Comedy is a serious business for those who choose it as a career.
All comedians, even the biggest names, can suffer from pre-show nerves and middle-of-the-night worries about their careers.
But, from my experience and knowledge about the history of making audiences laugh, most comedians are able to cope with these insecurities.
That great entertainer Des O’Connor once told a friend of mine, “Hosting a Royal Variety Performance can be a terrifying experience, with so much responsibility on your shoulders. But as nervous as I am before the curtain goes up, I wouldn’t swap my job with anyone!”
However, that same friend confided that one of the nicest comedians he’s worked with was, despite having a beautiful wife and a rather grand house in Surrey, a manic depressive who needed to be constantly reassured about his comedic talents.
The public adored Tony Hancock when he was at the top, but he wasn’t a happy man and eventually ditched his brilliant writers Galton and Simpson to search for ‘the true essence of comedy’.
Had he realised he’d already found it in Ray and Alan’s scripts, he may not have entered that downward spiral that led to him becoming so depressed that he took his own life.
Always a nervous performer, Larry Grayson often made reference to his sweaty top lip in his act, while Spike Milligan suffered from long periods of depression all his life, possibly rooted in his wartime experiences.
So, you can see that having to maintain a career in comedy, either as a performer or writer, can take its toll.
Such was the popularity of ‘King Of Clowns’ Joseph Grimaldi (1778-1837) his shows at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane and Sadlers Wells were always sold out.  He created the white-faced make-up still used by circus clowns referred to as Joeys.
During the run of one of Grimaldi’s spectacular pantomimes, a man went to his doctor complaining he felt permanently depressed.
The doctor said “That’s easily remedied. Go and see Grimaldi at Sadlers Wells and he’ll cheer you up!”
To which his patient replied . . . “I am Grimaldi!”