio is a former municipality in the district of Locarno in the canton of Ticino in Switzerland. The municipalities of Cavigliano, Tegna and Verscio merged on 14 April 2013 into the new municipality of Terre di Pedemonte.

, now Terre di Pedemonte. It is a small performing arts college in the Swiss national higher education system. In 1973, he was awarded the Grock prize, and appeared with New York's Big Apple Circus. He has also performed in many other countries across the globe. He was inducted into the

International Clown Hall of Fame The International Clown Hall of Fame and Research Center (ICHOF), located in Baraboo, Wisconsin, United States, is dedicated to the preservation and advancement of clown art and achievement. Represented by professional and amateur clown associati ...

in 1995.

Death

He died at the age of 80 on 19 July 2016 in Borgnone,

Ticino Ticino (), sometimes Tessin (), officially the Republic and Canton of Ticino or less formally the Canton of Ticino,, informally ''Canton Ticino'' ; lmo, Canton Tesin ; german: Kanton Tessin ; french: Canton du Tessin ; rm, Chantun dal Tessin . ...

Style

Dimitri preferred performing solo in theaters with a few props and no scenery. His act was motivated with his comic logic and playful spirit allowing him to incorporate a wide variety of circus skills. Interaction with the audience was an integral part of both his stage acts. The finale of his show was to play four saxophones simultaneously. He was a published author and songwriter, and operated a theater company with his wife Gunda, in

, in the

canton of Ticino Ticino (), sometimes Tessin (), officially the Republic and Canton of Ticino or less formally the Canton of Ticino,, informally ''Canton Ticino'' ; lmo, Canton Tesin ; german: Kanton Tessin ; french: Canton du Tessin ; rm, Chantun dal Tessin . ...

in the Italian speaking part of Switzerland.

References

External links

The Clown Dimitri official website

The Clown Dimitri official Facebook website

in Verscio * {{DEFAULTSORT:Dimitri 1935 births 2016 deaths Swiss clowns Swiss mimes Waldorf school alumni People from Ascona