CHARLES CLEWS
Charles Clews was born in September 1919. He was the son of William George Clews and Mary Scerri. Charles lost his father at a very young age, thus he never really knew him. This is important as it effected his life but also triggered his artistic creativity.
He met Anne Pavia in 1939 and the two married in 1943, a year after the blitz of Malta by the German Luftwaffe. In an interview Charles recalls his wedding day saying that for their wedding they managed to obtain one box of beer. During the war that was considered luxury. Charles and Anne had eight children. His children remember Charles as a disciplined father, whereas Anne was more in high spirits.
Despite being brought up without a father, Clews had quite a good education. He was educated at the lyceum and eventually skillfully trained at the dockyard.
His artistic career was unofficially launched in an unexpected place, the dockyard and during an unexpected time, World War II.
Together with his lifelong artistic partner Johnny Catania, he started entraining workers at the docks. The war was waging chaos over the Maltese island, and the harbor area was being heavily bombarded. With their jokes and comical sketches Clews and Catania were keeping the soldiers and workers in more joyous spirit. It was this that inspired the young Charles to follow his comical theatrical career. In 1945 they formed a theatrical company called the Stage Commandos. Other actors joined in this company and eventually the Stage Commandos started performing in appropriate theatres. It is highly interesting to observe that Clews demanded the best from the actors and himself, his work ethics were impeccable.
He wrote scripts and macchiette (comical write-ups/songs very popular in Italy during the 19th century) and made sure that the company was united. In fact he wanted the actors to get together after every performance for a drink or dinner.
Clews was also innovative with radio-sitcoms and TV shows. These were relatively new for the Maltese. During the 60s he was a pioneer on television shows that reached Australia, where a large community of Maltese followed his acts. Alongside the talented Johnny Navarro, they performed sketches, both for television and Rediffusion. The two visited Australia twice, once in 1962 and in 1983. Clews met and performed with Rolf Harris, an international Australian actor. The Maltese actor impressed the international star. Johnny Catania, Clew’s closest partner, emigrated, like many Maltese, to Australia where he lived the rest of his life. Catania’s passing away had a deep impact on Charles Clews.
Clews worked with Malta’s best actors among them, Johnny Navarro, Johnny Catania, Vitorin Galea, Terry L. Bencini, Josette Ciappara, Gemma Portelli and Nosi Ghirlando. The latter asked Clews to join the famous Radju Muskettieri and also to create a female character for a show. The character was Karmena Abdilla. This became a landmark in Maltese drama and created a new generation of artists that followed their footsteps well into the 90s and early 2000s. Karmena Abdilla’s role was first played by Nosi Ghirlando, since women were not allowed to be on stage, and eventually the larger than life persona of Vitorin Galea took on the role to capture the imagination of the Maltese and give life to Clew’s character.
Television and radio shows, carnival floats, journalism, singer and scriptwriting, Clews belongs to a generation of artistic heroes that were growing up during hard times and used their artistic talents to elevate the morale of the people. Charles Clews was a pioneer in Maltese drama and broadcasting, an excellent actor and comedian, a loving father and husband who never forgot his origins, but above all he was a true Maltese hero.
References;
Times of Malta
Charles Clews, the man who made us smile
September 2019/Fabian Mangion
https://timesofmalta.com/articles/view/charles-clews-the-man-who-made-us-smile.737063
27/04/2022
Bijografiji Charles Clew
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=igzBOByLWFo&t=2359s
25/04/2022
