Perhaps the best memories of an exceptional man can best be evoked from the words of his own children. Meeting three of the Clews siblings provides some invaluable insight into the life and times of the man and comedian Charles Clews. This Maltese personality was not only a respected comedian but also a family-loving man, a journalist and a scriptwriter who passed away on 29 January last year. To commemorate the first anniversary of his demise, his children have mounted an extensive exhibition of his life and work.
Who was Charles Clews? Clews was born in Senglea in 1919 and, quite inadvertently, started his public career at the dockyard. Alan Clews, number six in the Clews clan of eight explains, “He was an engine fitter and moved on to become a surveyor at the dockyard. During the war, he and some other fun-loving companions would share jokes and perform funny acts to give fellow workers a laugh. Obviously, since this happened during working hours, they were always careful not to get copped. But, the dockyard administration had observed all this and, realising that it was raising the morale of the workers during such difficult times, actually started encouraging it.”
In 1943, the theatrical company ‘The Stage Commandos’ was born; the name was directly inspired by the war experience. By 1948 Clews and his troupe were being heard on the new medium – the radio alias the Redifusion, this time under the name of ‘Radjo Muskettieri’. This was a weekly programme that really took comedy into the homes of the Maltese people who welcomed it with thorough enjoyment. Clews had a very developed sense of humour that steered clear of bad taste and could be enjoyed by all the family.
But what was Clews like behind the scenes? Three of his children, independently of each other, described him in the same way. In the words of his eldest daughter Miriam: “He was gentle but disciplined and tolerated no hanky-panky from us kids. After work – he was a journalist for as long as we can remember – he would sit at the head of the table in front of his old typewriter. We, eight children, would sit around the table doing our respective homework. To this day we cannot fathom out how he managed it – he would type multiple copies of script using carbon paper, so had to be extra careful not to make mistakes. Being children, we were constantly asking for his help to do this or the other, be it maths or language. But he would type away and give us his undivided attention as required, without so much as batting an eyelid. It’s amazing how he managed it.”
Irene, another daughter whose eyes twinkle in much the same way her father’s did, continues: “After homework was done, we were assigned individual tasks to help him with the scripts. We would help him compile scripts according to all the characters involved and each of us was assigned a character for whom we had to organise the script, clip it together and prepare it neatly for dad. He taught us to be organised and work in a team in that way.”
Alan Clews says, “We figured out that he planned things meticulously during the night and worked on actuating them during the day and by the time he reached the typewriter, he knew exactly what he wanted to write. He had another great gift – he was ambidextrous. He was left-handed and when he was a child the nuns bound up his left hand, because it was believed, at the time, that it was evil to be left-handed. This served him well eventually because when he tired of writing with his right hand, he switched to his left hand and his flow of thinking could continue undisturbed!”
Being an insomniac meant that Clews habitually kept a notebook by his bed and jotted down notes which were then turned into comic performances, the likes of ‘Fredo Frendo Sghendo’, ‘Bellia & Sons Undertaker’, Bastjan Balzan’, ‘Toto Tanti’. Then there was the unforgettable ‘It-Tieg ta’ Karmena Abdilla’ a weekly serial that was transmitted on radio for two years running and eventually became a staple on stage. Clews took his theatre group’s performances to key theatre venues all around Malta – the Orpheum in Gzira, the Radio City of Hamrun, the Pandora in Zejtun, the Buckingham in Zabbar, the Empire in Paola are but a few, apart from parish halls and other locations. This fuelled the popularity of his characters in a day when entertainment was available through very limited sources. He was also exceptionally popular with Maltese emigrants, and was invited to Australia twice to perform there.
By the late 1970s Clews stopped organising large theatrical events and performances but remained highly active as he helped various organisations during fund-raising and philanthropic stints. Clews was honoured with the ‘Gieh ir-Repubblika’ in 1996 and in 1997 received the Broadcasting Authority’s ‘Special Award for Light Entertainment’. His last major public appearance was in 1999 during ‘Ilieli Mediterranji’. However, he continued to contribute a humour page to the Maltese newspaper It-Torca, which he did for some 50 years nonstop, well into his old age.
Alan Clews, together with the help of collaborators George Glanville, Frans Ripard and Frans H. Said, set about sifting through copious amounts of material that belonged to Charles Clews shortly after his demise. The ultimate intention was to create a museum in memory of Clews but in the meantime, the immediate aim was to organise an exhibition. Clews was highly prolific as proven by the 1965 edition of the ‘Malta Who’s Who’ which states that by that year Clews had already produced some 3000 scripts. Just a sampling of these is on display at ‘Galerie Liberte’, plus varied posters, banners, photographs, newspaper cuttings… a 1947 diary records all performances during that year. Pictures document carnival characters, alias ‘mascherini’, created by the renowned artist Esprit Barthet, and directly inspired by Clews’ ‘Tieg ta’ Karmena Abdilla’.
Surprisingly, none of his children has taken to the stage, even though they all have exciting and vivid memories of jam-packed theatres and a busy backstage at every show. But what was the secret of his popularity? Alan, Miriam and Irene all agree that Charles Clews was a great observer of people, taking also direct inspiration from the antics, comments and lives of his own brood. In this simple yet unique manner, Clews managed to grab the public’s attention and hold it unwaveringly with resounding success throughout his exceptional life.
‘Omagg lill-Charles Clews 1919-2009’ exhibition is open at Galeria Liberte, Workers’ Memorial Building, South Street, Valletta until 28 February. Opening hours 9am to 7pm daily.